Agriculture Improving the Environment
By: Leticia
April is here once again: Green grass starting to grow, new calves are on the ground, and the weather is beautiful! Don’t you just love welcoming in all the wonderful things that come along with spring? Another great thing that happens during this time is Earth Day, which falls on April 22 this year.
Now, when I hear the phrase “Earth Day,” I usually go back to a tradition that my elementary school started when I was in the third grade. We started planting a tree in the front lawn of the school every year. It’s funny to think about how we can each make a difference and how our daily activities, Earth Day or not, will impact and affect the environment…for better or worse.
Agriculture is a hot topic when it comes to discussing how our life styles are affecting the quality of the environment. With all the information out there, it’s hard to pick the myths from the facts when talking about agriculture’s impact on the environment. Let’s just cover a few basics about production agriculture and how ranchers manage our natural resources.
Myth 1. Food animal production contributes more to green house gasses than anything.
The truth is that production of food animals contributes only about 2.24 percent of greenhouse emissions as opposed to the 79.2 percent that fossil fuels generate.
Myth 2. Grazing cattle harm both the habitat and the wildlife of that area.
The truth is that when land is grazed by cattle, they usually help reduce the amount of waste on the ground, which in return will help prevent fires and improve the quality of the plants that do grow. Not only is the quality of the plants improved, but the wildlife will thrive in where cattle graze. It is estimated that about 85% of the lands used for grazing are not capable of producing crops. This means that by using the land for grazing, we are making the best of a resource that otherwise would not be used.
Myth 3. Food animal product negatively impacts water quality.
The truth is ranchers are required to meet specific regulations that are outlined in the clean water act to ensure a safe and secure water source for present and future generations.
It’s amazing to me when I go to any beef symposium or cattlemen’s convention and find myself sitting in a room full of ranchers when the inevitable topic about conservation and environmental stewardship arises. The knowledge that these men and women contain about managing the land they live on is outstanding. My Ag Econ teacher put it best when he told us that not using the natural resources isn’t conservation, but that true conservation means managing the land in a way that maximizes both its production and considers the environment. The men and women of the American beef industry have done a remarkable job of protecting and preserving the environment and have set the bar when it comes to best land management practices. This statement comes as no exception to the ranchers who have earned the Environmental Stewardship Award. This program awards producers for implementing innovated practices that help improve the quality of the land. To learn more about the program and this year’s winners, click here.
In addition to recognizing those who utilize the land in a beneficial way, we have several programs that help educate producers about range management programs. These programs help ranchers focus on one of our primary concerns: protecting the land that our cattle graze on. This is the same land that we live on and that has to be maintained properly, especially when we consider how we will pass it down for future generations. The best way I’ve heard it put is that we like to leave the land better than we found it. For more a video on good land management practices, click here.
In honor of Earth Day, we, the 2008 National Beef Ambassador Team, have been busy doing videos of our own.Yes, we asked you to send in your videos about how you enjoy beef, now we are creating our own, but our assignment is a little different. We have been asked to shoot videos about how agriculture improves the environment. Go check out Jenny Rassler’s video, which is our first vidoe to be posted about the topic. You can expect a video from the rest of us as well as the week progresses.
So I will leave you with a challenge:What have you done for the environment?Whether you live on the corner of 13th and Jackson in the middle of town, or at the end of a dirt road thirty miles from town, your daily lifestyle can help protect and maintain the environment.All you have to do is look to the leadership that the beef industry has set for you.
Great post Teish, and I couldn’t agree with you more that the beef industry as a part of agriculture is leading the way in caring for our environment. Our very livelihood depends on the land and to not take care of it would be irresponsible and foolish. Thank you for the facts on what exactly we are doing in taking care of the environment and I hope everyone who reads this is inspired to do their part.
I sincerely hope that people read your blog post and watch our movies to learn the truth about what we do each and every day to protect our environment. I do not know of any profession people are so completely in tune with the earth and conservation than farming and ranching. It is our lifeblood, our passion and one of our main concerns at the end of the day. Thank you for telling our story so well.
wow this was awesome teish…I wanna frame it. you put alot of time and effort on this and it really sent a strong message! Great job and keep it up!