U.S. Farms Waste A Lot Of Water - But This Tech Could Help 

Runoff depends more on terrain than soil composition.

@@A_J502 Some of the worst erosion in the world is happening on laser-leveled flat agricultural fields, particularly in the American Midwest and along the Mississippi River. That is why there is now, a "Dead Zone" in the Gulf of Mexico. It is very much a function of soil structure which has been degraded for decades by harmful industrial agricultural practices such as heavy machinery tilling, toxic chemicals, over-grazing, bad crop management, deforestation, etc.

@@selectbrands That’s a matter of wind and poor management, not a problem inherent or unique to any kind of agriculture. So what’s your point?

@@A_J502 There has always been WIND and poor management, it never caused DEAD ZONES in our oceans. You must not be familar with how intensive modern agriculture works. You can read any science journal to learn about how destructive fertilizer leaching from this erosion (SPECIFICALLY caused by industrial agricultural practices) has now become. Toxic chemicals from herbicides and antibotics are also finding their way into public water systems after they leach off of these farms through erosion. Harmful bacteria from animal waste like E Coli and salmonella are leaching off of CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) which is a quintisentially industrial agricultural practice, contaminating water resources. Just visit a CAFO when it's raining and you'll be able to see and smell the erosion of filth, chemicals, and oxidized dirt running off in all directions. There is another phenomena you should look up called "topsoil loss". That is a specific and particularly harmful type of erosion because it is happening at an alarming rate in what is considered the most fertile farmland in the world. Erosion from farmlands are also destroying wetlands, rivers, and other watersheds at the same time that these intensive farm practices are quickly depleting aquifers and other water sources. Organic farms, backyard gardeners, small family farms, etc. are not really a part of this crisis, it is primarily happening on large broad acre cropped fields farmed with toxic chemicals and heavy machinery. In other words, industrial agriculture. You can Google just about anything related to modern intensive or industrial agriculture to learn about the unparalleled level of agriculturally caused erosion and how it is desertifying the Western United States (among other places). Many scientists are now identifying modern agricultural practices as being among the most ecologically destructive forces in the world. Please, just do some cursory reading on the topic, it is a worthwhile pursuit---unlike arguing with me.

Waste?

Wow. That seems like it needs more looking into. So they need to be wastful to keep the rights to stay wasteful?

@@melisboregard Yes because the western water pact was made 100 years ago when water wasn't a concern. Most didn't really understand what it mean to look down the road a century later. Also the western population was a fraction of what it is now.

@@melisboregard just like how govt funding works. If you don't use up your budget for the year you have to explain why you over forecast last year.. And next year you'll not only have your budget cut but face more red tape. So it's better to go over

That’s a hot and yet untriggering point that’s being addressed

some people even inherited the "right to use." They say that their great grandparents signed treaties with the government to use as much water as they want. The US did this back then to push out Mexican and indigenous people from the Southwest and push in the manifest destiny. After the Mexican-American War, any Mexican staying on newly acquired US land had to make a choice of citizenship - choosing to be Mexican or US. And if they abstained, then they were automatically given US naturalization. This was done to apply US laws on new US Land

Grew sewage water* I think you got some weird autocorrect.

@@ignaciogonzalez8716 No autocorrect issues. It’s typically called grey water. It’s been treated and the heavy solids removed and treated with bacteria, filtered and then reused

@@jamram9924 I'm talking about the part where it says "grey soldiers ayer"

@@ignaciogonzalez8716: Yes, the silly auto correct. I just noticed it….🤦🏻‍♂️Thanks!

Israel is just phenomenal at water conservation

This idea of how costs affects supply/demand is so prevalent, so well understood, that it makes you wonder what forces prevents cities/states/countries from taxing water use, especially given that the alternative is "the collapsing of your industry".

@@Honken Taxing isn't necessary. Just pricing of water equally among purchasers.

@@mikestaihr5183 I'm not up to speed with how things are done in the US. Who owns the water? Why are they selling it at different prices? My assumption was that it was owned by the city/municipality, as is common throughout Europe. In that context, taxation is the tool AFAIK.

@@Honken Didn't realize you aren't from here... Water "ownership" laws are way too complicated here in the US for me try to go into here. I was born here and really have a hard time sorting it out myself---😁-- There are other commenters on here that touch on some of the issues.

