tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post6245612626129683939..comments2023-10-17T04:51:08.765-10:00Comments on KauaiEclectic: Musings: What I DoJoan Conrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00172330100788007499noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-33282930586541930172017-02-08T18:37:12.546-10:002017-02-08T18:37:12.546-10:00My sister lives in Australia. My friend Dean'...My sister lives in Australia. My friend Dean's college roommate lives/farms on Maui. I have several other farmer friends on Hawaii and there has been an on going discussion about taking several Hawaii farm tours in January of 2018. Well, not my sister. She wants us to go hiking on many of the Hawaii's trails in the cool morning air. Since January is a holiday month in Australia, she might bring some of her family along. Who knows, my brother Gary might come along too....<br /><br />That being said, @7:51, I'd budget time for a tour of your garden. My dad has several acres of farmer's market produce, so it's nice to tour other systems. I'd even sit and have a beer with the dude in your shed... However, no left hand cigarettes: those intensify my personality, and it turns out I'm an asshole... (I stole that from George Carlin.) <br /><br />BTY, it's not a bad dream to hope starving people can have nourishing food. Looking forward to the future, it would be better to teach them how to raise it themselves. However, places like China and India are becoming too over populated for that dream to be a reality. SO, there will be a market for my goods for many years to come. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553534513992452534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-34490538321786478632017-02-08T10:35:06.315-10:002017-02-08T10:35:06.315-10:00Oh, yes, @7:51, I'm sure you'd love to sho...Oh, yes, @7:51, I'm sure you'd love to show me – but you don't, because then you'd have to admit you aren't being entirely honest. Don Heacock was the last person who told me he was providing all his own food -- well, except for the Kirkland soy milk and the peanut butter and olive oil and potato chips and flour and coffee.... <br /><br />But even if you personally are growing everything you eat, so what? Most people on Kauai are not, and will be increasingly unable to as they're shunted off into ohana units on residential lots. And they're certainly not growing enough to feed all the tourists, or all the folks around the world who depend on US exports. Which is why we still need people like Bradley, who are growing on a commercial scale.Joan Conrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00172330100788007499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-31620432220919127752017-02-08T07:51:54.837-10:002017-02-08T07:51:54.837-10:00Since Bradley probably has never been to Kauai it&...Since Bradley probably has never been to Kauai it's hard for him to understand you don't need hundreds of thousands of dollars of machinery,nor a delusion to feed the world, to grow food here. Like I told you before, I don't need to buy any food. No GMO. No Organic. Nothing. I grow everything I need . Anybody on any property on Kauai could pretty much do the same. It's not rocket science unless your trying to make millions of dollars and/or "save the world". You would think Joan could understand it being the part time resident that she is. I would love to show you but you would probably turn me in for my illegal shed and start an abuse chronicle about me for allowing my drunk friend to live in it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-41611238823390861942017-02-08T06:52:59.766-10:002017-02-08T06:52:59.766-10:002/8 @ 6:34 AM, are you assuming the 0.9 degrees F ...2/8 @ 6:34 AM, are you assuming the 0.9 degrees F increase was per year? I believe that is the total change since 1860.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-20791618953496124182017-02-08T06:34:14.765-10:002017-02-08T06:34:14.765-10:00"The fact is, "The record of instrumenta..."The fact is, "The record of instrumental temperature measurements, which extends back to the 19th century, provides one clear indication that the modern earth is warming: that the mean annual surface air temperatures of the earth have risen approximately 0.5°C (0.9°F) since 1860." That is not really statistically significant."<br /><br />Then the "mean annual surface air temperatures of the earth" should have risen by 141.3 degrees Fahrenheit since 1860. I stuck that in my brain and it melted. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-71952132129949458852017-02-08T05:50:31.015-10:002017-02-08T05:50:31.015-10:00February 7, 2017 at 11:00 PM said to Bradley Chouq...February 7, 2017 at 11:00 PM said to Bradley Chouqette: "Stick to farming." I've always learned something from Bradley's comments. Whatever your vocation is, 11:00PM, stick it up your brain. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-73283704887241809962017-02-07T23:00:34.360-10:002017-02-07T23:00:34.360-10:00Stick to farming.Stick to farming.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-1640335796176787452017-02-07T22:33:20.871-10:002017-02-07T22:33:20.871-10:00Amen. Good night & good luck!Amen. Good night & good luck!