Longmeadow, it sounds like you are doing a good job. As far as an organic system goes, to me grassland with ruminants is about the only truly sustainable systems that works.What scares me is the consumer buying organic today frequently shuns meats, especially ruminants. And any system organic or not, doesn't function well without livestock. Most of the organic vegetable cultivation I've seen involves a lot of tillage and other things I'd consider environmental compromises.
As far as your quiz goes: Brix to me is a measure of sugar content; while it may exist, Bt toxicity in ruminants is not scientifically proven (some contested data from Europe, little elsewhere that has been peer reviewed and accepted); glyphosate toxicity may or may not be an issue- depends on who you want to listen to. Glyphosate (and perhaps Monsanto) seems to be Organic's favorite ox to gore. I've often wonder who they would rail against if it wasn't glyphosate. Frankly, I wish they'd worry more about aatrazine or some of the other insecticides out there.
To me, the greater toxicity to soil life (and perhaps all life) is the plow! And our experiences here show it. But again, our soil gets breaks from herbicide due to hay in the rotation. Yet the worms, soil organic matter, and soil life never really thrived until the plow left. That change made more improvement than any other. My experience has shown the biggest detriments are tillage and anhydrous ammonia.
Your story about the gulls returning made me laugh. Ditch the plow man... nature doesn't have one. Only worms. The gulls will follow the hay mower and manure spreader if you quit plowing. I promise. :)
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Today's Featured Article - Third Brush Generators - by Chris Pratt. While I love straightening sheet metal, cleaning, and painting old tractors, I use every excuse to avoid working on the on the electrics. I find the whole process sheer mystery. I have picked up and attempted to read every auto and farm electrics book with no improvement in the situation. They all seem to start with a chapter entitled "Theory of Electricity". After a few paragraphs I usually close the book and go back to banging out dents. A good friend and I were recently discussing our tractor electrical systems when he stated "I figure it all comes back to applying Ohms Law". At this point
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