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It's completely absurd that we are having farmer's destroy their produce at the same time that we have massive food shortages. The products being destroyed her

by vanniv 7y ago

It's completely absurd that we are having farmer's destroy their produce at the same time that we have massive food shortages. The products being destroyed here are the very same ones that you can't buy at any price.

jelliclesfarm 7y ago
This is a good example of how Ag supply chains fail because when they work, they work well..when they fail, they fail spectacularly. We are dealing with perishables. The supply chain insecurity and instability is the reason I advocate for local food and smaller farms to take care of food. Another interesting point is that all the food destroyed is classified as commodities or grown at commodity scale. I am a proponent of automation of Ag in small acreages for local food supply. Currently only commoditization of Ag get Agtech investment $$. I guess that is necessary, but imo, Agtech for food supply and localization of short supply chains hasn’t even started attracting investment ..esp for automation. We are going to need small local farms and because no one is going to be willing to drag a plough, we are going to need compact farm bots to automate most of labour and consumer sized Agtech to deliver food to be self sufficient. When supply chains are tight and taut, there won’t be any wastage.
jelliclesfarm 7y ago
I also spoke to the onion farmer, Shay. He will only has part of his labour force coming from Mexico this season. He has a mere 4000 acres. That’s considered a small farm. He is going to need automation. Another small acreage farmer in California has put out an appeal for funds to fight the legal battle for his worker who tried to cross the border twice and couldn’t..and got caught the third time. I have so many other stories of small and big farmers growing food having to deal with labour. They are partly to blame for not demanding automation. But the biggest blame rests with those supplying consumers and getting them used to low prices for food. Entire Ag rests on exploitation of low wage earning labour. Almost all of it is immigrant/migrant labour..only those who are desparate for those jobs. Automation of small and local food farms is a matter of national security and food security. Not being able to farm close to population hubs is also largely due to high density cities. Half land area must be set aside for farm and open spaces. It’s ok to be high density but only if there is sufficient infrastructure, connectivity and sustainability..and after covid, food security. A variety of farms including urban, rooftop, indoor, hydroponic, orchards and fields should be able to cover 40-50% of food crops. Right now all that is being imported or are part of a cold chain. Or involves trucking or shipping from South America.Grains, oil, fiber, meat, dairy, spices etc are a whole different kind of farming. It’s time to automate small acreage farms. I have been trying to make it happen for 5+ years. I have heard every excuse why it isn’t necessary. Every one of them is now moot.
- vanniv 7y ago
  15-20% of Americans have lost their jobs in the last three weeks. We don't need to import illegal labor -- there are plenty of folks who would love to be able to earn a living again. And since working in farming would qualify as "essential" they could get special dispensation from the government permitting them to leave their houses. (All according to plan, I'm sure)
  - jelliclesfarm 7y ago
    The 15-20 % Americans who lost their jobs will not be able to do the jobs that Ag labour has been doing in the fields. This is exactly when we need automation so anyone can work in the ag field. The nature of ‘work’ and employment as we know it will changed completely. The world has changed. We have to redefine everything. Including ‘work’

by vanniv 7y ago

jelliclesfarm 7y ago

This is a good example of how Ag supply chains fail because when they work, they work well..when they fail, they fail spectacularly. We are dealing with perishables. The supply chain insecurity and instability is the reason I advocate for local food and smaller farms to take care of food. Another interesting point is that all the food destroyed is classified as commodities or grown at commodity scale. I am a proponent of automation of Ag in small acreages for local food supply. Currently only commoditization of Ag get Agtech investment $$. I guess that is necessary, but imo, Agtech for food supply and localization of short supply chains hasn’t even started attracting investment ..esp for automation. We are going to need small local farms and because no one is going to be willing to drag a plough, we are going to need compact farm bots to automate most of labour and consumer sized Agtech to deliver food to be self sufficient. When supply chains are tight and taut, there won’t be any wastage.

jelliclesfarm 7y ago

I also spoke to the onion farmer, Shay. He will only has part of his labour force coming from Mexico this season. He has a mere 4000 acres. That’s considered a small farm. He is going to need automation. Another small acreage farmer in California has put out an appeal for funds to fight the legal battle for his worker who tried to cross the border twice and couldn’t..and got caught the third time. I have so many other stories of small and big farmers growing food having to deal with labour. They are partly to blame for not demanding automation. But the biggest blame rests with those supplying consumers and getting them used to low prices for food. Entire Ag rests on exploitation of low wage earning labour. Almost all of it is immigrant/migrant labour..only those who are desparate for those jobs. Automation of small and local food farms is a matter of national security and food security. Not being able to farm close to population hubs is also largely due to high density cities. Half land area must be set aside for farm and open spaces. It’s ok to be high density but only if there is sufficient infrastructure, connectivity and sustainability..and after covid, food security. A variety of farms including urban, rooftop, indoor, hydroponic, orchards and fields should be able to cover 40-50% of food crops. Right now all that is being imported or are part of a cold chain. Or involves trucking or shipping from South America.Grains, oil, fiber, meat, dairy, spices etc are a whole different kind of farming. It’s time to automate small acreage farms. I have been trying to make it happen for 5+ years. I have heard every excuse why it isn’t necessary. Every one of them is now moot.

vanniv 7y ago
15-20% of Americans have lost their jobs in the last three weeks. We don't need to import illegal labor -- there are plenty of folks who would love to be able to earn a living again. And since working in farming would qualify as "essential" they could get special dispensation from the government permitting them to leave their houses. (All according to plan, I'm sure)
- jelliclesfarm 7y ago
  The 15-20 % Americans who lost their jobs will not be able to do the jobs that Ag labour has been doing in the fields. This is exactly when we need automation so anyone can work in the ag field. The nature of ‘work’ and employment as we know it will changed completely. The world has changed. We have to redefine everything. Including ‘work’