B-Uwcastw Fanning, Saturday, June 3, 1995
SUSTAINABILITY
AND ANIMAL
AGRICULTURE
Lowell L. Wilson
Professor Of
Animal Science
And* Linda L. Smith
Communications Specialist
Attention to the sustainability of
farm animal production systems
has increased during the past sev
eral years, partly because of rela
tively low prices for almost every
animal-derived commodity.
Dr. Lowell L. Wilson, professor
of animal science, recently sum
marized how the concept of sus
tainability relates to various farm
animal systems.
Wilson began by pointing out
that the idea of sustainability on
U.S. farms is not new. It is, howev
er, being approached in novel
ways.
“We must not lose sight of the
various components of sustaina
bility,” he said. “Farm operations
must be sustainable in the modem-
0% • 12 Mot. S Months
4.9% -24 Mos. OR Walvsr Ot
7.9% • 36 Mos.
Flnancal
...Now Available On
Most Badger Equipment!
Badger Liquid Manure Pumps, Spreader Tanks
and Box Spreaders
day sense.”
Applied to farm animal systems,
sustainability requires the follow
ing essentials:
• The operation must remain
profitable
• The system must be environ
mentally sound
• It must provide for basic
human needs
• Methods must be socially
acceptable
• New fanning methods must
enhance the quality of farm life.
Profitability
The primary requirement of any
farm operation is that it must be
profitable. Farming is, after all, a
business, and the essence of busi
ness is profit. A sustainable opera
tion must, however, begin to
address the question of long-term
versus short-term profitability.
This may require closer atten
tion to the current cost of inputs or
resources as well their continued
availability at a reasonable cost In
other words, if a resource becomes
so scarce that the price increases
beyond affordability, then using
Badger BNIBS
Souper Trail Pump/Agitator
m Up to 26,000 GPM agitation capacity
■ Standard 28 foot length extendable to 38 feet for really big
lagoons
■ Choice of cutter blade or propeller options to match biggest
agitation needs
■ Exclusive internal shear bar chops even straw-laden manure
■ Semi-cupped impeller paddles for high capacity pumping
NEW...
From
Your Dealer
•out The All
New
BN 104
PUMP
that resource does not conform to
the definition of sustainability, and
another resource must be
substituted.
The farming system must be
environmentally sound. That is,
the operation’s resources must be
renewable.
Crop rotation is an excellent
example of ensuring that soil con
tinues to be a renewable resource.
Without the proper nutrients being
put back into the land, it ceases to
support the necessary crops and
fails the test of sustainability. If
valuable resources such as pho
sphate and oil reserves are eventu
ally depleted and they will be
without conservation sustaina
Modal
8N2060
Badgar Foraga Boxas
* Running Gaar...
Tha Rignt Combination
For Your Farmi
Environmentally
Sound
@ EMPLOYEE-OWNED. QUALITY DRIVEN.
ledger
Belt or
Single Chain
Conveyors...
S~
w
0% • 12 MOS.
4.9% ■ 24 Mos.
7.9% • 36 MO*.
OR
5 Month*
Walv*r Oi
Fln*nc*l
Badger Blowers
Beat Bottlenecks
■ Designed for plug-proof
operation
■ Unload wagons faster, (ill silos
more efficiently.
■ Choose from Model 8N2054 or
New Model 8N2060, for
bigger silos
■ Rugged, heavy-duty construction
■ Adjustable shear bar prevents
hair pinning,
carry-over and power loss
■ All material goes up the pipe in
the air stream
■ Flexible wind guards minimize
bility (hence, profitability) of the _
farm operation will become
impossible.
Provide Basic
Needs
Animals are used for many pur
poses, including recreation and
companionship, but society must
not lose sight of their most basic
and unique contribution, that of
providing the raw materials for
food and the many non-food pro
ducts that Americans use daily.
Socially Acceptable
With only about two percent of
the U. S. population now living on
farms, people have become so
removed from the practices of ani
mal agriculture that many no lon
ger understand the processes by
which food finds its way from the
farm to the dining table.
