5 ms·
For farmers, yes, yield is the only goal. All of those things you mentioned are intangible at this point and are not incentivized. We need to restructure the i
by kickout 5y ago
For farmers, yes, yield is the only goal.
All of those things you mentioned are intangible at this point and are not incentivized. We need to restructure the incentives around farming away from a commodity perspective (yield) and more around quality (sustainability and all that good stuff).
I often say, don't make farmers out to be the bad guys anymore than airplanes, cars, ihpones, etc. that similarly don't price in externalities.
- tspike 5y agoI'm a small-scale farmer. Yield is a secondary goal. Primary goals for me are the health of my land, the quality of life for my animals, and the ability to provide for my family.
- kickout 5y agoCorrect, and not to sound too obtuse, but your production 'doesn't really matter' in a supply chain sense. Most agriculture production comes from highly scaled, large operations. My goal is to accept this fact, and try to bring those sustainability qualities to the big guys instead of chopping the big guys up in 1,000 smaller players that _would_ care.
- BurningFrog 5y agoFor a farmer, at least those who own the farmland, the sustainability of their land is far more important than the yield this year.
- nickff 5y ago>" For a farmer, at least those who own the farmland, the sustainability of their land is far more important than the yield this year." Sustainability only matters if they can make the mortgage payments this year.
- kickout 5y agoAs another comment stated, short term and long term goals need to be balanced. Unfortunately, the margins in ag (USA) are razor thin, so it is difficult (not impossible) to adapt sustainable practices while maintaining top yields. Many sustainable practices require a learning curve and there is a high risk of losing yield if not done correctly. I think many farmers and landowners _want_ to be sustainable, but the current state of economics makes it challenging except for the top x% of producers.
- BurningFrog 5y agoEven if this is true, which I doubt, those marginal farms will soon be bankrupt, and their lands will be taken over by someone with the means to plan long term. Short sighted practices only remain in the short run.
- kickout 5y agoI'm confused. You doubt implementing sustainable practices is difficult or that it doesn't affect the profitability of farmers? I assure you, both are true. Those farmers survive b/c they are basically using unsustainable practices and transforming natural resources (soil fertility) into cash at the _expense_ of sustainability. There is basically no market for sustainable practices other than some small public relations gimmicks. People/companies are trying things, but the scale agriculture operates it makes the problem exceptionally challenging.
- MomoXenosaga 5y agoFarmers are reluctant to change their ways though.
- kickout 5y agoThey are because the risk is so high. This isn't tech and the margins aren't as high as tech. Want to tinker with the tried-and-true methods on turning profit in farming, great: Whoops, I ran into $UNFORESEEN_VARAIBLE and it cost me a ton of money. Now I lost the farm or can't get a bank to give me an operating loan because they don't agree with my practices. There is plenty of room to innovate in agriculture but _how_ to do it (successfully) is vastly different than innovating in tech, manufacturing, pedagogy, etc.