tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/cattle-farming-19418/articlescattle farming – The Conversation2024-03-05T03:00:57Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2159892024-03-05T03:00:57Z2024-03-05T03:00:57ZLumpy skin disease is a threat to Australia and could decimate our cattle industries – we need to know how it could enter and spread<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577190/original/file-20240221-22-67ggd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C8%2C5964%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/calf-has-sick-lumpy-skin-disease-2028066140">assiduousness, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian authorities are on high alert amid the spread of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-03-04/lumpy-skin-disease-detected-in-indonesia/100881842">lumpy skin disease</a> in cattle and buffalo across South-East Asia. While <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/lumpy-skin-disease/australias-freedom-from-lsd">Australia remains free of the disease</a>, the virus is likely to breach our borders at some stage.</p>
<p>Detection of the disease in Australia’s livestock industries would lead to <a href="https://animalhealthaustralia.com.au/download/1653/">restrictions on cattle, meat and dairy exports</a>, with serious consequences for the economy. </p>
<p>The federal government has a <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/lumpy-skin-disease/australias-freedom-from-lsd">plan to detect and respond</a> to an outbreak. But we need to go one better – to predict where the disease is likely to appear and how it might spread. </p>
<p>Our team is developing a model we hope will provide this vital information. It will help Australia prepare and respond not just to the current threat, but to any future biosecurity breach.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Lumpy skin disease is on Australia’s doorstep, with fears the threat is going unnoticed | ABC News (September 2022)</span></figcaption>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stop-killing-brown-snakes-they-could-be-a-farmers-best-friend-222142">Stop killing brown snakes – they could be a farmer's best friend</a>
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<h2>What is lumpy skin disease?</h2>
<p><a href="https://animalhealthaustralia.com.au/lumpy-skin-disease/">Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease</a> that affects cattle and buffalo, not humans. The incubation period is up to 28 days. </p>
<p>First reported in Zambia in 1929, the <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2022.2764-2771">disease has spread</a> across Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia. It reached <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-03-04/lumpy-skin-disease-detected-in-indonesia/100881842">Indonesia in 2022</a>.</p>
<p>Early symptoms include fever and increased tear production. Lumps then appear on the skin and can cover the entire body, gradually hardening as the disease develops. Sometimes the lumps slough off, leaving holes on the skin that are susceptible to infections. </p>
<p>Typically only 1-5% of cattle die from the disease, but those that recover may not return to full health.</p>
<p>Milk production is reduced in cows. Meat yield from infected cattle is likely to be reduced, although it does not contain lumps and is safe to eat. Temporary or permanent infertility in both cows and bulls can also develop during the first month of infection.</p>
<p>The virus is mainly spread by biting insects such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.g5808">mosquitoes, stable flies and ticks</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-021-02786-0">Higher temperature</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.434">increased rainfall</a> can increase insect populations and activity, and have triggered outbreaks of disease overseas.</p>
<p>The disease can also be transmitted by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1297-9716-43-1">close contact between cattle</a>, such as exposure to body fluids.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing where lumpy skin disease has been reported in South-East Asia over the last five years" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=746&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=746&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=746&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Where lumpy skin disease has been reported over the last five years in South-East Asia, as at February 19 this year, using data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The University of Queensland</span></span>
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<h2>A testing time with Indonesia and Malaysia</h2>
<p>In July last year, Indonesian authorities claimed 13 cows from Australia had <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-31/lumpy-skin-disease-cattle-from-australia-exports-indonesia/102668870">tested positive</a> days after arrival. At the time, Australian authorities <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/lsd-detection-in-cattle-exported-to-indonesia">demonstrated</a> that the nation was free of the disease. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, trade between Indonesia and four of Australia’s cattle export holding yards was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-30/lsd-in-australian-cattle-in-indonesia/102666812">suspended</a> immediately. Then <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/second-country-suspends-live-cattle-exports-from-australia-over-disease-fears/news-story/d94648994297f0be4497ca0eeda965b5">Malaysia went further and stopped accepting</a> any Australian live cattle and buffalo. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/malaysian-authorities-lift-temporary-suspension">Malaysia</a> and <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/indonesia-lifts-trade-restrictions">Indonesia</a> each lifted their restrictions in early September, after <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/australia-remains-free-from-lumpy-skin-disease">more than 1,000 cattle</a> were tested across Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. The Australian government also <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/indonesia-lifts-ban-on-live-cattle-exports-from-australia/news-story/891378279957dfb5dec102a9fe504749">agreed</a> to boost surveillance and biosecurity measures, including testing on farms and <a href="https://www.beefcentral.com/live-export/alec-welcomes-resumption-of-indonesian-cattle-trade/">disinfecting departing export vessels</a>.</p>
<p>Since the lifting of restrictions, the Indonesian government has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-11/cattle-rejected-live-export-indonesia-skin-blemishes-lsd/102956626">reportedly</a> rejected Australian cattle with skin blemishes – in some cases, this comprised up to 30% of cattle in a shipment.</p>
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<h2>How could lumpy skin disease enter Australia?</h2>
<p>The Australian government has introduced <a href="https://animalhealthaustralia.com.au/download/1653/">strict biosecurity measures</a> at international ports to minimise the risk of infected animals entering the country. These include disinfection and disinsection (spraying to remove insects) of vessels and cargo.</p>
<p>However, there’s a high risk of <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/ausvet-lsd-quantitative-assessment.pdf">infected insects entering Australia</a> through international ports or by travelling across the sea to northern Australia. Some infected flying insects may be able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.12378">cover long distances, aided by strong winds</a>.</p>
<p>Another possible mode of entry for infected insects is through <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-12-13/illegal-fishing-in-wa-sparks-biosecurity-fears/103195314">illegal fishers landing on the Australian coast</a>.</p>
<h2>What can be done to prevent the spread of lumpy skin disease?</h2>
<p>In countries where lumpy skin disease is common, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.g5808">live vaccines have been used to control the disease</a>. However, this is not practical in disease-free countries such as Australia, because vaccinated animals <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.i2800">cannot be distinguished</a> from infected animals. This means Australia could not be confirmed free of disease, leading to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.g5808">international trade restrictions</a>.</p>
<p>The Australian government <a href="https://minister.agriculture.gov.au/Watt/media-releases/lsd-vaccine-supply-secured">secured a supply of lumpy skin disease vaccines</a> in October. These are being securely stored overseas in case of an outbreak. The vaccines will also be available to neighbouring Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.woah.org/en/document/lumpy-skin-disease-technical-disease-card/">Preventing the spread of lumpy skin disease</a> requires early detection of the disease, isolation of potentially infected animals and restrictions around their movement. Once initial diagnosis is confirmed, culling of infected animals and insect control would likely follow.</p>
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<h2>What can be done to prepare Australia?</h2>
<p>Australia has a <a href="https://animalhealthaustralia.com.au/download/1653/">veterinary emergency response plan</a> to enact if the disease enters the country. The federal government has also <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/lumpy-skin-disease/australias-freedom-from-lsd">boosted surveillance</a> and begun <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/getting-ready-to-respond">offering training</a> for veterinarians, industry and government staff on how to prevent and control the spread of the disease.</p>
<p>However, innovative models are needed to assess the likely introduction and spread of the disease in Australia. Our team is developing a framework to carry out such modelling. Our model will include data describing the current status of reports of the disease outside of Australia, Australia’s landscape and climate, distribution and movement of cattle, and local insect populations.</p>
<p>These models will produce maps that can be used to identify areas in Australia more suitable to receiving the disease, such as areas with favourable environmental conditions for the survival of imported infected insects. These maps will inform decisions around surveillance and response plans, and help farmers prepare for a potential outbreak of the disease.</p>
<p>Maintaining a high level of preparedness and awareness of the disease among cattle producers, farmers, veterinarians and other relevant individuals is paramount if we are to maintain our disease-free status as an international exporter. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-shot-hole-borer-beetle-invasion-has-begun-but-we-dont-need-to-chop-down-every-tree-under-attack-222610">Australia's shot-hole borer beetle invasion has begun, but we don't need to chop down every tree under attack</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kei Owada works for the University of Queensland. The research team at the University of Queensland working on lumpy skin disease modelling is jointly supported by the Queensland Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the University of Queensland.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Hayes receives funding from the University of Queensland and the Queensland Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ricardo J. Soares Magalhaes receives funding from the University of Queensland and the Queensland Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy J. Mahony works for the University of Queensland. The research team at the University of Queensland working on lumpy skin disease modelling and vaccine development is jointly supported by the Queensland Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the University of Queensland.</span></em></p>A disfiguring disease of cattle and buffalo has arrived on our doorstep. We need to keep lumpy skin disease out of Australia, while preparing for the almost inevitable outbreak.Kei Owada, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Veterinary Science, The University of QueenslandBen Hayes, Director, Centre for Animal Science, The University of QueenslandRicardo J. Soares Magalhaes, Professor, School of Veterinary Science, The University of QueenslandTimothy J. Mahony, Professor, Centre for Animal Science, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1895642022-08-31T10:29:16Z2022-08-31T10:29:16ZFoot-and-mouth disease: the gaps in South Africa’s efforts to keep it under control<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481534/original/file-20220829-24-5leyt5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africa needs to develop and produce its own vaccines to protect cloven-hoofed animals from foot-and-mouth disease.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lucas Ninno/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In mid August, South Africa’s minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development Thoko Didiza responded to outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease with a nationwide <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/minister-thoko-didiza-announces-decision-suspend-all-movement-cattle-country-due-foot-and">ban on the movement of cattle</a> for 21 days. By late August, 127 cases of the disease had been recorded in six of the country’s nine provinces. The Conversation Africa spoke with Rebone Moerane and Melvyn Quan about the disease, its effects and the government’s mitigation strategies.</em></p>
<h2>What is foot-and-mouth disease?</h2>
<p>It’s a viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, such as cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, and wild animals such as buffalo. The disease is caused by foot-and-mouth disease virus. The virus is extremely contagious; it can travel on air currents and infect animals many kilometres away from the source. Animals can also be infected by close or direct contact with other infected animals, or contaminated people, vehicles and equipment.</p>
<p>As the name suggests, the disease can be recognised by blisters and ulcers on areas where there is friction, such as the mouth, feet and teats. Not many animals die from the disease. But there are production losses related to reduced milk yield, growth of affected animals and poor quality wool.</p>
<p>The main economic impact of the disease comes from trade bans and the inability to move or sell animals and animal products from affected areas.</p>
<p>South Africa has different zones where different levels of foot-and-mouth disease control are applied. In the north and the east, the Kruger National Park and northern KwaZulu-Natal province are considered the infected zone. This is surrounded by a protection zone, in which cloven-hooved animals <a href="https://www.dalrrd.gov.za/Branches/Agricultural-Production-Health-Food-Safety/Animal-Health/disease-control">are vaccinated</a> against the virus. This provides a barrier to the disease spreading to the rest of the country. There’s also a zone which is under close surveillance. The rest of South Africa is normally considered free of the disease. </p>
<p>The recent outbreaks have occurred in the foot-and-mouth disease free zone. As a result, South Africa cannot export animals and fresh meat to other countries. According to <a href="https://www.agriseta.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Agriseta_Red_Meat_SSSP_DIGITAL.pdf">official statistics</a>, South Africa “produces approximately 21.4% of the total meat produced on the (African) continent and 1% of global meat production”. The livestock industry also contributes 34.1% to the total domestic agricultural production and provides 36% of the population’s protein needs. This shows how economically damaging the current situation is.</p>
<h2>Are there any risks to human health?</h2>
<p>Humans cannot be infected with foot-and-mouth disease virus, so meat from an infected animal is safe for human consumption. However, the infected meat can act as a source of infection to other cloven-hoofed animals if it is not deboned and canned, salted or heated to inactivate the virus. </p>
<p>This virus should not be confused with <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hand-foot-and-mouth-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20353035">hand, foot and mouth disease</a>; its only relation is that it belongs to the same family of viruses.</p>
<h2>What is the current situation in South Africa?</h2>
<p>There are three outbreaks. The first started in May 2021 in KwaZulu-Natal, the second in March 2022 in Limpopo and the third, also in March 2022, began in the North West province and spread to the Free State, Gauteng and Mpumulanga provinces. There are currently 127 open cases – that’s a lot.</p>
<p>This resulted in the minister’s announcement of a 21-day movement ban. Animals on affected properties are being quarantined and in some cases culled. There’s a vaccination drive in the affected areas. All vaccinated animals should be branded with an “F” mark to show they’ve been inoculated against the virus. Surveillance has also increased: cattle are being examined for clinical signs of the disease; blood is being drawn to test cattle for antibodies that would indicate a previous infection.</p>
<h2>Is there anything else the government should be doing?</h2>
<p>The government has tried to implement measures in line with the gazetted policy to control the disease. But there are several challenges with this approach.</p>
<p>The first is that the control of any animal disease is not solely the government’s responsibility. Other stakeholders – like farm owners and managers – are <a href="https://www.sahpra.org.za/document/animal-diseases-act-1984-act-no-35-of-1984/">obliged by legislation</a> to prevent the spread of disease.</p>
<p>Unfortunately most farmers, especially small-scale rural farmers, might not be aware of such responsibility. They may not have the means or have been equipped with the necessary tools to identify sick animals early and report to a state veterinary official or a private veterinarian. Those small-scale rural farmers in the infected zone need more support during outbreaks and during normal times. For instance, there’s no reason why the government could not invest in assisting farmers in this zone by providing processing plants for the proper slaughtering and processing of meat in line with international standards. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tanzanian-farmers-dont-vaccinate-against-foot-and-mouth-disease-heres-why-111426">Tanzanian farmers don't vaccinate against foot and mouth disease. Here's why</a>
