Brad DeLong and Turnip Townshend

Brad points to the Wikipedia article on this man here, and notes his connection to our Revolution as well.

Townshend introduced to England the four-field crop rotation pioneered by farmers in the Waasland region in the early 16th century. The system (wheat, barley, turnips and clover), opened up a fodder crop and grazing crop allowing livestock to be bred year-round, and increased productivity by avoiding leaving the soil uncultivated every third year. Previously, a three-year rotation was practiced by farmers in Europe with a rotation of rye or winter wheat, followed by spring oats or barley, then letting the soil rest (leaving it fallow) during the third stage. Crop rotation is necessary in order to avoid the build-up of crop-specific soil pests and diseases, and because different families of plant have varying nutritional requirements. The four-field crop rotation was a key development in the British Agricultural Revolution.

I should also note the Mark Overton, BBC series, who ties this into organic and industrial farming.

Obama Breaks His Promise Again

He signed the Chip bill today, without the 5 day public accessibility. See the first time.

[Updated] See this politico post.

Flexible Leases and Definition of Producer

Farmgate carries a piece lauding the change in the farm bill to permit flexible crop leases without making the landowner a "producer" for purposes of farm programs. It means the owners don't have to sign FSA contracts and related paperwork.

Given the long history of the provision, I'm wondering if there will be unanticipated effects. But, that's a question which the future will answer, I guess.

Government Web Sites--USDA Is Low

According to the detail in this report, USDA web sites don't do as well as other government sites. (See pages 15 and 19.)

ACRE Confuses Even the EU

From the DTN blog citing an EU assessment of ACRE:

"Heralded as an innovative new risk management tool, ACRE is yet another countercyclical scheme, this time for revenue," the report highlights. "So it is business as usual in that the countercyclical nature of US farm support continues, with a bewildering array of schemes all addressing the same issues. For many observers it represents a significant step backwards in terms of agricultural policy."

See also Keith Good's FarmPolicy which puts this assessment in the broader context of challenges to free trade.

A Cloud on FSA Computers

From today's Post--Obama doesn't have the votes in the Senate for the stimulus package, so Sens. Collins and Nelson (NE) are trying to fix it, by cuts:

Among the items that the Collins-Nelson initiative is targeting: $1.1 billion for comparative medical research, $350 million for Agriculture Department computers, $75 million to discourage smoking, $20 million in Interior Department funding, $400 million for HIV screening and $650 million for wildlife management.

[Updated} See this Government Executive piece as well.

Definition of a "Family Farm"

A post at Obamafoodorma on Chuck Hassebrouck's quest to serve in the USDA discusses the National Farmers Union and reads NFU out of the left, including:

Well, it's become a House Divided, as the definition of what, exactly, a family farm is has come under increasing debate. We're talking economies of scale here: A 10,000 acre "family-owned farm" is profoundly different in its capitalization and where it sells crops, in the use of genetically engineered crops, machines, animal confinement, and energy than is, say, a three/four-hundred-acre family farm. A 10,000 acre family farm, despite being "owned" on paper by a single family, is actually Big Ag, when you parse it. NFU, under Buis's leadership, has increasingly leaned towards protecting the interests of huge family farms (thus protecting the interests of Big Ag), toward commodity programs, and has foregone its progressive history.

IMO a family farm is defined as no more than 40 acres of cropland, owned by one family, and operated by one family, with minimal hired help and contracted services (like baling hay), located in upstate NY. More seriously, while a 10,000 acre farm is industrial agriculture, I could conceive it being a family farm, as in owned and operated by one nuclear family, or the families of two siblings.

Iraq Needed Bureaucrats

There was a C-Span broadcast yesterday of a hearing by an Iraq/Afghanistan contracting commission with the IG, Mr. Bowen and staff., tied to the book: "Hard Lessons". One of the interesting questions, perhaps from the former comptroller of the Pentagon, was about "absorptive capacity", whether Iraq had the bureaucratic infrastructure to absorb the $18 billion, or $25 billion, or whatever amounts were targeted for the country. Bowen said: "no", maybe $5 billion. Point--you need bureaucrats, you need a banking system (which Iraq didn't have, so they hauled cash around), in order to spend money.

But What About Battleaxe?

Good news for the animal lovers among us--British researchers find that cows with names give more milk. (Hat Tip: Freakonomics). It's the sort of warm idea which pleases everyone--images of farmers stroking the cow's nose, before sitting down to milk her. Actually, I suspect it's an artifact: dairies with lots of cows can't give names, dairies with few cows can. And the only way a small dairy can survive is to pick the most productive cows.

Then again, sometimes animals earn names. (I wonder whether the piglets in this story got named, other than the expletives I'm sure Stonehead surpressed in writing it.) Which all reminds me of a cow we had named "Battleaxe". As one might expect, she didn't have a pleasant personality, nor was she particularly productive, but dad endured her for a few years, years which saw him educate his son in profanity.

Football Players Are Too Big

Parts of last night's Superbowl were great. But I took a look at the rosters for each team--if I'm right there was only one lineman who weighed less than 300 pounds. That's a lot.

How about imposing a team weight limit--say set the cap at 95 percent of the weight of the average NFL team? Then you'd have judgment calls--do you keep your 350 pound nose tackle and cut your 280 pound middle linebacker or vice versa?

Just a thought. (The Ivy schools have a lightweight football league.)