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Isaac4777 t1_j0ge2ur wrote

What will happen to the 80% of farmers? Pay them to not farm on their land? Tell them to put wind farms over their fields? This is a massive economic problem.. and I don't know of many good solutions or incentives.

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Jonathank92 t1_j0gj3d6 wrote

Government buyout of their land for conservation, programs to train them in other trades, etc. government employs a lot of smart people. There are always options

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growsomegarlic t1_j0h5rnw wrote

It's in the Government's best interest for farmers to stay right where they live and for them to keep their skills and farming equipment current so that we have a fallback plan in case we need it.

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Jonathank92 t1_j0hokoq wrote

Not when farmers need to eat today. The world as a collective isn’t going to forget traditional farming methods overnight. If things change and we need to revert we can and will. When the government puts money and effort behind something the wheels get moving

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Neil_Live-strong t1_j0ky7wo wrote

Yeah and if we needed to bring farmers back you can be sure a Bloomberg type would be involved and he knows how to farm, “you put seed in some dirt, give a little a water and there you go. I like people with a little more grey matter.” That would go very well and I’m sure there would be no famine like the dozens of other times people who knew nothing about farming tried to control it.

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Lazy_Jellyfish7676 t1_j0hyqhg wrote

That would go well. No one would die I’m sure. Maybe your not from the United States. But here the people own land not the government.

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wwwwolfe t1_j0iz3f3 wrote

I was taught in Real Estate class that the government DOES own the land in the United States. We, the People, only own the right to use it. And that right can be revoked at any time, through the process of condemnation. Typically, the government pays a fair market value (or usually, a bit more) for the land; but they don't really have to. The principles that are involved include "highest, best use of land" and Manifest Destiny. Private land ownership in the U.S. is simply a common misconception.

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Narf234 t1_j0h2aoh wrote

It would be cool if we can pay them to regrow/ manage native plants.

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jeffreynya t1_j0hrjhg wrote

that already happens. There is a program here in Minnesota that pays farmers the rent value of land per year to take it back to natural grass land. I don't have lots of details, but I think its a 15 year deal. But once its converted there is no cost to the farmers and they just collect a check.

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thedriftlessdrifter t1_j0j2hv9 wrote

I'm excited with the research coming out on using animal impact to manage these acres, positive results with the majority of them. There's obviously sensitive landscapes that shouldn't be managed with animals but large portions should be for the biological health of the land.

They've seen what not doing anything with the land besides chemical and fire management does, those acres loose their "vigor" and the biological processes slow way down and the topsoils nutrients float away in the wind and water runoff.

Typically those programs are a "cost share" program and the landowner pays a fraction of the bill and the government pays the majority. MN has been experimenting with a "working lands program" for quite a few years now and is just getting some great scientific research behind it to back up the claims of "Regenerative Farming" .. exciting times.

Agroforestry & silvopasture, Holistic grazing, and no-till cereal grains are going to be hitting the mainstream sooner than later with the generous grant money from the last Farm Bill finally being able to get the scientific research behind it to track the benefits.

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BafangFan t1_j0jj2jb wrote

But then you have all this tall grass that just grows and grows and grows. If only there were some autonomous..... animals that could cut the grass, keep it short, and fertilize it all at the same time....

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ScottyC33 t1_j0h257e wrote

The same thing that happened to every other industry that was downsized or replaced by advancing technology. Nothing new or novel about an occupation changing.

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