So. I live in the west where things are vastly different. The waste is much worse in most ways. Except, perhaps, where grazing is concerned. There are a few really good ranchers that treat their land and leased land as if they were inhabited by the buffalo still. Keep the herd mostly moving and improve the land at the same time.
Some where near 100% of the hay in the southwest is alfalfa. Irrigated alfalfa. Specifically for me, Colorado River water. The Colorado has a host of problems related to too many people dependent on too little water, and alfalfa contributes mightily to that.
There are multiple monstrous hay operations owned by foreign nationals or in a couple of cases foreign governments that use Colorado River water to grow hay entirely for export. So, in effect, we are using our most precious and pressing commodity to subsidize protein and dairy production in foreign countries. Incredibly unsustainable.
Some of the hay production could be handled much differently today. Electric mowers and balers would be quite easy to build, and one thing the southwest has in abundance is sunshine. A lot could be done to maximize our current practices.
All in all a really good article. Well thought and written. Thank you for all your effort.
I began to include irrigated alfalfa into the article, but I found I really don't know much about it, aside from driving by some in west Texas a few years back. Irrigated crops, whether grain or forage, in my opinion is an egregious waste of resources all around. There is also apparently a great deal of fertilizer involved in the growing of alfalfa for sale, because it tends to strip a lot of minerals out of the soil.
I had not considered electric mowers or balers, but I do think that automation is going to take over the mechanical part of agriculture in the immediate future anyway, so that's a logical progression anyhow.
Thank you for the praise. I hope to write more, as I have a little more time on my hands.
Alfalfa is actually a legume so it fixes nitrogen and essentially does not deplete the soil at all. Micro nutrients only. But it takes a lot of water.
It's going to take a major cultural shift to slow up irrigated farming. Such a high percentage of commercial ag is irrigated.
I believe alfalfa pulls off a lot of potassium, if I recall my HS agronomy class correctly. Also, even though it's a legume, most farmers apply a bit of nitrogen between cutting to push growth for swift recutting (at least around here, though it's not irrigated here).
Sadly the issues with commercial ag won't be resolved until its no longer (financially) advantageous to act so destructively.
Thats some good info. Thanks