Folks, it's taken a few days to trickle down, but I'm seeing post after post after post in the ag community social media channels of massive issues impacting U.S. farmers and the U.S. ag economy from Trump's DOGE efforts, tariff wars and the USAID shutdown.
Here are a few:
*Cotton and grain growers are losing contracts to long-time Canadian buyers because, even with the tariff pause, Canadian buyers don't trust the stability of U.S. export commerce with Trump in office. Plus, Canadians are just flat-out pissed and avoiding U.S. made/produced goods, including farm products.
I understand that a lot of Farmers voted for Trump and had no idea the leopard eating face party was going to eat THEIR faces! 47 will hemorrhage MAGA supporters as they learn the hard way how 'gubmint' really works.
Folks, it's taken a few days to trickle down, but I'm seeing post after post after post in the ag community social media channels of massive issues impacting U.S. farmers and the U.S. ag economy from Trump's DOGE efforts, tariff wars and the USAID shutdown.
Here are a few:
*Cotton and grain growers are losing contracts to long-time Canadian buyers because, even with the tariff pause, Canadian buyers don't trust the stability of U.S. export commerce with Trump in office. Plus, Canadians are just flat-out pissed and avoiding U.S. made/produced goods, including farm products.
* Chuck Grassley, of all people, is pleading with Trump to exempt potash from any Canadian tariffs because U.S. potash (a major fertilizer in agriculture) mainly comes from Canada. Impending tariffs will shoot farmers' fertilizer prices sky-high.
* Corn and soybean farmers are upset because Trump cancelled all of Biden's Climate Smart grants that were supposed to help them offset their adoption of soil health improving new practices like no-till and cover cropping.
* USAID's cancellation cuts $2 billion straight out of U.S. farmer's pockets from the Food for Peace program which purchased rice, wheat, corn and soy from U.S. farmers and distributed them to hungry nations. In some states and for some crops, USAID was their primary buyer.
* USDA NRCS is cancelling conservation contracts and leaving farmers holding the bag. These are things like fence improvements and upgraded water lines that boost farmer efficiency while also conserving the environment. Plus, the way they work is the farmer has to do the work first, then once they are done, the NRCS reimburses them. So now farmers that have spent the money to do the work are being told the NRCS won't honor their contracts.
* California farmers are PISSED because his "turn on the taps" PR move did nothing to combat California wildfires and instead wasted 2 BILLION gallons of water being held in reservoirs for summer irrigation.
* U.S. crop farmers are freaked out over the trade wars since Canada, China and Mexico represent half - let me repeat that again, HALF, of all U.S. agricultural exports!
* Per Trump's freeze on financial contracts, the USDA is withholding funds for the Organic Market Development Grant program and the Transition to Organic Partnership Program, which typically go directly to organic farmers or to non-profits supporting organic farmers.
* The shutdown of USAID has been trickling down through multiple ag-focused agencies, including the Soybean Innovation Labs, which were hosted at land-grant universities across the U.S.. These research labs focused on developing new genetics and growing practices in soybeans critical to U.S. and international growers. They had to close the entire program, laying off 30 scientists and researchers in 19 labs across 17 states.
* K State University lost up to $50 million that was pledged through a USAID Program over the next five years to advance research in âsustainable intensification,â an approach focused on increasing crop yields without expanding agricultural land use, expected to directly benefit Kansas (and U.S.) farmers.
* China's retaliatory tariffs (although not yet on crops, we shall see) are expected to have a major impact on U.S. ag machinery manufacturers, who were already struggling and have had massive lay-offs over the last 12 months. China imported almost $800 million of U.S.-manufactured ag machinery in 2020.
And it goes on and on and on with new, major issues coming to light on a near-hourly basis. My heart hurts for U.S. farmers and U.S. farm communities, large and small, that are needlessly and thoughtlessly being impacted by this.
But hey, on the bright side, Trump banned those infuriating paper straws!
P.S. I'm making this public, so please, share away. I will also update this post as I hear about more impacts.
JFW and I just took a weekend in Jackson Hole. Ostensibly to go skiing but really to eat.
Did I miss a thing where the trend now is to radicallyâand I mean put away the shaker and get a spoonâsalt everything? Three out of four meals I had were so salty that I couldn't finish even though they were otherwise outstanding. I ordered spicy stuff and it took a while to realize that the burn I was feeling was not jalapeño. When I had covid the first time, I lost all sense of taste and smell except for salt, and everything seemed super salty, so I spent yesterday worrying that I was getting covid again. But no, I can taste everything.
