While the film constantly portrayed efforts to reduce the families living
expenditures, I only recall one mention of efforts to reduce their farming
operational costs (Darryl states that he needs to take over the equipment
maintenance costs and be more selective in identifying immediate
maintenance needs)
Darryl goes to counseling to help "sustain" his marriage, yet
there is no mention of his trying to seek out more sustainable farming
practices... I don't recall the film portraying Darryl talking to any
other farmers other than his father....
I recognize that the films producers were not producing the film for
agronomists...(e.g they never even mentioned how many acres Darryl was
farming) but the film left me wondering whether the focus on the families
emotional struggle simply ignored Darryls efforts to farm more sustainably
or... perhaps Darryl was not aware of the possibility of alternative more
sustainable/profitable modifications to his farming system.
Darryls farm was a mixed livestock/cash grain operation growing a variety
of crops presumably in rotation... so perhaps his farming system is
already more ecological than most... yet the film left me thinking... if
only Darryl would avail himself
of the activities of the Center for Rural affairs or other similar groups
(I am not too familar with sustainabel ag resources in Nebraska), he might
find a way to farm more profitably/sustainably...
Any comments ?
Joel Gruver
U of MD
Soil Quality
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".