@@Honken Water is owned by various different jurisdictions, since there is no one single national unitary ownership of water sources and waterways. It is usually a US State (California as an example) or a joint-ownership of several States (California and Oregon as examples) that decide the price of the water and its allocation. Sometimes a water jurisdiction is on federal land and administered by the US gov. Sometime tribal reservation lands will also manage water sources too. Sometimes water sources are on private land and are sold by corporations/big business. Local municipalities don't get as much local water as much as their counties buy from water authorities up the bureaucratic food chain. However, some big city regions such as Los Angeles have huge sway, clout, and tax revenue over water that is sourced all the way from Owens Valley near the southeastern Sierra Nevada region (this region is not even in LA County proper)

They should do another 40%. They’ll talk about sprinkler efficiency but no sprinkler is as efficient as dry land farming or greenhouses. California being a necessary salad bowl for the things they grow is a colossal myth. The things being grown are found anywhere from Sweden to Kenya. They could be grown elsewhere in the US. If they weren’t getting massive subsidies either directly or through water infrastructure that should never have been built, someone else would grow it competitively. Let farmers move somewhere else or rot. Self sufficiency and adaptability is expected of people in every other industry but farmers hold some special place in national mythos so get a free pass.

@@Freshbott2 Greenhouses are incredibly inefficient due to wasted space.

Copium for the masses

that is so dumb on so many levels

@@shreyasbhatt7112 not at all.... Americans need to stick together, not handout our food to foreigners when we are in a crisis

Hey grow hay for middle east for horses with our water!

@@t-money8572 lol dude, you know nothing about how global economics works lol.... you think an economy can survive withouth sufficient exports???

@@superbatmanwayne not about an economy. This is about self sustaining. America first in times of crisis. When lake Mead dries up - this will be the case. No exports because there won't be any margin in exporting

The government floated the price of water in Australia years back after similar issues. Some action is taken against it proactively so it’s not entirely a free market (e.g allocated against entitlements due to changes in rainfall etc) but it can otherwise be traded freely. The policies ensure the water isn’t being taken from a completely different water shed to where it’s used and in a wet year farmers don’t feel compelled to use their entire allocation for no reason.

there is a monetary cost lol. lots of people need clean water and transporting that water costs money. getting it,costs money. one of the guys that made billions in the housing collapse went into Water and the transporting of water.. Making bank.

I pay for water each month. what are you talking about?

@@billyyank5807 Depending on how much you pay, you may actually be somewhat careful with your consumption. And the more you pay, the more careful you would be. But, there are far too many commercial users who pay nothing directly.

We use that kind of taxing very well in Denmark. For water all consumers has meters. We normal ones are much more carefull, so we spend a lot less water, when we open the taps in and also outside the house. Many having only some few flowers or vegetables systemacly collect water from the roofs. USA has the most stuoid shower system. Youshould make your shower handheld til a pipeline. By that You can use much less water and wash You all over just as You afterwards use a towel. In the industrial sector our products dont gets more expensive. You also lives in a best to the price country. So compte also says inventing much better methods. Its everywhere. You can use the water again and again if You clean it well or enough. If Yiu use a lot of water for cooling something, You very often can let i go to a tank, where You cool it down with an air to water heat pump. Its the same for carwashing. Its total routine they all has a filter taking away salt and dirt. Its the same high plus for buildings. Millions and milions of American houses would be strictly forbidden here. The houses all here(any new building - ANY) has to have hard walls inside and outside. Its a demand You put 30 cm insolation between them(Rockwool invented in United States in 1926). The windows as well as the doors has to be high isolated in the same way. So we have much better(and more advanced) windows then most of Yours. Our doors to to in and is slightly thicker but not heavy. By that all buildings use 15% energy for warming and cooling compared to Your light and too cheep buildings. We are in control. When its summer not much heat from the sun comes in. In the winthertime we keep the expensive heating up. We do live in a colder climate then You, but the advanced windows can be opended more safe in the top. By that You can get free aircondition, when the weather mainly in the nighttime is for it(we do have bugs too, but its dark in Our bedrooms when we sleepp). So taxing it as 2 of those examples keep many things and not only water and electricity prices down. So the Goverment here help to keep Your wallet or credit card full. You even get more time having shorter showers😀😀 We by the way also has the highest car prices in the world. People by that buy a little smaller cars, which consumes much less fuel. By that we have still has the same too many cars as You . Its tempting to compare compare driving licenses as well. Ours are much much more going to school with professional teachers. By that they also are very expensive. But it reduce killed, wounded, car repairs, insurrences and expensive laywers and advicers.

we will not survive.......we have a short time left

@@rickricky5626 Not with that attitude we won’t Ricky Bobby

Yeah…..good luck with that

I would say this isn't really true. We could easily move to more modern production farms and maintain the same relative cost excluding the high up front cost of building these modern farms. We just need to make it feasible for farms of yesteryear to move into the future.