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<p>Another problem is that the current measures are unfortunately short term and don’t take all the issues at play into consideration. The veterinary authority, which is part of the department of agriculture, land reform and rural development, needs extra funding, through a special allocation from the national treasury, to tackle these outbreaks and continue its normal work. This requires political support from cabinet and parliament.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-namibia-on-curbing-the-spread-of-foot-and-mouth-disease-109838">Lessons from Namibia on curbing the spread of foot and mouth disease</a>
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<p>South Africa relies on its neighbours, mainly Botswana, to supply it with foot-and-mouth disease vaccines. This needs to be addressed to ensure prompt action against future outbreaks – the country must be able to produce and distribute vaccines fast.</p>
<p>It is time for the country to look at a long term foot-and-mouth disease plan that accommodates all role players.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189564/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melvyn Quan receives funding from Agriseta. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebone Moerane does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Foot-and-mouth disease rarely kills animals, but it leads to production losses and economic knocks.Melvyn Quan, Associate professor, University of PretoriaRebone Moerane, HoD Production Animal Studies, Senior Lecturer in Animal Disease Control and Primary Animal Health Care, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1888952022-08-29T03:38:22Z2022-08-29T03:38:22ZA witty memoir of taking on the family farm reckons with Indigenous dispossession and climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480722/original/file-20220824-20-59ggeu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=121%2C93%2C6081%2C3998&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sam Vincent on the farm.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lean Timms </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s been a tough couple of years for Australian farmers. Just months after Black Summer’s devastation, the pandemic struck. Catastrophic floods soon followed. <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/asf">African Swine Fever</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-foot-and-mouth-disease-why-farmers-fear-apocalyptic-bonfires-of-burning-carcasses-186741">foot and mouth</a> on our doorstep pose an enormous threat, as do the more banal issues of inflation and labour shortages.</p>
<p>Farmers are a resilient mob, but on top of all this, they’re feeling under attack. Cattle have become a poster child for climate emissions. Images of animal cruelty in intensive systems fuel assumptions about the whole sector. Urbanites downplay their own complicity in Indigenous dispossession through pointing to farmers.</p>
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<p><em>Review: My Father and Other Animals – Sam Vincent (Black Inc)</em></p>
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<p>Sam Vincent’s <a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/my-father-and-other-animals">new book</a> is on one level a work of rural-urban translation. He pulls no punches in addressing agriculture’s negative impacts, but adds much-needed nuance through detailing how regenerative farmers are working to remediate the destruction wrought by settler-colonial extractive agriculture. </p>
<h2>Learning to farm</h2>
<p>The book’s narrative arc follows the succession of the family farm, located in the Yass Valley in the Australian Capital Territory’s northern tip. Divided into four parts, the book begins with Vincent’s entrée into farming life, slogging it out as his ageing father’s enthusiastic, if bumbling, farmhand.</p>
<p>At first glance, the book appears a light and comical portrait of his farming apprenticeship. Yet by weaving together the personal and political, Vincent provides a wealth of information on Australia’s settler history, industrial agriculture, and the regenerative turn. </p>
<p>Because the writing is clean, the humour tight, and the rural vignettes compelling, you often don’t even realise you’re being schooled. </p>
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<span class="caption">Figs: a keystone species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided.</span></span>
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<p>Vincent’s farming know-how grows throughout part two, “Orchardist”, wherein he catalogues his foray into fig farming, alongside a warts-and-all but affectionate analysis of his father, and the neoliberalism he’s held to stand for. </p>
<p>The dizzying array of fig facts will leave you craving one of these richly symbolic flowers (not fruits!) that, as a keystone species, play a key role in fostering biodiversity. </p>
<p>One of the most fun facts is that in hipster circles, figs have more cultural cache than cattle. Assumptions about the livestock industry are hilariously captured in Vincent’s alternate Tinder profiles as either cattle or fig farmer (spoiler: he does find love online, but via Twitter, not Tinder).</p>
<h2>In praise of regenerative agriculture</h2>
<p>Garnished with spicy reflections on gender, class and familial dynamics in rural Australia, the meat and potatoes of the book are served in part three, “Grazier”. Drawing on his time at “grazing school” – a TAFE holistic management course – Vincent digs deep into the principles and practices of regenerative agriculture. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480725/original/file-20220824-20-ryjatq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480725/original/file-20220824-20-ryjatq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480725/original/file-20220824-20-ryjatq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480725/original/file-20220824-20-ryjatq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480725/original/file-20220824-20-ryjatq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480725/original/file-20220824-20-ryjatq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480725/original/file-20220824-20-ryjatq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480725/original/file-20220824-20-ryjatq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The book argues cows have a role in regenerative agriculture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After a detailed and incisive critique of the industrial cattle sector’s negative ecological impacts, Vincent makes a case for regenerative approaches. “It’s not the cow, it’s the how,” he intones, outlining the positive role cattle can play in agro-ecosystems that maximise carbon sequestration and foster biodiversity. </p>
<p>His dialectical style, talking back to his leftie mates in the city, makes for a compelling case. Indeed, Vincent’s positioning, with a foot in both the farming and urban left camps, means he will likely bring both sides along for the ride.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-managed-to-toilet-train-cows-and-they-learned-faster-than-a-toddler-it-could-help-combat-climate-change-167785">We managed to toilet train cows (and they learned faster than a toddler). It could help combat climate change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Settler reckoning</h2>
<p>Regenerative agriculture is integrally concerned with social justice, and part four, “Settler”, provides the book’s most valuable contribution. </p>
<p>Dave, an archaeologist friend, surveys the farm and identifies an ochre quarry of considerable cultural and historical significance. The Vincents connect with local Ngambri, Ngunnawal and Ngunawal community members and begin a journey that takes several years to gazette the site as an “Aboriginal Place”. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480732/original/file-20220824-16-2sffb4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480732/original/file-20220824-16-2sffb4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480732/original/file-20220824-16-2sffb4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480732/original/file-20220824-16-2sffb4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480732/original/file-20220824-16-2sffb4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480732/original/file-20220824-16-2sffb4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480732/original/file-20220824-16-2sffb4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480732/original/file-20220824-16-2sffb4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An ochre quarry is found on the farm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Vincent seeks to inspire other farmers to let go of their fears and connect with the land’s traditional owners. He is at pains to relay that nothing is lost for his family in this process; they will always have access, and even grazing rights, to the site, while gaining so much. </p>
<p>Rather than relegate to the distant past “Australia’s foundational sin, the violent theft of the land that has enabled my family and our society to enrich itself”, Vincent looks to his family’s relatively recent history. </p>
<p>He notes the proximity of his mother’s cousin’s farm to the egregious <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-water-turned-red-remembering-the-indigenous-victims-of-the-warrigal-creek-massacre-20210207-p5709f.html">Warrigal Creek massacre</a>. He recalls his grandfather describing Indigenous people living on his Murray River property in the 1940s.</p>
<p>Facing the past in this way, and the implications this might have for the present and future, is uncomfortable. Vincent’s transparency about some of his less generous thoughts and occasional unease brings a rare honesty to the national conversation. </p>
<p>Vincent is not alone in this reckoning. Farmer-led organisations such as the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance have recently launched their <a href="https://afsa.org.au/blog/2021/07/03/first-peoples-first/">First Peoples First</a> policy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-agriculture-sector-sorely-needs-more-insights-from-first-nations-people-heres-how-we-get-there-173154">Australia's agriculture sector sorely needs more insights from First Nations people. Here's how we get there</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Victorian farmers I work with are <a href="https://paytherent.net.au/">paying the rent</a> to grassroots Indigenous organisations. Others in New South Wales and Queensland have given portions of their farms back to Traditional Owners, who are variously using the land to connect with Country, for ceremony, for growing traditional foods, and for tourism ventures.</p>
<p>There are no simple fixes for the dispossession and generations of pain and suffering settler Australians have inflicted on Indigenous Australians. The land question is particularly intractable. While many non-Indigenous Australians <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-great-australian-silence-50-years-on-100737">refuse to even adequately acknowledge</a> histories of genocide and displacement, a new generation of farmers is working hard to progress both social and ecological reparations. </p>
<h2>Drought and fire</h2>
<p>In the final chapters, the drought of 2017-19 is painfully rendered. After the hard sell of regenerative agriculture, Vincent concedes that in the face of such extreme conditions, there are limitations to even the best land management practices. </p>
<p>Yet, while no rain brings respite for the land, Vincent gifts readers some comic relief. His fig orchards, sparingly watered for a few hours each week, become a green oasis for him and his father. “We paused for a moment,” he recalls, “me on my haunches, Dad lying down in the manner of a come-hither kangaroo”. </p>
<p>Such delightfully idiosyncratic imagery aside, Vincent claims there “isn’t a vocabulary for what happened next”. Yet he manages to powerfully evoke the heart-wrenching fires of Black Summer: the months of relentlessness smoke, the fear and dread, the animal deaths, the ecosystem devastation, the human tragedy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480726/original/file-20220824-22-6h01pu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480726/original/file-20220824-22-6h01pu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480726/original/file-20220824-22-6h01pu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480726/original/file-20220824-22-6h01pu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480726/original/file-20220824-22-6h01pu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480726/original/file-20220824-22-6h01pu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480726/original/file-20220824-22-6h01pu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480726/original/file-20220824-22-6h01pu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The impact of fires is powerfully evoked.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is a powerful immediacy here given how recently the events of that terrible summer took place. </p>
<p>With the birth of his first child, the book returns to the succession theme and ends on a hopeful note. </p>
<p>Vincent has already demonstrated his writing chops via his first book, <a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/blood-and-guts">Blood and Guts</a>, and his Walkley award-winning writing in publications including the Monthly and The Saturday Paper. The brilliance of this book is its multiple layers. Readers who come for the rollicking rural gambol will stay for the postcolonial politics and food system education.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188895/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catie Gressier receives funding from the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project scheme (project number DE200100595). She is affiliated with the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia, and the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance. </span></em></p>Sam Vincent’s new book is a comic portrait of a farming apprenticeship, an interrogation of industrial agriculture and an example of how farmers are connecting with the land’s traditional owners.Catie Gressier, Research Fellow, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1725112021-12-01T17:10:30Z2021-12-01T17:10:30ZDo La Niña’s rains mean boom or bust for Australian farmers?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434907/original/file-20211201-13-128xtfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C28%2C9475%2C6288&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After years of punishing drought in some areas, many farmers in Australia’s east were hoping the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/">newly declared La Niña event</a> would bring them good rains. </p>
<p>Many are now rejoicing, with the wettest November experienced in Australia for more than two decades. But for some farmers, heavy and prolonged rain is causing a new set of problems.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1465885247115972612"}"></div></p>
<p>Last year’s La Niña delivered good rainfall in some areas – while leaving others drier than they would have been under an El Niño, with many areas in southern Queensland missing out. In La Niña years, the cattle farming town of Roma receives an average of 247mm from November to the end of January. Last year they only got half that. </p>
<p>This year’s La Niña has already delivered rain to many areas left dry last year. Roma, for example, has received more than 200mm in November 2021 alone. These large rainfall events and seasons are required after ongoing drought to recharge the moisture in the soil. </p>
<p>But continued rain will be less welcome in newly waterlogged areas along the Queensland and NSW border and the Northern Rivers region, given it may lead to further flooding.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-likely-driving-a-drier-southern-australia-so-why-are-we-having-such-a-wet-year-172409">Climate change is likely driving a drier southern Australia – so why are we having such a wet year?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What does La Nina mean for farmers?</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/outlooks/#/overview/summary">Seasonal forecasts</a> give a greater than 60% chance of rainfall above the median for much of eastern Australia from now to the end of March. </p>
<p>If this summer of rain eventuates, it will be welcome news for many farmers in eastern Australia who have had below-median rainfall for three or more years. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434928/original/file-20211201-21-11pulz4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of Australia showing eastern coast higher rainfall prediction" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434928/original/file-20211201-21-11pulz4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434928/original/file-20211201-21-11pulz4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434928/original/file-20211201-21-11pulz4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434928/original/file-20211201-21-11pulz4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434928/original/file-20211201-21-11pulz4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434928/original/file-20211201-21-11pulz4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434928/original/file-20211201-21-11pulz4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/sco/archive/">Bureau of Meteorology</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Farmers usually welcome La Niña with open arms, given plentiful rainfall can boost production and profits. </p>
<p>Still, a boon for one industry can be a burden for another, with heavy or prolonged rainfall able to damage fruit and delicate crops as well as delaying harvests or making them more challenging. Flooding can wash away entire fields and damage roads and other infrastructure. </p>
<p>For the sugar industry, increased rainfall associated with La Niña can mean sugarcane has to be harvested at lower sugar content levels, or be delayed in harvesting. The cane can be knocked over by heavy rain, which makes harvesting difficult and reduces yield, all of which reduce profitability. </p>
<p>For the grains industry, the bumper grain crop predicted for 2021 has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/24/bad-weather-set-to-wipe-billions-off-value-of-australian-crops">already been downgraded</a> in areas like New South Wales due to flooding, with losses expected to be in the billions. </p>
<p>By contrast, the beef industry in Queensland relies on grass, so a La Niña summer with above average rain can increase pasture growth and regeneration as well as cattle weight gain and market prices.</p>
<p>This double-edged sword – too much rain or not enough – is nothing new to Australian farmers. </p>
