Trudeau 2030

[Blaithin]

How can a farmer not want to see nature prosper?

Well.... I think more people like the idea of helping nature prosper then the execution. Or as long as nature can prosper within their ROI and management decisions. It’s been my observation that very few actually consider nature in their decisions.

They may think along the lines of “how damaging will this be” but they seem to rarely think “how beneficial could this be”. And even those thoughts have their limits.

Had a Twitter discussion earlier this year when someone in the Special Areas thought the rain this year proved they could be a very productive area and irrigation would be a good idea for out there. I didn’t like the idea, that would make the Native Prairie there extremely vulnerable to break up. I was told there’s “lots of it” and “not everyone would break it up” and “it’s not a concern” (because there’s still lots of Native Prairie left in areas that can support good crop production?)

Temperate Grasslands are considered to be the most endangered ecosystem on Earth. Ahead of even the Rainforest and Coral Reefs.

Does anyone think about that when they buy a new quarter and go out and break it up?

[jazz]

Does anyone think about that when they buy a new quarter and go out and break it up?

Very little new land is being broken up. Everything not broken in Canada is now either marginal or too far north. They can protect all the boreal forest and mountain climes all they want. Knock yourself out.

Its when that policy stretches into personal land ownership is the slipper slope. The article says lands that have logging operations and oil and gas. Last time I check a lot of oil and gas is on farmers land.

Maybe they should protect the urban sprawl around vancouver and Toronto where we are stuffing in an extra million people a year.

If land is going to be set aside for whatever reason thats a decision canadians get to make, not the UN.

[foragefarmer]

Enjoy seeing bush on some of our quarters, it is going to stay as is, had more than enough of picking sticks and stones. Good wood is going to be worth a lot of money, may have to do a little selective harvesting one day.


This is for you Blaithin, just a follow of what you had mentioned regarding native grasslands.

The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve is located in southeastern Manitoba near Gardenton and Vita, this is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Steinbach, Manitoba. It is one of the last remaining stands of tallgrass prairie in Manitoba and is part of the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland conservation area in Manitoba and Minnesota.

[Blaithin]

Maybe where you are very little is being broken.

Go where there’s still stuff to break and there’s lots being done. Especially the last couple of years.

Theres a map of Alberta, can’t remember who put it out though, that showed quarters of Native left. It’s sad how little is left, but even more so that you can drive and find land that has been broke up since the data was compiled.

All I can find is this one http://www.albertapcf.org/native-prairie-inventories/npvi from 1991-1993 however the one I seen was a provincial one. Either way you’re not going to go find the same ratio in that area now.

[the big wheel]

Every stick standing is being taken out here except on my fields. it’s bad then guys complain their canola blew 20 miles down the road. Lol

[TASFarms]

After hearing the warnings and disastrous predictions of the Agenda 2030, and worrying what it means to me, I took the time to read it today. I think you all should if you havent already. Really not that scary or life altering for any of us. Just a bunch of goals that for the most part sound pretty good. The threats of taking your land away, communist governments, etc just aren't there. Take a breath and relax. The goals are reducing poverty (defined as living on $1.75 or less per day), giving women equal opportunity, opportunity for everyone of education, responsible use of the oceans. (17 main goals) all reasonable to me and remember they are goals not binding agreements.


Only goals that I can see being sensitive on agriville is one about addressing climate change and one that addresses sustainable land usage that would be against land clearing. Couple thoughts to ponder here, climate change isnt going away, the cause and solutions are debatable but there are areas of the world that will need some help. As for clearing land,I don't know what it's like in some of your areas, here it was all done well before my time, if it ain't cleared it's because it's too wet or too rocky. But overall what is better for ag prices and your profitability...have a few more billion acres of arable farmland in the world or leave the back 40 acres of bush for the wildlife? Remember there is lots of productive land in better climates than we have if they just decide to use it.

Regardless before you panic and repost wrong info go read the document.

What about the federal liberals and their insane debt burden they are piling on all Canadian’s. They are slowly and surely stealing your wealth.

[Blaithin]

Not that I don’t like bush being kept. Keep lots of bush! And the Potholes. Stop draining them to seed through.

But temperate grasslands have very little bush. It’s grass and some shrubs here and there. Maybe this is part of why it’s so vulnerable, it seems empty. How many times in life have people heard “I prefer the mountains because there’s things to see” Now don’t get me wrong, I love the mountains, but most times I’ll see way more walking through the prairie.

