As we celebrate Earth Day 2013, here is a note from University of Georgia Forage Extension Specialist Dennis Hancock. If you can, take 20 minutes to watch the video on the link he provides as it really explains how important livestock are to preserving the land for years to come.
Several folks have shared this video with me since it first came out, but I’ve been waiting to share it here until Earth Day. Allan Savory has been promoting planned grazing for decades. This video (http://youtu.be/vpTHi7O66pI) is definitely worth a few minutes of your time.
Too often, agricultural producers are vilified and blamed for our environmental problems. My experience is quite the opposite, as most are active environmentalists (even if they wouldn’t use such words to describe it).
Here’s an example where livestock are blamed for catastrophic changes in the landscape (e.g., desertification), but that isn’t the whole story. Improved management will not only stop these landscape changes, but well-managed grazing may indeed be the only way to reverse them.
Though our forage systems are different than in Africa, the semi-arid Western US, or the Great Plains, there are many lessons learned from their experiences that translate well to our systems.
Please, give this video a listen as you celebrate Earth Day. Let us all resolve to redouble our efforts to leave this land better than we found it.
If you have a forage-related question, check out our website at www.georgiaforages.com, talk with your county Extension Agent by dialing 1-800-ASK-UGA1, or send an email to me at dhancock@uga.edu.
Regards,
Dennis W. Hancock, PhD
Forage Extension Specialist