<p>Understanding how La Niña and other ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) events impact different regions and industries is critical to take advantage of good years, minimise losses in poor years, and make sound decisions based on the best possible information.</p>
<p>What does that look like? In La Niña years, cattle farmers may decide to move their cattle out of flood prone regions or rest a paddock to allow it to regenerate with the extra rain, which will provide more grass in the following season. </p>
<p>For grain farmers, La Niña means keeping a close eye on both three-month seasonal climate forecasts and the daily weather forecasts to decide if it’s worth the risk to plant a big crop and if they are likely to be able to harvest it before any big rainfall events occur. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-australia-is-a-land-of-flooding-rains-but-climate-change-could-be-making-it-worse-157586">Yes, Australia is a land of flooding rains. But climate change could be making it worse</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434926/original/file-20211201-28-8vvu5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Storm moving across field of wheat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434926/original/file-20211201-28-8vvu5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434926/original/file-20211201-28-8vvu5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434926/original/file-20211201-28-8vvu5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434926/original/file-20211201-28-8vvu5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434926/original/file-20211201-28-8vvu5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434926/original/file-20211201-28-8vvu5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434926/original/file-20211201-28-8vvu5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">La Niña’s rain can mean promise or threat to farmers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Can we predict La Niña rainfall?</h2>
<p>La Niña events usually bring average to above average rain to much of Australia’s east. Unfortunately, no two La Niñas occur in the same way. </p>
<p>Because of this variability, it is important for farmers to understand how La Niña events impact their area so that they can plan for likely conditions.</p>
<p>Australia’s east coast climate is heavily influenced by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a naturally occurring phenomenon centred in the tropical Pacific that consists of three separate phases: La Niña, El Niño, and a neutral or inactive phase. </p>
<p>La Niña years occur around 25% of the time, with El Niño years also at 25%, and neutral years making up 50%. ENSO is not fully predictable, and moves irregularly between these phases. While it is unusual to have back-to-back La Niñas it is not unprecedented.</p>
<p>During these La Niña events, surface water in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific cools and the ocean to the north of Australia tends to warm. </p>
<p>Changes in the ocean drive changes in the atmosphere over the Pacific. Like a rock thrown in a pond, however, this Pacific phenomenon ripples outwards, causing atmospheric changes in places like Australia and Chile. </p>
<p>In Australia, La Niña tends to bring more rain and lower temperatures across much of the country, while we see increases in heavy rain, <a href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/apme/55/5/jamc-d-15-0146.1.xml">flooding</a>, and severe tropical cyclones <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00382-010-0883-2">making landfall</a>. </p>
<p>What does the future hold? While most La Niña events are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-020-05235-0">projected to produce less rainfall</a> in many regions, projections suggest the wettest La Niña years will tend to be just as wet or wetter that they were in the past. </p>
<p>Australia’s farmers will continue to face the challenges of floods and droughts brought by La Niña and El Niño, but as farmers learn more about these events and how they impact their area and industry, they can become more resilient.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172511/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chelsea Jarvis receives funding from the Northern Australia Climate Program, which is funded by Meat & Livestock Australia, the Queensland Government, and the University of Southern Queensland. She is affiliated with (a member of) the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Power does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many farmers are welcoming an expected summer of La Niña rain, while others have been hit by heavy rain and floodsChelsea Jarvis, Research fellow, University of Southern QueenslandScott Power, Director, Centre for Applied Climate Sciences, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1677852021-09-13T20:03:36Z2021-09-13T20:03:36ZWe managed to toilet train cows (and they learned faster than a toddler). It could help combat climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420696/original/file-20210913-23-jsaxck.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=76%2C85%2C5607%2C3698&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Can we toilet train cattle? Would we want to? </p>
<p>The answer to both of these questions is <em>yes</em> — and doing so could help us address issues of water contamination and climate change. Cattle urine is high in nitrogen, and this contributes to a range of environmental problems.</p>
<p>When cows are kept mainly outdoors, as they are in New Zealand and Australia, the nitrogen from their urine breaks down in the soil. This produces two problematic substances: nitrate and nitrous oxide. </p>
<p>Nitrate from urine patches leaches into lakes, rivers and aquifers (underground pools of water contained by rock) where it pollutes the water and contributes to the excessive growth of weeds and algae.</p>
<p>Nitrous oxide is a long-lasting greenhouse gas which is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It <a href="http://www.nzagrc.org.nz/domestic/nitrous-oxide-research-programme/the-science-of-nitrous-oxide/">accounts for</a> about 12% of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, and much of this comes from the agricultural sector. </p>
<p>When cows are kept mainly in barns, as is the case in Europe and North America, another polluting gas — ammonia — is produced when the nitrogen from urine mixes with faeces on the barn floor. </p>
<p>However, if some of the urine produced by cattle could be captured and treated, the nitrogen it contains could be diverted, and the environmental impacts reduced. But how might urine capture be achieved?</p>
<p>We worked on this problem with collaborators from Germany’s Federal Research Institute for Animal Health and Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology. Our research is published today in the journal <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/B5BtCk81xOH4A7lAi2ScIs?domain=cell.com">Current Biology</a>. It forms part of our colleague Neele Dirksen’s PhD thesis.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/feeding-cows-a-few-ounces-of-seaweed-daily-could-sharply-reduce-their-contribution-to-climate-change-157192">Feeding cows a few ounces of seaweed daily could sharply reduce their contribution to climate change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Toilet training (but without the nappies)</h2>
<p>In our research project, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, we applied principles from behavioural psychology to train young cattle to urinate in a particular place — that is, to use the “toilet” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420701/original/file-20210913-15-1ggwxwc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A calf at the start of alley, at the far end." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420701/original/file-20210913-15-1ggwxwc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420701/original/file-20210913-15-1ggwxwc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420701/original/file-20210913-15-1ggwxwc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420701/original/file-20210913-15-1ggwxwc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420701/original/file-20210913-15-1ggwxwc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420701/original/file-20210913-15-1ggwxwc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420701/original/file-20210913-15-1ggwxwc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The calves were required to walk down an alley to enter the latrine pen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Behavioural psychology tells us a behaviour is likely to be repeated if followed by a reward, or “reinforcer”. That’s how we <a href="https://caninehabit.com/dog-training-operant-conditioning/">train a dog</a> to come when called. </p>
<p>So if we want to encourage a particular behaviour, such as urinating in a particular place, we should reinforce that behaviour. For our project we applied this idea in much the same way as for toilet training children, using a procedure called “backward chaining”.</p>
<p>First, the calves were confined to the toilet area, a latrine pen, and reinforced with a preferred treat when they urinated. This established the pen as an ideal place to urinate. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Cow urinating in a latrine pen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420704/original/file-20210913-24-i4lzuj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420704/original/file-20210913-24-i4lzuj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420704/original/file-20210913-24-i4lzuj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420704/original/file-20210913-24-i4lzuj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420704/original/file-20210913-24-i4lzuj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420704/original/file-20210913-24-i4lzuj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420704/original/file-20210913-24-i4lzuj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The cow urine could be ‘captured’ in the latrine pen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reserach Institute for Farm Animal Biology</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The calves were then placed in an alley outside the pen, and once again reinforced for entering the pen and urinating there. If urination began in the alley, it was discouraged by a mildly unpleasant spray of water.</p>
<p>After optimising the training, seven out of the eight calves we trained learned to urinate in the latrine pen — and they learned about as quickly as human children do. </p>
<p>The calves received only 15 days of training and the majority learned the full set of skills within 20 to 25 urinations, which is quicker than the toilet-training time for three- and four-year-old children.</p>
<p>This showed us two things that weren’t known before.</p>
<ol>
<li>cattle can learn to attend to their own urination reflex, because they moved to the pen when ready to use it</li>
<li>cattle will learn to withhold urination until they’re in the right place, if they’re rewarded for doing so.</li>
</ol>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420708/original/file-20210913-25-ej7nx3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Calf consumes the reward." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420708/original/file-20210913-25-ej7nx3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420708/original/file-20210913-25-ej7nx3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420708/original/file-20210913-25-ej7nx3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420708/original/file-20210913-25-ej7nx3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420708/original/file-20210913-25-ej7nx3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420708/original/file-20210913-25-ej7nx3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420708/original/file-20210913-25-ej7nx3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Calves were given a tasty treat after using the latrine pen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The next stages</h2>
<p>Our research is a proof of concept. Cattle can be toilet trained, and without much difficulty. But scaling up the method for practical application in agriculture involves two further challenges, which will be the focus in the next stage of our project.</p>
<p>First, we need a way both to detect urination in the latrine pen and deliver reinforcement automatically — without human intervention. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420709/original/file-20210913-13-vokafv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Calf exits through a gate." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420709/original/file-20210913-13-vokafv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420709/original/file-20210913-13-vokafv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420709/original/file-20210913-13-vokafv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420709/original/file-20210913-13-vokafv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420709/original/file-20210913-13-vokafv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420709/original/file-20210913-13-vokafv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420709/original/file-20210913-13-vokafv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The calves exited the pen through a gate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is probably no more than a technical problem. An electronic sensor for urination wouldn’t be difficult to develop, and small amounts of attractive rewards could be provided in the pen. </p>
<p>Apart from this, we’ll also need to determine the optimal location and number of latrine pens needed. This is a particularly challenging issue in countries such as New Zealand, where cattle spend most of their time in open paddocks rather than barns. </p>
<p>Part of our future research will require understanding how far cattle are willing to walk to use a pen. And more needs to be done to understand how to best use this technique with animals in both indoor and outdoor farming contexts. </p>
<p>What we do know is that nitrogen from cattle urine contributes to both water pollution and climate change, and these effects can be reduced by toilet training cattle. </p>
<p>The more urine we can capture, the less we’ll need to reduce cattle numbers to meet emissions targets — and the less we’ll have to compromise on the availability of milk, butter, cheese and meat from cattle.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/virtual-fences-and-cattle-how-new-tech-could-allow-effective-sustainable-land-sharing-119398">Virtual fences and cattle: how new tech could allow effective, sustainable land sharing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167785/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Douglas Elliffe has received research funding from the Volkswagen Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lindsay Matthews receives funding from VW Foundation. He is affiliated with Matthews Research International. </span></em></p>Capturing cow urine could allow us to reduce the amount of damaging nitrate and nitrous oxide that ends up in the environment.Douglas Elliffe, Professor of Psychology, University of Auckland, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLindsay Matthews, Honorary Academic, Psychology Department, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1308772020-07-07T02:47:33Z2020-07-07T02:47:33ZIntensive farming is eating up the Australian continent – but there’s another way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344552/original/file-20200629-155353-18mmn1c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3264%2C1886&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sue McIntyre</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/nsw-farmers-accelerate-land-clearing-rates-doubling-previous-decade-20200701-p5581j.html">we learned</a> woody vegetation in New South Wales is being cleared at more than double the rate of the previous decade – and agriculture was responsible for more than half the destruction.</p>
<p>Farming <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/publications/insights/snapshot-of-australian-agriculture-2020#agricultural-production-is-growing">now covers</a> 58% of Australia, or 385 million hectares, and accounts for 59% of water extracted.</p>
<p>It’s painfully clear <a href="https://www.wenfo.org/aer/">nature is buckling</a> under the weight of farming’s demands. In the past decade, the federal government has <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publiclookupcommunities.pl">listed</a> ten ecological communities as endangered, or critically endangered, as a result of farming development and practices.</p>
<p>So how can we accommodate the needs of both farming and nature? Research shows us how – but it means accepting land as a finite resource, and operating within its limits. In doing so, farmers will also reap benefits.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325446/original/file-20200404-74220-5bgtta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325446/original/file-20200404-74220-5bgtta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325446/original/file-20200404-74220-5bgtta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325446/original/file-20200404-74220-5bgtta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325446/original/file-20200404-74220-5bgtta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325446/original/file-20200404-74220-5bgtta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325446/original/file-20200404-74220-5bgtta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grassy eucalypt woodlands used for cattle farming in subtropical Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tara Martin. Author provided.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Healthy grazing landscapes</h2>
<p>In the 1990s, I worked as a research ecologist in the cattle country of sub-tropical Queensland. The prevailing culture valued agricultural development over conservation. Yet many of these producers lived on viable farms that supported a wealth of native plants and animals.</p>
<p>They made a living from the native grassy eucalypt woodlands, an ecosystem that extends from Cape York to Tasmania. In these healthy landscapes, vigorous pastures of tall perennial grasses protected the soil, enriched it with carbon and fed the cattle.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ipccs-land-report-shows-the-problem-with-farming-based-around-oil-not-soil-121643">IPCC's land report shows the problem with farming based around oil, not soil</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>NSW and Victoria have similar eucalypt grassy vegetation, but <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/16380796?q=pasture+improvement+in+australia&c=book&sort=holdings+desc&_=1586924950730&versionId=196760124">farming here has taken a very different path</a>. </p>
