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Organic and regenerative agriculture are revitalizing rural Montana economies

montanafreepress.org

271–280 of 297 posts

Re: Organic and regenerative agriculture are revitalizing rural Montana economies

#271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ok great. Makes sense. And people have definitely moved to Montana during the pandemic! Another q: What new markets in this space are interesting to you?

More than the new markets, it would be great to get "boots on the ground" information of real honest no bullshit understanding of the pain points of farmers, agricultural industry in general. Sometimes markets are not well defined or don't exist but taking a fundamental look at problems is fascinating. This information is hard to come by and people like yourself can help.

The major pain point is a simple one: we have a cheap-food-policy in place in the US to keep revolution at bay. I have many friends dumping hundreds of gallons of raw milk daily because that's all the state will allow them to do with it. It would be fantastic if farmers could once again post a profit by charging consumers true cost of production.

Re: Organic and regenerative agriculture are revitalizing rural Montana economies

#272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article. > They also lease land to neighboring ranchers, whose grazing cattle aerate the soil with their hooves and add organic matter and nutrients via manure. Meat can and should be a part of regenerative ag. I recently visited a family friend's place/farm. A year ago, the soil was the typical cracked dry light tan clay ground that I have in my yard. It's quite typical in Oregon. This time, the soil was a…

There's really not that much meat in regenerative agriculture. Given the current per capita consumption of meat in kg, a regenerative ag operation could never accomplish that. Reducing to 4-30kg of meat per capita per year seems impossible. No one can even accomplish that with ruminants. That's why there's so much chicken everywhere, because accomplishing that with ruminants is near impossible, so chicken is advertis…

You speak as if a goat is a goat, a cow is a cow, a pig is a pig, a calorie is a calorie, and a protein is a protein. No. The world is much more nuanced than that. Ruminants are thee biggest factor is driving soil-building as part of regenerative agriculture. Goats are by far (in my experience) the quickest way to rebuild parched top soil, or just build soil in a place that badly needs it (say run-through dirt that won't even grow lentils).

Re: Organic and regenerative agriculture are revitalizing rural Montana economies

#273

Emily Wolfe here, I’m the person who wrote this story. As I plan the second story in the series, which will be about new markets related to organic and regenerative, I’m curious to know a couple of things: -isn’t this a tech/VC blog? How is it that so many of you are so interested in and knowledgeable about agriculture? -what about this story made you want to discuss it here? Looking forward to learning more!

ok great. Makes sense. And people have definitely moved to Montana during the pandemic! Another q: What new markets in this space are interesting to you?

Thanks for these ideas. I think the right to repair is going to get a lot of traction right now with the new executive order—or at least I hope so. The robotics for weeding are definitely interesting too. In terms of reporting on problems or potential solutions, this project is “solutions journalism,” which means rigorous reporting on responses to a problem. The problem part is built in as you look at the how well (or not) the response is working.

Re: Organic and regenerative agriculture are revitalizing rural Montana economies

#274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More than the new markets, it would be great to get "boots on the ground" information of real honest no bullshit understanding of the pain points of farmers, agricultural industry in general. Sometimes markets are not well defined or don't exist but taking a fundamental look at problems is fascinating. This information is hard to come by and people like yourself can help.

The major pain point is a simple one: we have a cheap-food-policy in place in the US to keep revolution at bay. I have many friends dumping hundreds of gallons of raw milk daily because that's all the state will allow them to do with it. It would be fantastic if farmers could once again post a profit by charging consumers true cost of production.

It’s simple, really. As with most other problems, austerity measures are probably the way to go

Re: Organic and regenerative agriculture are revitalizing rural Montana economies

#275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article. > They also lease land to neighboring ranchers, whose grazing cattle aerate the soil with their hooves and add organic matter and nutrients via manure. Meat can and should be a part of regenerative ag. I recently visited a family friend's place/farm. A year ago, the soil was the typical cracked dry light tan clay ground that I have in my yard. It's quite typical in Oregon. This time, the soil was a…

I do work at a farm and around farms that use regenerative grazing. It works great. However as a vegan my hope is that we eventually let animals graze and simply do not kill and consume them. One could argue “the meat is there” but that meat is beings with a heart and a mind. When I see the grazing animals with their babies in toe, I think about how they will be separated and the pain the mothers will go through. We…

My family and I raise all of our own meat and have for many generations going back as long as anyone remembers. I suppose as all things it depends on the specific character and personality of the animal. Many mamas I know of goat, pig, bird species want nothing to do with their babies once they quickly get them taught how to graze and finally off their teats. Others grow attached to their kids and definitely go through separation anxiety if they're separated (don't think it's any easier for your parents once you freely leave the home nest). None the less, I and many of my farming friends (certainly not all) do not treat the animals or plants as property. We treat them as good friends. In fact, they are my best friends, as I spend more time with them than I do anyone else. They live good long lives on high quality soil/pasture/hay/rain water, and eventually we eat them. I don't feel regret or pain at this, though I do miss them as I would all my family members or friends that have passed. I only feel joy and the deepest appreciation, that my best friends gave their lives so my family can live theirs. I feel the same way about all the plants I grow and kill, just so we're clear. I think it's about time we stopped pretending that plants are "lesser" than human or other animal intellectually. It's a false premise.