Anyway the snow sucked but it's beautiful.
For the record, my tongue still feels the salt-burn so I took a covid test last night just in case that was the only symptom. Negatory.
Kurlansky is thorough (meaning: I think his books drag) but how else could you discuss the Fish That Changed the World? Spoiler: Portugal became a naval force because of cod.
Bacalhau is the national food of Portugal. Oddly, I was just watching an old episode of one of Anthony Bourdain's shows a few days ago, and he was in Portugal eating a bunch of different bacalhau dishes. But, yeah, the cod they use is from the North Atlantic.
Recently visited Portugal and the food really put me off.
1) the big thing is salted & dried, then reconstituted, cod - which isnât even from coastal country Portugal. WTF? But itâs ubiquitous. Bleh.
Kurlansky is thorough (meaning: I think his books drag) but how else could you discuss the Fish That Changed the World? Spoiler: Portugal became a naval force because of cod.
Recently visited Portugal and the food really put me off.
1) the big thing is salted & dried, then reconstituted, cod - which isnât even from coastal country Portugal. WTF? But itâs ubiquitous. Bleh.
2) otherwise, youâre eating pork - far too intelligent a creature, so it troubles me, and - worse -
3) octopus - probably much smarter than we realize, but they cut off one of its brains (arms) and serve it.
I suppose it would be easy to say âyes, but factory chickenâ¦â or whatever. But, still, as a cultural touchstone, having those three things being the core of their food is off putting.
/vent
Lots of our food is problematic. I've given up octopus even though it is very tasty. I like shrimp, but it's not great environmentally. Fish in general is good, but the catch practices are iffy. Sustainably farmed beef/pork/chicken is okay with the associated moral qualms. I am comfortable with my place on the food chain, but I find myself looking for other proteins a lot. I like chickpeas and they are pretty guilt free. Vegetarian diets do have some benefits. All things in moderation.
JFW and I just took a weekend in Jackson Hole. Ostensibly to go skiing but really to eat.
Did I miss a thing where the trend now is to radicallyâand I mean put away the shaker and get a spoonâsalt everything? Three out of four meals I had were so salty that I couldn't finish even though they were otherwise outstanding. I ordered spicy stuff and it took a while to realize that the burn I was feeling was not jalapeño. When I had covid the first time, I lost all sense of taste and smell except for salt, and everything seemed super salty, so I spent yesterday worrying that I was getting covid again. But no, I can taste everything.
It isn't necessary to say "fuckin," every five words. I'm not offended but I find it distracting. It has no purpose, other than maybe shtick. Unclever shtick.
Location: No longer in a hovel in effluent Damnville, VA Gender:
Posted:
May 6, 2024 - 4:17am
Steely_D wrote:
Recently visited Portugal and the food really put me off.
1) the big thing is salted & dried, then reconstituted, cod - which isnât even from coastal country Portugal. WTF? But itâs ubiquitous. Bleh.
2) otherwise, youâre eating pork - far too intelligent a creature, so it troubles me, and - worse -
3) octopus - probably much smarter than we realize, but they cut off one of its brains (arms) and serve it.
I suppose it would be easy to say âyes, but factory chickenâ¦â or whatever. But, still, as a cultural touchstone, having those three things being the core of their food is off putting.
/vent
I can't speak much about the food on the mainland but yes traditional Portuguese food is very heavy on the salt. Very big on all sorts of pastries also. Here in the Azores the main exports are fish, wine and Azores cheese etc. So lots of fresh fish. No factory farms here. Cows all over the place eating grass. Chickens are also free de-ranging and eat what they are supposed to eat like bugs. Eggs have orange yolks like they are supposed to. There is a chicken farm just a few minutes walk down the street and get sane day fresh eggs. Milk also comes from a few blocks away. You can find some very healthy food here but lots of temping bad stuff also. Bacon comes in very small quantities as its not processed and won't keep long unless you freeze it. only get many fruits and veggies in season as most is grown right here and not imported. Pretty much anything grows here like crazy even the stuff you don't want. Like weeds and grass. The stores here don't sell family packs of anything. The wine and beer is excellent and cheap.
Recently visited Portugal and the food really put me off.
1) the big thing is salted & dried, then reconstituted, cod - which isnât even from coastal country Portugal. WTF? But itâs ubiquitous. Bleh.
