This is a gross oversimplification of the issue. As the son of a small time farmer, I have seen the market squeeze out several of the local farmers. Unlike any other business, in farming you are NEVER gauranteed a return on your labor. Weather conditions dictate your yield to a large degree, but over head costs (fuel, equipment, insurance, taxes) have steadily risen). Those with enough land and capital can usually turn a profit, but those ( like my father) with only a few hundred acres of land have to maximize both their time and their yield.
Ten years ago, farming a single field reqired hundreds of hours of labor. The field would have to be disced after harvest, probably disced a second time, cultivated, planted, probably run with a spring tooth, and harvested. If any of the above are neglected, it lowers your yield. In addition, the repeated ground working creates a hard layer of earth about a foot below the surface that causes moisture to run off and keeps plant roots from reach moisture lower in the ground. The labor-intensive nature also requires hired help, which brings its own risks, considering the amount of dangerous equipment and the quality of help you can afford and expect in a farm related job.
Using roundup ready crops, you can use a no-till drill and plant directly over last years harvested crop. As the crops grow, you merely spray with roundup perhaps twice in the growing season- a task that takes MUCH less time, as you can spray a larger area than you can work- and harvest with better yields and half the overhead cost.
Herbacide options outside roundup are not complete- they can target only broadleaf plants or grasses. Since you cannot spray for the type of crop you are growing, you are left vunerable to it.
In the end, the small time farmer either has to buy roundup, or stop farming. The market has shut down any other viable option.
Monsanto has probably extended the life span of the small farm market by 50 years. However, unless grain prices rise significantly, Coporate farming is our future. Monsanto is merely setting a precedence, so that when it is dealing only with coporate farms, they will play by the rules.
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This is a gross oversimplification of the issue. As the son of a small time farmer, I have seen the market squeeze out several of the local farmers. Unlike any other business, in farming you are NEVER gauranteed a return on your labor. Weather conditions dictate your yield to a large degree, but over head costs (fuel, equipment, insurance, taxes) have steadily risen). Those with enough land and capital can usually turn a profit, but those ( like my father) with only a few hundred acres of land have to maximize both their time and their yield. Ten years ago, farming a single field reqired hundreds of hours of labor. The field would have to be disced after harvest, probably disced a second time, cultivated, planted, probably run with a spring tooth, and harvested. If any of the above are neglected, it lowers your yield. In addition, the repeated ground working creates a hard layer of earth about a foot below the surface that causes moisture to run off and keeps plant roots from reach moisture lower in the ground. The labor-intensive nature also requires hired help, which brings its own risks, considering the amount of dangerous equipment and the quality of help you can afford and expect in a farm related job. Using roundup ready crops, you can use a no-till drill and plant directly over last years harvested crop. As the crops grow, you merely spray with roundup perhaps twice in the growing season- a task that takes MUCH less time, as you can spray a larger area than you can work- and harvest with better yields and half the overhead cost. Herbacide options outside roundup are not complete- they can target only broadleaf plants or grasses. Since you cannot spray for the type of crop you are growing, you are left vunerable to it. In the end, the small time farmer either has to buy roundup, or stop farming. The market has shut down any other viable option. Monsanto has probably extended the life span of the small farm market by 50 years. However, unless grain prices rise significantly, Coporate farming is our future. Monsanto is merely setting a precedence, so that when it is dealing only with coporate farms, they will play by the rules.