So something that is seen as empty is easier to transition to a use. You aren’t destroying that birds house or food source. You aren’t taking away shelter for those small mammals. You aren’t killing those endangered snails. Except... you are.

It’s said that when a smaller area is considered, grasslands are more diverse than rainforests. If you were to take an acre of grassland and an acre of rainforest, the grassland could easily have more biodiversity. Just because it’s not as visible doesn’t mean an empty looking grassland isn’t full of life.

It’s almost amazing how much people don’t know about the ecosystem we live and farm in.

Did anyone know that Rough Fescue is one of the only grass species that holds it nutrients above ground once it goes dormant, when most other species retract their nutrition back into their root system. This is why the Bison would winter along the foothills, the grazing was more nutritious. Yet rough fescue, and northern rough fescue, are in decline because they aren’t as “productive” as planting tame grasses (which aren’t usually as drought tolerant and are similar to grazing straw when left standing through winter)

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Not that I don’t like bush being kept. Keep lots of bush!

well now we know all about your personal grooming habits, and your underwear(or lack thereof). What next?

[Blaithin]

well now we know all about your personal grooming habits, and your underwear(or lack thereof). What next?

What’s left?

[the big wheel]

Has anyone seen my chicken?................
Oh shit wrong thead *** fogged up glasses anyway. Sorry.

[Blaithin]

Has anyone seen my chicken?................
Oh shit wrong thead *** fogged up glasses anyway. Sorry.

One of mine is already on this thread

[jazz]

Blaithin when Mother Nature took back low spots here in 2014 guess what grew there? Supercharged 5 ft high dock weed and 8ft cat tails. That led to a bunch of extra sprayer passes to keep it under control and then edges worked with a disc.

Guys are putting down 200lbs of N. that doesn't make for great adjacent wetland areas. Doubt if the ducks and moose even liked it. They sure enjoyed my canola field though.

[Blaithin]

Blaithin when Mother Nature took back low spots here in 2014 guess what grew there? Supercharged 5 ft high dock weed and 8ft cat tails. That led to a bunch of extra sprayer passes to keep it under control and then edges worked with a disc.

Guys are putting down 200lbs of N. that doesn't make for great adjacent wetland areas. Doubt if the ducks and moose even liked it. They sure enjoyed my canola field though.

Do you think Mother Nature just bounces back to what she was before, as soon as a place isn’t farmed? There’s a reason they say once broke up, Native Prairie is gone forever (although I’m not convinced it’s gone forever. Just for a very, very long time before it can build itself back to being close to what it was)

If you were to stop farming an acre somewhere as a test, first it’s going to grow the best crop of “weeds” you could imagine. Thistle, pigweed, burdock, dandelion, sweet clover... these are plants that do best in unbalanced and poorly structured soils. They are the scouts that go behind enemy lines to prepare the place for the settlers. As the soil gains quality then more and more other plants will start to appear until eventually you’ll have a grassy acre again. It’s a process that takes years.

Also, if you look into programs like ALUS, there are recommended buffer zones to protect riparian areas from things like that 200 lbs of N. Ducks won’t pay for buffers but ALUS will. But it’s hard to convince farmers to keep the potholes themselves out of use in dry years let alone another 30-50’ out from the potholes. And then once they use them they’re battling weeds... where if they’d just left them alone in the first place they’d have functioning riparian habitats - and in many cases natural swales - in their fields. Instead they have weeds, runoff and mud bogs.

Hind site and all that.

Few farmers are willing to do it because when they talk, it’s those acres around riparian areas that are the only acres keeping them going. There’s no way they could validate owning that land and not trying to get a crop off it. Even when it takes more inputs and manpower (and even equipment damage) to keep in producing.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

There is a quarter near here which was taken out of production 25 or more years agoby a conservation group to protect the sensitive springs within. It was very productive farmland, great deep black mellow soil. After all these years it is still mostly thistles, and a few random trees that they have been planting.

[Blaithin]

Crop farming really damages things.

Really even intercropping, cover cropping and most, if not all, crop rotations, do little to mitigate the damage.

It’s really unfortunate.

You can think on, and implement, different grazing techniques with livestock to improve that land but how can someone improve cropping that much. It’s hard. Personally I’d love to see more livestock used in crop rotations but how much would that really fix?