[Vision2020] 65 acre feet of water equals $2 million of food

[pkraut at moscow.com]

So you weren't at the meeting last night or heard any of the 
explainations for the vote?? Too bad you might have learned some things.




> Good points, Gary.  I agree things are stacked against
> my proposal.  Since you are a business owner, I'm sure
> you realize how much work it takes to succeed at any
> endeavor.  I don't know how you got to where you are,
> but I assume you do what you do because you want to
> and feel it's worth it, despite the headache you may
> have of being a business owner and landlord.
> 
> The point of my proposal, though admittedly
> far-fetched, is mostly to get people to think about
> the cost of business as usual.  We can continue on the
> path we are on, forcing our grand-children to inherit
> the debt from our continued short-sighted lifestyle,
> or we can make individual choices to do something to
> insure they will have a quality of life we would want
> as well.
> 
> The fact is, as fuel prices increase, food prices will
> increase.  People can continue to purchase shiny,
> tasteless tomatoes shipped in from Chile that are
> probably grown using pesticides farmers in the US are
> banned from using, or we can start to support local
> farmers who want to grow you food.
> 
> Anybody who eats locally-grown organic food knows it
> tastes way better than conventional food.  While there
> may not be a majority of Muscovites who wants to eat
> organic food at this point, there may come a time when
> they grow tired of eating bland "Food Server of
> America" food not only because it will be just as
> expensive to truck in as to buy locally-produced
> organic produce, but because organics taste better,
> don't have toxic pesticide residue and have less of a
> ecological impact compared to conventionally grown
> food trucked in from California.
> 
> Considering the subsidies many food producers get, the
> price we pay for food does not reflect the true cost
> of growing that food.  Americans have some of the
> cheapest food in the world not only because of our
> highly mechanized and high yielding fields, but
> because the government provides subsidies to many
> growers.  People who grow organics should be on a
> level playing field, but that is not the case, so
> organics can be more expensive.  But that won't
> necessarily always be the case, particularly if that
> food is consumed locally.  Locally-grown food will
> probably be cheaper, organic or not.  
> 
> We have the land here, 2 land-grant universities to
> supply skilled labor, and seeing as how a retail mall
> can swallow 65 af of water, we must have plenty of
> water to increase irrigated farming.
> 
> While my proposal won't solve all our problems, I
> believe it is a step in the right direction to
> insuring a more sustainable future.
> 
> Gary also mentioned Hawkins Phase II which leads me to
> remind people that the 714,000 square foot mall is
> Phase I.  They have plans to develop the rest of their
> 204 acres, which means an even bigger impact than
> Phase I will have.
> 
> gclev
> 
> --- "g. crabtree" <jampot at roadrunner.com> wrote:
> 
> > Wednesday 080305 at 5:25A.M.
> > 
> > What do you imagine the difference is between WSU's
> > organic farm and the 
> > imaginary Hawkins development farm that you seem to
> > think would solve all 
> > the health, economic, and environmental woes or the
> > Palouse?
> > 
> > Why do you imagine that a local entrepreneur hasn't
> > acquired 204 acres of 
> > "some of the most fertile farm land in the world"
> > and become the fresh 
> > organic produce king of the Moscow-Pullman corridor?
> > 
> > Could it be that WSU's quaint little farm has some
> > very distinct advantages 
> > that a privately operated concern doesn't?
> > 
> > WSU's organic hobby farm has:
> > 
> > >Tax free land, provided to the operator at no cost.
> > 
> > >All seed, supplies, and equipment are provided at
> > no cost by the state.
> > 
> > >No need to service the debt of an operating line of
> > credit or mortgage.
> > 
> > >No cost for labor or services, not just farm hands
> > but lawyer, accountant, 
> > >fuel distributor, etc.
> > 
> > >Most importantly, no requirement to generate a
> > profit.
> > 
> > If you think that these minor little considerations
