This could actually screw up farms and our food supply. The fields are so contaminated it takes YEARS for them to recover and grow anything that isn't GMOed to withstand glyphosate. You can't just stop using it and carry on. Think about it, what grows in farm fields...NOTHING! They've killed off the entire biome to grow a single crop. That all needs to recover.
Invading armies used to salt the land to kill off the peasants. Now they have us spraying our fields for them.
My personal observation is the residue isn’t active very long. After harvesting most fields around my area are quickly taken over by weeds or volunteer crops from dropped seeds.
This past year the farmers here had a lot of soybeans that didn’t get picked up by their combine. Once we got a couple rains the fields were blanketed with volunteer soybean plants, which to my understanding don’t possess the glyphosate resistance trait their parent plant had.
Here in the spring farm fields are blanketed with weeds. Some fields are solid yellow when the wild mustard blooms. Some fields are light purple when the dead nettles bloom.
The bigger issue will be weed control. Prior to widespread herbicide use farmers had implements to mechanically control weeds until crops were big enough to outcompete them. I’m not sure what it would take to get back to that old practice.
My Dad passed down a love of farming. I’m fortunate to be just old enough to remember the last few full time farmers who still made a living off a single farm. My grandparents did. Primarily from a small dairy herd and tobacco.
As for weed control my overactive imagination has me thinking those big spraying machines could be retrofitted. Instead of a spraying booms they could be outfitted with a boom that holds several heavy duty stirrup hoes to clip off weeds between the rows. But, it’s probably just a crazy idea.
There are ALL kinds of implements out there for such use. You aren't too far off with that. I expect with the newest technologies expanding so quickly that broadcast herbicide application will become a thing of the past. Eventually. There are spray drones already in use that will spray just the weeds and not the whole field. There are protypes of self driving machines with lasers that roam a field and laser fry the weeds. It's all about cost efficiency at this point. Broadcast applications are still the cheapest per acre. That will change though.
The reason for the long recovery is reestablishing the soil. Because nothing grows and the crops are harvested, no organic material is put back in the ground to break down to make soil. Soil is not dirt. The fields are not fertile to grow anything but with fertilizers.
I used to spray rock mulch for weed control. Weeds always came back, very quickly. Either it ends up in ground water or it breaks down into other compounds. It does not keep killing plants for a long time.
It depends on the weeds and the time of year. But figure 1 established weed can block light, moisture and warmth from reaching many seeds. Take out the growing weed, and many seeds can start receiving the resources they need to grow.
This could actually screw up farms and our food supply. The fields are so contaminated it takes YEARS for them to recover and grow anything that isn't GMOed to withstand glyphosate. You can't just stop using it and carry on. Think about it, what grows in farm fields...NOTHING! They've killed off the entire biome to grow a single crop. That all needs to recover.
Invading armies used to salt the land to kill off the peasants. Now they have us spraying our fields for them.
My personal observation is the residue isn’t active very long. After harvesting most fields around my area are quickly taken over by weeds or volunteer crops from dropped seeds.
This past year the farmers here had a lot of soybeans that didn’t get picked up by their combine. Once we got a couple rains the fields were blanketed with volunteer soybean plants, which to my understanding don’t possess the glyphosate resistance trait their parent plant had.
Here in the spring farm fields are blanketed with weeds. Some fields are solid yellow when the wild mustard blooms. Some fields are light purple when the dead nettles bloom.
The bigger issue will be weed control. Prior to widespread herbicide use farmers had implements to mechanically control weeds until crops were big enough to outcompete them. I’m not sure what it would take to get back to that old practice.
Looks like we're going to have a bunch of .gov workers looking for jobs.
Couple seasons of mass weed-pulling might do them some good.
I wish ppl understood ag with the common sense that you do. We call the purple flowered plant henbit, dead nettle is new to me. I learn't!
And yes, glyphosate is strictly a contact herbicide and it does not persist. -Not defending it's use, but... let's call the spade the spade.
I’m not sure what it would take to get back to that old practice. - more time and fuel to pull a cultivator through thousands of acres.
My Dad passed down a love of farming. I’m fortunate to be just old enough to remember the last few full time farmers who still made a living off a single farm. My grandparents did. Primarily from a small dairy herd and tobacco.
As for weed control my overactive imagination has me thinking those big spraying machines could be retrofitted. Instead of a spraying booms they could be outfitted with a boom that holds several heavy duty stirrup hoes to clip off weeds between the rows. But, it’s probably just a crazy idea.
There are ALL kinds of implements out there for such use. You aren't too far off with that. I expect with the newest technologies expanding so quickly that broadcast herbicide application will become a thing of the past. Eventually. There are spray drones already in use that will spray just the weeds and not the whole field. There are protypes of self driving machines with lasers that roam a field and laser fry the weeds. It's all about cost efficiency at this point. Broadcast applications are still the cheapest per acre. That will change though.
The reason for the long recovery is reestablishing the soil. Because nothing grows and the crops are harvested, no organic material is put back in the ground to break down to make soil. Soil is not dirt. The fields are not fertile to grow anything but with fertilizers.
What you’re saying about fertilizer is correct. Not using glyphosate doesn’t stop farmers from continuing to use fertilizers.
And, I agree it would be preferable to rebuild the soil. Unfortunately farmers have been steered into these practices by none other than the USDA.
we should raise sheep on those weed fields. and eat more meat while returning fertility to these old pesticide-degrated fields.
And a good sized flock of laying hens!
Yes ---- the long-lasting version has other stuff in it.
I used to spray rock mulch for weed control. Weeds always came back, very quickly. Either it ends up in ground water or it breaks down into other compounds. It does not keep killing plants for a long time.
I've noticed that the weeds seem to come back worse than before. I wonder if that was a "design feature?"
It depends on the weeds and the time of year. But figure 1 established weed can block light, moisture and warmth from reaching many seeds. Take out the growing weed, and many seeds can start receiving the resources they need to grow.