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That's not how it works. Weeds don't somehow get into grains when they're collected. What they do is reduce yields of the crops we're actually interested in col
by hetman 8y ago
That's not how it works. Weeds don't somehow get into grains when they're collected. What they do is reduce yields of the crops we're actually interested in collecting. Lower yields for the same farming effort means higher prices. So what ultimately happens when the consumer sees two identical loaves of bread on the supermarket shelf and one is $2.50 while the other is $3.50?
- gowld 8y agoThe cost of grain input is essentially 0 (as a fraction of finished product sticker price). The cost is in baking and transportation. Corn is the cheapest product in USA.
- rockinghigh 8y agoIf productivity goes down you need more land to produce the same output.
- mustacheemperor 8y agoAgriculture has a relatively fixed supply and demand every cycle because of nature and basic human needs. It's not a matter of defects affecting the bottom line, it's a reduction of invaluable output. Because natural forces flex and largely define the output for a given season, anything that can increase it is critical. Efficient agriculture technology is the only reason the world didn't collapse a la Malthus. The best concept to replace chemicals in food production that I've seen is the use of UAVs or other robots to mechanically remove weeds and pests. Those tasks were done by humans for a long time, but we switched to chemical alternatives because human labor isn't practical for the scale of food production humanity demands.