Posted on Aug 14, 2022
Getting cattle into the forest could help climate change, farmers and the livestock
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Silvopasture is the practice of grazing livestock in a forested area instead of an open pasture. It’s a very old practice that might see new life.
Clear-cutting trees to make it easier to raise cattle in the Midwest eliminated much of the landscape known as Midwest Savanna, but an experimental farm in southern Missouri is trying to prove that grazing animals in forests is better for the environment, farmers, and the cows.
Midwest Savannas typically had many trees, but they were far apart, providing shade but also enough sunlight and space for native grasses to grow on the forest floor.
“That habitat was created intentionally by a lot of indigenous communities that lived here,” said Ashley Conway-Anderson, an agroforestry professor at the University of Missouri. “Intentionally managed with fire, and then once fire opened things up, what came next was grass and what came next was large grazing herbivores.”
Clear-cutting trees to make it easier to raise cattle in the Midwest eliminated much of the landscape known as Midwest Savanna, but an experimental farm in southern Missouri is trying to prove that grazing animals in forests is better for the environment, farmers, and the cows.
Midwest Savannas typically had many trees, but they were far apart, providing shade but also enough sunlight and space for native grasses to grow on the forest floor.
“That habitat was created intentionally by a lot of indigenous communities that lived here,” said Ashley Conway-Anderson, an agroforestry professor at the University of Missouri. “Intentionally managed with fire, and then once fire opened things up, what came next was grass and what came next was large grazing herbivores.”
Getting cattle into the forest could help climate change, farmers and the livestock
Posted from kcur.org
Ranching
Farming
Climate Change
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."You can grow food like apples or walnuts, have a timber business and graze cattle all on one reasonably sized piece of land,” Adams said. “And with farmland prices skyrocketing, that makes it more possible for new, younger people to get into farming.”
There are a lot of challenges to making a go of having cattle graze in forests, including the time it takes for trees to grow, the inefficiency of raising cattle that graze as opposed to producing them in a factory farm, and the time and effort required to manage a forest properly.
Conway-Anderson and other advocates believe it’s worth it, and are optimistic that they can prove it.
“I want to get more people thinking about this as a viable possibility. Because even if everybody does this on 40 acres that they have, that’s a huge amount that can add to this mosaic and help rebuild the tapestry of savanna landscape that once was here,” Conway-Anderson said.
Silvopasture proponents are also banking on the increased need for such measures, as climate change puts pressure on agriculture to come up with solutions in the coming years."
..."You can grow food like apples or walnuts, have a timber business and graze cattle all on one reasonably sized piece of land,” Adams said. “And with farmland prices skyrocketing, that makes it more possible for new, younger people to get into farming.”
There are a lot of challenges to making a go of having cattle graze in forests, including the time it takes for trees to grow, the inefficiency of raising cattle that graze as opposed to producing them in a factory farm, and the time and effort required to manage a forest properly.
Conway-Anderson and other advocates believe it’s worth it, and are optimistic that they can prove it.
“I want to get more people thinking about this as a viable possibility. Because even if everybody does this on 40 acres that they have, that’s a huge amount that can add to this mosaic and help rebuild the tapestry of savanna landscape that once was here,” Conway-Anderson said.
Silvopasture proponents are also banking on the increased need for such measures, as climate change puts pressure on agriculture to come up with solutions in the coming years."
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