2) otherwise, youâre eating pork - far too intelligent a creature, so it troubles me, and - worse -
3) octopus - probably much smarter than we realize, but they cut off one of its brains (arms) and serve it.
I suppose it would be easy to say âyes, but factory chickenâ¦â or whatever. But, still, as a cultural touchstone, having those three things being the core of their food is off putting.
/vent
Speaking of füd... I remember when there were only like a half a dozen varieties of apples and fuji's were
really expensive. They didn't even have honey crisps then. But all the fruit was sweet as honey suckle pie.
I would pay extra for a fuji because they were so delicious, they tasted like caramel apples. Mm mm mm mm mm!
Nowadays everything tastes like dog vomit. We don't bother buying apples anymore but people keep giving
us bags full and they just go to waste. WHAT CAN A GUY OR GAL DO? Jesbus.
Speaking of füd... I remember when there were only like a half a dozen varieties of apples and fuji's were
really expensive. They didn't even have honey crisps then. But all the fruit was sweet as honey suckle pie.
I would pay extra for a fuji because they were so delicious, they tasted like caramel apples. Mm mm mm mm mm!
Nowadays everything tastes like dog vomit. We don't bother buying apples anymore but people keep giving
us bags full and they just go to waste. WHAT CAN A GUY OR GAL DO? Jesbus.
I havenât tried to read up on it, but I remember seeing recently that someone suggested that horses are probably the best thing to think about eating. I know I saw horsemeat when we were traveling and some of the Asian countries. I really saw a sign that said âno horse meat, no life.â
Aside from the interspecies ethics stuff, horses are notoriously poor grazers. Although they don't produce methane the way cattle do, they will overgraze some parts of the paddock and leave other parts too long. Some of that is that they sensibly don't like to eat where they poop. The other thing is that their digestive systems don't do well on high protein, high nitrogen forage so that growing feed for them is pretty inefficient, although grass hay is probably better environmentally than lucerne/alfalfa. And there is no way they bulk up the way cattle do.
I don't want to know what happens when you have to put a horse down and they send it to the knackery. The process of organising that is pretty traumatic.
Speaking of füd... I remember when there were only like a half a dozen varieties of apples and fuji's were
really expensive. They didn't even have honey crisps then. But all the fruit was sweet as honey suckle pie.
I would pay extra for a fuji because they were so delicious, they tasted like caramel apples. Mm mm mm mm mm!
Nowadays everything tastes like dog vomit. We don't bother buying apples anymore but people keep giving
us bags full and they just go to waste. WHAT CAN A GUY OR GAL DO? Jesbus.
Make applesauce or apple butter
Why does spell-check say one of those has a space and one doesn't?
Speaking of füd... I remember when there were only like a half a dozen varieties of apples and fuji's were
really expensive. They didn't even have honey crisps then. But all the fruit was sweet as honey suckle pie.
I would pay extra for a fuji because they were so delicious, they tasted like caramel apples. Mm mm mm mm mm!
Nowadays everything tastes like dog vomit. We don't bother buying apples anymore but people keep giving
us bags full and they just go to waste. WHAT CAN A GUY OR GAL DO?? Jesbus.
I havenât tried to read up on it, but I remember seeing recently that someone suggested that horses are probably the best thing to think about eating. I know I saw horsemeat when we were traveling and some of the Asian countries. I really saw a sign that said âno horse meat, no life.â
What will you absolutely not eat for moral (not digestive) reasons?
A friend I love wonât touch pork anymore, since he knows that pigs are smart and all that. Iâm trying to follow his lead.
Recently after watching My Octopus Teacher
and listening to the book The Mountain In the Sea (Ray Nayler), I began to refuse to eat octopus. Thereâs something intelligent there thatâs escaping our understanding, and for now theyâre off my list.
That was a great and thought-provoking film. I agree octopus and pigs are the biggest challenges in my omnivore ethics. I mean, I won't eat dogs, horses, or primates but in those cases I am perfectly happy to say that it doesn't have to be totally logical, I'm just not going to do it. Well, actually, I think of it like a food pyramid, people should eat more plants and less meat in general, don't eat pets or non-human primates if possible and hardly ever eat humans.
We tend to think that intelligent animals are similar to us and thus it is not appropriate to eat them. And developing an inter-species relationship with an intelligent creature should put them off limits. But as the film pointed out, octopus aren't very far up the marine food chain. Their intelligence is a good survival mechanism but they still often get eaten. I'm kind of on the fence. Perhaps, swearing off occi but continuing to eat squid??
