In our bush we have numerous spots that small maples try to establish themselves. Nearly all fail when they get to be about 1.5-2" at 4'. The canopy is taking most of the available light and they die. So why not take these trees and harvest them for a few season and get something out of them?

I see this as a slightly altered version of the person that stops at our Registered Angus Display at the County Fair. "don't touch them they are going to be Hamburg in a few months." the mother says to the 4 year old little girl as she is about to touch a three month old Angus Heifer calf. My wife responded go ahead, these are breeding stock that are used for replacement heifers and bulls. Our commercial cows are at home and they make the hamburg; but they would have never been born and had a happy life on our farm, until they were full grown, if there were not people to feed. Wont that be said...to think that if people stopped eating meat, farmers would not grow calves, and these beautiful animals would not be around either. The women had never thought of it in that way.

So am I to feel bad or remorse for mowing mowed millions of maple seedlings that grew in our lawns and field edges from the seed casts the past year? For that matter what about the billions of grass and legume plants that were harvested to feed our cattle? All we do is cut the tops off?

Everything on earth has a purpose. Ask an elderly person that has farmed all their life; what it is like to see the farm grow houses or just grow up to brush and weeds. Most would rather leave this earth.

A tree that is harvested and produces food for the earth...That's a Productive Life. The person that is born into the city and does not work and survives off public assistance will never know the pride of producing food for themselves and others.

Being at the top of the food chain is not for everyone, nor is producing food for others, unfortunately there the needs to be people, take on the hard decisions associated with these responsibilities and spend endless hours feeding the hungry.

In some place, in a server somewhere, there will be that romantic picture of the past for those to see what things were like in a slower time...and then they can look at the world of electronics and automation and see the great strides forward that Agriculture has taken to keep up with the ever growing number of humans on earth that want to eat every day.

The best story from the fair over the 30 years or so we have been there is the women;"Thats a bull right...How do you milk them?" My son and his and his girl friend smile and respond back. "Madam, the bull is like the husband or father" The women looks to her friend and they both laugh and said God Blessed him well". When they told me the story I asked how old were these women..."Hard to say, they were wearing long black robes and had on these funny looking hats and they were all related" related??? "Yes they all kept saying sister, to each other" LMFAO

We still laugh about that one.

DR Tim. Thank you for Helping me help others to have a diet that is not just rice, soy and corn products thru your research. We have a few galloons of syrup that are going today to make Maple flavored beer.


Ben