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This speaker argues that farmers who invested in organic farming equipment shouldresume synthetic farming because it is financially unwise to continue organic farming.The speaker cites studies showing that farmers who switched to organic farminglast year had tower crop yields. Based on these studies, the speaker concludes that therelatively inexpensive investment in organic farming equipment cannot justify continuingto farm organically. The speaker also claims that continuing to farm organicallyis financially unwise because it is motivated by environmental, not economic,concerns. The argument suffers from three problems. One problem with this reasoning involves the vague comparative claim that farmerswho switched to organic farming fast year had lower crop yields. We are not informedwhether the survey compared last year's organic crop yields with yields from previous yearsor with those from synthetic farms. Moreover, the author provides no evidenceabout how the survey was conducted. Lacking more information about the survey,we cannot accept the speaker's conclusion. Secondly,the speaker assumes that the low crop yields for first-time organic farmerslast year are representative of crop yields for organic farmers overall.However, moreexperienced organic farmers might have had much better crop yields last year. Also, thefirst-time organic farmers might improve their own crop yields in future years. Moreover,last year's yield may have been unusually low due to poor weather or other factors,and thus not indicative of future yields. Finally,in asserting that organic farming is financially unwise because it is motivatedby environmental instead of economic concerns, the speaker unfairly assumes that apractice cannot be both environmentally and economically beneficial. It is possiblethat, in the long run, practices that help protect the environment will alsoresult ingreater economic benefits. For instance, organic farming methods may betterprotect soil fromdepletion of the elements that contribute to healthy crops, providing an economic benefit in the long run. In conclusion, the speaker's argument is poorly supported and is short-sighted. To betterevaluate the argument, we would need more information about the how the surveywas conducted, especially about the comparison the survey makes. To strengthen theargument, the speaker must present evidence that last years' crop yields fromfirst- timeorganic farmers are representative of yields among organic farms in general.The authormust also provide evidence that environmentally sound practices cannot be economically beneficial as well.
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