Grazing Management Vs Conventional Tillage Essay

In today’s society we face many problems as a nation and as a world, from economics, to war, to famine. These issues often cause us to overlook the most basic need: to look out for our planet's well being. Our main goal should be to conserve our natural resources such as soil and water. Agriculture, ironically, is often one of the factors that is contributing to the destruction of our soil and water. Farmers apply fertilizer, pesticides and many other chemicals to use on their fields. Fertilizer stimulates soil microbes, which consume organic

Franklin D Roosevelt once said, “the history of every Nation is eventually written in the way in which it cares for its soil.” The United States began seeing sustainable management practices in farms, and healthier soil through this act. In 1982 through 2007, the United States soil erosion had declined by 43%” (Montanarella, 2015). Every year the United States loses about $400 billion dollars due to crop soil that is eroded. Soil is a limited resource and the largest resource for growing food, accommodating diverse ecosystems, and providing food resources. Therefore laws, acts, and provisions are necessary to protect this natural resource.

Today, in the United States, farmers and ranchers produce a wide variety of commodities for food, fuel, and fiber in response to markets. These farmers understand and recognize the significance of managing their soil as well as their plant productivity. America’s farmers are true professionals because crop production is a very complex business.

With soil being washed away nearly 10 – 40 times faster than it is being replenished1, every single idea to avert this this crisis needs to be considered. No till farming, a method by which farmers implement a way of growing crops with minimal disturbance to the soil and the soil’s abiotic and biotic components, is a very important idea that is being employed worldwide with notable results. With food prices rising and people turning to their own backyards to grow food, the potential advantages of small scale no till can play a major role in the health and regeneration of our

This video and article by Rose Marcario, the Chief Executive of Patagonia Inc., explains the effect that changing our farming practices could potentially have on our environment and our ability to live sustainably; if we switch from fossil fuel intensive farming to organic and low-till practices that put carbon back in the ground, we can improve soil, grow more nutritious food, and reverse the effects of climate

“On the global basis, the soil degradation is caused by over grazing (35%), agriculture activities (28%), deforestation (30%), over exploitation of land to produce fuel wood (4%), and industrialization (4%).” 100% of what causes soil degradation is caused by humans and animals. 35% of the blame goes to the animals for over grazing, but the other 65% of the blame goes to the humans for agriculture activities and chopping down trees. Another example is, David Pimentel also states, “The bottom line on soil production is that it takes (on average) about 100 years to generate a millimeter of soil. This is about a human lifetime.” Although it is stated that animals contribute to land degradation, it’s only a small portion (35%). The main reason for loss of arable land is human development. Forests are cut down for farming space, fuel wood, or space to build some kind of industry. When land is being used and used, and no one manages it, it can become deplete; which means, the land is dried out and unable to grow vegetation. Soil production takes a long time, on average, it takes 100 years. 100 years is too long to wait for new soil to plant food.

As a result of these industrial farming conditions, today’s mounting environmental stresses are further exacerbated. These stresses include: declining water tables, chemical leaching, chemical runoff, soil erosion, land degradation, loss in biodiversity, and other ecological concerns.

Imagine a world where the meat you eat is a product of a system bred for profit rather than quality. Well, we live in that world today. Cattle Farming operations in the United States have negative effects on the environment and individuals' health. This system of breeding cattle for consumption has caused negative effects for humans and the environment. It was started by Americas' demand for meat in different sectors. However, efforts to change this system have been thwarted by heavy opposition by huge meat companies. Still, Americans can still make this paradigm change with different spending tactics.

The conversion of grassland to agriculture in the United States has led to the loss of much of the ecosystem services they provide. Some of these services include cycling and moving nutrients, protection and formation of soil, carbon sequestration, protection of surface waters, and habitat for wildlife. One of the major consequences we face from converting grassland for agricultural use is soil erosion. When soil is swept away faster than it can be replenished, the land will eventually become a useless desert. The grassland will not be able to be used for agriculture and it will also not be able to provide any other benefits. Furthermore, the damage could take decades to reverse.

Because the Temperate Grassland ‘‘are flat, treeless, covered with grass, and have rich soil’’, it is often the victim of overgrazing or being used for farming purposes (“The Grassland Biome,” 2004). The Temperate Grassland is the ideal place for growing crops ,but as it is turned into arable land, the grasses are eradicated and ‘‘fallow plowed lands lose topsoil to dust and erosion’’ (Environmental Damage in the Temperate Grasslands, 2016). According to article ‘Temperate Grassland, “About 47 percent of temperate grasslands have been converted to agriculture or urban development.” (Temperate Grassland, 1). When grasslands are plowed for agriculture, the biodiversity of the flora get decreased and replaced by non-native plants. When replacing species, you are also decreasing the food source of other organisms, which disrupts the ecosystem’s food

In this regard, activities such as minimum tillage, crop rotation, and crop residue retention are some of the farming practices that serve to maintain water quality. Minimum tillage, for example, helps in ensuring least disturbance to the soil, implying that the soil particles remain intact and not exposed to agents of soil erosion such as wind and water. Crop residue retention and crop rotation practices on the other hand maintain the soil structure, and thus ensure that the soil is less susceptible to soil erosion, implying that pollution on water sources through soil erosion is significantly hampered (Thierfelder & Wall,

Population is expected to reach 9 billion in 2030. At the same time agricultural land is becoming scarcer and poorer in quality. Furthermore, the environmental impact of intensive agriculture and the effects of climate change are threatening food security in many regions of the globe. Further, shortage of fossil fuels will have dramatic effects on the performance of intensive agriculture. There is an urge to develop more ecological agricultural practices both to meet the need to preserve agroecosystems health and to deal with the reduced availability of “cheap” energy from fossil fuels. (Gomiero, T., Paoletti, M., & Pimentel, D. 2008).

Around 70% of agricultural land is utilized for some aspects of livestock production (Bonny et al. 2015). It has been evaluated that livestock produce around 18% of every green house gas emissions, including 37% of all methane emissions mainly connected with ruminants (FAO 2009), although, other authors have delivered lower numbers (Pitesky et al. 2009). Livestock production is additionally one of the primary drivers of deforestation, deprivation of wildlife habitats, and an abundant accumulation of nutrients that decrease oxygen in water ways. About 34% of the GHG emission related to livestock production are due to deforestation, 25% are methane emission from abdominal fermentation of ruminants, and 31 % of the emission are related to manure management (FAO 2009). As of now, livestock raised for meat utilize about 30% of terrestrial land and 8% of global freshwater, while creating 18% of global GHG, which is more than the overall transportation region (Tuomisto and de Mattos 2011).

Rangeland is any extensive area of land that is occupied by native herbaceous or shrubby vegetation which is grazed by domestic or wild herbivores. Over the last couple of decades grazing of public rangelands in the United States has become very controversial. Groups opposing has cited degradation of public trust resources and detrimental to wildlife and plant species while advocates believe that grazing is beneficial to the wildlife and plant species and holding up the long tradition of ranching. However, beyond the arguments of both sides is a complex web of scientific information, ecosystem processes, and practical issues related to grazing that must be carefully considered before judging whether grazing is beneficial or detrimental for any given situation. In most cases the question is not black and white, but rather a matter of weighing the expected effects of grazing against the objectives for a particular site.

The negative environmental effects of agriculture – water and air pollution, loss of habitats and biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, and nutrient losses – have received major attention and continue to persist. Environmental concerns arise from many agricultural activities and sources including concentrated livestock production, pesticide and chemical use, deforestation, drainage of wetlands, soil erosion from cropland, and the use of fragile lands.