<p>Fertilised legumes and grasses grown for livestock fodder have replaced hundreds of native grassland plants. Over time, native trees and shrubs <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/386f395f-b2c6-4e10-8fc3-e937ad277bfe/files/white-and-yellow-box.pdf">stopped regenerating</a> and remaining trees became unhealthy, <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/386f395f-b2c6-4e10-8fc3-e937ad277bfe/files/white-and-yellow-box.pdf">destroying wildlife habitat</a>. The transformation was hastened by <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/16380796?q=pasture+improvement+in+australia&c=book&sort=holdings+desc&_=1586924950730&versionId=196760124">aerial applications of fertiliser and herbicide</a>. </p>
<p>By 2006, 4.5 million hectares of box-gum grassy woodland – or 90% – in temperate Australia had been <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/dcad3aa6-2230-44cb-9a2f-5e1dca33db6b/files/box-gum.pdf">destroyed</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325450/original/file-20200404-74220-lu4kpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325450/original/file-20200404-74220-lu4kpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325450/original/file-20200404-74220-lu4kpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325450/original/file-20200404-74220-lu4kpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325450/original/file-20200404-74220-lu4kpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325450/original/file-20200404-74220-lu4kpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325450/original/file-20200404-74220-lu4kpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aerial delivery of fertiliser, seed and herbicide transformed grassy woodlands in NSW.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">F. G. Swain. Author provided.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A template for sustainability</h2>
<p>Back in Queensland in the 1990s, my colleagues and I devised a <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/4749">template</a> for sustainable land use. Funded by the livestock industry and a now-defunct federal corporation, we worked with producers and government agencies to find the right balance between farm production and conserving natural resources. </p>
<p>Our research concluded that for farming to be sustainable, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG0I8nVXcbg">intensive land uses</a> must be limited. Such intensive uses include crops and non-native pastures. They are “high input”, typically requiring fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides, and some form of cultivation. They return greater yields but kill native plants, and are prone to soil and nutrient runoff into waterways.</p>
<p>But our template was not adopted as conventional farming practice. In the past 20 years, Australia’s cropping area has <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/aclump/land-use-change-overview/national-scale-examples">increased</a> by 18,200 square kilometres.</p>
<p>By 2019, 38,000 square kilometres of poplar box grassy woodland in Australia had been cleared – more than half the size of Tasmania. The ecosystem was listed as <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publiclookupcommunities.pl">endangered in 2019</a>. Until that point, it had been considered <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/communities/pubs/141pb-conservation-advice.pdf">invasive native scrub in NSW</a> – exempting it from clearing regulations – and was systematically cleared for agriculture in Queensland. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345299/original/file-20200702-111353-10i55s3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345299/original/file-20200702-111353-10i55s3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345299/original/file-20200702-111353-10i55s3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345299/original/file-20200702-111353-10i55s3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345299/original/file-20200702-111353-10i55s3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345299/original/file-20200702-111353-10i55s3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345299/original/file-20200702-111353-10i55s3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farmers should conserve sufficient areas of landscape to support native plants and animals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sue McIntyre</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Regenerating the land</h2>
<p>Hearteningly, our research was recently <a href="https://www.vbs.net.au/long-term-research/">revived</a> in a multidisciplinary study of regenerative grazing on the grassy woodlands of NSW. The template was used to assess the ecological condition of participating farms.</p>
<p>The study examined differences in profitability between graziers who had adopted regenerative techniques such as low-input pasture management, and all other sheep, sheep-beef and mixed cropping-grazing farmers in their region. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-ways-farms-of-the-future-can-feed-the-planet-and-heal-it-too-128853">Three ways farms of the future can feed the planet and heal it too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It found regenerative grazing was often more profitable than other types of farming, especially in dry years. Regenerative farmers also experienced significantly higher than average well-being compared with other NSW farmers.</p>
<p>So what does our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167880912000291?via%3Dihub">template involve</a>? First, it identifies four types of land use relevant to farmed grassy woodland regions.</p>
<p>Second, it specifies the proportion of land that should be allocated to each use, in order to achieve landscape health (see pie chart below). The proportions can be applied to single farm, or entire districts or regions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325448/original/file-20200404-74220-ojf0wk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325448/original/file-20200404-74220-ojf0wk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325448/original/file-20200404-74220-ojf0wk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325448/original/file-20200404-74220-ojf0wk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325448/original/file-20200404-74220-ojf0wk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325448/original/file-20200404-74220-ojf0wk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325448/original/file-20200404-74220-ojf0wk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How to sustain production, natural resources and native flora and fauna on a landscape or farm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sue McIntyre</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Intensive land use involves activities that replace nearly all native species. If these activities occupy more than 30% of the landscape, there’s insufficient habitat to maintain many native species, especially plants. </p>
<p>At least 10% of land must be devoted to nature conservation. The remaining 60% of the land should involve low-intensity activity such as grazed native pasture and timber production. If managed well, these land uses can support human livelihoods and a diversity of native species.</p>
<p>Within that split of land use, total native woodland should be no less than 30%. This guarantees connected habitats for native plants and animals, enabling movement and breeding opportunities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345522/original/file-20200703-33913-149u3o2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345522/original/file-20200703-33913-149u3o2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345522/original/file-20200703-33913-149u3o2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345522/original/file-20200703-33913-149u3o2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345522/original/file-20200703-33913-149u3o2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345522/original/file-20200703-33913-149u3o2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345522/original/file-20200703-33913-149u3o2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Retaining grassy woodland ensures habitat for native animals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Duncan McCaskill/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Respect the land’s limits</h2>
<p>Australians ask a lot of our land. It must make space for our houses, businesses, and roads. It should support all species to prevent extinctions. And it must produce our food and fibre.</p>
<p>Global population growth demands a rapid rise in <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2018/12/how-sustainably-feed-10-billion-people-2050-21-charts">food production</a>. But relying on intensive agriculture to achieve this is unsustainable. Aside from damaging the land, it increases greenhouse gas emissions though mechanisation, fertilisation, chemical use and tree clearing. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-farmers-are-adapting-to-climate-change-76939">Australian farmers are adapting to climate change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To meet the challenges of the future we must ensure farmed landscapes retain their <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.12689">ecological functions</a>. In particular, maintaining biodiversity is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.12689">key to climate adaptation</a>. And as many of Australia’s plants and animals march towards extinction, the need to reverse biodiversity loss has never been greater.</p>
<p>Farmers can be profitable while maintaining and improving the ecological health of their land. It’s time to look harder at farming models that respect the limits of nature, and recognise that less can be more.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130877/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sue McIntyre is a member of Bush Heritage Australia and volunteers for Landcare Australia. </span></em></p>It’s painfully clear nature is buckling under the weight of farming’s demands. There’s another way – but it involves accepting nature’s limits.Sue McIntyre, Honorary Professor, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1167062019-05-10T12:44:13Z2019-05-10T12:44:13ZWales’s past was in coal but its future is in carbon farming<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273795/original/file-20190510-183080-h5pe4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sheep-on-mountain-south-wales-159339512?src=LKhXky-93RR2u4PtITC23A-1-15">Thomas Jeffries/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/net-zero-the-uks-contribution-to-stopping-global-warming/">new report</a> from the Committee on Climate Change has outlined how the UK should – and could – reduce its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. While an ambitious target in itself, the commission predicts Scotland can meet it a little earlier, by 2045, while England will hit the target on time. Wales, however, has only been set a goal of 95% reduction by 2050.</p>
<p>Coming just days after <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-48093720">Wales declared a climate emergency</a>, the reduced goal has been <a href="https://gov.wales/written-statement-committee-climate-change-advice-long-term-emissions-target">met with understanding</a> from the Welsh government – but why is it that the committee believes Wales cannot meet net zero? With wind power now cheaper than fossil fuel sources, polluting coal and gas fired power stations will not be replaced in Wales, meaning that the electricity sector should be relatively straightforward to decarbonise. </p>
<p>However, the accompanying analysis notes that Wales has relatively little capacity for carbon capture and storage, to take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and trap it underground. Progress in other areas has been slow too. The report states that less than 5% of the energy used for heating buildings comes from low-carbon sources across the UK, and less than 0.5% of the miles driven are in low-carbon vehicles. But the reduced target is not because of these areas alone – it is mainly due to the fact that the agricultural industry will be difficult to decarbonise. </p>
<h2>Farmers’ burden</h2>
<p>Some <a href="https://gweddill.gov.wales/statistics-and-research/survey-agricultural-horticulture/?lang=en">90% of the land</a> in Wales is in the hands of
“<a href="https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/consultations/2018-07/brexit-and-our-land-consultation-document_0.pdf">farmers, foresters or other stewards of the landscape</a>”. Climate, soil quality and landscape make the country relatively unsuited to arable agriculture, so the industry is dominated by cattle and sheep, which produce the potent greenhouse gas methane as part of their digestive process. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-will-affect-dairy-cows-and-milk-production-in-the-uk-new-study-101843">How climate change will affect dairy cows and milk production in the UK – new study</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>From a farmer’s perspective, it might seem that agriculture is being asked to shoulder a large burden of emission reductions compared to other sectors. But looking at the detail, the report suggests almost the opposite. It recognises that agriculture is particularly hard to decarbonise but, the problem is that given the measures proposed for other sectors, the committee’s figures show agriculture will go from its current position as one of the UK’s lower emission sectors to a major emitter by 2050. </p>
<iframe title="2050 emissions by sector in the UK." aria-label="Stacked Column Chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/eYKuX/3/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="569"></iframe>
<p>Livestock farming is the lifeblood of the rural economy in Wales, with enormous cultural and historical significance. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/mar/04/communities.business">economic collapse</a> that followed the closure of coal mines in the South Wales valleys is a lesson in how not to change the status quo. Unemployment is still high in this area decades afterwards. The question then is how Welsh farming can respond to changes in consumer demand and climate change without damaging the economy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/carbon-farming-how-agriculture-can-both-feed-people-and-fight-climate-change-111593">Carbon farming: how agriculture can both feed people and fight climate change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The committee’s recommendations include a reduction of between 20% and 50% in beef, lamb and dairy consumption. It notes that even this target would still mean we will be eating more of these foods than recommended in healthy eating guidelines. In order for these dietary shifts to reduce emissions in practice, farmers will need to produce less livestock rather than simply export any excess. This means that <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/science-and-technology-committee/technologies-for-meeting-clean-growth-emissions-reduction-targets/oral/101230.html">redesigning agricultural support payments</a> will be an essential component of any change.</p>
<h2>From coal to carbon</h2>
<p>Work by our colleagues in Aberystwyth has led to <a href="https://impact.ref.ac.uk/casestudies/CaseStudy.aspx?Id=42089">incremental improvements</a> in the efficiency of ruminant agriculture via grassland improvement and animal breeding. For example, reseeding pasture with high sugar grass increases milk production in dairy cattle and weight gain in both beef and sheep, and reduces negative environmental impacts. These grass varieties now account for almost a third of perennial rye grass seed sales across Wales, as farmers improve their land. </p>
<p>However, livestock efficiency gains alone are unlikely to be sufficient, so by 2050 Wales will need to be farming differently. The committee’s report suggests that a fifth of agricultural land will need to be used for other purposes, such as growing <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/biomass-in-a-low-carbon-economy/">bioenergy crops</a>, which can be burned to generate electricity, and forestry that can <a href="https://www.iwa.wales/click/2018/02/wales-needs-trees-arent-planting/">sequester carbon</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/agroforestry-can-help-the-uk-meet-climate-change-commitments-without-cutting-livestock-numbers-108395">Agroforestry can help the UK meet climate change commitments without cutting livestock numbers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The day-to-day practicalities of farming for carbon are not the same as farming for food, but turning over 20% of a farm to a different purpose does not need to spell the end of a culture or a way of life. By 2050 Wales can have a bio-economy, one based on natural resources rather than fossil fuels. Other industries that are reliant on fossil fuels will also need to change; plastics can already be made from <a href="https://www.wrap.org.uk/content/understanding-plastic-packaging-pdf">plants instead of oil</a>, and the construction industry is increasingly turning to <a href="https://www.arup.com/perspectives/publications/research/section/rethinking-timber-buildings">timber engineering</a> to reduce its reliance on concrete. These changes will create demand for plant feedstocks that Welsh farmers will be well placed to provide. </p>
<p>Reaching the 95% emission target by 2050 is ambitious but achievable. For Wales to reach net zero, sacrifices will need to be made, both by industry and the public. As a nation, Wales is blessed with natural resources — they are not in short supply. Farmers are key to realising this opportunity. While the recent history of Wales was built on coal, its future will be built on the bio-economy.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-newsletter-researchers-think-of-a-world-with-climate-action-113443?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=Imagineheader1116706">Click here to subscribe to our climate action newsletter. Climate change is inevitable. Our response to it isn’t.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116706/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Judith Thornton works for Aberystwyth University, on the BEACON project. BEACON is funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO), part of the Welsh Government, under the Convergence programme for West Wales and the Valleys. She has an interest in low carbon building materials and bioenergy crops.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iain Donnison works for Aberystwyth University and receives research funding principally from the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for projects including a Core Strategic Programme in Resilient Crops, and the Supergen Bioenergy Hub, and also the Welsh European Funding Office for the BEACON Biorefing Centre through European Regional Development funds. He was a member of the external advisory group for the Climate Change Committee's Report on Bioenergy. </span></em></p>To hit emissions targets, Wales will need to drastically reassess how 90% of its landscape is used.Judith Thornton, Low Carbon Manager (BEACON), Aberystwyth UniversityIain Donnison, Professor of Biological Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1057892018-11-05T11:43:58Z2018-11-05T11:43:58ZStrict Amazon protections made Brazilian farmers more productive, new research shows<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/la-proteccion-estricta-del-amazonas-fomenta-la-productividad-agricola-en-brasil-106488">Leer en español</a></em>.</p>
