3 ms·
Yields aren’t going to suddenly drop 75% simply because land is cheaper and less inputs are used.
by wbsss4412 5y ago
Yields aren’t going to suddenly drop 75% simply because land is cheaper and less inputs are used.
- bryanlarsen 5y agoOn my father-in-law's land a normal wheat crop is 50 bu/acre and the neighboring organic farm averages about 10. Even more relevantly, it wasn't long ago that 25 bu/acre was a good crop. But the price of wheat and the price of land have gone up a lot in the last 25 years, so farmers have responded by using a lot more inputs.
- wbsss4412 5y agoYou definitely know more about wheat farming than I do so I’ll defer to you on that. However, the graphic shows at that the principle reduction would be in rangeland, not crop land. Is any of that land suitable for growing wheat if it’s not longer being used for cattle?
- bryanlarsen 5y agoA good chunk of rangeland is quite arable, but in traditional cattle country most of it is marginal. If you're willing to destroy the marginal land and willing to accept a high risk of crop failure, then most if it can grow wheat. In other words, sort of but not really.