The Oil Drum: Europe | A Note From our Milkman

109 comments on A Note From our Milkman

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expat on September 30, 2007 - 4:17am

This has been noted in Germany in the media months ago - in part, because the set aside was also seen as a long term conservation method. Before the EU, essentially all arable land in 'core' Europe was farmed (Russia being the major exception), and had been for centuries.

As has been noted by others (Roger Connor comes to mind), being able to collect data and look at things in perspective will be a critical skill in the future.

The EU used emergency grain stocks for the first time in its history to deal with drought in Spain and Portugal in 2005. That is why food stocks exist, after all - to deal with drought, war, etc.

Allowing farmers to produce food flat out in the short term is one thing - having them produce flat out for biofuels is another. And there, the EU does have policy directives in place mandating biofuel use.

However, at least in Germany, sustainable agriculture plays an increasingly large role in food production (much like renewable energy does - increasing, but certainly not sufficient), and to the extent that sustainable means lower yield and/or higher cost, it is not really a surprise that banked farm land is being drawn upon.

The real question is whether the withdrawals are from interest or capital, but at least in Europe, food production is not exactly treated lightly.

And it is not yet a sign of panic - except for the shock of diary prices, which is still very tightly regulated in the EU. Farmers who deliver more milk than their quota in Germany are still fined, apparently. However, it seems as if the farmers consider this more a ploy of the diaries to ensure absolute control over the market than anything else, as this quota is enforced at that level, preventing farmers from selling milk to anyone else.

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CrystalRadio on September 30, 2007 - 12:15pm

As has been noted by others (Roger Connor comes to mind), being able to collect data and look at things in perspective will be a critical skill in the future.

The fishermen on the Grand Banks knew what the situation was for cod well before the collapse of that fishery, any small collection of data by scientists (considered 'reputable') was more than overwhelmed by political/ business intrests on land. Fishermen who spoke out were merely ignored.

It might be more in our interest to allow those 'on the ground' directly involved in agriculture to be our guides rather than those able to collect data and look at things in perspective. Those scientific views may be accurate but often arrive late or are muzzled by competing interests. (read tobacco!)

I am not a professional in agriculture but am 'on the land' enough to speak a little about Coastal British Columbia' where among other things there was no honey production in my area. The lack of sun this summer was phenomenal. The garden which I have been growing for about 8 years is slow by, IMO, two to three weeks, or else not maturing enough to be edible. To make up for what I see happened this summer.I plan to increase the area I am growing under glass now.

Any farmers and gardeners in the audience? Let's hear from them.

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snuffy on September 30, 2007 - 1:36pm

I am changing{upgrading} my garden capacity 4-fold this year due to uncertain weather and food outlook.My primary focus is fruit trees,and the advice my grandfather gave me has been a blessing.That advice was to always have a wide varieties of trees,not a mono crop of 1 or 2 varieties.I have blocks of 10-30{total around 140}on three acres.This year was a boom on pears,and bust on apples,though I have lots for the chickens due to a apple maggot infestation .Good yield on Bosc,Bartlett,and all my asian pears,especially the Chojuro.

A recommendation for the best gardening book I have read in a long time that gives some very hardheaded,practical advice on food production is "Gardening when It Counts"by the guy who started Territorial Seed co. Steve Solomon.Get it .Study it.People who don't have the benefit of having been raised by a depression era gardeners {like my grandparents} might have a a shortened learning curve when it is needed by using his information.

We had cool year here,much like the summers of my youth,when the coastal forests would keep the temps moderate.{Most of the big trees are underwater in japan now,exported,and stored.}I have noticed the changes that have increased the sun,and also the extremes.Rarely did the weather get as extreme as is has become,with windstorms,weird times in the spring{feb} where the temp will go to 70's for long enough to break winter dormancy of plants,thus making then vulnerable to the inevitable freeze that insures a 50%loss of my fruit{grrrr}Climate change is real,here,and the farmers know it well..

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doug fir on September 30, 2007 - 6:18pm

I'm about same with fruit-about 120 trees, mostly apple, but several varieties of plum, pear, asian pear, cherry, peach, and apricot. Poor results with apples this year, alot of pears, cherries, peaches. Probable bud freeze. Fencing this fall for another 150 apples-hobby to play with other varieties.

All that said, there is tons of more fruit than we can deal with-been canning, drying, pressing and storing. If it wasn't for livestock, much would waste. We sauce and then cellar apples, but greatest use is pressing to cider -hundred+ gallons per year. Mash to livestock.

Actually, 2 trees per fruit is about all most individuals will handle unless it's a full time job. It's easy to grow, the time consuming work is harvest and preserving before rot. Take pears, perhaps a week with Bartletts from hard to too soft at 60 degrees. A well pruned semi dwarf tree will give 3-4 bushels per year, a long, long time to spend home canning at about 10-12 quarts per bushel. Have everything else popping-from cider to animals and stock to care for, end of garden and the piles of tomatoes and corn to preserve, late plums, and you get swamped.

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musashi on September 30, 2007 - 11:40pm

Could you do something like this?

http://www.appleannies.com/index.php

They have excellent fruit and produce, they let you eat all you want while picking your own, the prices are very good and they seem to be very prosperous.

Love the tomatoes above everything else.

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rototillerman on October 1, 2007 - 12:51am

Good year for pears, more cherries than last year. Apples were significantly down for us, too; might be just the every-other-year response of an orchard that we didn't prune or thin enough. I don't think it was a pollination issue, as we have both honeybees and orchard mason bees on site. Different plums were in vogue this year; the Italian prunes didn't show up, while the red Santa Rosa were in pretty good supply. Blueberries, raspberries, grapes made it through the dry summer in pacific northwest, but are too young and weed-choked still to bear.

We had a freak thunderstorm that knocked down the wheat in July, and caused a bit of mold. As newbies we dilly-dallied a bit, wondering if it was edible (it was). We ended up threshing only a bit, feeding some of the unthreshed to pig and chickens. We hadn't counted on it much anyway, as it was primarily forage cut for the cow.

Of course, it was a banner year for blackberries. Every year is a banner year for blackberries.

Rototillerman

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