<p>Jair Bolsonaro, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-bolsonaros-presidency-means-for-brazil-5-essential-reads-105894">Brazil’s new president</a>, will make many decisions during his four-year term, from combating violence to stimulating a stagnant economy. </p>
<p>Those decisions will have large impacts on Brazilians, who remain deeply divided over the controversial election of this <a href="https://theconversation.com/bolsonaro-wins-brazil-election-promises-to-purge-leftists-from-country-105481">far-right populist</a>.</p>
<p>But some of Bolsonaro’s decisions will affect the entire world, namely his promises to cut environmental protections in the Brazilian Amazon.</p>
<h2>The Amazon’s uncertain fate</h2>
<p>The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest and a <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/global_commodities_boom_fuels_new_assault_on_amazon">major global food exporter</a>. </p>
<p>The Amazon Basin also provides the rains that nourish Brazil’s productive croplands to the south, a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-farming-factbox-idUSTRE78M5HS20110923">breadbasket for the world</a>. The rainforest’s destruction could cause large-scale droughts in Brazil, leading to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800917306468">nationwide crop losses</a>.</p>
<p>An estimated 9 percent of Amazonian forests disappeared between 1985 and 2017, reducing the rainforest’s ability to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/28/alarm-as-study-reveals-worlds-tropical-forests-are-huge-carbon-emission-source">absorb the carbon emissions</a> that drive climate change.</p>
<p>Deforestation is <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/361/6407/1108.full.pdf">largely due to land clearing for agricultural purposes</a>, particularly cattle ranching. </p>
<p>Cattle production has an extremely <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-cattle-farmers-in-the-brazilian-amazon-money-cant-buy-happiness-85349">low profit margin</a> in the Brazilian Amazon. It also requires a massive amount of land for grazing. Both factors drive Amazonian farmers to continuously clear forest – illegally – to expand pastureland.</p>
<p>Today, <a href="http://mapbiomas.org/">12 percent of the Brazilian Amazon</a>, or 93 million acres – an area roughly the size of Montana – is used for agriculture, primarily cattle ranching but also soybean production. </p>
<p>Deforestation decreased substantially from 2004 to 2014 thanks to <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2014/06/05/cutting-down-on-cutting-down">strict environmental protections</a> passed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2004. His Workers Party cracked down on illegal land clearing in the Amazon, making Brazil a world leader in rainforest protection.</p>
<p>But deforestation in the Amazon has <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2016/12/brazilian-government-announces-29-percent-rise-deforestation-2016">begun to climb</a> again recently. </p>
<p>Brazilian President Michel Temer, a conservative who entered office in 2016 during a deep recession, has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics-environment/brazil-home-of-amazon-rolls-back-environmental-protection-idUSKCN18B21P">loosened enforcement of federal anti-deforestation laws</a>, slashed the environmental ministry’s budget and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-world-protests-as-amazon-forests-are-opened-to-mining-83034">opened the Amazon to mining</a>.</p>
<p>Satellite data reveal that between August 2017 to 2018, 1.1 million acres of Brazilian Amazonian forest were cleared – the <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/09/ahead-of-election-deforestation-continues-to-climb-in-the-brazilian-amazon/">highest deforestation rate since 2007</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242635/original/file-20181028-7068-mxzwnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242635/original/file-20181028-7068-mxzwnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242635/original/file-20181028-7068-mxzwnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242635/original/file-20181028-7068-mxzwnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242635/original/file-20181028-7068-mxzwnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242635/original/file-20181028-7068-mxzwnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242635/original/file-20181028-7068-mxzwnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brazil’s next president.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-Brazil-Elections/efee31dae3e24db782c3da83aef19893/4/0">AP Photo/Silvia izquierdo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>President-elect Bolsonaro has promised to further slash environmental protections in Brazil, saying that federal conservation zones and hefty fines for cutting down trees <a href="http://news.trust.org//item/20181026090106-r6vs5/">hinder economic growth</a>. </p>
<p>Specific plans include <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/climate/brazil-election-amazon-environment.html">eliminating protections for indigenous territories</a> that safeguard forests from private developers and <a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-brazil-apos-leading-candidate-232002196.html?guccounter=1">reducing fines</a> for illegally clearing land. </p>
<p>Bolsonaro also wants to <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/jair-bolsonaro-looming-threat-to-the-amazon-and-global-climate/">dismantle Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment</a>, which enforces environmental laws.</p>
<h2>Brazil’s agricultural innovations</h2>
<p>The president-elect’s deregulatory agenda is supported by the Bancada Ruralista, a powerful congressional caucus that <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/temer-government-set-to-overthrow-brazils-environmental-agenda/">defends Brazilian agribusiness interests</a>. </p>
<p>Despite the lobby’s stance that regulation hurts business, Brazil’s strict environmental laws have actually helped Amazonian farmers, my <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378017312669#.W8yp0HPwe_0.twitter">recent research</a> shows.</p>
<p>From 2004 to 2014, Brazil’s federal government employed a host of tactics to <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/53a5/9c0ef21a0a748f02e26969df1ff9dbc249f2.pdf">reduce Amazonian farmers’ incentives</a> to clear land. It increased penalties for deforestation, making it far more expensive to create new grazing land. Simultaneously, it <a href="http://www.agricultura.gov.br/assuntos/sustentabilidade/plano-abc/historico">offered state-subsidized, low-interest financing</a> for farmers who adopted more sustainable practices.</p>
<p>Those policies encouraged innovations that have made Amazon farmland much more productive. In a co-authored study <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378017312669#.W8yp0HPwe_0.twitter">published in October in the journal Global Environmental Change</a>, my colleagues and I found that food production in the Amazon has substantially increased since 2004.</p>
<p>Amazonian farmers are now planting and harvesting two crops – mostly soybean and corn – each year, rather than just one. This is called “double cropping.” </p>
<p>Our study found that land in double cropping in Brazil’s most important agricultural state, Mato Grosso, increased from 840,000 acres in 2001 to more than 10.6 million acres in 2013, boosted by improved environmental laws. </p>
<h2>Farmers are getting richer</h2>
<p>Environmental regulation of the Brazilian Amazon has helped farmers improve business in other ways too, our research found. </p>
<p>Improved pasture management in Mato Grosso state led the number of cattle slaughtered annually per acre to double, meaning farmers are producing more meat – and therefore earning <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aac4d1/meta">more money</a> – with their land. </p>
<p>Ranchers who add crops into pasture areas can <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aac4d1/meta">more than quadruple</a> the amount of beef produced because cattle raised in integrated crop and livestock systems gain weight more quickly. That spares remaining Amazonian forests from deforestation.</p>
<p>These sustainable ranching practices also reduce the greenhouse gases associated with beef and leather production. Better nourished cows are slaughtered sooner, meaning <a href="https://theconversation.com/seaweed-could-hold-the-key-to-cutting-methane-emissions-from-cow-burps-66498">fewer burps per cow</a> per lifetime, leading to lower methane emissions. </p>
<p>Brazil’s progressive environmental protections have even pushed corporations that operate in the Amazon to adopt more sustainable practices. </p>
<p>Since 2006, hundreds of multinational food and timber companies, including Cargill and Nestle, have adopted “<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-017-0061-1">zero-deforestation commitments</a>” – pledges that they will never again source products from farmers who continue to deforest their land.</p>
<p>The commitments started in the Brazilian Amazon and have since extended to <a href="http://forestdeclaration.org/goal/goal-2/">all forests on the planet</a>, including the <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/stop-deforestation/drivers-of-deforestation-2016-palm-oil#.W9ujHxNKjdQ">Indonesian and Malaysian rainforests</a>.</p>
<p>Brazilian law, which restricts Amazonian farmers from clearing more than 20 percent of their land and requires them to federally register their property for monitoring, has made it easier for zero-deforestation companies to drop producers who cut down trees.</p>
<h2>Saving the Amazon</h2>
<p>Strong environmental protections are necessary to save the Amazon, protecting Brazil and the world from the loss of this <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800917306468">critical, fragile habitat</a>.</p>
<p>If Brazil’s next president dismantles its environmental laws, corporations could abandon their zero-deforestation standards in the Amazon. That could have ripple effects in other threatened habitats worldwide.</p>
<p>Far from being bad for business, Brazil’s Amazonian protections help sustain the country as a global breadbasket. </p>
<p>If Bolsonaro scraps them, he won’t just imperil a legendary rainforest. He’ll hurt Brazilian farmers, too – and the consumers worldwide who depend on them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105789/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Garrett has received funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the US National Science Foundation, and the US National Aeronautics and Space Agency.</span></em></p>Brazil’s president-elect wants to roll back environmental laws, saying they hurt rural growth. But preventing Amazonian deforestation has actually made farmland more productive.Rachael Garrett, Assistant Professor of the Human Dimensions of Global Change, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/896732018-01-08T22:47:34Z2018-01-08T22:47:34ZMeat is not the ‘new tobacco,’ and shouldn’t be taxed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200826/original/file-20180104-26169-xpun6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is meat the new tobacco? Some are suggesting it is, and urging a "sin tax" on beef, pork and other meats.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The idea of having to pay a sin tax for environmentally detrimental foods is gaining more support. For some, eating meat is a sin, and therefore meat products should be taxed like alcohol and tobacco. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.fairr.org/resource/livestock-levy-regulators-considering-meat-taxes/">A new report published recently by a British group called Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return Initiative (FAIRR)</a> argues that a tax on meat is inevitable.</p>
<p>The meat industry, particularly beef producers, has been facing relentless criticism over the last decade. Very rarely have we seen reports encouraging consumers to eat more meat. </p>
<p>For one thing, science-based findings linking climate change and meat have been accumulating. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization <a href="http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/resources/en/publications/tackling_climate_change/index.htm">has reported that livestock account for about 14.5 per cent</a> of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Other surveys have suggested the sector may represent up to 18 per cent. </p>
<p>Greenhouse gas emissions produced by the livestock industry will only increase as the middle class in both India and China expand, and, as such, <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/global-meat-consumption-increasing-driven-china-india-527128">demand for animal protein is exploding.</a></p>
<p>And then there’s health.</p>
<p>In 2015, the World Health Organization <a href="https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/world-health-organization-says-processed-meat-causes-cancer.html">linked meat consumption to cancer.</a> The report indicated that eating processed meat products increases the risk of developing cancer. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australianz/australia-says-who-study-linking-processed-meat-to-cancer-is-a-farce">Several meat-producing countries</a>, including <a href="http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/agriculture-canada-challenged-whos-cancer-warnings-on-meat-according-to-newly-released-documents">Canada</a>, the U.S., Brazil and Australia, ridiculed the report because processed meats were added to the same category as asbestos. </p>
<h2>Meat-eating discouraged in some countries</h2>
<p>But several other governments, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/20/chinas-meat-consumption-climate-change">including China</a> and some European countries, have actively discouraged their citizens from consuming an unreasonable amount of meat. That’s not a signal the meat industry needs.</p>
<p>The other major headwind the industry faces is related to the ethical treatment of animals. Some believe livestock production is unethical and that the industrial production of meat <a href="http://www.debatingeurope.eu/2016/09/20/intensive-animal-farming-banned/#.Wk5ZIbQ-cW8">should be outlawed</a>, period. </p>
<p>The ethics narrative around meat has been gaining traction over the last decade or so.</p>
<p>Now, if you think the FAIRR initiative is some minor, under-resourced group desperately trying to seek attention, think again. It includes a portfolio of 57 investors with more than US$2.3 trillion under management.</p>
<p>This alliance clearly wants to influence the plant-based protein agenda, and has had its fair share of success in doing so. Already, agri-food giants like Tyson Foods and Cargill <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40508181/get-ready-for-a-meatless-meat-explosion-as-big-food-gets-on-board">are looking at “beyond-meat” solutions.</a></p>
<p>Demand-focused companies are seeing the writing on the wall. Many consumers are <a href="https://theconversation.com/less-meat-more-choice-a-look-at-key-food-issues-in-2018-89489">re-evaluating their relationship with animal proteins</a>, although in cattle country, a large number remain in deep denial and blame interest groups for fear-mongering.</p>
<h2>Canadians still love their meat</h2>
<p>Statistics show that demand for meat in Canada is still stubbornly robust. The average Canadian typically consumes <a href="http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/industry-markets-and-trade/market-information-by-sector/red-meat-and-livestock/red-meat-and-livestock-market-information/protein-disappearance-and-demand-by-species/?id=1415860000022">about 87 kilograms of meat products</a> in one year, which is just slightly lower than the amount from five years ago. </p>
<p>This year, beef consumption in our country reached 25.4 kilograms per capita, and some expect demand for the product to increase to 25.5 kilograms next year. Surprising, perhaps, but beef prices have come down, making the product more attractive for the consumer on a budget. </p>
<p>Some <a href="https://caes.usask.ca/members/_pdf/2017%20Canadian%20Agricultural%20Outlook.pdf">significant variations among provinces</a> should be noted, though. Alberta is by far the largest consumer of beef; the average adult Albertan male will eat 83 grams a day. That’s 53 per cent more than the average in Newfoundland, and 18 per cent more than in neighbouring British Columbia. Affordability and lifestyle are probable reasons for such a difference. </p>
<p>Canadian consumers have stayed on the side of our livestock industry, but numbers are showing signs of a change in consumer habits. </p>
<p>Demand for pork is <a href="https://www.discoverwestman.com/ag-news/39921-canadian-pork-council-discusses-strategic-planning-at-fall-meeting">expected to fall to unprecedented levels in 2018,</a> dropping 13 per cent from its 2015 level. Demand for chicken, one of the cheapest types of animal protein out there, plateaued in 2016 and has since softened.</p>
<p>Although beef could experience a rebound in 2018, expected increases aren’t spectacular given how low retail prices are these days. Canadians are not giving up on meats, but they are willing to spend more time away from the meat counter. Animal protein still has market currency, but plant-based alternatives to meat are increasingly attractive.</p>
<p>But little can be accomplished by taxing meat. Taxing food in general — any food product — is morally questionable. A retail tax on food is regressive and can potentially penalize the underprivileged who need affordable sources of protein. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200822/original/file-20180104-159080-1y8vcm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200822/original/file-20180104-159080-1y8vcm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200822/original/file-20180104-159080-1y8vcm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200822/original/file-20180104-159080-1y8vcm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200822/original/file-20180104-159080-1y8vcm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200822/original/file-20180104-159080-1y8vcm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200822/original/file-20180104-159080-1y8vcm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Some have floated the idea of taxing meat as a type of sin tax.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
