19. [...] Higher labour input decreases expenses on purchased inputs by some 40% but labour costs increase by 10 to 15 precent. The main benefit of organic systems is energy efficiency [...]
Yield increase is seen in subsistence agriculture, decrease elsewhere but on average estimate is "132% more than current food production levels"
This from an actual farmer in the UK: While touring a (small) organic farm the question came up what they did about certain rather nasty weeds. Once these get into the ground they are very hard to get rid of - for a family operation it's just not possible to put in the amount of work required. The answer is that you use a lot of pesticides, then go organic the next year. Problem solved.
I'm sure "organic" appeals to us armchair intellectuals with our nice desk jobs, but someone will have to do the work. -----sapere aude
I wonder weather this will make smaller farms finally viable, or be the thing that kills them off? (With EU rules my money is on the latter.) -----sapere aude
(Hey, Andy CAP ... that would be a neat cartoon character. Uh-oh, here comes Maggie with the rolling pin!) -----sapere aude
