Let's pay farmers NOT to grow stuff

[French G.]

Also predicted to have year three of a drought in the corn/soy growing areas. There isn't much moisture left in the topsoil.

You're not going to eat dent field corn, that goes to animal feed, industry and ethanol. Soy needs to be processed into human food, but much of what is grown is for oil and animal feed.

Pork and Poultry, production and pack, is pretty much controlled by 4 companies. 2 are foreign owned, China and Brazil.

Beef is headed the same way, there is a silent war between the big packers and the independent cattle producers.

I am quite aware we don't eat field corn. My point is broader than one growing season. Our ag policies are suicidal. Any fuel or biomass production needs to be from byproducts, not pissing away the land to make inefficient fuels. We have excellent farmland here. I hope science progresses with GMO crops and we get stuff like hybridized wheat that sets perrenial wheat root systems with modern wheat yields. Crops that need less inputs. But instead I am sure we will just get corn that can swim in roundup. Maybe move that Iowa caucus to last so the politicians quit sucking up with those sweet sweet ethanol mandates.

[Jim147]

I'm going to have to tell a bunch of fiends that they can't eat that field corn they have been picking and tossing on the grill.

[Hawkmoon]

I'm going to have to tell a bunch of fiends that they can't eat that field corn they have been picking and tossing on the grill.

That is, indeed, fiendish behavior. 

[RocketMan]

I'm going to have to tell a bunch of fiends that they can't eat that field corn they have been picking and tossing on the grill.

That is, indeed, fiendish behavior. 

Most of us on APS have fiendish friends.

[MillCreek]

I'm going to have to tell a bunch of fiends that they can't eat that field corn they have been picking and tossing on the grill.

So we don't grow field corn in Washington that I know of.  Does it taste much different than sweet corn?

[Jim147]

It's not sweet but if you catch at just the right time and grill with some salt and butter and it is corn.

[charby]

It's not sweet but if you catch at just the right time and grill with some salt and butter and it is corn.

I wouldn't eat some random field corn from here since I wouldn't know what insecticide or fungicide was sprayed on it and how long the preharvest interval of the pesticide is.

[Jim147]

Just watch for the little yellow plane.

[charby]

Just watch for the little yellow plane.

Most of the insecticides and fungicides I'm familiar with have at least a 30 day preharvest interval. They typically applied after pollination, so it's Aug 5-10 here for the earliest on 30 days after application. Dent corn will be pretty starchy by then.

[Jim147]

Yeah you pick it way preharvest and we seem to have different growing seasons by a few weeks.

[charby]

Preharvest interval means how many days after a pesticide application it is safe for human or animal consumption.

[Kingcreek]

My cousin has a contract to grow 80 acres of organic white corn for a big tortilla company. He alternates seasons between 2 80 acre fields and I think he grows organic beans in the alt seasons.
The gubmint sends me about $3300 per year to not farm our ground. It is classified as highly erodible and in CRP and WHIP wildlife habitat improvement program. It’s been on contract for 22 years and comes off in 2025 iirc.