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A comment on Fighting climate change may be cheaper and more beneficial than we think. Parent comment

Re:Fighting climate change may be cheaper and more beneficia... by Ensorceled on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @10:35AM (#20402342)
That's not how biomass works, biomass is not a zero-sum game. The main issue with sustainable dairy farming is secondary elements and nitrogen fixing. My grandfathers both planted clover in rotation for this reason.

Eventually, the ground will become depleted of phosphorous and potassium. Other trace elements tend to take a really long time to deplete, especially in clay.

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Re:Fighting climate change may be cheaper and more beneficia... by hvidgaard on Thursday July 11, 2019 @04:52AM (#20410094)
That was my point. What we see today in conventional farming is just what your grandfathers did "on steroids". We've become really good at farming, so the depletion happens significantly faster.

For every product that leaves the farm, it takes something from the ground. Some can be amended with legume plants, but minerals will deplete at some point - adding them yearly is responsible farming.

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