Text 10381, 165 rader
Skriven 2008-07-11 09:44:00 av DAVE DRUM (1:123/140)
Kommentar till en text av BJöRN FORSSTRöM
Ärende: Re: Corn?
=================
-=> BJöRN FORSSTRöM wrote to DAVE DRUM <=-
DD> Well, you see, that makes the land owner/farmer an employee of the
DD> Agriculture Ministry. In USA we fought a big war back in the late 18th
DD> century for the right to make our own mistakes. Bv)=
BF> It can be a good thing too. It wouldn't be a good thing if every farmer
BF> would grow oat every year. Then we would have a huge surplus that would
BF> rotten away and it would be bad for the siol as well.
No one understands grass-roots economics better than a farmer. If his
prospective crop is likely to be in surplus and not bring a decent price he
will grow something else. So, it's unlikely that Mr. Farmer would ignore
something as basic as his economic self-interest.
DD> USDA would like to tell American farmers what to grow and how to grow it.
DD> That policy gets absolutely no traction with our farmers ... except those
DD> who are not really farmers but who live on gummint subsidy payments.
BF> Some years ago EU decided that to get a subsidy some farmers had to
BF> grow flax but all they had to do with it was to plow it down because
BF> there was no demand for it but to get the money they had to do as they
BF> were told.
We get some of that sort of thing here. There was (and may still be) a program
called "soil bank" in which farmers were paid to let their fields lay fallow
for a year. Like the song says ... "money for nothing, tricks for free". Bv)=
Some of the sharper farmers planted alfalfa hay as a cover crop to keep the top
soilfrom being blown away. Which also has the benefit of fixing nitrogen in the
earth and being available for three crops per year of baled alfalfa hay to feed
livestock through the winter or to sell for a profit - on top of the gummint
subsidy for not planting "cash grain" crops.
DD> My grandfather, who was a successful farmer, often chased away USDA or
DD> Illinois Dept of Ag representatives off his farm. When I asked him one day
DD> why he would run off a person offering him what seemed to be "free money"
DD> to help build a pond that he was going to build anyway, he told me "If you
DD> take the first dime from these people they own you. Then you have to dance
DD> to their tune. This is my land, I decide what is done and when - not some
DD> bureacrat who was never successful in his own right at what I do."
BF> That's one way to see it at the times that were back then but not
BF> today. Today they have those huge tractors and combine harvesters they
BF> have to pay for and that isn't possible if they doesn't take the money
BF> they are offered.
It seems that while everyone wants to grow larger and more prosperous and most
have been sold on the prospect that bigger is better. When I worked for the
Illinois Department of Agriculture I got involved in reporting on a project
called "Cocklebur Farm". A local (to us) farmer had a large farm (960 acres/388
hectares) which he divided into two sections, as equal as he could make them.
On one section he continued with "standard modern" farming practices. On the
other he practiced the old-fashion practiced of his forebears - albeit with
modern equipment in place of horses and mules. The first year the old-fashion
farm produced negative income as the soil was sterile from years of single
cropping and fertilising every year to the point where all natural nutrients
were leached from the soil. The second - and subsequent years he practiced crop
rotation, fertilising with natural fertiliser (mostly manure from his barns)
and a bit of limestone to adjust the soil pH. At the third year his accounts
books showed that both operations - the "conventional" and the old-fashion were
nearly equal in profitability - even though the actual income of the
old-fashion farm was less there were not hige fertiliser bills, fuel bills were
lower, etc. From the fifth year the old-fashion farm profits had far
outstripped the "conventional" operation.
Farmer Scattergood was lampooned by his fellows, looked askance at by his
bankers as he paid off loan after loan and did not re-borrow to finance his
seed or fertiliser need, and generally was thought to be a "kook". I left the
Dept of Ag in the 7th year of the "experiment". At that time Mr. Scattergood
was converting his conventional operations to the old-fashion methods.
And guess who was ready to get certified as an "organic" operation when that
higher profit designation became available? Bv)=
Remember - Mr Banker, the gent who keeps urging growth and expansion is not
always your friend. If you don't borrow money from him to finance your
expansion or just your day-to-day operations and your bigger/faster/newer
machinery he doesn't make any money from you.
I have preached this story before - but, as you have joined since the last time
I did so (five or more years ago) ...
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Planked Salmon With Honey-Balsamic Glaze
Categories: Seafood, Salmon
Yield: 4 servings
1 Whole side of salmon
-=OR=-
4 (6 oz ea) salmon filets
1 tb Fine sea salt
1/2 ts Fresh ground black pepper
1/4 ts Dry mustard
1/2 c Honey
1/4 c Balsamic vinegar
Melted butter; for brushing
- salmon
2 Untreated cedar planks, each
- about 5" by 12", soaked in
- water to cover for at
- least 12 hours
Extra-virgin olive oil; for
- oiling the planks
Preheat the broiler. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
If using a side of salmon, cut about halfway through the
flesh about every 5 to 6-inches so there are some spaces
for the glazes to sink in. If using salmon fillets, slice
about 8 to 10 sliced angles into flesh, to help flesh more
completely soak in the glaze.
In a small bowl or cup, mix the salt, pepper, and dry mustard.
In a medium glass bowl, heat the honey in the microwave for
30 seconds to liquefy further. Remove from the microwave
and mix in balsamic vinegar.
Brush the top of the salmon fillets (not the skin side)
with the melted butter. Season the flesh side with the spice
mixture. Brush with the honey-balsamic mixture, reserving
some for later.
Put the soaked planks under the hot broiler, about 5 inches
from the heat source, until the wood is browned on top,
about 3 minutes. With tongs, carefully remove the planks
from the oven.
Immediately brush the browned surface with olive oil, then
lay the salmon fillets on the oiled surface, skin side down.
Put 2 cookie sheets in the oven below where the planks will
go to catch any glazes or juices that run off. Return the
planks to the broiler and cook the fish for 10 minutes.
Baste with honey-balsamic and place in oven. Cook until it
is done to your taste, about 10 to 15 more minutes, or 20
minutes total for medium.
Remove the fillets to a platter, or immediately serve
directly from the planks.
Wine Recomendation: Gargiulo Vineyards Pinot Grigio; Chiarello
Vineyards Eilleen Cabarnet
Recipe courtesy Michael Chiarello
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 12 hours
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Episode#: MO1C08
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P
Meal Master Format by Dave Drum - 22 April 2008
Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives
MMMMM
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