Efficiency of todays modern harvest equipment

I believe what we are seeing is Big Corp. Ag vs what was the family owned farm. The family owned farm was trying to make a fair living. Corp. Ag is looking for the same wealth as the oil Ind. Trust me, Corp. Ag cares ZERO about habitat unless it in some way converts to money in their pocket. Today's Corp. farms are not about capitalism but instead just plain unbridled greed in most cases.
 
Another view

I think that categorizing loss of habitat as an issue of ownership, between Corporate, and Family farms is vastly simplistic. I would agree that it is much more likely that local ownership, that lives on the ground is much more likely, approachable, and sympathetic to habitat issues. However, most of the surviving "family" farms are some sort of L.L.C. farming a lot of acres, and using chemicals, and bulldozers, at a rate comenserate with the "corporate" farms in their area. Habitat exists for a reason, either the piece is to rough to farm, the govt. pays them not to farm it, through some program, or they lack the time and or resources, ( money), to plow it up. Left to the american farmer, I'm sorry to say, we would be back to the dust bowl in 20 years or less. Think I'm wrong? How many osage orange hedgerows do you see anymore? The government planted them to hold the soil in the 30's, farmers have been root plowing, and bulldozing them for an extra row of beans for the last 40 years. From the Texas panhandle, to the Sandhills of Nebraska. Only thing that saves them.... see above. The free trade market of personal short term greed, kills non monetary reward, ( wildlife), and rewards the imeadiate cash reward. Rare is the landowner who perserves habitat just for the sake of quaility of life, and can withstand the market pressures,and lifetime family pressures to do so. They want to live in $250,000.00 houses, drive new cars, send their kids to college, just like the rest of us. How many of you use chemicals on your lawn? Why? How many of you golf? Your golf course is a bigger pollutor than multiple local farms, and a champoin songbird killer. We all need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, easy to shift the burden and blame to the nameless " big corporate farm", like the boogeyman. Conjures up a negative image, and a unifying figure to blame without having any personal responsibility to change anything yourself, in the way you or I live. There are many good examples of enlightened stewardship among corporate mega-farms/ agribusinesses. The problem is ours, you and me, want more birds? start there.
 
Corp take over of farming goes against all things that point to a the free market, equal opportunity that our country founders of the constitution had in mind when it was drawn up. It was meant for prosperity to spread among all our people. When you empower a small segment of the population total control by making it economically imposable for anybody but them to survive. You have now suppressed the ability of any and all but the wealthiest and most powerful from seeking prosperity. That's why this country had trade laws in place to halt powerful company's from creating a monopoly. Since those laws have been abolished. That is what we now have..a Monopoly in most areas of business. Which has crushed the small businesses and mom and pop run shops. A company big enough to take it all, also has the ability to set it's own prices and availability of products. Total control of necessities, employment and Government lobbying that sets and protects the laws that protect their ability to maintain total control.

Just look at it this way. Years ago..if there were a 100 mining company's operating in a area. There was lots of work, a person could always look for better employment, better living conditions, better workers safety, Etc. COMPETITION , But what happened when there was only one mine and one powerful owner? Wages went down, living conditions went down, safety was compromised, Etc. Mark my words, enabling fewer and fewer more powerful company's to control our lands and food supply(all areas of business) is not the capitalism our founding fathers had in mind.

Ok, I'm getting off my soup box
 
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Onpoint, I agree, it's the pressure to meet some abstract concept of success, that pushes all, whether it's a need to have as green a lawn as the neighbors, or have the biggest farm. problem is it, has everything to do with the fantacy of "free market" economics. The big boys work hard and spend a lot of lobby money to make sure that the table is slanted toward them, and away from everybody else. Imagine where we could be if our land grant universities, spent there time on a truly sustainable agricultural model, instead of taking a little cash from some petro-chemical, agribusiness to gene modify corn or soybeans, to be compatible with the chemicals they sell, at an ever increasing cost. I have done an cost benefit analysis and I really question if a farmer makes more money with old fashioned open pollinated corn, requiring low input, as opposed to the new roundup ready stuff, at an astonishing cost for seed, and mandatory chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers. It's real close to an even money deal, either way, if you use 150 bushels per acre for the high input yield, and 75 for the low input deal. The difference is about a 200.00 per acre decrease in capital input cost, which is usually borrowed. Yet we encourage this with policies from the Federal govt. on down. Heck the 75 bushel guy is ridiculed as a "bad" farmer by everybody, govt. , banker, appraiser. Truth is the free market does not exist, and your correct, the founding fathers wouldn't recognize this place. We have the free market for some, if your influential enough to get it. Ask the cattle guys out there, we've had a virtual war, in the industry, trying to get some equity of pricing for the small and medium producer. Hog and chicken markets are already gone. No reliable independent markets left, where you can expect a fair and reasonable price. Only salvation would be governmental intervention, also fraught with dangers and unpallatable to some. If we want wide spread habitat, we are totally reliant on the govt. to encourage it through either the carrot, ( CRP), or the stick, ( legislation madating certain practices of conservation on private producers). Otherwise we will fight dollar for dollar for every plum thicket and hedgerow from coast to coast. it's going to get expensive.
 
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