Land Atlas – soil, farmability, and crop analysis for land listings • Hacker News Board

Re: Land Atlas – soil, farmability, and crop analysis for land listings

#21

Post by mannanj » Mon, Jul 20, 2026, 2:04 PM UTC

jeffbee wrote: post #13

mannanj wrote: post #11

Weird question - is there any talks or attempts at limiting land owner usage of their soil for " " or is this mostly folklore or conspiracy talk? I want to buy land some day and want to avoid the hotspots where my freedom of my property is curtailed in this way. And maybe the soil use isn't specifically limited, but other proxies are in effect: I think of (a) water use, (b) spread of patented seed observed and busine…

Yeah those are pretty weird questions. I suggest you may have been spending too much time online. If you ever come across someone marketing property as the ultimate in Libertarian dirt, I would carefully investigate what liberties have been taken with it prior (dumping out New Jersey sewage trains, for example).

I'm disappointed you focus on weirdness and whats normal, and respond in a dismissive tone from there and then expect that I would suddenly engage your hostility and bad faith with respect.

You have disrespected me and I am not open to engaging with you further. Please read the hacker news rules as well, you have violated them.

Re: Land Atlas – soil, farmability, and crop analysis for land listings

#22

Post by mannanj » Mon, Jul 20, 2026, 2:09 PM UTC

eth0up wrote: post #15

mannanj wrote: post #11

Weird question - is there any talks or attempts at limiting land owner usage of their soil for " " or is this mostly folklore or conspiracy talk? I want to buy land some day and want to avoid the hotspots where my freedom of my property is curtailed in this way. And maybe the soil use isn't specifically limited, but other proxies are in effect: I think of (a) water use, (b) spread of patented seed observed and busine…

Just slipping in to encourage you to ignore the vacuous comment. I am aware of all the things you alluded to. Land restrictions can be surprisingly strange. I mean, I know geriatric people who've been fined and endured attempts by the city/county to steal their property because their grass and trees were too unwieldy, requiring class-action level intervention to save them. The patented seed has a well documented prec…

Thank you for sharing all that, and your experience. I didn't know sludge was an issue, and that's valuable for me to remember that it can be tested for! In some of my past I lived on eco villages and sustainable cooperative farmland housing, and we had a regenerative farming process going - since they were on remote regions like Hawaii big island or Oregon sludge likely wasn't used though I know now to check wherever I go next.

> 1. (bio-solids, along with everything ever flushed down a toilet or run down a sewer or drain, and then some)

Ah yes so the sludge or at least the other undesirables ends up on the land even without the owner intentionally using it there?

I think from our convo maybe the options in popular states or counties are limited or corrupted and that leaves a few. I wonder if non-USA areas are just simply better for many of the reasons mentioned.

Good chatting my friend.

Re: Land Atlas – soil, farmability, and crop analysis for land listings

#23

Post by eth0up » Mon, Jul 20, 2026, 4:05 PM UTC

mannanj wrote: post #22

eth0up wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just slipping in to encourage you to ignore the vacuous comment. I am aware of all the things you alluded to. Land restrictions can be surprisingly strange. I mean, I know geriatric people who've been fined and endured attempts by the city/county to steal their property because their grass and trees were too unwieldy, requiring class-action level intervention to save them. The patented seed has a well documented prec…

Thank you for sharing all that, and your experience. I didn't know sludge was an issue, and that's valuable for me to remember that it can be tested for! In some of my past I lived on eco villages and sustainable cooperative farmland housing, and we had a regenerative farming process going - since they were on remote regions like Hawaii big island or Oregon sludge likely wasn't used though I know now to check whereve…

Not exactly. Sludge(®) is the product of that. It is sprayed on land, often through coercion (subsidies) and marketed as beneficial. It's waste capitalism.

I think it could be fine, for strictly industrial purposes, eg lumber. But not indiscriminately.

Re: Land Atlas – soil, farmability, and crop analysis for land listings

#24

Post by mannanj » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 5:03 PM UTC

eth0up wrote: post #23

mannanj wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for sharing all that, and your experience. I didn't know sludge was an issue, and that's valuable for me to remember that it can be tested for! In some of my past I lived on eco villages and sustainable cooperative farmland housing, and we had a regenerative farming process going - since they were on remote regions like Hawaii big island or Oregon sludge likely wasn't used though I know now to check whereve…

Not exactly. Sludge(®) is the product of that. It is sprayed on land, often through coercion (subsidies) and marketed as beneficial. It's waste capitalism. I think it could be fine, for strictly industrial purposes, eg lumber. But not indiscriminately.

Right. when you say waste capitalism, I hear that it's really a hostile form of extractive, incredibly selfish, self-serving philosophy that takes more than is sustainable.

When I believe sustainable practices can go farther that waste capitalism, and that we could feed most people on earth with that change, I do feel anger and frustration.

Re: Land Atlas – soil, farmability, and crop analysis for land listings

#25

Post by eth0up » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 7:59 PM UTC

mannanj wrote: post #24

eth0up wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not exactly. Sludge(®) is the product of that. It is sprayed on land, often through coercion (subsidies) and marketed as beneficial. It's waste capitalism. I think it could be fine, for strictly industrial purposes, eg lumber. But not indiscriminately.

Right. when you say waste capitalism, I hear that it's really a hostile form of extractive, incredibly selfish, self-serving philosophy that takes more than is sustainable. When I believe sustainable practices can go farther that waste capitalism, and that we could feed most people on earth with that change, I do feel anger and frustration.

Waste management has a problem. What do they do with the final product? They asked that question and figured out how to turn an expense into a profit. But instead of doing so in a way that would be sustainable long-term, they bought their way through legislation and got authorization to dump it everywhere anyone couldn't fend it off. Cow pastures being one example. Farmers, watching their cattle chew on condoms, literally.

As I said, they could have used it in other, less hostile ways, but corruption is default in the US.

Things are far worse than we are allowed to openly identify. Mentioning it can make enemies. But the corruption is everywhere, as more of a rule than exception.

Re: Land Atlas – soil, farmability, and crop analysis for land listings

#26

Post by mannanj » Sun, Jul 26, 2026, 1:10 AM UTC

eth0up wrote: post #25

mannanj wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. when you say waste capitalism, I hear that it's really a hostile form of extractive, incredibly selfish, self-serving philosophy that takes more than is sustainable. When I believe sustainable practices can go farther that waste capitalism, and that we could feed most people on earth with that change, I do feel anger and frustration.

Waste management has a problem. What do they do with the final product? They asked that question and figured out how to turn an expense into a profit. But instead of doing so in a way that would be sustainable long-term, they bought their way through legislation and got authorization to dump it everywhere anyone couldn't fend it off. Cow pastures being one example. Farmers, watching their cattle chew on condoms, lite…

Ever heard of the documentary, "Everything is a rich man's trick?" it's more like some really rich people can trick a lot of other people. And then the next layer down of rich people, can perpetuate the same until you get to the lower rung of people who get it the worst.

It's just a layer of hierarchical nasty, horrible, aggressive people who have made rules for others for their own benefit but when they get caught they cause disarray, havoc, chaos and distraction to skirt the rules and start over when attention has moved on.