Ploys big commercial interests use to convince farmers that they are on the right track when using their ‘quick fix’ farm remedy products.
One is to hijack Institutes by heavily influencing them with sponsorship – trial money – for trials with set parameters — of course they own the trial results and have the option to publicise the trial if it’s good or not publicise it if it doesn’t show the benefits that they were expecting for that product or for their cause.
As the trials which are reported are done by respected Institutes and highly qualified experts, the results can be perceived by farmers to be scientific and therefore can be relied on to use in their farming practices.
Two is to have their own paid journalists and scriptwriters who actually write articles which are published in rural publications. They make sure that the article is convincing by quoting people with qualifications and by only promoting their own products or their own system, like the use of chemicals for summer weed control in cereal crops.
So when it is presented as a feature article in the rural paper by a seemingly independent reporter it is very convincing to the farmer.
These articles which are published by one-sided commercial interests do not reveal any options or any alternatives. Like the report by a representative of the Birchip Cropping Group on successfully using chemicals on summer weed control in cereal crops, failed to mention the pasture cropping trial that they also were conducting. How is the weed control on that trial? Have they managed to reduce the use of chemicals like pasture croppers consistently report?
Or what about other options farmers have to control summer weeds other than using a toxic poison? These are not presented and why would they be if the commercial interests are doing the scriptwriting?
So it is understandable that many farmers go along with the cleverly scripted stories that they have been sold covering scientific trials and evidence from qualified experts. However more and more farmers are sceptical of big business products and are moving away from them.
Theses farmers have increased their profits and now farm with more satisfaction.
