Friday, May 04, 2007

If This Doesn't Give You Pause

Went to the horse auction. Saw most of the people I normally see. Plus one. Fell in love with at least I don't know how many horses. Bought two lead ropes. Took with me photographs of my own draft in action to give to his harness maker and his former owners who I always see at the auction.

Went by the feed store. Ogled plants and seeds and various chemicals. Learned that bulk hard corn that used to cost less than $3 per 50# now costs $6.25 per 50. And that is just the beginning. If that doesn't give you pause, I'm sorry, but you are now officially stupid. Or maybe you just need to get your head out of your own a**. Something. Because that is a big thing.

9 comments:

patsy said...

i saw some cattle farmers that have feed lots and they said they were hurting because of the price of corn, mean while my nephew who is a welder is making 3000 dollars a week making tanks in nebraska to hold the fuel they plan to make from corn. next they are to go to south dakota.
my crack corn that i feed the chicks cost 8. 50 per 50 pound bag now.

clairesgarden said...

we have a farmer who comes in where I work, the 'nice girls' I work with look down upon him because to them he 'smells bad'
I think he smells fab, I think his weathered face is full of knowledge and kindness, I had a totall rant at them about how we should cherish our farmers and how we should be paying twice a much at least for everything we eat. this puts me ever more firmly in their 'nuts' compartment.
funny how they love the spare vegetables from the garden when they are available. . .

Anonymous said...

Shall we drive, or shall we eat? I asked it once, I ask it again.

I think many folks'd rather drive.

Teri said...

Our feed store has the commodity price charts taped to the wall. Hard to argue prices, when you can see exactly what the market is doing. This ethanol project is truly dumb. It won't help with gas prices and is driving up the cost of food. There are so many more things we could use to make ethanol. Why do we use one of the most expensive crops to raise?

Anonymous said...

Teri:"There are so many more things we could use to make ethanol."

While it is true that there are many better things to use to make ethanol, there still isn't any good thing.

Below is the url to an column titled Renewable is not a synonym for sustainable which points out that you cannot take a crop even like switchgrass from the land and turn it into ethanol without impoverishing and eroding the soil.

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070506/OPINION04/705060312/1035/OPINION

FHB said...

Well, they need to grow a lot more of that stuff, I guess, or find something else, like sugar cane, to use for makin' fuel.

CG said...

{cough} USE LESS FUEL! There. I've said it. Get over your addiction folks! Don't get a more fuel efficient car -- DRIVE LESS, a lot less. See what would happen to you without a week going to the store. Or try turning off the electricity for a week (ok, maybe you can still use the computer because after all, blogging is not an addiction). Etc. Use less.

Ren Allen said...

What do you think about bio-fuel? The kind you make yourself from the leftover oil that restaurants have? I've been trying to look at alternatives and that one makes sense to me....thus far.

CG said...

I think there is enough of that for about three people in the Tri-Cities to drive on it. So, no, it won't work -- without drastic cuts in consumption which is the part people just don't get. They like their comfort and convenience.