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<h2>Meat the new tobacco?</h2>
<p>Some have argued that <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/animal-products-cancer_b_1316222.html">meat is the new tobacco</a>. This sensationalist parallel is unwise, since tobacco is not essential to life and food is. </p>
<p>The implementation of such a tax would also be challenging. </p>
<p>If federal or provincial governments were to tax meat, funds would likely be used to support other relevant public programs. But as with any tax, transparency on how funds are dispersed within the massive, bureaucratic governmental machinery is weak. </p>
<p>What’s more, many small businesses around the country have offered high-quality meat products to local markets. Many of them are family businesses. Taxing sausages and steaks would compromise the viability of many stores valued by communities across the country.</p>
<p>Meat has played a significant part in consumers’ lives in the Western world for centuries. Penalizing consumers for continuing a culinary tradition is unfair.</p>
<p>Taxing a food product that’s been entrenched in our culture for so long is idealistically silly. We should let the market evolve and allow consumers to make their own choices. </p>
<p>That said, the livestock industry must pore over market data and start listening to consumers in order to better appreciate their concerns. Given that they are <a href="https://www.producer.com/2017/10/who-do-consumers-trust-farmers-favoured-for-reliable-info/">one of the most trusted groups in our economy</a>, livestock producers are ideally positioned to renew their social contract with the public.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89673/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sylvain Charlebois does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Taxing a food product like meat, which has been entrenched in our culture for so long, is silly. We should let the market evolve and allow consumers to make their own choices.Sylvain Charlebois, Professor in Food Distribution and Policy, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/858602017-10-20T15:35:52Z2017-10-20T15:35:52ZThe burger apocalypse: low carbon eating and avoiding food waste<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190636/original/file-20171017-30417-zrr3wj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-girl-holding-female-hands-fast-481598221">MariaSavenko/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/594361/NDNS_Y1_to_4_UK_report_full_text_revised_February_2017.pdf">More than 95%</a> of people still eat meat and don’t like being told that it is wrong and bad for the planet to do so. But it is now well established that <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/">meat production</a> is responsible for a substantial proportion of human greenhouse gas emissions, not to mention issues around animal welfare. Perhaps more worrying is the increasing problem of massive food wastage. However, people can significantly address these challenges – and an impending “burger apocalypse” – by following a few simple steps toward low carbon eating.</p>
<p>Switching to a low carbon diet has three major benefits: it reduces your impact on the environment, it <a href="https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/why-save-food">saves you money</a>, and it’s very likely to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/healthy-diet-healthier-planet-26152">healthier for you</a>. So what’s all this talk of a burger apocalypse, then? The fact is the now common choice to “grab a burger” is a significant part of human-caused climate change. Food accounts for <a href="https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol22/iss4/art8/">up to 30%</a> of greenhouse gas emissions and – gram for gram – beef is the highest carbon food.</p>
<p>Mass producing beef comes with all sorts of unintended consequences. Animal welfare is a long running issue and there have been numerous <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-25778826">cases of cruelty</a> uncovered over the years. Excessive red meat <a href="http://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/">contributes to disease</a> and obesity, and the huge amount of land needed for cattle <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/04/livestock-farming-artificial-meat-industry-animals">farming</a> could be used much more efficiently to produce other foods.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191080/original/file-20171019-1075-ic1bec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191080/original/file-20171019-1075-ic1bec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191080/original/file-20171019-1075-ic1bec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191080/original/file-20171019-1075-ic1bec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191080/original/file-20171019-1075-ic1bec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191080/original/file-20171019-1075-ic1bec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191080/original/file-20171019-1075-ic1bec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Cattle on a farm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cows-on-farm-black-white-eating-424459801?src=G-M3xIgk4Yd-WfkRuquFsg-1-17">StudioPeace/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>As a result, the whole planet suffers. For cows, like lambs, produce methane – a greenhouse gas 34 times as potent as CO₂. Cows need huge amounts more water than other foods and are the leading cause of deforestation, reducing how much CO₂ can be absorbed instead of going into the atmosphere. The <a href="http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/Shifting_Diets_for_a_Sustainable_Food_Future_0.pdf">World Resources Institute</a> says that compared to 2006, global demand for beef is projected to increase by 95% by 2050.</p>
<p>Government and business have to play their part, but rather than absolving themselves of responsibility by laying blame on others, individuals can make simple changes to their diet and cut tonnes off their annual carbon footprint.</p>
<h2>Avoid waste</h2>
<p>People are quick to blame the supermarkets for food waste, but in developed countries <a href="http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Household_food_waste_in_the_UK_2015_Report.pdf">much more is wasted in the home</a> than along the whole of the supply chain. The amount of food we throw away is so staggeringly high the numbers become meaningless to most people. You could think of it this way: <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/196402/icode/">28% of our agricultural land</a> and a big proportion of our precious fresh water is used to grow food that never reaches a human stomach. The best way to reduce your food waste is to plan your meals before going to the supermarket, so you only buy what you will use.</p>
<h2>Buy in-season, low carbon food</h2>
<p>People get preoccupied with whether food is local. But whether it’s in-season is more important for it’s carbon footprint. In his book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004E3X9ZC/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1">How Bad Are Bananas?</a>, Mike Berners-Lee tells us bananas bought in the UK are low carbon as they come from central or south America by boat. Conversely, you might get UK-grown strawberries in the winter, but they’ll be grown in a hot-house, using fossil-fuel energy, so they could be responsible for 12 times the amount of carbon than between May to September when they’re in season.</p>
<p>With global trade and supermarkets selling most foods year-round it can be hard to know when fruits and vegetables are in-season. You can check this <a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/4f16d9_c91250b0242e47b4a4b85f05704a2713.pdf">seasonality chart</a> before making the trip to the supermarket. Note on the chart, asparagus, when bought outside the UK’s short growing season of April to June, is responsible for is around 30 times higher carbon as it has to be air-freighted from Peru.</p>
<p>Even people who don’t want to reduce how much meat they eat can switch from beef or lamb to pork or chicken and cut around two-thirds off the associated carbon footprint. Vegetarians need to be careful here too. Cheddar cheese is high carbon so maybe have small portions and consider soft cheeses, which need a lot less milk.</p>
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<p>Low carbon meat substitutes in supermarkets have exploded in the last couple of years and restaurants are catching up, with most now providing at least one or two meat-free options. <a href="http://example.com/">The Impossible Burger</a>, which launched in the US last year after five years of research, is aimed at meat lovers. Yet it’s a plant-based burger. The “magic ingredient” is heme, which is what makes meat “meaty”. But you can get it from plants as well as animals. It has an eighth the greenhouse gas emissions as a beef burger but it smells, sizzles, and, apparently, tastes like beef. </p>
<p>Meat-eaters and burger lovers are trying it and giving it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/27/impossible-burger-new-york-veggie-momofuku-david-chang">positive reviews</a>. It might just persuade people to switch. How something tastes is a bigger factor for the average person than the ethical or environmental argument. </p>
<p>Another way to reduce your food’s impact on you and the earth is eat less – especially protein. As the <a href="http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/uploads/16_Shifting-Diets-Blog-Graphics_03v3.png">World Resources Institute</a> points out, people now consume far more than the recommended 50 grams of protein a day, especially in wealthy countries. This excess protein is often the expensive, unhealthy, high carbon kind. An astounding <a href="http://eatforum.org/article/more-than-two-billion-people-overweight-or-obese/">2.2 billion people</a> – almost one in three – are now overweight or obese.</p>
<p>So how can you do your bit to fight The Burger Apocalypse? By following the ABC of low carbon eating: Avoid wasting food, Buy in-season food, and Choose low carbon food more.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85860/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tony Curran delivers The Burger Apocalypse talk at Manchester Science Festival on Saturday, 21 October 2017 (<a href="http://www.manchestersciencefestival.com/event/the-burger-apocalypse/">www.manchestersciencefestival.com/event/the-burger-apocalypse/</a>).</span></em></p>Consumers need to educate themselves on costs of eating beef and start thinking about choosing low-carbon foods instead.Tony Curran, Senior Public Engagement Fellow, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/842372017-10-03T04:31:58Z2017-10-03T04:31:58ZWhy eating grass-fed beef isn’t going to help fight climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188028/original/file-20170928-1488-1e5vdjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Beef gets a bad press, environmentally speaking. We’re <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/21/giving-up-beef-reduce-carbon-footprint-more-than-cars">bombarded with reports</a> highlighting its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/21/eat-less-meat-vegetarianism-dangerous-global-warming">high carbon footprint</a> accompanied by images of belching cows and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/27/brazil-wild-amazon-faces-destruction-farmers-loggers-sierra-ricardo-franco-park">devastated rainforests</a>.</p>
<p>But is all beef bad? Some argue that beef from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/17/the-eco-guide-to-grass-fed">grass-fed cows</a> has higher <a href="http://www.farmingmonthly.co.uk/livestock/5109-research-reveals-that-grass-fed-beef-is-better-for-people-and-the-environment/">welfare, nutrition and other credentials</a> than meat from animals that eat intensively farmed, high-protein feeds. Most cattle get a mixture of such feeds and grass. Many also argue that purely grass-fed cows not only produce less emissions than those fed soy or grain, but that they can even help absorb carbon from the atmosphere (grass uses up carbon from the air via photosynthesis). My colleagues and I have produced <a href="http://www.fcrn.org.uk/projects/grazed-and-confused">a new report</a> for the Food Climate Research Network that shows the evidence suggests otherwise.</p>
<p>Most studies <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v6/n5/full/nclimate2925.html?foxtrotcallback=true">conclude</a> that if you look at the amount of land used and greenhouse gas emissions produced per kilogram of meat, pasture-based cattle actually have a greater climate impact than animals fed grains and soy. This is because commercial feeds tend to be less fibrous than grass, and so cows that eat them produce less methane (through belching and flatulence), which is a potent greenhouse gas. Animals in more intensive, grain-fed systems systems also reach slaughter weight faster than grass-fed animals do, so emissions over the animal’s entire lifetime are lower.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188032/original/file-20170928-1438-z9b7o1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188032/original/file-20170928-1438-z9b7o1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188032/original/file-20170928-1438-z9b7o1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188032/original/file-20170928-1438-z9b7o1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188032/original/file-20170928-1438-z9b7o1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188032/original/file-20170928-1438-z9b7o1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188032/original/file-20170928-1438-z9b7o1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grain-fed beef has less environmental impact.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, some academics and many within the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/apr/23/farming-methods-agroecology-permaculture">alternative farming movement</a> challenge these conclusions. They say that these studies only factor in one side of the greenhouse gas emissions equation: the animals’ emissions. Inspired by ideas such as ecologist and farmer <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change">Allan Savory’s</a> principles of “holistic grazing management”, <a href="https://www.treehugger.com/green-food/in-defense-of-the-cow-how-eating-meat-could-help-slow-climate-change.html">they argue</a> that if you graze cattle in the right way, their nibbling and trampling actions can actually stimulate the grass to put down deep roots and actively remove carbon from the atmosphere. This is plausible under certain circumstances, which is why we considered it in our report.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/grass-fed-beef-and-global-warming">Some even argue</a> that the amount of carbon removed by this type of grazing can actually exceed the cattle’s total emissions. In other words, they should be seen as an essential part of the climate solution.</p>
<p>Advocates of grass-fed cows <a href="http://sustainablefoodtrust.org/articles/red-meat/">also point out</a> that methane gets broken down in the atmosphere after about 12 years, so it’s only a temporary problem. These and other arguments are even <a href="https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/just-in/2016-06-01/new-global-warming-remedy-turning-rangelands-carbon-sucking">leading to moves</a> to award carbon credits to grazing initiatives.</p>
<h2>The evidence</h2>
<p>So are these claims justified? We decided to sift through the evidence to find out. We recognised that the grass-fed issue is about multiple social, ethical and environmental concerns but we decided to focus on just one concern: climate change. We asked one question: what is the net climate impact of grass-fed ruminants, taking into account all greenhouse gas emissions and removals?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fcrn.org.uk/projects/grazed-and-confused">We found that</a> well-managed grazing in some contexts – the climate, soils and management regime all have to be right – can cause some carbon to be sequestered in soils. But, the maximum global potential (using generous assumptions) would offset only 20%-60% of emissions from grazing cattle, 4%-11% of total livestock emissions, and 0.6%-1.6% of total annual greenhouse gas emissions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188000/original/file-20170928-1456-1pvehq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188000/original/file-20170928-1456-1pvehq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188000/original/file-20170928-1456-1pvehq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188000/original/file-20170928-1456-1pvehq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188000/original/file-20170928-1456-1pvehq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188000/original/file-20170928-1456-1pvehq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188000/original/file-20170928-1456-1pvehq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grazing ruminants’ emissions versus potential carbon sequestration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In other words, grazing livestock – even in a best-case scenario – are net contributors to the climate problem, as are all livestock. Good grazing management cannot offset its own emissions, let alone those arising from other systems of animal production.</p>
<p>What’s more, soils being farmed using a new system of management, such as grazing, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.12561/abstract">reach carbon equilibrium</a>, where the carbon that flows into soils equal carbon flows out, within a few decades. This means that any benefits from grass-fed cows are time-limited, while the problems of methane and other gases continue for as long as the livestock remain on the land. Plus, a change in management or climate – or even a drought – can overturn any gains.</p>
<p>As for methane, the argument that its impact is temporary and so not important is flawed. While the warming effect of any given pulse of methane is temporary, the total warming impacts will continue for as long as the source of methane continues. Methane will be emitted and continue to warm the planet as long as cattle are still reared. The problem only disappears if ruminant production is abandoned.</p>
<p>How we use land is also changing, which poses new challenges. Grazing ruminants have historically driven deforestation and the carbon dioxide emissions associated with it. But today, demand for soy and grains to feed pigs, poultry, and intensively reared cattle poses a new threat. This drives the conversion of grassland to grow such grains and the release of carbon stored in it. </p>
