What are your thoughts on this???
http://www.thestate.com/2013/12/10/3...-concerns.html
What are your thoughts on this???
http://www.thestate.com/2013/12/10/3...-concerns.html
The second site is about a 1/2 mile from my poultry farm. I'm not by any means against the farm itself, but the amount of water that will need to irrigate these 2 sites is unbelievable. I'm just not sure the river could withstand the seasonal draw that would occur while irrigating during a dry period. We all know that we never more than about 2 weeks away from drought in SC. These people don't play, that's for sure. Starting in Jan, they will run 24hrs a day clearing and prepping the 2nd site.
I posted it in the wildlife and habitat politics forum.
It sux. We are just below this monstrosity.
Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium. -
I prefer liberty with danger, to peace with slavery.
I can hear the equipment running. Not sure exactly which site , but it's to damn close .
Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium. -
I prefer liberty with danger, to peace with slavery.
You must be near the 2nd site. They've been hauling at least 55 loads of timber a day of this site. The loggers can barely keep up with the clearing crews.
The water usage figure seems blown so far out of proportion it isn't funny. Follow the calculations below. And if the farm is 3,700 acres there's no way there's 3700 acres of potatoes on it.
3,700 acres x 7 acre inches of water x 27154 gallons/acre inch = 703,288,600 gallons
Don't get me wrong, that's a lot of water but its not 9.6 billion gallons.
FYI, It's also a slippery slope protesting farms.
Last edited by sc high tide; 12-13-2013 at 08:40 AM.
"It's a numbers game" - Mac Owen
Endangered: Farmers, Watermen, and Rural Life
Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium. -
I prefer liberty with danger, to peace with slavery.
Having grown up on the Edisto River, I can say that in periods of drought, as many of you know, that river didn't have a drop of water to give up. In the 1980's, I saw the Denmark CC area go from over my 12 yr old head to knee deep and largely impassible by boat.
How many legal residents will this potato farm employ?
My guess would be everyone. I have been in the other fields they farm in this state and the few people working were certainly legal. The crew of ten can harvest that pretty easily with modern equipment.
A client of mine has done a bunch of custom work on the first site and said it is pretty impressive.
cut\'em
I'm also not against the farm itself. But I surely don't like the amount of water they are going to suck out of the river to irrigate. Our hunting club is directly across the river from where they are clearing now. My uncle and another good friend of mine are two of the logging crews in there. They can't cut fast enough to keep up with the guys clearing. I strongly urge anyone who cares about whats happening and what will happen as a result of that much water being taken out of the river to join Friends of the Edisto and voice your concerns. Power is in numbers and if enough people fight this thing we might be able to save something a lot of us have enjoyed growing up and still enjoy it!
I'm not against the farm either, but am totally against what they are doing near the rivers edge and their proposed water withdrawal numbers. This thing has disaster written all over it. According to what I've learned they will employ 10 people....... Like I said earlier. Go to the FRED and Edisto Concerns Facebook pages( I don't think you need an account to view) There are several videos of the new area that are current and recent pics of other areas these people have already decimated. Aiken county and dehec allowed this to happen and somehow they kept this thing under the radar back in March , so by the time the equipment came rolling in the option to protest was gone, which I feel was a planned move.
Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium. -
I prefer liberty with danger, to peace with slavery.
Are they paying for the water rights or usage? If not the EPA just saved them a fortune. Digging ponds and or putting in wells is expensive. I bet the power companies are happy though, they probably have to use three phase power for all their pumps.
During most years I fid it hard to believe they will pump 9.6 billion gallons of water but in a dry year maybe. They will likely use drip irrigation lines not overhead pivots. Potatoes are a shallow rooted crop so they are trying to keep the top few inches at a fairly consistent soil moisture.
I would like to see them metered to determine how much the are actually pulling.
Coworker has been out there a few times. I hear it is impressive.
I do not see a problem with it, they have gotten the permits and done everything according to process. If local protesters are so worried they should have purchased the land prior to Walther Farms.
Having said that, where do you think the irrigated water will go that is not absorbed by the potatoes? A fair bit will go to evaporation but all the runoff and what disperse into the ground will naturally make its way back into the river.
Careful not to curse a farmer with a full stomach!
What smillee said
[QUOTE=SCFoxman;1580162]I'd be more concerned with the amount of fertilizer mixed with that water coming back to the river.
This is another thing we are very concerned about. Our club is literally only several bends down from this site and we do a lot of fishing around our club. What is going to happen when these chemicals make their way into the river and right on down they go. I come from a farming family and could care less how big the farm is or what they grow are anything else about the farm. Like I've stated before, our biggest concerns are what it will do to the water level in the river and how they going to prevent these chemicals from getting into the river. From what I've been told by someone doing a lot of research on this operation, some of the chemicals they use are pretty dangerous. JMO
Here's another article to read:
http://www.michigansthumb.com/articl...e839635387.txt
Last edited by SCHUNTINFANATIC; 12-13-2013 at 10:32 AM.
[quote=SCHUNTINFANATIC;1580187]
I find it amazing that you come from a farm and have an attitude like this, hard to believe really. How are the "chemicals" any different than any other corn, soybean, cotton, sod farm in the area. But yet there seems to be no concern about these other entities. I really boggles the mind the attitude that sportsmen and outdoorsmen have about a new farming operation. Would you prefer it was a housing development?
"It's a numbers game" - Mac Owen
Endangered: Farmers, Watermen, and Rural Life
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