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-28384058314108240542017-02-07T21:22:06.401-10:002017-02-07T21:22:06.401-10:00Yawn ... must be another slow day in Nebraska Yawn ... must be another slow day in Nebraska Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-72365648115192983552017-02-07T18:05:05.744-10:002017-02-07T18:05:05.744-10:00Empirical evidence is proved? What is the greates...Empirical evidence is proved? What is the greatest man made gas humans add to the atmosphere? The chemical compound readily transforms between solid, liquid and gas. This gas can go from 100% saturation, to 0% in the atmosphere. In fact, this gas varies so much that it's excluded from climate models.... What is this mystery substance? Water. Cars emit water as part of the combustion process. Farmers put water in the atmosphere when we till the soil. Maturing crops put water in the air when they dry down. Clouds shade the ground and cool the temperatures. Cool, wet, rainy years are cooler than drought years. When it rains, it cools the atmosphere. Washing your car affects climate change. <br /><br />Now, these "climate models" disregard cloudy wet years and cherry pick data to make their case. There are more things wrong with the models than are actually right. <br /><br />From NOAA's website: "There has also been increased cloud cover, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere during the past century (Groisman, 1999). While water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas, low clouds also shade and cool the surface. Currently the role that water vapor and clouds play in warming or cooling the Earth's climate system is being investigated by scientists."<br /><br />The fact is, "The record of instrumental temperature measurements, which extends back to the 19th century, provides one clear indication that the modern earth is warming: that the mean annual surface air temperatures of the earth have risen approximately 0.5°C (0.9°F) since 1860." That is not really statistically significant. <br /><br />Now, what other human activities have contributed to a warming climate? Paving over farm ground at the rate of 1000 acres a day? Parking lots and roofs are around 100/110 F on hot sunny days. My corn field is around 90F and my pastures/alfalfa fields are around 80/85 F. So, converting millions of acres of pasture to farm ground has contributed to global warming... How much is this factored into climate change models? 0%. How about burning millions of acres of rain forest in Brazil and Argentina to create new farm ground? That's going to contribute global warming. <br /><br />There is a consensus among sciences that want to believe in man made global warming is caused solely by green house gases. There is also a consensus among meteorologist and environmental engineers that the Earth's climate has been changing for 4 billion years and man's presents on the earth is altering that natural progression. They also find too many faults in the current model for it to be considered reliable. The current model, by the author's own admissions, has missed the projected rise in temperature by 1,000%. (That's why they call it climate change, instead of Global warming, now.) They blame that on the Earth going through a natural cooling cycle.<br /><br />So, when you make excuses for your global warming model being incorrect, and admit that you're still studying water's effects on climate change, one realizes that the empirical evidence might not match the original hypothesis. There are some scientist that don't believe this, but there are engineers and meteorologist that do... So, the debate rages on and the science continues to evolve. That the great thing about science; it continually seeks to find a universal truth and sparks great debate among great minds. By the time they think they have it figured out, mankind will change how we impact the environment and screw it all up again....Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553534513992452534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-57096726359804838952017-02-07T16:05:57.719-10:002017-02-07T16:05:57.719-10:00You will always be a sheep that will never be able...You will always be a sheep that will never be able to think outside of the box.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-42723882883503716352017-02-07T13:39:51.309-10:002017-02-07T13:39:51.309-10:00Here's a great blog about how the anti-GMO and...<br />Here's a great blog about how the anti-GMO and anti-vaccine crowds have a great deal in common. To hell with science, they just believe it because they want it to be true.<br /><br />http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2014/07/08/the-cult-of-anti-gmo-a-lot-like-the-cult-of-antivaccine/<br /><br />It really is a religion to these "Jim Jones" fanatics. They've drank to Koolaid and there's no turning back. They are in way too deep now to ever admit they could possibly be wrong about this issue. With science, at least the scientists admit their errors when "proven" wrong. For example, the science community eventually came to concede that global warming was real once empirical evidence was provided.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-39413079564972066422017-02-07T12:15:11.306-10:002017-02-07T12:15:11.306-10:00@ 6:11 They mean well in the fact that they want ...