<p>That said, ruminants are still implicated. Forests are still cut down while grasslands are being intensified to support more livestock farming. This means using fertilisers or planting legumes, which cause nitrous oxide emissions, on top of the methane the animals produce. In other words, whatever the system and animal type, rising animal production and consumption is driving damaging changes in land use and associated release of greenhouse gases.</p>
<p>The priority for now and coming years is to figure out the least bad environmental way of using land and other resources to feed ourselves and meet our other developmental goals. We need to question the common assumption that high levels of consumption in affluent countries, and rapidly rising demand in developing countries, are inevitable. The more that demand for meat increases, the harder it will be to tackle our climatic and other environmental challenges.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84237/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tara Garnett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Environmentally friendly beef is a myth, according to a new report.Tara Garnett, Food Climate Research Network Leader, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/774572017-05-15T04:45:15Z2017-05-15T04:45:15ZWhy do some graziers want to retain, not kill, dingoes?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169057/original/file-20170512-32588-nff9gs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia has a complex relationship with the dingo</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Angus Emmott</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Vast, ancient, nutrient-poor, with wild swings between droughts, floods and fires: this describes much of the Australian continent. Livestock grazing and farming in such a land is certainly not without its challenges. </p>
<p>Where we’ve failed to work with the local conditions, we see barren plains, dust storms, the extinction of native species, and the repossession of properties by banks, among many ills. </p>
<p>But such a dire picture is <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australias-outback-is-globally-important-32938">far from universal</a>, and belies the fact that many who live on the land are also among our most innovative land managers. <a href="http://www.treat.net.au/">Many</a> <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2006/s1674809.htm">projects</a> offer potential <a href="http://regenthoneyeater.org.au/how.php">benefits</a> for <a href="http://www.emuproject.org.au/">livestock production and the environment</a> <a href="http://www.gondwanalink.org/">alike</a>, but without support progress may be hindered. </p>
<h2>Putting dingoes to work</h2>
<p>One of the most contentious examples involves encouraging dingoes. Many pastoral areas require land managers to take “<a href="https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/land-management/health-pests-weeds-diseases/pests/invasive-animals/restricted/dingo">all reasonable and practical steps</a>” to manage the risk of dingoes, which are classed as pest animals. </p>
<p>But a <a href="http://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(12)00006-7?_returnURL=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0169534712000067%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">growing body of research</a> argues that dingoes can be effective at controlling <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2011.00203.x/full">kangaroo and feral goat populations</a>, especially on cattle stations. </p>
<p>A Western Australian couple, David Pollock and Frances Jones, were recently featured on <a href="http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/australian-story/NC1701Q013S00">Australian Story</a> for their decision to regenerate their property, Wooleen, by de-stocking, encouraging local flora and fauna, and investing in ecotourism.</p>
<p>Their neighbours, including sheep graziers whose stock are vulnerable to dingoes, feel this is an irresponsible decision. Graziers have a mandate to control dingoes (“wild dogs”, to many) and dingo-domestic dog hybrids — which can’t be easily and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-victorias-dingo-and-wild-dog-bounty-is-doomed-to-miss-its-target-66980">reliably distinguished in the wild</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dingoes are known to be very effective at controlling kangaroo populations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Angus Emmott</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120975">impacts</a> and merits of encouraging dingoes in sheep country are <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12277/full">hotly debated</a>, their role in the management of cattle stations is much better understood. But restrictive legislation and the stigma attached to dingoes are frustrating for those who see them as having a vital ecological and economic role for their properties.</p>
<p>Queensland grazier <a href="http://www.northqueenslandregister.com.au/story/4424897/longreach-naturalist-honoured/?cs=4770">Angus Emmott</a> writes that his beef cattle enterprise, Noonbah station, has benefited from leaving dingoes and kangaroos alone:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We run a beef cattle enterprise in the top end of the Queensland channel country, southwest of Longreach. As a part of our management plan, we leave the dingoes and the ’roos alone. We see a range of benefits to our operation. </p>
<p>When the dingoes don’t have their social structure disrupted by poison baiting, trapping and shooting, only the apex bitch breeds, once a year at most. These family groups have strictly defined ranges, and they kill or chase off other wild dogs or dingoes that intrude. They also keep kangaroos down to very low numbers, which is a huge benefit in regards to pasture growth and being able to rest our paddocks. The dingoes also keep down feral pig, cat and fox numbers. </p>
<p>Yes, dingoes do take some of our calves, but the benefits of pasture growth and feral animal control result in a net benefit of better land condition and a greater dollar return. Dingoes also benefit biodiversity conservation and soil condition. We acknowledge this management model does not work in sheep country, including for some of our nearby neighbours, and in these cases we need to look at different forms of management, such as fencing and/or <a href="http://www.dunluce.com.au/articles/maremmas.html">companion and guardian animals</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12378/abstract">Research</a> supports the financial benefits of this approach in certain circumstances. Some studies have found that, perversely, taking lethal action against dingoes can <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12251/abstract">increase the incidence of attacks on stock</a> and boost the population of herbivores that <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12378/abstract">compete with cattle for pasture</a>.</p>
<p>Solutions for <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec.12396/abstract">protecting livestock against attack</a>, such as guardian dogs, are also at hand and may be considerably cheaper than constructing and maintaining extensive predator-proof fences. Livestock guardian dogs have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/watching-over-livestock-our-guardian-animals-6754">shown to be effective</a> in numerous locations across Australia, on large and small grazing properties. But investment from state and federal government (and related agencies) aimed at encouraging such innovation has been lacking. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kangaroos can become very abundant following rain and without control by dingoes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Angus Emmott</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Working with the land</h2>
<p>Regardless of whether graziers take the drastic steps seen at Wooleen, now is the time to reflect on the direction of Australia’s land management. </p>
<p>If we’re to overcome the many challenges we face, including the impacts of <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/foodsecurityreport2015">climate change on food production</a>, then we need to support the bold new thinking emerging from rural and regional Australia, and our scientific institutions. </p>
<p>Such ideas could include making better <a href="https://theconversation.com/eat-locals-swapping-sheep-and-cows-for-kangaroos-and-camels-could-help-our-environment-57349">use of native animals</a> – better suited to Australian conditions – as sources of meat, and <a href="http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/outback-to-oceans-australia/where-we-work/western-australia">reforming land use legislation</a> to allow new industries. </p>
<p>Seeing some of the worst land degradation first hand it’s easy to think that it’s all too hard and that environmental repair will take decades, if not centuries. This can invite inertia and apathy, the enemies of positive change. </p>
<p>But the stories of Wooleen, Noonbah and other <a href="http://www.nintione.com.au/resource/DKCRC-Working-Paper-54_CAGSP-Woodgreen-Station-NT.pdf">innovators</a> show us <a href="https://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/take-action-host-screening-restoring-earth">what is possible</a>. Science has helped demonstrate ecological <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01492.x/full">repair can happen faster</a> and to a greater extent than many might appreciate.</p>
<p>Big changes certainly carry risks, and these must be managed carefully, but <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec.12186/abstract">new and sometimes brave ideas</a> will always improve our understanding of the land. Whatever the outcome, such knowledge helps guide better decisions for more sustainable grazing, farming and bio-diverse conservation. </p>
<p><br></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Euan Ritchie would like to acknowledge the contribution of Angus Emmott to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77457/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Euan Ritchie is a Director (Media Working Group) of the Ecological Society of Australia, and a member of the Australian Mammal Society.</span></em></p>Australian farmers and graziers have historically been against dingoes on their lands. But in a bid to adapt to changing conditions, some are embracing the predators and their potential.Euan Ritchie, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/580622017-01-08T19:21:37Z2017-01-08T19:21:37ZFood for thought: the rise of Australia’s mighty Brahman<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150639/original/image-20161219-26097-1djdz8k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Brahman cattle in northern Australia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">CSIRO</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The cattle in northern Australia are different to the rest of the national herd and the most striking thing is they have humps. But these humped Brahman cattle are here for a reason: because they adapted to surviving where others cannot in harsh tropical environments.</p>
<p>Brahmans were first introduced to Queensland in 1933. Today the national beef herd is around <a href="http://www.mla.com.au/prices-markets/Trends-analysis/cattle-projections/">26 million cattle</a> and Brahman genetics can be found in <a href="http://www.brahman.com.au/wbc_welcome.html">around 50% of the national herd</a>. More than 70% of the bulls working north of the Tropic of Capricorn are Brahman.</p>
<p>Such has been their impact that, before you can leave Ausralia’s beef capital of Rockhampton, you are greeted with a giant statue of a Brahman bull, a tribute to the immense economic benefits it has delivered. In 2001 it was estimated that Brahman genetics had contributed an extra A$8.1 billion to the Queensland economy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150640/original/image-20161219-26116-1jp1hxk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150640/original/image-20161219-26116-1jp1hxk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150640/original/image-20161219-26116-1jp1hxk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150640/original/image-20161219-26116-1jp1hxk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150640/original/image-20161219-26116-1jp1hxk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150640/original/image-20161219-26116-1jp1hxk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150640/original/image-20161219-26116-1jp1hxk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150640/original/image-20161219-26116-1jp1hxk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Brahman cattle statue in Rockhampton.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Thomson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But its impact has been far greater than just dollars and cents. With the benefit of hindsight, we can now see that the great experiment of introducing these bloodlines into Australia laid down the ideal model of research and industry collaboration that all fields of science can still learn from today.</p>
<p>Like all great advances in human endeavour, it began with an insight, followed by a vision and then years of unrecognised and thankless toil. </p>
<h2>Inspiration from Texas</h2>
<p>In the 1920 the Australian veterinary scientist <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/gilruth-john-anderson-6393">John Anderson Gilruth</a> toured the United States and viewed the cattle at the Pierce Estate in Texas. According to Angus Packham’s book of <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/22225335?selectedversion=NBD24379409">Cattle Breeding Research at Rockhampton</a>, Gilruth said that “a vigorously controlled cattle breeding experiment in north Queensland would be wise”.</p>
<p>Gilruth later became the first chief of the new division of animal health at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR was the precursor to today’s CSIRO). There, he put forward a proposal to acquire <a href="http://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/76/zebu/">Zebu cattle</a> (Brahmans are a sub-breed of the Zebu species of cattle).</p>
<p>Wise indeed, but it took until 1933 for the first Zebus to be imported by CSIR on behalf of a handful of cooperating progressive pastoralists, even though most cattlemen did not see value in these humped “feral” cattle of inferior genetics.</p>
<p>The CSIR’s animal geneticist <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kelley-ralph-bodkin-10671">Ralph Bodkin Kelley</a> said at the time:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A cooperator refused to use a CSIR-installed cattle weigh-bridge and another stated that nobody was going to tell him how to breed cattle that were his.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Even then it wasn’t until 1941 that Kelly was able to record that “the most worthwhile experiment with respect to Zebu crossbreeding in Australia” had begun. It was another decade before the property Belmont, north of Rockhampton, was purchased as a dedicated research property for cattle research.</p>
<p>Every scientist with a grand vision would appreciate these long thankless years. In fact, the <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/22225335?selectedversion=NBD24379409">CSIR Executive Board questioned:</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] whether anybody is cognisant of the very large number of major and minor difficulties and problems, of husbandry and science, which will have to be overcome or solved on the ground before Belmont can become the centre of a beef cattle research programme of which CSIR can be proud.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Thankfully, things reached a tipping point, and this is where things get really interesting for designing future research collaborations. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129798/original/image-20160708-30680-1vrgk3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129798/original/image-20160708-30680-1vrgk3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129798/original/image-20160708-30680-1vrgk3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129798/original/image-20160708-30680-1vrgk3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129798/original/image-20160708-30680-1vrgk3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129798/original/image-20160708-30680-1vrgk3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129798/original/image-20160708-30680-1vrgk3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129798/original/image-20160708-30680-1vrgk3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brahman cattle dominate the northern Australian herd.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CSIRO</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Queensland herd</h2>
<p>In 1965 less than 15% of the Queensland cattle herd contained Brahman genetics. By 1981 it was 60%.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129796/original/image-20160708-30685-s8cgda.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129796/original/image-20160708-30685-s8cgda.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129796/original/image-20160708-30685-s8cgda.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129796/original/image-20160708-30685-s8cgda.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129796/original/image-20160708-30685-s8cgda.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129796/original/image-20160708-30685-s8cgda.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129796/original/image-20160708-30685-s8cgda.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129796/original/image-20160708-30685-s8cgda.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That rise coincided directly with a rise in industry visitors to CSIRO’s research facilities at Belmont, which coincidentally or not, tracks a similar rise in the number of scientific papers published by the researchers. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129797/original/image-20160708-30670-1qus1ti.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129797/original/image-20160708-30670-1qus1ti.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129797/original/image-20160708-30670-1qus1ti.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129797/original/image-20160708-30670-1qus1ti.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129797/original/image-20160708-30670-1qus1ti.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129797/original/image-20160708-30670-1qus1ti.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129797/original/image-20160708-30670-1qus1ti.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129797/original/image-20160708-30670-1qus1ti.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Strong links with industry reflected by official visitor numbers appears to have been vital in maintaining research momentum, helping to frame industry-relevant research questions and driving adoption of innovation by Queensland cattlemen.</p>
