Monday, August 24, 2009
Speak Up For Dairy Kind
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Sustainable lawn mowers
On the farm I visited, they were averaging about 40-50 hundred weight volume per cow. This varies with the season, as it does on traditional farms. But traditional dairy farmers get in the neighborhood of 70-80 hundred weight per cow. The only problem is that the costs for traditional farmers range from $12-18 per hundred weight. Today the price farmers are paid for milk is in the $11-12 per hundred weight range, so for the most part, traditional farmers are losing big money.
So on the surface, grazing dairies seem to be a logical choice, yes? What about when you stop to consider that farmers are called on to produce more product with the same amount of resources in order to feed a hungry world? Traditional dairy farmers produce more milk per cow than ever before. If every dairy turned to pasture-based grazing, there would be a severe milk deficit, and prices could raise to the point that dairy products would only be available to the wealthy. The social justice warning meter just went off in my head, how about yours?
Sustainability encompasses more than just evnironmental justice. People are a part of the habitat, too. We need to figure out how to treat the planet and all its inhabitants in a way that respects each one of them.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Electric poo
The process of anaerobic digestion uses microorganisms to break down biodegradable materials in the absence of oxygen. Manure, as most people's nose will tell them, is an abundant biodegradable resource on dairy farms. Left untreated, manure is a nuisance. It smells bad, it looks bad, and it attracts pests. But when manure is put through the anaerobic process, the resulting methane gasses that are produced can be captured and turned into electricity.
There are challeneges for dairy farmers. Methane digesters are expensive, and the economic benefits are difficult to measure. Most farmers who have installed them depend on subsidies to make it possible. And since the technology is still in its infancy, it may be years before the equipment and processes are refined enough to make it a good investment for dairies of all sizes.
Dairies have made significant progress in the last 60 years in reducing their carbon footprint. Making electricity out of poo is another step in the right direction.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Fresh "Country" Air
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Dairy Farming 101
Dairy farmers and their families live on the land and depend on their animals for their livelihoods. Since ninety-eight percent of the population has no direct on-farm experience, they aren't always aware of the ways that dairy farmers protect the land. As a matter of fact, people generally need to go back three or more generations to connect with any agricultural heritage they have. There isn't any longer a de facto connection or understanding of farming and farm life.
Dairy farming has been a part of agricultural life for thousands of years. Born as civilization transitioned from an agrarian to a more urbanized society, the farmers who remained on the land began taking their extra milk to the cities to sell it. Originally cows were milked by hand, but in the late 1800s, farmers were experimenting with automatic milking machines. Pasteurization, the process of heating milk to kill bacteria began to be adopted in the 1860s, giving milk a longer shelf life.
Today, 99 percent of all U.S. dairy farms are family owned and operated. They have taken on the tough responsibility of a lifestyle that demands 12 hour days and no days off, in a volitile, commodity-based industry. There is daily pressure to produce every-increasing yields to feed a hungry world. And some days it's just the pressure to make ends meet. Dairy farmers need their land and their animals to support their families. So join me on the journey to get back to our farming roots and learn how the farmers keep and protect the planet.