@ 6:11 They mean well in the fact that they want safe health food for their families.... In their minds, organic is the only choice, even though that production system uses pesticides as well. They are totally irrational in their fake belief system, like 9:14 says: a religious cult.... There is a difference between meaning well and doing well... I wish them well in their own organic farming endeavor because I have plenty of demand for my crops, and I don't need their business.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553534513992452534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-2341154386732590162017-02-07T10:53:18.086-10:002017-02-07T10:53:18.086-10:00so write on Joan! you are an inspiration to many. ...so write on Joan! you are an inspiration to many. i am glad that after 35 years of journalism you have finally found a voice that puts fear into many and raises the spirits of more than you can imagine. let the haters hate, Joan, we love you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-10356608409423028502017-02-07T09:14:17.466-10:002017-02-07T09:14:17.466-10:00We really need to reclassify the "anti-GMO&qu...We really need to reclassify the "anti-GMO" activism as a religion, not as a movement. They are cultists that have no evidence but want you to believe in their word as the gospel. Like most religions, there is no verifiable evidence that GMO or pesticides applied in regulated quantities actually is harmful to your health. Salt, which is comprised of two deadly chemicals NaCl, is both essential to human survival yet harmful in excess quantities. The anti-GMO crowd would simply ask that you to take it on faith that GMO crops and small traces of pesticides will adversely affect your health ... even though there's no real scientific proof. That sure sounds like cult religion to me. The druids have been reborn.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-77766158154055330412017-02-07T08:32:21.332-10:002017-02-07T08:32:21.332-10:00I'm sure you've already eaten some of his ...I'm sure you've already eaten some of his "big corn," @8:28. Of it not his, someone else's. But yes, I can imagine that it would be difficult for a died-in-the-wool anti-GMO activist and farm utopian to choke down his words of truth, which are never countered with actual facts, just attacks.Joan Conrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00172330100788007499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-66690186000299858322017-02-07T08:28:50.497-10:002017-02-07T08:28:50.497-10:00Bradley makes me sick reading his words, can't...Bradley makes me sick reading his words, can't imagine what his "big corn" would do to meAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-77296386393698778402017-02-07T06:32:15.503-10:002017-02-07T06:32:15.503-10:007:54, take me back, take me back to the days of no...7:54, take me back, take me back to the days of not working, to the days of free land and I shall follow you. Like 100 years ago people did not have jobs, did not have electricity, cell phones, computers. You can romanticize all you want, but since white man came to the islands and changed the land system, we must work for the green thing called money, so no, we can't go back to all growing our food, cause we have to do something called work to earn something called money. Now if you are talking about doing away with that, and the land is free, I can grow enough food to feed me and the neighborhood. My digging fork is awaiting. Please call .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-5697111005002250442017-02-07T06:31:49.280-10:002017-02-07T06:31:49.280-10:00When the Plantations ran everything, many of the c...When the Plantations ran everything, many of the camp houses had gardens. Many were big and ran on to the perimeter of the sugar fields. <br />These gardens were not all out of love. The food fed the families. Plantation pay was OK, but most people fished and grew gardens in addition.<br />A good life. A hard life. <br />And to any that say Kauai wasn't made for big Ag...The complete racial mix of the island is a direct result of Sugar. Of course so are most of the roads and electric and water systems.<br /><br />But Da Hoos has made some headway regarding Roundup. The other day a small group of older folks (50 years plus) were huddled around the herbicides. They were not going to buy Round Up because it was so bad...so they settled on the generic Weed and Grass Killer...half-price, same product.....but it tweren't Roundup. <br />Anything but Roundup.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-60339210020689283602017-02-07T06:11:43.125-10:002017-02-07T06:11:43.125-10:00Bradley, "The anti-gmo establishment means we...Bradley, "The anti-gmo establishment means well.."<br /><br />You're joking, right?