logo

                  

advertisement
subscribe

advertisement

advertisement

Latest comments

  1. Re: Second annual Latinos in Agriculture forum deemed a success

    Posted on Wednesday, 22 May 2013 by Agriculture in the Black Sea Region.

    This project is for and about agriculture in countries aroung Black Sea...

  2. Re: Mastitis prevention and control: A prevention methodology

    Posted on Wednesday, 22 May 2013 by Justo Calderon.

    Great article, nice explanation, easy and interesting to reading And...

  3. Re: Documentary shows struggles of Maine co-op

    Posted on Tuesday, 21 May 2013 by David Bright.

    One correction. MOOMilk is not a co-op. It's an L3C corporation, a...

Reader favorites

  1. Participate in the 2013 Flavor Faceoff!

    5.0 of 5 stars from 6 votes.
  2. ‘Customer’ feedback: Make a good robotic milking facility great

    5.0 of 5 stars from 4 votes.
  3. Zoo study makes cow waterbeds available to moose

    5.0 of 5 stars from 3 votes.

Yevet Tenney's header

mike_gangwer

baxter_black

mechanics_corner

The Milk House

Project to help address animal ag, climate change issues PDF Print E-mail
8 Votes
News - Industry News
Thursday, 15 September 2011 10:08

The USDA recently awarded Washington State University and five partnering land-grant universities $4.1 million for a five-year project to address issues associated with climate change and animal agriculture. The funding comes from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) via its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program.

The project will be facilitated through the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center (http://www.extension.org/animal_manure_management).

Project objectives are to:

1. Equip extension personnel and stakeholder representatives to assess stakeholder needs relative to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to deliver educational programs that target those needs.

2. Provide on-demand Web access to science-based information, educational resources and decision-support tools to stakeholder groups and the public on climate change related to animal agriculture.

3. Coordinate efforts so information and resources are utilized optimally at the state, regional and national levels.

Other land-grant universities involved in this project are the University of Nebraska, Texas A&M University, University of Georgia, Cornell University and University of Minnesota.

A wide range of beliefs exist about climate change and there are strong and varied reactions to proposals for countering global warming, which creates challenges for those involved in [agricultural] policymaking, product marketing and research.

As often is the case, livestock and poultry producers are in the position of having to prepare to adapt and respond to conditions that might be imposed on them – whether due to the impacts of more extreme weather patterns and other potential climate trends, or to prospective policies that may place attention on the greenhouse gas emissions from their operations.

Extension services serve a key role in facilitating and informing discussions about climate change relative to animal agriculture.

The overall goal of the proposed project is that the extension agency, working with partner organizations, is positioned to effectively inform and influence livestock and poultry producers and consumers of animal products in all regions of the U.S. to move animal production toward practices that are environmentally sound, climatically compatible and economically viable.

A primary desired outcome is that stakeholder decisions result in reduced greenhouse gas emissions without sacrificing America’s capacity to produce meat, milk, eggs and other animal products.  PD

The project will be managed via five regional teams. Joe Harrison and Liz Whitefield are the contacts for the Western team, which includes: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Utah, Montana and Wyoming. If you are interested in being a partner of the working group in the Western region, please contact Liz Whitefield at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

3 Comments

Feed
  1. Part 3 of 3 Besides drastic improvement in taste, nutritional value, (Brix values for plants), and health from the bottom to the top of the Food Chain, by using a product that is organic, and in addition to a significant improvement in the financial bottom line, it's not only ecologically responsible, it's also very rewarding to give back to our soil's biota, the plants, the animals that feed on the plants, our families and ourselves, and to Mother Earth. Without getting more long-winded than I already have been (by bringing-up facts about how an apple today is tasteless and nutritionally empty compared to one of 80 years ago) I'll close with my email address and an invitation. If anyone wants more information, please feel free to contact me. It may take a bit for me to get back to you, yet I will. Dr. Carl drcarlb@originalearthsoils.com
  2. Part 2 of 3 I also read a related story about The Black Forest in Austria (and other forests in Europe and the US) which in the late 1980s were feared to be almost hopelessly lost due to the stresses of acid rain and heavy metal pollution. The Austrian forest was saved by a "rock dust" that was kicked-up from a gravel road! It's all about micro- and macro-minerals and elements. These not only neutralize the pH and serve as a buffer, they also feed the soil organisms which leads to healthier plants! A couple of decades has now passed which has allowed enough time for research into the beneficial properties of this "rock dust." After reading these stories, I set-out to learn enough to make a presentation of my findings to my dairyman, and to discover what I believe is the best source - since there are some superior sources as well as 'greener' and 'not-so-green' was to collect/mine/grind an effective mineral product for mineralization of the land, animals and humans. This brings me to now. I am still figuring-out in what particular capacity I will be ultimately involved with the young company I found. CEO would be a nice start. No matter...I feel that even if there were no 'openings' for me, I am duty-bound to share what I am discovering about the miracles associated with remineralizing (y)our soil. We just may need to remineralize the Earth, one farm at a time. Just like there were people living here when Columbus "discovered" America, what I am discovering is really just nature doing what nature has done all along...well, until man came along and pretty much raped (and continues to rape) the soil with modern NPK Ag practices that 'take' so much without 'giving back.' (continues...)
  3. Note, this comment is "too long" so I'll post it in parts... Part 1 of 3 I was happy to see (and agree 100%) with the statement about the "wide range of beliefs" about "climate change." It is also apparent that there are some who will foist rules and regulations onto others under the guise of an almost evangelistic belief system that has been very effectively sold and is being used as a vehicle to control and to tax. Regardless, I believe that one does NOT need to subscribe to the politics attached to the anthropogenic climate change theory in order to be a good environmentalist. Mother Earth deserves our best efforts. I have found something that I feel may be of use both within the study mentioned as well as to every dairyman, rancher, farmer and even to pet-owners and humans. Are there any dairymen reading this who are interested in a way to make liquid manure odor-free, unattractive to flies and more effective? Some months ago, as a member of a team of physicians and researchers looking into radiation remediation (you know, the radioactive isotopes like Iodine-131 and Cesium-137 that aren't here because we are not looking for them?), and as a consumer of my beloved raw milk (don't get me started), I learned about how a dairyman near the Chernobyl disaster remineralized his pastures and reduced radioactive iodine levels in their milk and cheese to undetectable levels. Besides finding long lines of consumers anxious for clean milk and cheese, they also found that the lifespan of the cows doubled. (continues...)

Add Comment

 


advertisement

About Us | Subscribe | Advertise | Contribute | Contact Us | Industry Stats | Progressive Forage Grower | Progressive Cattleman

Copyright 2013 Progressive Dairyman

This site is optimized to be viewed with Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer 8 web browsers.

pp_logo_k_0910