3 ms·
Owning property with a pond has it's own issues. In many of those farms run off can be detrimental. We have a 3/4 an acre pond and while we don't farm anywhere
by ganoushoreilly 3y ago
Owning property with a pond has it's own issues. In many of those farms run off can be detrimental. We have a 3/4 an acre pond and while we don't farm anywhere near it, the few springs that feed it all touch a lot of farm lands. So far we're lucky, but just a quarter mile down the road, our neighbors have a pond that won't sustain life, which we suspect is due to runoff from their crops.
There's also the issue of excess evaporation and creating unusable land. There's solutions out there but they're not all cut and dry with just placing ponds.
- candiddevmike 3y agoWould organic farming help here? Seems like there are studies [1] showing nitrate leaching is less with it. Probably reducing cattle/chicken counts too, as those shit pits are a big source of it. 1 - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167880920301493 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01678...
- ganoushoreilly 3y agoOh most definitely it would, but you run into trade offs with production / productivity. That's at least what most of my local farmer friends argue. We proactively add some good bacteria to our ponds monthly to reduce waste by products and things as well, so it's possible that they could fix some of the biome issues.
- markdown 3y agoThe problem is that organic farming can only feed 2 and a half families. It's not a feasible way to live unless you already have the privilege of wealth or alternate sources of income.
- coryrc 3y agoOrganic farming is typically done just like "conventional" farming but with pesticides derived from a plant instead of oil. Permaculture, OTOH, would make a difference. With robotics it may even become reasonable in cost.