Potential sites for new mega-solar farms

[Spectric]

Is it not a case of not growing crops to feed bovines whom some then eat but rather grow crops only for human consumption. If meat continues on the menu then meat should be meat and no wastage, would anyone know if there burger was not all bovine but had a percentage of rat or some other animal content . Maybe one day all meat will be lab grown for the ones still eating it.

 

[woodieallen]

Whilst I'm not old enough to speak from experience, I would argue that the 'boomer' generation did have to live through things that people would cry about today, it's easy to forget what we have available today. My parents grew up in the early part of their lives in a house without a fridge or a TV. They didn't have double glazing or cavity wall insulation, They didn't have central heating and power showers. They didn't have memory foam mattresses or clothing so cheap it could be worn a few times and thrown away.
If they wanted music he had to save and buy records assuming they could afford a record player. If they wanted to learn anything they had to go to a library and hope there was a book on it or find someone who knew. They didn't have a telephone. There wasn't the 'pill' til 1960. 3 day weeks in the 70's due to energy crisis. It wasn't til the 80's there was an sort of maternity leave, there was certainly no IVF. MRI scanners only just started being used in the 80's and numerous other medical benefits in the past few decades. No cheap flights to Ibiza for a weekend partying.

I'd be surprised if the current generation want to go back to waiting for the coal man and wiping the frost of the inside of their windows, walking to a phone box to make any calls about the 1 of 3 TV channels they might watch that evening, so they can have cheaper housing (quite often living with grandparent(s)).

And mortgage interest rates of 15% and higher.

 

[woodieallen]

It seems the UK could even be an exporter of energy.

Especially at night when the wind isn't blowing

 

[woodieallen]

Yes I have seen them doing this with traction engines and with modern motors at high voltage it would be extremely efficient. Some huge excavators also work plugged into the grid where the motors just turn pumps to produce hydraulic power for everything.

Pity this approach would totally negate 'precision farming' or 'yield monitoring'.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Pity this approach would totally negate 'precision farming' or 'yield monitoring'.

Might actually improve it…

 

[woodieallen]

Might actually improve it…

How so ?

 

[Jacob]

Pity this approach would totally negate 'precision farming' or 'yield monitoring'.

Why?

 

[woodieallen]

Why?

This is a good starting point

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_agriculture

 

[paulrbarnard]

How so ?

Using cable driven machines between known points…

 

[paulrbarnard]

This is a good starting point

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_agriculture

Actually one of my daughters line of work…

 

[Terry - Somerset]

It's true that younger people have a hard time getting started in adulthood and all that brings but that's not a new thing. Those older, like me, remember high interest rates and purchase taxes. Afrer spending time in a rented flat, we decided to go for our own home and went out searching for a mortgage.

We managed to get a mortgage offer and then a kindly solicitor found someone, a client of his, no doubt, who lent us the deposit at 16%; a secound mortgage arranged before the first! But it went smoothly. We bought our first home, prices were rising in the 70s, and in 5 years we moved to our existing home.

Now, although house prices are higher, so are wages for all. Not much different from the past, just different music around now.

Graph showing mortgage to salary ratio for the last 40 years courtesy of : Mortgage to salary

It is understandable why folk are feeling the pain now with the rise in interest rates over the last 18 months. But based on history it may just be a temporary blip - interest rates are more volatile more tan house prices!

 

[woodieallen]

Actually one of my daughters line of work…

Interesting. Have you run the idea of cable-driven machinery and compatibility with precision farming by her ? I statement is based on conversations with local farmers.

 

[niemeyjt]

Well no. You missed the obvious bit of simple maths.
"If we combine pastures and cropland for animal feed, around 80% of all agricultural land is used for meat and dairy production. This has a large impact on how land requirements change as we shift towards a more plant-based diet. If the world population ate less meat and dairy we would be eating more crops."
If this 80% is then reduced to just 60% this would double the 20% used for crops.
These are crude generalisations of course but the general idea holds.
Reducing meat prod to zero would liberate 80% of the earths agricultural land for, for instance, re-forestation and carbon capture, as well as massive increase in food production.
In fact most deforestation world wide, by a large factor, is land cleared for meat production and the associated fodder.
There's even a theory that the Sahara desert was created by over grazing for meat products, and that something similar is now happening in the Amazonian and other virgin forest areas - the oxygen generating lungs of the planet being turned to desert.

Not all livestock is fed on grain and pulses grown on agricultural land.

Sheep, Goats and Cows (and horses for that matter) graze grasses in meadows and uplands. Stop eating animals and what happens to that land?

 

[paulrbarnard]

Interesting. Have you run the idea of cable-driven machinery and compatibility with precision farming by her ? I statement is based on conversations with local farmers.

FWIW I don’t think it is practical. I was responding to your statement that it wouldn’t support precision farming. A cable between two known points is likely more accurate than the best positioning systems today (that’s my daughter’s specialism by the way).

 

[Jacob]

Not all livestock is fed on grain and pulses grown on agricultural land.

Sheep, Goats and Cows (and horses for that matter) graze grasses in meadows and uplands. Stop eating animals and what happens to that land?

Nearly all are also fed from other source and areas of land. Sometimes intensively.
If restricted to grazing only, production would shrink away.
https://www.pastureforlife.org/faqs/

https://ourworldindata.org/land-use-diets#:~:text=As a rule of thumb,amount of farmland we need.

 

[Jacob]

This is a good starting point

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_agriculture

Why would alternative means of farming affect Precision agriculture?

 

[niemeyjt]

Nearly all are also fed from other source and areas of land. Sometimes intensively.
If restricted to grazing only, production would shrink away.
https://www.pastureforlife.org/faqs/

https://ourworldindata.org/land-use-diets#:~:text=As a rule of thumb,amount of farmland we need.

Yes - in winter they are given extra food - in summer they graze.

So, do we starve any animals in winter unable to graze?

 

[Jacob]

Yes - in winter they are given extra food - in summer they graze.

So, do we starve any animals in winter unable to graze?

Eat less meat, have fewer animals, reduce the area needed to support them. That's the idea.

 

[niemeyjt]

But they still need feed in winter

 

[Jacob]

But they still need feed in winter

Yes, but less.