@@johnsnow5955 “Modern” production farms aren’t scalable to a third of a North America. Compact farms are only useful where space is the limiting factor.

Ya but you tell that to the farmers in California they'll throw a hissy fit Lotta people don't wanna work together

California raises a huge amount of fruits and vegetables that can’t just be grown anywhere, you guys produce grains.

California isn't getting rid of their dairys. I'm not in California but on the west coast 2 miles from the pacific ocean. I wouldn't give up my local dairy either for some crap Wisconsin cheese. no thanks! I like my milk,ice cream butter and cheese made local thanks.

California 40m residents use only 20% of the water. Almond trees use 10%. It takes almost 2000 gallons of water for one pound of almonds.

Im from Denmark and wont compare, but USA try hard to export very sheep soyabean to us and everyone. Its a miracle it can give plus. USA also enjoy many more kilos of meat then most people. So a slightly reduced meat consumption could have a positive effect on seize and lifetime. You also will need much less medicine, which of course includes diabetes. You could reduce the commercials. We have too many of them here as well. By that I dont think Your mainproblem is fruit and vegetables. I like nappa wine, raisens and gfrapes from here. Im also willingly to pay well for them. I kind of think You should make a country healthcare program. Thats a positive entrence for the many changes made for too many overweight solutions and not only seats and chairs. We have many fat ones even its slightly better here. Most of them hardly know how they do it. A very big difference between You and us is, that You buy so many kinds of food in big, large. By that you of course dont want to leave the paid product to OUT. You eat it. You drink it. You are "normal". Here we know seize means a lot. You either take it in or make a too big waste. Thats my spontane reflexions and not only for USA. And Im no vegetarian at all. When I goes up in kilos, I have the good habit to eat less meat. By that I also use less oil and butter.

You cannot waste water LMAO You are the first person on this idiot feed to actually get that.

Not necessarily where it does us any good, though. A higher ocean doesn’t do farmers over a dry aquifer any good.

@@ericpmoss Increasing global temperatures on the Ocean will defacto evaporate water and dump it on land.. Thats part of the cycle. If you think Oceans get higher then peak and thats it.. then you don't understand cycles.. And, water just doesn't go to the Ocean. It can go back underground (actually a lot of it does and is stored there and filtered through the ground)..

I totally agree & know the same water dinosaurs drank & p!ssed out is the same water We drink & p!ss out due to the water cycles. ILLitist beings of flesh are the ones who CONtrol the water & weather with |-|/-\/-\RP technology. Then try to scare peop|e into not using water. Also, these High IQs never say the Earth is constantly shifting, expanding and moving as to possibly why the water is drying up in some areas worldwide.

Cleaning water takes resources, energy, and labor. So it is wasteful. Many farmers like to use clean and convenient water from facets. Or don't have the infrastructure to collect rainwater. Collecting enough rainwater is less dependable. Droughts exist.

You are right but its no new thing to buy and produce Your needs crossing oceans. America was made for that. There was too many Europeans in Europe some even had a bad religion. And thats wasnt enough so slaves were taking into the country of freedom as a must.

We can’t take diction for granite. Heh.

Correction, US conservatives are that way. That's literally the meaning of them being "conservative". Then they complain that liberals are "ruining the country" when push to try doing something different to how it has been done.

@@dennis567 ok. But all I was saying is that the US could easily leverage the same agricultural water technology from those who do it well.

Hydroponics is better but still produces chemical waste.. Aquaponics is our sustainable future.

@@johnsnow5955 kratky is easy and afforable for the average person who can not afford the full system, no waste is made when you re use the same water and solution (you do not dispose of it) . Aquaponics is farming of the future.

It's worse than that, paying farmers not to grow anything at all! Look up CRP

The big thing with the "cant be grown elsewhere" is the fresh fruits and vegetables in the central valley. Like if you go to walmart of kroger, the only way you get fresh peppers and tomatoes in February is if you grow them in desert south west where they grow year round. You do have a point with the ones you mentioned tho, cotton grows well in the SE, alfalfa has no place in cali and would be better off in Wisconsin, and cattle have been doing great on midwestern pasture for forever.

