Marc Shepherd retweetledi
Let's check in on Gerald's water consumption.
Gerald woke up this morning and did the following:
6am - drank from his trough. Approximately 30 litres. In British beef cattle, this is 100% of Gerald's actual blue water use for the day.
6:15am - it rained on him. This has been counted in the statistics as Gerald consuming water. Gerald did not decide it would rain. Gerald did not apply for the rainfall. Gerald has not been asked whether he endorses the accounting methodology.
8am - Gerald ate grass. The grass required rainfall to grow. This rainfall has also been attributed to Gerald. The rain fell on the field in 1742 as well, when there was no spreadsheet.
10am - Gerald produced manure. The manure will go into the soil. The soil will grow more grass. The grass will need more rain. The rain will fall regardless of Gerald's continued employment on this farm.
Gerald's daily blue water use: about 30 litres. The same as a moderately long shower.
The headline figure: 15,000 litres per kilogram.
The gap between those two numbers is rain.
Gerald is not a drought. Gerald is what happens when you point rain at a field and give it a biological purpose.
This is, broadly, what farming is.
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