This is noteworthy. Operators are really thinking about what is
possible. I personaly think that woodlands in particular are
excellent prospects for cattle once they are groomed properly. This
should open up the woodland to thirty percent total shade alllowing
the understory to fully develop and the ground to be also covered
with vegetation.
This permits heavy grazing under the trees which is much superior to
open pasture and the noonday sun. Leaf fall under the trees combined
with sunlight will also produce a deep rich bed of grass as well
My point is that modern equipment makes this possible. Dropping
limbs and branches to feed a chipper is easy, even with hand tools
and that is the basic need.
This suggests that the jump in productivity rewards it.
Study Proves
Sustainable Farms, Organic Farming Beats Factory Farms
October 17, 2013
Christina
Sarich, Staff Writer
Waking Times
For those who are
appalled at the way animals are treated in conventional livestock
production, there is a better way. Sustainable livestock production
practices include providing greater animal welfare, increasing
biodiversity, and extending good working conditions to those who care
for the animals, all while maintaining a profitable business. A
new study clarifies this further, showing how sustainable livestock
care outperforms that of factory farms.
More and more people
are turning to small farms and more sustainable practices as a means
to get their meat. New research from the University of
Cambridge (U of C) has identified silvopastoral systems of
livestock production as a means of sustainable, ethically sourced
food production. This system differs from the tiny cages and
infinitesimal square footage that our livestock is most often raised
in now. It includes shrubs, and trees with edible leaves or fruits
and lots of herbs for natural grazing.
Professor Donald Broom
of U of C states that:
“Consumers are now
demanding more sustainable and ethically sourced food, including
production without negative impacts on animal welfare, the
environment and the livelihood of poor producers. Silvopastoral
systems address all of these concerns with the added benefit of
increased production in the long term.”
Now, even cows that
are lucky enough to go to pasture are relegated to GMO grains as a
means to fatten them for slaughter. They are also often pumped
full of hormones and antibiotics which have led to all sorts of
health issues in the humans who consume their meat. The current
agricultural and livestock production methods also dramatically
decrease biodiversity, as well as pollute the soil and waterways due
to the chemicals and artificial fertilizer that is necessary to grow
animal feed, and maintain the pasture. In the current
paradigm, animal feed is rife with GMOs, too.
Instead of this
outdated means of livestock production, the researchers from U of C
advocate using a diverse group of edible plants that will help
with soil and water retention and cause less pesticide-laden run-off.
This in turn:
- Reduces stress and injury to animals
- Improves the working conditions and overall satisfaction for farm workers
- Encourages biodiversity which affects the entire food chain – from plant to insect to bird, bee, and bovine
Further, the
researchers point out that varying types of shrubs and trees provide
more edible leaves and shoots per unit of land area than cleared
pasture land. Trees and shrubs also provide shade to the animals and
allow them to hide from any perceived danger. In short, it
is a more natural environment for them to live in.
“The planting
as forage plants of both shrubs and trees whose leaves and small
branches can be consumed by farmed animals can transform the
prospects of obtaining sustainable animal production,” said
Professor Broom. “Such planting of ‘fodder trees’ has already
been successful in several countries, including the plant
Chamaecytisus palmensis which is now widely used for cattle feed in
Australia.”
Farmers have already
attempted this more bio-diverse way of pasturing animals in Columbia
where a combination of the shrub Leucaena along with common
pasture grass increased dry matter for food and protein production
for the animals by 64%.
The silvopastoral
system applies for cows, sheep, goats, and even chicken. It even
increases milk production by several kilograms a day without having
to pump the animals full of hormones. With its increases in
biodiversity and the reduction of animal cruelty, this system is a
much more sustainable way of feeding the world, without an increase
of land use – which means we can stop mono-cropping and start
perma-culture farms in the land we lost in urban sprawl and GMO
company monopolies in the past decade.
Additional Sources:
ScienceDaily
About the Author
Christina Sarich is
a musician, yogi, humanitarian and freelance writer who channels many
hours of studying Lao Tzu, Paramahansa Yogananda, Rob
Brezny, Miles Davis, and Tom Robbins into
interesting tidbits to help you Wake up Your Sleepy Little Head,
and See the Big Picture. Her blog is Yoga for the New
World. Her latest book is Pharma Sutra: Healing the Body And
Mind Through the Art of Yoga.
**This article
originally appeared at NaturalSociety.**
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