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Joined: Tue Apr 18, 2006 2:09 pm Posts: 1672 Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
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welcome. Watch what is done in Saskatchewan because of all the farmers of the world, Saskatchewan farmers get the lowest income per acre for their crops after shipping costs. Bad weather is a given sometime within each handful of years so drought and flood and hail and extreme winds and frost and pests... all are expected and prepared for but not with insurance or chemicals or government bailouts. Look at zero-til farming for not disturbing the soil... it prevents moisture loss but with a layer of organic materials building up, it also is able to absorb more water to prevent flood damage. Microorganisms and their microecology can thrive in these situations and prevent many pest problems and weeds are much less a problem so pesticides are used less. Another technology making big changes is GPS. The tractors can be equipped with computers and controls to grow crops strategically and only spray chemicals or add fertilizer in the specific parts of the field that need it. Even crops are planted at different times in the same field based on soil humidity so they all ripen at the same time and can be harvested in a single pass (instead of swathing first) which again avoids a lot of potential weather problems. I could write a thick book on special new farming technology that was developed in the Canadian prairies or used most often there due to it's advantages for lowering weather risks and expenses. For an example of price disparity, Saskatchewan farmers on average (several years ago) made $67/acre per year but at the coasts (east and west) in the same country, farmers averaged a little over $1000/acre per year.
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