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Why do you assume this? Maybe you just sit in your mom's basement reading the internet, but my life-long ambition has been farming, i just program computers fo

Why do you assume this? Maybe you just sit in your mom's basement reading the internet, but my life-long ambition has been farming, i just program computers for the side money. I lease some of my land near Davis to an almond producer, so I happen to know quite a bit about this topic.

vinhboy 14y ago
You own land near Davis? How is that as an investment/hobby? I really want to buy land in Davis too -- someday.
- thrownaway2424 14y ago
  The economics of it are totally driven by real-estate bubbles, unfortunately. As a satisfying hobby/project, it's great.
robomartin 14y ago
My mom says to tell you "Pretty please, be nice". Help me understand please. How does owning land and leasing it to an almond farmer result in knowing quite a bit about this problem? I'll grant you that you might be seeing bees die and the effect this might have on crops. Not sure that helps understand the problem. Are you a biologist? Perhaps a chemist? Virologist? Have you devoted decades to researching bee biology? Have you performed controlled studies on your land or lab to isolate potential vectors, contagions, chemicals and observe their effects over a number of populations and over time? Have you published any research papers based on your work? Not taking sides other than to say that this is a complex problem that only true science can resolve. You could stop all insecticides and chemical treatments for a few years and see what happens. No need for a PhD on that one, but you have to be willing to make huge sacrifices in terms of crop yields.
- deleted 14y ago
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- anigbrowl 14y ago
  Almond-growing depends heavily on bee pollination, so people farming that particular crop are at the sharp end of this problem. Also, UC Davis is academic ground central for research into this problem, and the university researchers have been working closely with farmers in the area for the last few years. I understand and share your desire for scientific rigor in this discussion, but don't be a prick about it.

vinhboy 14y ago

You own land near Davis? How is that as an investment/hobby? I really want to buy land in Davis too -- someday.

thrownaway2424 14y ago
The economics of it are totally driven by real-estate bubbles, unfortunately. As a satisfying hobby/project, it's great.

robomartin 14y ago

My mom says to tell you "Pretty please, be nice". Help me understand please. How does owning land and leasing it to an almond farmer result in knowing quite a bit about this problem? I'll grant you that you might be seeing bees die and the effect this might have on crops. Not sure that helps understand the problem. Are you a biologist? Perhaps a chemist? Virologist? Have you devoted decades to researching bee biology? Have you performed controlled studies on your land or lab to isolate potential vectors, contagions, chemicals and observe their effects over a number of populations and over time? Have you published any research papers based on your work? Not taking sides other than to say that this is a complex problem that only true science can resolve. You could stop all insecticides and chemical treatments for a few years and see what happens. No need for a PhD on that one, but you have to be willing to make huge sacrifices in terms of crop yields.

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
anigbrowl 14y ago
Almond-growing depends heavily on bee pollination, so people farming that particular crop are at the sharp end of this problem. Also, UC Davis is academic ground central for research into this problem, and the university researchers have been working closely with farmers in the area for the last few years. I understand and share your desire for scientific rigor in this discussion, but don't be a prick about it.