Absolute insanity: Farmers using Colorado River water to grow alfalfa for export to China!

[hedgehog]

http://www.npr.org/2014/08/12/339753108/in-time-of-drought-arizona-s-alpha-exports-criticized


by the way - your Federal tax money is subsidizing the irrigation system:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marc-reisner/cadillac-desert/

[n2doc]

1. People living in a delusional past

Pretty soon, they won't be able to do this. But I'll bet others will be forced to conserve first.

[hedgehog]

2. Anyone want to bet the businessmen ( I won't call them farmers!)

benefiting from cheap water in the desert vote the straight Republican ticket?



I can understand using irrigation water carefully for some crops - even winter produce - but alfalfa?

[n2doc]

3. That's a certainty

Although they undoubtedly give to both parties to cover their bases.

[pipoman]

4. Not sure the utility of shipping alfalfa to China. ..

Having raised some calves from the bottle to the packer, the cost is almost not worth it, and that is driving 5 miles to buy alfalfa and hauling it myself. The only way livestock raising in the US is profitable is if one owns enough land to raise ones own feed. Even then much of the feed has to be raised on ground not suitable for crop production, or feeding the byproducts of crop production like corn stalks.

[X_Digger]

5. It's using the empty shipping containers that are already going back to China.

So the expense equation goes, "Is it cheaper to send my alfalfa to the Port of Los Angeles or Northern California?"

Port of LA is cheaper.

[Romulox]

6. I'm not seeing the problem. This is "free trade", just like you guys wanted.

Similar to the recent Desani story.

[hedgehog]

10. Jeopardy question: what do you call a country which ships agricultural products and

raw materials to another country, and receives finished goods in return?

[eppur_se_muova]

13. Duuuuhh -- what is a colony ?

No, wait, that can't be right ! We're THE GREATEST COUNTRY THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN™!

[Logical]

11. I agree, making money off the Chinese and then spending that money here.....

Sounds ok to me.

[CurtEastPoint]

7. I listened to this this morning and thought the same thing. Insane.

[ladjf]

8. The human race is too greedy and stupid to survive. nt

[B Calm]

9. and our tax dollars are paying the farmers to grow it! Check out the database link!

http://farm.ewg.org/

[eppur_se_muova]

12. Alfalfa is a particularly thirsty crop ...

Cadillac Desert is a great read. Also recommend Locust-- increased alfalfa farming in Western river bottoms may have driven the Rocky Mountain Locust to extinction.