RE: The Right to Burn vs the Right to Breathe

["JS M" <jbiggs50@hotmail.com>]

Yeah, but in a free-market economy, isn't it the savvy, entreprenuerial 
farmer that jumps into new markets?  Is there some kind of physical or 
logistical reason why the Palouse grows wheat/barley/lentils?  I've been on 
a couple tours given by the local conservation districts and haven't seen 
any large scale movement towards other crops.  Granted, there are a few 
parcels growing poplars, or starting nut orchards, but I've heard that a 45% 
survival rate for trees is pretty good around here.  I guess why I'm asking 
is because I see an inordinate dependence on three or four crops.  I just 
can't believe that's good business.
jm
(slow day for you, too?)

>From: "Stephen Cooke" <scooke@uidaho.edu>
>Reply-To: <scooke@uidaho.edu>
>To: "JS M" <jbiggs50@hotmail.com>
>CC: "Vision2020 Listserver" <vision2020@moscow.com>
>Subject: RE: The Right to Burn vs the Right to Breathe
>Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 13:18:07 -0700
>
>The commodity prices and the government price supports makes wheat the best
>bet in this area. Part of the benefit of the new farm bill (1996) was to
>move away from price supports that reinforce monoculture
>  (wheat-barley-pea/lentils) or (wheat-peas/lentils) actually]. The full
>force of the farm bill has not kicked in because of 'transition payments'
>that maintain the status quo. Low wheat prices are raising the demand for
>price support like before. Time will tell.
>
>Steve
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: JS M [mailto:jbiggs50@hotmail.com]
>Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 1999 12:49 PM
>To: kmhowe@moscow.com
>Cc: vision2020@moscow.com
>Subject: Re: The Right to Burn vs the Right to Breathe
>
>The silt/loam of the Palouse was deposited many moons ago by wind, thus the
>sand-dune-like structure of the rolling hills.  Because of its composition,
>it tends to fly away airborne when it is disced (plowed).  The way I
>understand it, in order to remove stubble from the fields, the farmers have
>devised a method which doesn't disturb the top soil.  Soil erosion is a 
>huge
>problem in the American west.  However, maybe a better question is why is
>mono-culture agriculture the prevelant activity in the Palouse?  Granted,
>it's dry land farming (at least until someone builds a pump station at the
>Snake River), but surely there must be other crops that could be grown that
>don't involve stripping the top soil every year.  The guys around here are
>living and dying by the price of wheat and lentils.  Maybe a little
>diversity would be possible?  I know there are some agricultural economists
>out there in vision2020 land - how 'bout it?
>jm
>
> >From: "Keith and Margaret Howe" <kmhowe@moscow.com>
> >
> >Perhaps someone can elighten me as to what field burning can accomplish
> >that decent agricultural management cannot? (What about crop rotation or
> >planned usage? What, actually, are farmers burning that cannot be used
> >otherwise?) Just curious, since I really don't know what makes burning an
> >important aspect of annual farming...
> >
> >  - Keith Howe
> >
>
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