i went to an ag school (cal poly slo), studied ag for 2 years before i switched my major to botany. today i work with farmers supplying all kinds of materials, i also do transportation for them. i work next door to farmers whom ive known personally for years, and talked about farming a lot. my point is, there are not enough farmers out there trying new methods of ag here in the US for other farmers to compare yields to, or to do a really excellent cost analysis. lastly, most of the farmers i know run thier own land. they are recommended to grow one thing or another, but in the end its thier decision what to grow and how to do it. and the problem is, most large manufacturers (heinz)doesn't really consider quality of the produce, they only consider raw tonnage. so, how is a farmer who takes the time=$ supposed to recoup his expenses when the consumer doesn't factor in the thing making his crops more expensive? its a lose lose.
same goes for us plantedtank keepers. when a new product comes on the market, most are skeptical about weather or not to try it cause we have at least had marginal success without it. we see no need to spend more money for a product that may only marginally improve the tank. but, if you really are after the ultimate tank with lush growth and no algae for years at a time, possibly other factors should be considered.
