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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

#51

Post by jeffbee »

rshnotsecure wrote: post #47
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.

It doesn't bother me one bit that the BLM manages land. It's a major public benefit that we have so much information about our natural resources. I think the USDA soil survey, for example, a one of the great wonders of the information age.

The thing that bothers me is how they lease out public lands essentially for free to stockmen who proceed to destroy the landscape.

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#54

Post by flycaliguy »

_2d30 wrote: post #27
airstrike wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The parent is precisely arguing against mono-cultures. I don't see how your reply is really discussing any of the various relevant points he raised. Right now, all that I understand from your opinion is that you think robots are bad because of mono-cultures, but the parent would argue equating those two things is incorrect.

If you read closely their response is basically a Luddite, anti-tech response. Their problem with the parent was that it suggested using technology.

I suppose somebody calling for a paradigm shift would be called a “Luddite”.

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#57

Post by Vysero »

jessaustin wrote: post #32

This seems like a scam to me. The reason VCs don't fund "normal" crops like wheat etc. is that commodities don't generate the high profits that make "unicorns" possible. There have been fewer people employed in agriculture in USA every year for the last 150 years. The only long-term successful firms are selling "picks and shovels", and even they have to resort to evil to generate reliable profits (Monsanto, etc.) All…

It seems fishy to me as well knowing that most farmers operate at a loss each year. Whatever profit a system like this might generate would have to be enough to offset those losses whilst still providing enough to keep the farmers happy along with the investors?? Seems pretty damn unlikely that this "agroforestry" is capable of doing that.

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#58

Post by ngold »

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,…

The nut industry around Sacramento is a true tragedy of the commons.

Billions of wallstreet speculative dollars to pump water out of the ground as fast as possible.

No one wins, but a percentage gain on a balance sheet.

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#59

Post by mahaganapati »

gdubs wrote: post #46

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/…

One Straw Revolution changed my life. It inspired me to learn permaculture first hand. It's such an enjoyable book to read

Re: Investors say agroforestry is climate friendly and also profitable

#60

Post by ricardobeat »

reggieband wrote: post #39
mikeg8 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm definitely not anti-technology as a whole, but I very much think many of the environmental problems we're facing in agriculture were caused by an over reliance on technology in the first place. We abstracted ourselves out of the process too much and it has had horrible consequences.

I have a coworker who grew up on a farm. When asked about the experience he has almost nothing positive to say about the experience. Working on a farm, even in modern times, does sound like a significant step down from the relative comforts of city living. If advances in technology can decrease the burden on farming then we may see people willingly choose that lifestyle.

"Growing up on a farm" can have vastly different meanings across places - from living next to an industrial-scale operation to an idyllic, quiet small farm surrounded by nature.
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