Livestock
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As part of the celebration of the International Year of Soil, the New York Times published an article this week on the value of planting cover crops between regular harvests. Among the benefits: increase in soil carbon, decrease in erosion, reduction in compaction, lower fertilizer costs, and improvement in crop yields. And as I’ve pointed…
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There have been a number of articles published lately on the impacts of warming temperatures that are already being observed on different animal species. Yesterday I published a blog article on the impacts on ocean species. Today I will focus on the impacts of changing climate on chickens and livestock and on cats and dogs.…
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The US Department of Agriculture has just released a new report on the impacts of drought on forests and rangelands. It includes descriptions of the types of drought, impacts on water supplies and vegetation, and includes information on how to deal with the impacts effectively. You can find it at https://www.fs.fed.us/sites/default/files/DROUGHT_book-web-1-11-16.pdf.
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AgWeb posted an article yesterday describing the impacts of the recent heavy snow on dairy farmers in the Mid-Atlantic region. Most of them prepared in advance by putting out extra rations for the cows in sheltered spots and preparing to store milk if the milk haulers could not get through. How would you handle a…
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Cover crops are often used to help reduce erosion and keep moisture and nutrients in the soil. But a recent article in AgWeb points out that they also work well as forage for cattle. A variety of choices of cover crop can be used, and the article describes some of the advantages and disadvantages of each…
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The Modesto Bee published the results of a study this week on the advantages of digesters for dairy waste, as reported by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Digesters use bacteria to break down animal waste and use it to produce energy while eliminating emissions of methane from the waste. This reduces carbon emission…
Posted in: Livestock -
AgWeb posted an article this week describing some of the large impacts that the Midwestern floods have had on agriculture, including the transportation of wheat and oil. Many hog farmers have had to relocate their pigs to get them away from the flooded areas; thousands of others have been drowned. You can read the article…