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Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

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Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#41

Post by kingkawn »

matchbok wrote: post #40
mikeg8 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not believe the solution is to increase robotics to support this field, I think the solution is much more about a paradigm shift from over-optimization aka mono-cultures to a more holistic approach that increases the human-nature connection. We have to heal ourselves to heal the planet and while technology can help, software engineers will not be the heroes on this front, it will be more traditional stewards of…

That's not realistic. It will never be profitable.

Unless that world is itself the profit

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#42

Post by riffraff »

zdragnar wrote: post #12
shrthnd wrote: post #2

"If farmers increased silvopasture acreage from approximately 550 million hectares today to about 770 million hectares by 2050 (1.36 billion acres to 1.9 billion acres), Drawdown estimated carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced over those 30 years by up to 42 gigatons — more than enough to offset all of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans globally in 2015, according to NOAA — and could return $206 billion to $273…

Note that silvopasture is a combination of livestock grazing pasture and trees. The opposite method it would replace is the factory farm where animals are much more concentrated (with all the moral issues involved). The problem, I think, is one of volume- I don't see the factory farms shutting down in favor of techniques that require broader skill sets (tree harvesting, land management) beyond what they are already h…

> if that means lower prices for things like nuts,

aren't nuts in the US stupid cheap as it is? American almonds are everywhere in Europe, and cost less than locally grown ones.

(And they taste of nothing, I am not sure if it's because they get harvested earlier, because of preservation or because of the cultivar)

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#43

Post by schnevets »

hodgesrm wrote: post #19

It's really surprising to me that we tend to focus on sustainability rather than simple economic benefits when pitching initiatives to combat climate change. Case in point: The US had a great opportunity to sell alternative energy sources as way to get off Middle East oil after 9/11. Instead we continued to consume oil like there's no tomorrow while squandering trillions on fruitless wars.

Reminds me of this classic political cartoon: https://i.cbc.ca/1.5192931.1562703009!/fileImage/httpImage/j...

The problem with any revamp is that powerful incumbents wield the most power. They are capable of controlling the rate of change. In the early 2000s, Exxon and other oil companies were the most powerful, influential businesses on the planet, and they weren't about to let their politicians endorse a shift to renewables.

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#44

Post by abalone »

> If farmers increased silvopasture acreage from approximately 550 million hectares today to about 770 million hectares by 2050... carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced over those 30 years by up to 42 gigatons — more than enough to offset all of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans globally in 2015

This is both exciting and depressing. A massive effort and it still only offsets 1/30th of global emissions.

Fixing climate is not going to be based in “profitability”, at least in any near term sense. It is about dramatically reducing our CO2-based economic activity to preserve the planet for future generations. Capitalism is not geared for that kind of calculation.

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#45

Post by harikb »

jeffbee wrote: post #33

The feds would have to stop distorting the markets in the West before any of this could happen economically, right? People didn't just forget how to grow orchards and pastures. They got run out of business by the California water projects and the BLM. As long as the BLM keeps leasing out grazing land for $1/acre and as long as Reclamation allows Stewart Resnick to grow 100k acres of nuts on otherwise worthless land,…

Just so people aren't confused, BLM == Bureau of Land Management

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#46

Post by gdubs »

The book that got me into this was Mark Shepard's 'Restoration Agriculture". [1] His "New Forest Farm" in WI has been making use of these ideas for some time now. [2]

Shepard got his inspiration from Permaculture [3] and the books, "Tree Crops", [4] and "The One Straw Revolution". [5]

1: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16441733-restoration-agr...

2: https://newforestfarm.us

3: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/381988.Permaculture

4: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/714112.Tree_Crops

5: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/976905.The_One_Straw_Rev...

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#47

Post by rshnotsecure »

jeffbee wrote: post #33

The feds would have to stop distorting the markets in the West before any of this could happen economically, right? People didn't just forget how to grow orchards and pastures. They got run out of business by the California water projects and the BLM. As long as the BLM keeps leasing out grazing land for $1/acre and as long as Reclamation allows Stewart Resnick to grow 100k acres of nuts on otherwise worthless land,…

One thing people don't realize about the BLM and the Department of the Interior in general is that they maintain the world's largest airforce. This Airforce exists mainly as a mountain rescue and forest firefighting unit(s).

Also, because we're now in the 2020s, they are the worlds largest purchaser of drones, even beyond the military.

A lot of fascinating, cutting edge stuff is going on at BLM and DoI.

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#48

Post by zdragnar »

riffraff wrote: post #42
zdragnar wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Note that silvopasture is a combination of livestock grazing pasture and trees. The opposite method it would replace is the factory farm where animals are much more concentrated (with all the moral issues involved). The problem, I think, is one of volume- I don't see the factory farms shutting down in favor of techniques that require broader skill sets (tree harvesting, land management) beyond what they are already h…

> if that means lower prices for things like nuts, aren't nuts in the US stupid cheap as it is? American almonds are everywhere in Europe, and cost less than locally grown ones. (And they taste of nothing, I am not sure if it's because they get harvested earlier, because of preservation or because of the cultivar)

As for almonds, probably a combination of cultivar and picking time.

Some nuts are still very expensive, though, and pound for pound beef can be cheaper than many.

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#49

Post by mikeg8 »

matchbok wrote: post #40
mikeg8 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not believe the solution is to increase robotics to support this field, I think the solution is much more about a paradigm shift from over-optimization aka mono-cultures to a more holistic approach that increases the human-nature connection. We have to heal ourselves to heal the planet and while technology can help, software engineers will not be the heroes on this front, it will be more traditional stewards of…

That's not realistic. It will never be profitable.

BS. It can, and often times is, more profitable than traditional farming. I encourage you to learn about Joel Salatin and the amazing Polyface Farms in Virginia. http://www.polyfacefarms.com/ By layering different farming enterprises like beef, hay production, pastured pigs, chickens, rabbits, and more, they have a higher profit per acre than many larger farms, and are doing so in a way that benefits that land, rather than degrades it.
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