This, coupled with increasing
attacks from animal activists, dic
tates the importance of continued
attention to the care and handling
of our farm animals and to the need
to educate the public on the facts
about acceptable farm animal
practices.
Socially unacceptable practices
eventually will result either in the
loss of markets or legislation that
will destroy our ability to farm
profitably.
Enhance Quality
Of Life
Sustainable farm operations
seek to enhance the quality of life
on the farm for the animals and the
people who care for them.
For instance, increased use of
See Your
Local Badger
HONESDALE SPREADING
SERVICE INC.
SOS Cliff St.
Honesdale, PA 18431
(717) 253-2410
MELVIN G. MILLER
RT 2. Spring Mills, PA 16875
(814) 422-8279
BUM FARM EQUIP. INC.
RR 1, Annville, PA 17003
(717) 867-2211
SHOW EASE STALL CO.
573 Willow Rd.
Lancaster, PA 17601
(717) 299-2536
HESS' EQUIPMENT
Sales & Service
RR 3, Mtfflinburg, PA 17844
(717) 966-2720
pasture coupled with seasonal
grazing may not only result in
improved health for the animals,
but also in smaller feed bills and a
much needed break for the farm
family during winter months.
To achieve this concept of sus
tainability, it might be necessary
for fanners to examine the way
they basically think about fanning.
While optimizing inputs and maxi
mizing yields (production per ani
mal) are not mutually exclusive, it
can be tricky to achieve them
simultaneously.
It is the availability of the
resources over a long period of
time that will determine the conti
nuing profitability of the opera
tion. If the resources are sacrificed
for short-term goals, profits in the
long run will suffer.
Consider, for example, two dif
ferent beef cow herds with identi
cal genetic potential. One of the
herds may have a 205-day weaning
weight of 600 pounds and the
other, fed more grain as calf creep
feed, may weigh in at 700 pounds.
Over a number of years, would the
use of that additional grain truly be
considered profitable?
Likewise, a dairy herd average
of 24,000 pounds may not be more
profitable than the 20.000 pound
herd that uses fewer resources.
Producers must ask the difficult
question of whether or not maxi
mum production justifies the use
of additional resources labor,
management, feed, fertilizer, fuel,
pesticides.
Dealer
CHIDESTER FARMS
RO 2, Box 75
Kingsley, PA 18826
(717) 289-4260
PIKEVILLE
EQUIPMENT INC.
RT 2, Oley, PA 19547
(215) 987-6277
-DEERFIELD -AG &
TURF CENTER, INC.
RD 2, Box 212
Watsontown, PA 17777
(717) 538-3557
HEFLIN SALES
& SERVICE
12312 Oak Hill Rd
Woodsboro, MO 21798
(301) 898-3233
CHAMBERSBURG
FARM SERVICE
975 S. Mam St.
Chambarsburg, PA 17201
(717) 264-3533
SOMERSET BARN EQ.
R.D. #5
Somerset, PA 15501
(814) 445-5555
MeMILLEN BROS.
RO 1 Box 134
Loysvllle, PA 17047
(717) 789-3961
966-1998
Optimize Rather
Than Maximize
Looking at the larger
picture, input (resour
ces), not output (pro
duction) may be the
baseline measure of sus
tainability. Wilson
points out that fanners
and those who serve
them animal scien
tists and educators
have always attempted
to foster sustainability.
General management
practices may not have
been labeled “sustain
able,” but many of them
advanced the principles
of sustainability. Take,
for instance, increased
use of pasture, less grain
used in beef and dairy
systems, better housing,
improved efficiency in
collecting and recycling
animal waste materials,
alternative or value
added enterprises, and
decreased use of pesti
cides and other
chemicals.
Even the use of some
of the more controver
sial practices such as
antibiotics and growth
promotants should
increase sustainability
and ultimately profita
bilty in all sizes and
types of animal
operations.
According to Wilson,
"If animal agriculture is
going to survive, pros
per, and be responsible
and sustainable, there
must be more integra
tion of traditional and
sustainable principles.
We have not done
enough. The methods
we use in the future will
be a combination of
conventional, intensive
ly managed, small- and
large-scale agriculture
with the incorporation
of the principals of
sustainability.”