Re: Organic and regenerative agriculture are revitalizing rural Montana economies

#276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For context, the "almost no crops" that are irrigated comprises about fifty-five million acres, a little over 7% of cropland & pastures. Removing pastures from this data is difficult, but since we're only looking at three hundred million acres primary cropland in the US, we can confidently approximate between a tenth and a sixth of primary crops are irrigated. 1 - https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports…

Do you know if things like sprinklers count as irrigation? I grew up spending a lot of time in Delaware which is tons of farmland, and I remember seeing lots of weird watering devices and sprinklers.

Yes, they absolutely do.

https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2017/june/understanding...

Re: Organic and regenerative agriculture are revitalizing rural Montana economies

#277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do work at a farm and around farms that use regenerative grazing. It works great. However as a vegan my hope is that we eventually let animals graze and simply do not kill and consume them. One could argue “the meat is there” but that meat is beings with a heart and a mind. When I see the grazing animals with their babies in toe, I think about how they will be separated and the pain the mothers will go through. We…

Thanks for sharing this sentiment, vegetarian here who's been trying to read what I can about ecosystem restoration and such and it's really led to more balanced view around animals/meat consumption. From your experience is it possible (in a farm context of a fixed amount of land) to just let the larger animals graze in such a way that they can live their natural lifespan? or are there concerns of species overpopulat…

No, it's not possible (rather it's possible but not desirable), nor is it natural. The natural thing for ruminants (and humans for that matter) to do, is wander freely from place to place with no limits or boundaries, allowing vegetation to get eaten down (or be left alone) by succeeding populations of all sorts of animals, insects, microbes, etc. Then maybe them coming back through the same spot 8-36 months later, etc.etc.etc. Unfortunately, humans have chosen to abandon this nomadic lifestyle. I think ultimately this is the root cause of our climate crisis, but obviously not one that we will ever be inclined to address.

Many of my dairy animals live through their long natural lifespans; it hurts to see my 14 year old best friend (usually the matriarch of the herd) get torn apart by a pack of coyotes though, or suffer other disease or mechanical injury as a result of old age and bad luck. However, on a large plot of land (say 60-100 acres+) that is not managed, they will surely run out of nutritionally dense foods to eat, as they will freely pick and choose certain stands of certain forbs or grasses, and let others lie dormant (these ultimately going to forest). The result is the highly nutritious choice foods get eaten to death, forest slowly sprouts everywhere else, and animal health suffers as a result. Now, if you had a large mixed herd, it becomes a possibility (think cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, other fowl all living together). Now, if you can take that same large plot of land, and that same mixed herd of various animals and preferably plants, insects, and fungus, and rotationaly graze in much smaller paddocks, you can make magic happen, assuming your soil was dense enough in minerals to keep the animals happy and healthy on pasture alone (unlikely in many parts of the world without mineralizing the soil first).

Re: Organic and regenerative agriculture are revitalizing rural Montana economies

#278
post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lentils (Lens culinaris Medik.) are produced on over 1.5 million acres throughout the world. They are primarily used for domestic consumption in casseroles, salads, soups and stews. Lentils provide an excellent source of protein (20 to 35 percent), but are limited in the sulphur-containing amino acids methionine and cystine. However, consumption of lentils with cereals provides a balanced diet high in fiber, protei…

> Growing lentils is a great idea, but the developed and developing worlds' palates also need to also change course toward consuming less climate-damaging foods like meat and more lentils, chickpeas, and other pulses. Forget about the developing world. This is all about the developed world. You are to blame. Most of the pollution is by the US and Europe, regardless of whether it happens at home or as pollution outsou…

If you're using a computer of some kind to type this message on a message board, surely you recognize that you too are to blame.

Re: Organic and regenerative agriculture are revitalizing rural Montana economies

#279

Organic and regenerative ag are built on the assumption that crops must be grown in open air soil. The reality is that crops can be grown in open air soil and, if they are, regenerative ag in particular is significantly better for soil longevity. That said it is not necessarily better to produce all crops in low density, high volatility, season dependent environments. Some material % of crops can move to more intelli…

I hope you realize that high yields are the problem, not the solution.

Re: Organic and regenerative agriculture are revitalizing rural Montana economies

#280

Emily Wolfe here, I’m the person who wrote this story. As I plan the second story in the series, which will be about new markets related to organic and regenerative, I’m curious to know a couple of things: -isn’t this a tech/VC blog? How is it that so many of you are so interested in and knowledgeable about agriculture? -what about this story made you want to discuss it here? Looking forward to learning more!

ok great. Makes sense. And people have definitely moved to Montana during the pandemic! Another q: What new markets in this space are interesting to you?

In this talk from 2017, around 1h30m in, he says that he hasn't yet found a way to make no-till organic work in terms of weed prevention. But, he said he was close to figuring it out. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uUmIdq0D6-A

Has any progress been made since? Is this an area where technology could help (eg robotic precision weeding machines)?

Disclaimer that I have yet to read your article so it may already be covered.

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