> > are of no consequence, I 
> > encourage you to join together with a couple of your
> > pals, purchase some 
> > land in the corridor, and give it a go. I'll
> > completely leave aside for now 
> > the questionable notion that you'll be able to find
> > 20,400 like minded 
> > people who are anxious to devour puny, bug nibbled
> > veggies for a premium 
> > price. I'm guessing that after a few years (very
> > few) of dealing with real 
> > world requirements of profit and loss  you'll be
> > only too happy to sell your 
> > little gold mine to whoever will give you enough to
> > retire your accumulated 
> > and ever expanding debt. Perhaps by then Hawkins II
> > will be ready for 
> > development.
> > 
> > g
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Garrett Clevenger" <garrettmc at verizon.net>
> > To: "vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> > Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 10:28 PM
> > Subject: [Vision2020] 65 acre feet of water equals
> > $2 million of food
> > 
> > 
> > >I spoke with the manager at WSU's organic farm
> > about
> > > their water use and income, and did some
> > calculating
> > > to put a figure on what the water Moscow agreed to
> > > give Hawkins would be worth in terms of growing
> > food.
> > >
> > > WSU uses about 500,000 gallons to irrigate 3 acres
> > of
> > > organically grown produce.  They produce food for
> > 300
> > > people who subscribe to their Community Supported
> > Ag
> > > (CSA) service, and sell a bit at farmers markets,
> > the
> > > Coop and WSU Hospitality.
> > >
> > > They brought in $45,000 in 2007.  Since they are a
> > > teaching farm, they are not producing as much as
> > they
> > > could, so this is a conservative figure.
> > >
> > > Based on the 65 acre feet of water Moscow may sell
> > > Hawkins, and the 204 acres that Hawkins plans to
> > buy
> > > from Whitworth College for their development, here
> > are
> > > the numbers if that water and land were used
> > instead
> > > to produce locally consumed organic food.
> > >
> > > 65 af = 21,180,315 gallons.  This divided by
> > 166,666
> > > gallons needed to irrigate 1 acre times $15,000
> > income
> > > per acre equals:
> > >
> > > $1,906,228 worth of locally produced produce,
> > money
> > > made from something made here, as opposed to most
> > food
> > > that is trucked in, which adds a whole other layer
> > of
> > > costs.
> > >
> > > 204 acres times $15,000 per acres equals:
> > >
> > > $3,060,000 worth of produce.
> > >
> > > Another interesting number is if the 65 af were
> > used
> > > to produce food, 12,708 people would be fed.  If
> > the
> > > 204 acres were used to produce food, 20,400 people
> > > would be fed, about the size of Moscow.
> > >
> > > If this water and/or land were used for something
> > > everybody needs (food) in a way that insures
> > > freshness, a cheaper cost (CSA subscribers
> > generally
> > > receive more produce then they would be able to
> > buy in
> > > a store at the same cost) and that money stays
> > local
> > > (as opposed to most of the products that will be
> > sold
> > > at Hawkins, which are often produced overseas,
> > adding
> > > a whole layer of hidden costs) it seems to me we
> > > should be refocusing our priorities on how we are
> > > allocated precious and limited resources.
> > >
> > > The Palouse has some of the most fertile soil in
> > the
> > > world, yet most of the wheat grown here is shipped
> > > overseas.  On top of all the development that is
> > > swallowing farmland, we are not utilizing for the
> > best
> > > something that has way more value then is
> > currently
> > > given.
> > >
> > > What a boon it would be for our health, economy
> > and
> > > environment if we irrigated this farmland to
> > produce
> > > food for ourselves, instead of bringing in stuff
> > most
> > > people don't need, and shipping out the food that
> > is
> > > now grown here.  Who doesn't understand how
> > > short-sighted it is to use this land and water for
> > > retail sprawl instead of food?
> > >
> > > gclev
> > >
> > >
> >
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> > >          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> > >
> >
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> > 
> > 
> > 
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