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-67975909093926814962017-02-07T02:18:47.796-10:002017-02-07T02:18:47.796-10:00I found this gem of idiocy over at Shaka, but it&#...I found this gem of idiocy over at Shaka, but it's complements of ZEN Honeycutt... http://www.mauigmomoratoriumnews.org/new-paper-justifies-moratorium-gmos/<br /><br />This is based of a Gilles-Éric Séralini papers, so most intelligent people will have already dismissed this (especially after being touted by Zen). However, I happen to grow food grade corn, so let me let you in on a very well known industry secret. Only 3 percent of the corn grown is food grade. Of that, 100% of the genetics is from Pioneer. There are other companies that sell food grade corn hybrids and it is ALL Pioneer's genetics. Pioneer is well known to replace genetics rapidly. 33b16 has been an excellent white corn number, but is being phased out after only 6 years. That's twice as long as some hybrids are on the market. Now, that genetics will be licensed to other companies like Hoegemyer and Nutech. However, NK is a Syngenta company. They don't buy 6 year old technology from Pioneer. In fact, they don't sell any food grade hybrids AT ALL. https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/us/products/end-use/food-grade/<br /><br />So, Shaka is telling people that NK603 is making 1 in 2 people sick, and the sad reality is people don't even eat NK603. These F'n people are so disingenuous, and dishonest, that it makes me sick.... A few simple phone calls could've verified that this information isn't true. Even a couple of Google searchers could've proven that fact. I almost regret pointing the fact out because now they'll manufacture faulty research against Pioneer.... The anti-gmo establishment means well, but they don't have a moral center... They will sell any lie to further their cause without any conscious of doing anything wrong. The really sad fact is there are people so ignorant, and gullible, that they believe everything the antis say... Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553534513992452534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-47674111721762777752017-02-06T19:54:02.787-10:002017-02-06T19:54:02.787-10:00100 years ago, Kauai was 100% self sufficient (foo...100 years ago, Kauai was 100% self sufficient (food wise) and now we and the state of Hawaii are only 15% self sufficient. Small farming was apart of the land divisions (ahapuaa) and through this, the people were able to fish, farm and raise their own food without importing. Kauai and the state of Hawaii has money, funding, studies, and people for these kinds of sustainable economic diversity. Putting all our eggs in one tourism basket is foolish. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-57685067852905112692017-02-06T18:24:07.182-10:002017-02-06T18:24:07.182-10:00Maybe Kauai was never meant for big Ag. "Smal...Maybe Kauai was never meant for big Ag. "Small is Beautiful."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-28987661026501817732017-02-06T17:57:33.156-10:002017-02-06T17:57:33.156-10:00Love hearing from a real farmer. Thanks, Bradley.Love hearing from a real farmer. Thanks, Bradley.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-20299415178819674052017-02-06T17:33:22.384-10:002017-02-06T17:33:22.384-10:00Ok, I have a chance to watch the trailer of "...Ok, I have a chance to watch the trailer of "Island Earth". Sorry kids, but you're not going to build that health soil you're bragging about by beating it to death with a rotor-tiller. Yes, plant diversity is a great thing, but economics pay the bills. Sure, wheat is a great rotation, but it's currently unprofitable. Are there ways we/I can improve our/my current rotation? Yes, how about some winter cover cropping. IT increases water infiltration rates, suppresses weeds, increases organic matter, recovers nutrients, provides late season nutrition to plants, and decreases pesticide run off. The NRCS had a goal of getting 20 million cover crop acres by 2020; however, they scrapped that goal. Know why? Farmers have already surpassed that goal, so the new goal is 40 million acres by 2020. Know who else uses cover crops? Monsanto's seed farm in Hawaii...<br /><br />I'd love to raise peanuts and cabbage on my ground. However, my climate and soil isn't suited to peanuts and we don't have a cabbage processor near by. You can add more diversity to a crop rotation, but it's going cost more to truck those vegetables farther to the processing plant because farmers in other counties would be needed to raise the same volume. So, monocultures have the advantage of reducing freight cost, which saves fossil fuels. Same applies to raising corn on corn for silage near feedlots. Yet, they utilized cover crops for grazing the rest of the year. <br /><br /> Finally, organic produce has its share of bug eaten leaves. Please, don't bullshit me otherwise. If it's so bad that bugs wouldn't want to eat organic, than why would I want to eat organic? I planted an 8 way (very diverse with grasses, brassicas, and broad leafs) cover crop mix and I've never seen so many bugs in all my life. (Those bugs ate the hell out of waterhemp seeds.) Don't get me wrong, I raise my second best soybeans on my worst ground after that cover crop. Plus, it was my second cleanest field and it had 1 less herbicide application ( the 4 way cross was 5 times cleaner and yielded 8 bushels better). Sometimes more diversity isn't better. This high and mighty attitude that only organic uses regenerative agriculture is total BS too. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553534513992452534noreply@blogger.com