EB-Lincister Farming, Saturday, August 14,1993 Is Dairying GEORGE F.W. HAENLEIN Extension Dairy Specialist University of Delaware NEWARK, Del. Is dairying an environmentally friendly enterprise? Of course, you say immediate ly. How else could a dairy fanner have the same cow milk big buck ets full of milk year after year without breakdown to herself and the farm? By definition, the dairy farmer must be environmentally friendly to accomplish this. Then you remember the dairy farms that are no longer around, and you pause to reconsider your answer. Not too many years ago, I used to take my students on an annual field trip to see an exemplary dairy form that lay just outside of Prin ceton, NJ. They milked 1,600 cows on a SO-staU rotary milking platform produced certified raw milk. In addition, they mixed their manure with cocoa shells to deodorize it and processed it through a dehy drator into commercially sold gar den compost The operation was an excellent example of management efficien cy, progressive dairying and environmental friendliness! A few years ago, however, new housing developments surround ing the farm took it to court based on New Jersey clean air statutes. The developments won. Just like that, the farm was out of the dairy business! When you visit some of Cali fornia dairy operations and you see so many cows in a small area, you begin ,to wonder. Can any environment take such congestion 45th ANNUAL THRBSHERMAN’S REUNION Lots A Lots of Good Food Crafts, Models and their makers, Flea Market, Quilt Auction, Saturday Environmentally Friendly? or are neighbors sufficiently far away? Is the presence of a lot of sur rounding pasture a cushion of safety for air and water regula tions and other environmental concerns? Maybe so at least enough for holding off lawsuit-happy neigh bors. But does it answer the question? working as a student on a dairy farm in Switzerland in the 19505, I became aware of the Swiss farmers’ concerns about the environment. Back then, the appearance of the pasture revealed whether the farmer used environmentally friendly practices. When the pas ture looked white from an abun dance of blooming wild carrots and other nitrogen-loving plants, the concern was that too much manure had been put on the same field too often. And for making Swiss cheese, the farmers voluntarily agreed to not feed their cows large amounts of concentrates that could influ ence the quality of their cheese. The self-restraint of Swiss dairy formers and their concern for the environment and their products made a lasting impression on me. No matter where we turn today, we are confronted by more and more environmental controversy. Aren’t we making progress in that direction? After all, it’s our envi ronment too. We have an environmental U.S. vice president now, and the chem ical industry is in a fight for its survival because of environmental lawsuits. How can dairy farming remain Rough & Tumble Engineers THE MOST COMPLETE STEAM & GAS SHOW EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI AUGUST 18,19, 20 ft 21, 1993 ON DISPLAY • Steam Traction Engine* • Antique Tiacton • Threshing Machine* • Hit & Mias Caa Engine* • Two Steam Railroad* • Onlatanding Di*pl*y of Large Gas Engine* • Stationary Steam Engine Museum • Model Steem A Gu Engines • Large Collection of Body Home Appliances • Steem Cone • Antique Automobile* • Stationary Helen • Antique Wagon* • Numerous Craft Display* • Large Flea Market • Much Much Mote! TIME OF HARVEST: OCTOBER 8 & 9,1993 THIS YEARS FEATURE EXHIBIT Antique Construction Equipment environmentally friendly‘and still make the necessary net income? On a recent visit to India, I saw much that impressed me about the respect for life and animals which the Indian people incorporate into their dairy actions. India has many cows, buffaloes and goats produc ing milk so that Indians can feed themselves. They also have plenty of pasture land. What they seem to lack is an equal respect for parts of their environment. India is crowded with people who need firewood for cooking. This puts great stress on their trees, and trees are already in short supply. Great efforts have been made to encourage the use of dry cow manure bricks as an alterna tive burning source. So in India, it is apparently the people rather than dairying that causes environmental problems. Among our dairy colleagues we see similar examples of concern and lack of concern, a popular top ic of many conferences in recent years. I just found a dissertation from the German National Research Institute for Dairying at Kiel deal ing with what happens when dairy farmers are asked to change from their traditional way of feeding and managing to a new system of environmentally oriented ecologi cal farming. Europeans are already ahead of us in their environmental concerns and what to do about it. Their choices are limited because Eur ope has a greater number of peo ple on fewer acres than we have in the United States. In the eyes of many there, high R & T BOX 9, KINZERS, PA 17535 (717) 442-4249 Between Lancarter aad CoalesvfUe on RL 30 milk production progress is not a blessing economically, politically or socially. This so-called advancement, which has occurred over the last 40 years because of A. 1., more feeding, more fertilizer and imported U.S. Holstein bulls, has caused surpluses and put stress on the environment The result is an upsurge of interest in more natural taming methods ecological or organic farming versus traditional farming. The 1993 dissertation of Ste phan H. Weber examined data of the University Kiel dairy research herd. The herd was split into halves of 30 cows each; for five years, from 1987 to 1992, one was managed ecologically and the other traditionally. Ecological management was based on the guidelines of the International Federation of Organ ic Agriculture Movement (FOAM), which prescribe that: * a farm must be managed holistically; * there should be no intensive soil management; * diversified crop rotation should be used to ensure soil fer tility, control of weeds, insects, other pests and diseases; * manure should be used instead of easily soluble fertilizer; * no pesticides nor herbicides should be used, allowing instead for the natural resistance forces of soil and plants; and * dairy cattle should be fed mainly farm-grown feeds at a ratio of no more than 1.1 large animal units (1,100 pounds) per acre, with commercial feeds making up no more than 20 percent of the daily nutrient requirements (dry matter basis) for dairy cattle and without any not natural supplements. engineers CIAT/ON tr , BUS GROUPS WELCOME AMPLE FREE PARKING ‘TROLLEY” SHUTTLE SERVICE EVENING entertainment AND EVENTS Starling at «:30 P.M. 'These guidelines are interesting to contemplate, especially if they are what’s in our future. They woe followed for the study at Kid. in addition to many chemi cal, nutritional and economical tests to determine effects on qual ity and composition of milk and milk fat, milk protein, somatic cells, reproductive efficiency, nutritional sufficiency for the cows „ and economics for the farmer. The results of the study were; * reduced fertilizer manage ment decreased detrimental con tents in groundwater and runoff; * an absence of mycotoxins in milk of the ecologically handled herd, while the traditionally fed cattle produced milk with low amounts of mycotoxins; * Holsteins in the ecological group averaged 11,740 pounds milk in 305 days with only 4 pounds concentrates per cow per day. Average milk yield of the traditional group was 14,040 pounds milk with IS pounds con centrates per cow per day; * farm-grown forages needed 0.4 acres per large animal unit for the ecological group, while the traditional group required 0.2 acres; * indications of energy shor tage in the feeding of the ecologi cal group, but no differences in reproductive efficiency, mastitis, milk composition, cheese yield and taste of milk between the groups; and * ecologically fed cows had lower feed costs; however, the bottom line was that the change to ecological management of the dairy cows produced $2OO less per lactation and $415 less per acre in net income. DAILY • Nude of Power • Pageant of Thicohio( • Saw MU A Shingla MUI in Operation • Baiar Fan • Slone Cniehar • Two Railrotda • Animal Power • Country Store A* Hard ware Exhibit • Much Much Moral Ask stmssns who’s bom htr* • Wo hart a groat that rain or skins Bring a frintd and hav* loti of funl
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