@@WillTheBassPlayer Most of those things come from Mexico.

@@KRYMauL very true, but domestically speaking, Cali and part of Florida maybe are the only places that have that can support that kind of agriculture. Many, though not all, parts of Mexico are also experiencing drought just as bad

Try doing that on a massive scale, you know how expensive that would be?

@@andreashabeck1155 it’s going to be a lot more expensive to solve our water crisis long term. The robotic farming / vertical farm / hydroponic farms will be best for the future

roughly 52% of us land is used for farming, lets say your closed system is 4 storeys high, that would mean to feed the same population you would have to build a building 13% the size of the US

​@@andreashabeck1155 ^ look up what Jake O said. if water becomes more scarce then the expenses to run traditional farming will be more expensive. price = supply/demand

@@waterboi4846 Recycling and desalination are more expensive than conventional means of water production, so you whole argument fails from the start.

@Christian Alvarez Local manicipalities are removing trees because the leaves block 5G transmission. Good luck with convincing big-tech and big-money that urban foliage is even something to consider.

This kind of apps already exists, in Israel there are several companies specializing in sensors that analyze moisture, ph levels, temperature etc to optimize irrigation and fertilization.

@@udishomer5852 That's exactly why I mentioned Israel. I'm aware that they have it. It's really amazing. I'm not sure if they can measure the biodiversity of the soil though. Perhaps it's not necessary to care for the plants. Maybe knowing the PH levels and temperature is enough of a good measure of health to care for the plants.

The majority of water consumption is not caused by urban living. The majority of water consumption, as mentioned in the video, comes from agriculture

Keeping the quality of harvest from polutant❤

The problem with drip irrigation is it uses LOTS more fossil fuels than metal sprinklers. There is also the issue of drip irrigation being very fragile when exposed to heavy machinery like tractors. Drip irrigation is great for residential gardens and landscaping, but is too labor intensive and expensive for hundreds of acres to be watered by drip irrigation.

@@A_J502 The piping is layed out using big roller drums on a tractor. They are picked up tha same way. The only manual effort would be connecting and periodic inspection / maintenance. It's used extensivly in many countries. The plastic is also recycled back into products.

@@trespire Exactly why it’s more expensive; it’s more labor intensive.

@@trespire Sounds like you are talking about soaker hose or punctured hose irritation, not drip irrigation.

@@A_J502 Probably punctured hose. Very common to see the big drums on agricutlural fields. The little push in drip heads are fragile.

I believe over all that small leafy greens can be a warehouse solution with smart technologies in the long term. As far as orchards go, it will always be outdoors and yes we have drip irrigation for that or sprinklers. I work in this sector and the first solution up there is most likely the most implementable one, it will save tons of water. There are alot of invasive weeds that also take up lots of water but if you have robots that can weed them out....there you have it. Just imagine a empty car park or a multi story facility managing these small crops. Definitely doable.

What do you do with the byproduct of the brine after the sea water is desperate from the salt?

I thought we had to wait 100 years before we experience climate change! Instead, it's here, right now! Water shortages in a desert... fascinating.

Wait... lets grow crops... in a desert? Who is the brilliant human being who thought this would work in the long term?

You’re right, they should totally keep on using watering practices that use several times the amount of water. That’s definitely worth (maybe) avoiding a repairman visit for a day or two.

Farmers are the "repairman". That's why the right to repair movement is so important to everyone, but especially farmers.

Chip factories don’t need to be outside of cities nor do they need to be in areas that are good for farming. There are many places in the USA with plenty of water; getting it to farms from these locations is infeasible. Industrial factories for the most part will not take water from farmers. Also, municipal water is easily reclaimed because it travels through a circuit of faucet to sewer, or even filtered and re-used, like much water at chip factories is. Farmers are lacking water not because it was stolen by Biden or whatever you’re asserting, it’s because they are trying to farm in the middle of the desert during increasingly severe droughts and many of them have historically used aquifer water that takes hundreds of thousands or even millions of years to accumulate, so once it’s gone it’s gone.

Those factories are known to recycle thier water.

>builds farms and cities in the desert >complains, cries, and panics over water shortages 🤡 IT'S A F'ING DESERT WHAT DID YOU EXPECT??

@@WJINTL That’s usually a good idea.

So no more oranges, avocadoes, mangos, etc etc etc

Ha ha thoughts here too. Old Lazy ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jwCafmjIMXo.html very good with a long beautifull start and then high speed. The text as I remember it is: If You dont wat to eat then stay in bed.

That “crisis” is just for shareholders that depend on constant growth to make their money. It points to a broken model of a functioning economy, that simply can’t go on forever.

What do you mean “dumped into the Pacific”? The Colorado River doesn’t reach the ocean and flood irrigation doesn’t have run off.

California receives water from the Colorado so it does reach the Pacific Ocean, most water sent to California is used in the cities.

@@thedonkeypuncher2395 Where did you hear all that? Most water from the Colorado is used in agriculture because it’s cheap. Water used for culinary and potable water is either recycled, desalinated, or pumped from aquifers. There is very little runoff from CA agriculture to the Pacific.

@@A_J502 well I never said agriculture is dumped into the Pacific, with soil it is absorbed until the soil is saturated and cannot hold anymore. At that point it will take the excess water and head to the lowest point on the land be it a pond or stream and continue. My point was more to the cities or any area with asphalt or concrete and buildings, they tend to keep the water from being absorbed into the soil and refilling the underground water supplies. If you notice in a city their waste water and runoff from the streets are channeled usually to streams or rivers, maybe through a treatment facility to take most of the bad stuff out.

Just like in Italy, they loose 89%!!!!! of their rainwater during heavy showers.... It just runs of in the rivers and in to the sea instead of slowed down and lowering into the ground.... Swales etc for the win imo

You have problems picking out the important variables in equations.

Hundreds of thousands of edible plants we don't grow and lots are dam delicious too.

Because people respond to it sadly, and it feeds the algorithm

No-till wouldn’t produce enough calories per area. Can you give a real life example of a post-iron age society surviving totally on no-till?

Agriculture. E1. Postal Support. We are all individuals we are all different here.

@@A_J502 Gabe Brown practices no-till ag (along with animal integration) and harvests more bushels per acre than surrounding farms. Or claims to.

@@nandisaand5287 That’s not a self-sustaining society.

And how much more energy? Moving a kilo of mass 1 m up is infinitely less emergy efficient than moving it 1 m right or left.

We dont depend on cotton, fast fashion does, industrial cotton plantation should just cease to exist sorry Boswells

@@Doctor_Subtilis Cotton is one of the world’s most used textiles, beyond clothing. What equivalent price per unit textile do you propose replacing cotton with?

@@A_J502 hemp, cotton grown in a place that has water. Rivers shouldn't be running dry just to produce commodities

@@Doctor_Subtilis Rivers are running **lower** due to reduced precipitation and increased use. Don’t try to oversimplify complex matters.

I'm sure all the IOT devices have TikToc integration, so China can help manage the world's water resources!

Death Valley, Dead Sea... Potato patato

Drip irrigation usually saves 80-90% of water compared to flood irrigation, not 30%.

More then likely that water just returned to the ground water supply and was syphoned out through wells and etc.

@@johnsnow5955 Why is that likely? Aren't those oil caverns usually deeper than groundwater? Would people really try to drill into former oil fields which usually still hold oil and gas and therefor would contaminate the water for wells? Not saying you are wrong, just what i know about how oil and water interact, it would seem strange that your discription would be how it is.

Climate change, bro. They are running out of water in a desert because of climate change. And don't you forget!

Well not internet, but they do need networking like LoRA and other such to connect remote systems together.

They need to develop local area network or simple radio control so that internet isn't required

Many farms will benefit from Starlink, and the rest could probably work fine with a laptop connected to a “dumb” box that has a computer in it.

@@KRYMauL honestly there's no real need to wifi everything. People these days just can't think practical or outside of the box. Does Mars Rover have internet connection? Nope

@@vueport99 That technically has a two way long range radio and I think it sent to a satellite, so technically it does have satellite internet.

Man: "Let's build farms in deserts!" *Surprised Pikachu Face*

Like fruit and vegetables?

You do realize most Americans can't afford to eat healthy right? That's why processed foods have become so popular.

You can make more restriction by a good governess for it. By that the farmers are forced to innovate. They compete and the quality goes up as well as the prices dont go up. We do it and often for all EU. We are not semilar in structures but we actually are 28 states and can agree.

@@adamclabaugh1945 No, we absolutely can all afford to eat healthy, instead we choose to prioritize spending on smart phones and plans, cars and insurance, unnecessary things.

@@adamclabaugh1945 you realize that is a biggest lie that’s been repeated over and over. Healthy food is not more expensive if you cook at home. People are choosing fast instant junk food so they can be more on Facebook and other crap.