<p>Alas, amid government funding cuts and rationalisation of research activities, the CSIRO left Rockhampton in 2009. It consolidated its northern livestock program to Townsville, leaving the beef capital without a research presence.</p>
<p>The once crowded Rendel Research Laboratories were emptied, Belmont’s pastures were used by private herds, and producers started looking elsewhere for inspiration. </p>
<h2>A new approach</h2>
<p>Despite the successes of the Brahman breed, the challenge facing the north Australian industry remains the same: identifying superior genetics that can thrive in harsh and remote environmental conditions with limited human intervention.</p>
<p>Case in point being the abysmally low fertility rates in some northern Australian herds, where <a href="http://www.mla.com.au/research-and-development/search-rd-reports/final-report-details/productivity-on-farm/northern-australian-beef-fertility-project-cashcow/370">47% calving rates</a> are normal, compared with the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookup/4630.0main+features72011-12">national average of 76%</a>. </p>
<p>Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) <a href="http://www.mla.com.au/research-and-development/search-rd-reports/final-report-details/Productivity-On-Farm/The-Northern-beef-report-2013-Northern-beef-situation-analysis/234">research</a> also shows that the 25% of producers in the northern region (i.e. those operating profitably) are acutely focused on their genetics, their pastures and their labour efficiency. They achieve higher reproductive rates, lower mortality rates and heavier sale weights than the rest of the producers. </p>
<p>So the focus now is on engaging producers in the development of new automated monitoring systems to identify new genetics that will take the industry to the next level of productivity.</p>
<p>Systems have been developed that are capable of gathering data on individual animals and Belmont (now owned by farmer association AgForce) is again the touch point for industry. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150645/original/image-20161219-16735-1jhchph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150645/original/image-20161219-16735-1jhchph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150645/original/image-20161219-16735-1jhchph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150645/original/image-20161219-16735-1jhchph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150645/original/image-20161219-16735-1jhchph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150645/original/image-20161219-16735-1jhchph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150645/original/image-20161219-16735-1jhchph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150645/original/image-20161219-16735-1jhchph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A stockman musters cattle on CSIRO’S Belmont research station, 32km north of Rockhampton.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/image/11010/a-stockman-musters-cattle-on-csiro-s-belmont-research-station-in-central-queensland/">CSIRO</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This allows our researchers to track in real time which cattle are reaching optimal markets weights the fastest, and which cows are most fertile, as well as the pasture and water availability.</p>
<p>If this sort of technology is rolled out across the industry, the data gathered will dramatically enhance analysis of industry-wide genetic linkages. Producers will be able to more accurately select from a larger number of bulls and cows which have detailed fertility records, and whose progeny will grow faster than their ancestors while consuming less pasture.</p>
<p>For the producer this means more beef produced per hectare, bolstering their bottom line and the nation’s export returns. For the consumer it means industry can select genetics that are known to produce tender beef. And for the environment it will reduce the amount of grazing pressure on ground cover and waterways.</p>
<p>But this will all remain just a scientist’s crusade if producers can’t see the value in adopting new innovation. The key to that riddle is once again opening the doors to Rockhampton’s beef research facilities and recreating that strong link between researchers and producers that proved so successful in the past.</p>
<p>The challenge for governments and the research community is to understand the value of investing for the long-term, riding out the dark and lonely days and the importance of engaging with end-users along the way.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58062/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dave Swain receives funding from Meat and Livestock Australia and works for CQUniversity, he is a member of the North Australian Beef Research Council. </span></em></p>The humped Brahman cattle are now a regular sight across northern Australia, but it was a challenge to get them accepted by producers.Dave Swain, Professor of Agriculture, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/690022016-12-07T13:32:10Z2016-12-07T13:32:10ZDrought in southern Africa points to urgent need for climate change plans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148645/original/image-20161205-19418-18hn2mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Warmer temperatures are likely to cause heat stress in cattle raised on natural pastures and in feedlots.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is expected that temperatures in southern Africa will rise to between 1.5°C and 3°C <a href="http://www.unep.org/roa/amcen/docs/AMCEN_Events/climate-change/2ndExtra_15Dec/FACT_SHEET_CC_Africa.pdf">due to climate change</a> by the year 2050. This is likely to cause heavy fluctuations of weather patterns and more frequent severe weather events <a href="http://www.sanbi.org/documents/climate-change-impacts-sadc-countries">like droughts and floods</a>. Agriculture will be severely affected. </p>
<p>In turn, many economies in southern Africa which are dependent on agriculture <a href="ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/012/ak915e/ak915e00.pdf">will feel the impact</a>
The effects of climate change are already being felt. The 2015 agricultural season in southern African was considered the driest <a href="reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/wfp282670.pdf">in 35 years</a>.</p>
<p>Five countries in the region – Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe – declared national <a href="https://www.sadc.int/files/9514/7403/9132/SADC_Regional_Situation_Update_No-2_16-09-2016.pdf">drought disasters</a>. Eight of South Africa’s nine provinces and the southern and central areas of Mozambique declared partial <a href="https://www.sadc.int/files/9514/7403/9132/SADC_Regional_Situation_Update_No-2_16-09-2016.pdf">drought emergencies</a>. </p>
<p>Massive crop failures were experienced across the region. This led to a deficit of 9.3 million tons in cereal crop harvests. On top of this 643 000 cattle were estimated to have <a href="https://www.sadc.int/files/4814/6840/2479/SADC_Regional_Humanitarian_Appeal_June_20160713.pdf">died in the drought</a>. Because of these agricultural failures, food insecure populations increased by 31%. This implied that more than 40 million people needed <a href="https://www.sadc.int/files/4814/6840/2479/SADC_Regional_Humanitarian_Appeal_June_20160713.pdf">humanitarian assistance</a>.</p>
<p>This is a massive problem for the region. It requires adaptation and mitigation strategies to cope with the changing climate.</p>
<h2>Adaptation and mitigation</h2>
<p>Southern Africa is home to a large number of livestock species <a href="http://www.sadc.int/themes/agriculture-food-security/livestock-production/">estimated at</a> 64 million cattle, 39 million sheep, 38 million goats, seven million pigs, one million horses and 380 million poultry. A large proportion is indigenous or varied degrees of crossbreeds that are kept by <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/policy-briefings/is-the-livestock-sector-in-southern-africa-prepared-for-climate-change">smallholder traditional farmers</a></p>
<p>To develop effective and appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies it is crucial to understand the impact of climate change on different livestock and crops. For example, overall warmer temperatures are likely to cause heat stress in cattle raised on natural pastures and in feedlots. </p>
<p>And hotter conditions as well as low rainfall will reduce the quantity and quality of forage and crops. This in turn will reduce growth performance and poor meat quality of grazing livestock.</p>
<p>Intensive livestock production systems will also be affected. Increased temperatures will:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>make feed more expensive,</p></li>
<li><p>reduce reproductive performance, </p></li>
<li><p>reduce milk yield, </p></li>
<li><p>increase incidence of diseases and high livestock mortality rates. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Strategies to cope</h2>
<p>As a mitigation strategy farmers should make use of livestock species or breeds that are heat and drought tolerant, disease and parasite resistant. </p>
<p>Some species, such as goats and sheep, are likely to adapt to hot and dry conditions better than cattle, for example. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148646/original/image-20161205-19362-xy8rag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148646/original/image-20161205-19362-xy8rag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148646/original/image-20161205-19362-xy8rag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148646/original/image-20161205-19362-xy8rag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148646/original/image-20161205-19362-xy8rag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148646/original/image-20161205-19362-xy8rag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148646/original/image-20161205-19362-xy8rag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148646/original/image-20161205-19362-xy8rag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some species such as goats and sheep, are likely to adapt to hot and dry conditions better than cattle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Goats and sheep can use low quality forage and browse more efficiently. They use less water because of well developed retention systems in their kidneys. They could therefore be a sustainable substitute for cattle in some instances. </p>
<p>When it comes to cattle, some breeds will manage better than others. Indigenous Sanga cattle breeds like Nguni, Tuli and Tswana are known for their good mothering ability, longevity, high fertility, disease and parasite resistance. They’re also able to utilise <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/policy-briefings/is-the-livestock-sector-in-southern-africa-prepared-for-climate-change">low quality feeds</a>. </p>
<p>These breeds can be used as female lines in crossbreeding programmes, for example Angus bulls vs Sanga cows. Crossbreeding is used to improve the efficiency of meat production in indigenous breeds or to increase the adaptability of <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0375">exotic breeds</a></p>
<h2>How farmers are adapting</h2>
<p>Several mitigation strategies are already being used in both intensive farming environments as well as among smallholder farmers. For example, mechanical cooling including forced ventilation, evaporative cooling and shading (natural and artificial) are being used under intensive production systems in the commercial sector. </p>
<p>Alternative supplements, which can reduce the effects of heat stress, are also recommended. These include minerals like potassium, sodium and chlorine and the replacement of rapid fermentable carbohydrates, like maize, with saturated fatty acids. </p>
<p>And farmers are beginning to use commercial dietary supplements like poultry litter, urea blocks/licks, cultivated pastures (rain-fed or irrigated) and conserved forages like silage, hay and crop residues.</p>
<p>There are also prospects for using novel feeds from various sources like horticultural crop residues and byproducts from the wine industry to provide alternative sources of protein and energy. </p>
<p>Other steps farmers have taken to cope with drought and long dry spells include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>reducing livestock numbers,</p></li>
<li><p>changing livestock composition, </p></li>
<li><p>diversifying and altering the timing of operations, </p></li>
<li><p>introducing rotational grazing and multi-species grazing, and</p></li>
<li><p>reseeding natural pastures with improved grass and legumes.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Surprisingly very few countries in the region have national climate change policy frameworks in place. Malawi is an exception. It has <a href="http://www.nccpmw.org/index.php/documentation/cat_view/5-national-communications-and-other-reports">adopted</a> a national climate change response framework and also has a climate change investment <a href="http://www.nccpmw.org/index.php/documentation/cat_view/19-national-climate-change-investment-plan">plan</a> in place.</p>
<p>In South Africa the Western Cape province has adopted a climate change framework and implementation <a href="http://www.acdi.uct.ac.za/research/smartagri">plan</a>. But clearly countries have a lot of catching up to do to help farmers manage.</p>
<p><em>This article is based on the South African Institute of International Affairs Policy Briefing 153, November 2016.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69002/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Drought is a massive problem for southern Africa. The region requires adaptation and mitigation strategies if it’s to cope with the changing climate.Kennedy Dzama, Distinguished Professor, Stellenbosch UniversityTawanda Marandure, PhD student Theoretical Production Ecology, Agricultural Philosophy, Animal Science, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/662812016-10-04T19:14:38Z2016-10-04T19:14:38ZBetter livestock policies in Africa offer a pathway out of poverty<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140264/original/image-20161004-20239-1nrh6j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Boran cattle are a popular a local breed in eastern Africa. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/am724e/am724e00.pdf">majority</a> of rural households in Africa keep different livestock species. But only a small proportion can afford to keep good quality livestock. This is mainly due to a combination of low government funding and the poor policies of external funders. </p>
<p>Those that do have livestock are faced with the challenges of infectious disease and ill-conceived breeding programmes. This means that they rarely achieve optimum production to meet their household’s economic and nutritional needs.</p>
<p>Households that <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120761">keep</a> livestock earn higher incomes, accumulate more wealth and consume more animal-sourced foods. They are also more able to pay for healthcare than households without animals. </p>
<p>I grew up on a small farm in rural Kenya. Although my parents earned government salaries working as civil servants, my education was largely paid for by my father’s livestock herd. </p>
<p>My story is not unique. Many families in sub-Saharan Africa sell off chickens to pay for minor health care costs and larger livestock, such as cattle, to meet major financial demands such as schooling for their children. My cattle-funded education allowed me to become a research veterinarian and study the economic and health benefits of livestock ownership. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/child-height-gain-is-associated-with-consumption-of-animal-source-foods-in-livestock-owning-households-in-western-kenya/2280D58216FA4834DB293A7E78F8ECD0">studies show</a> that children who regularly eat eggs grow on average 5% taller than those who do not. Children who consume milk regularly show a 10% higher monthly height gain compared with children without access. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.who.int/nutgrowthdb/jme_brochure2015.pdf?ua=1">One third</a> of children in sub-Saharan Africa are stunted and 5% under five years old suffer from acute malnutrition. Considering all these factors, there is a clear need for good policies that would allow households to own livestock.</p>
<p>Yet <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/africa-agriculture-investment-growth-idUKL8N1BH2V9">less</a> than 10% of most national budgets go to agriculture. And a tiny proportion of that meagre investment is <a href="http://kenyanewsagency.go.ke/en/increase-budget-allocation-for-livestock-sector/">directed</a> to the livestock sector. </p>
<p>With many African governments failing to take the issue seriously, donors end up directing policy through the projects they fund, with often ineffective and wasteful results. There are solutions to this problem. This includes policies that increase investments in veterinary services so they reach populations that cannot afford to pay for them. Or investments in breed improvement of livestock species adapted to local environments. </p>
<h2>Bad policies</h2>
<p>An example of a bad intervention was the <a href="http://fpif.org/structural_adjustment_programs/">Structural Adjustments Programs</a> of the 1980-90’s. These were imposed on governments in developing countries in exchange for funding from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. </p>
<p>One impact they had on livestock was that veterinary services were moved from the public to the private sector. This meant farmers had to meet the full cost of these services. While this seemed to work in areas such as the highlands of East Africa, where the dairy industry and entrepreneurship were well established, small-scale farmers in other rural areas were hit hard. </p>
<p>Around the same period, major crossbreeding programmes were introduced by African governments with funding from partners. The programme mixed genes from temperate climate exotic breeds with indigenous animals. A classic example is the cross between the European Holstein Friesian and the African Zebu cattle. </p>
<p>The cross-bred animals produced more milk but were also more prone to falling sick from tropical diseases because they lacked natural resistance. These programmes performed better in settings where farmers could invest in disease control. But where this was not possible, they were a disaster. </p>
<p>Our previous studies suggested that over time breeding programmes in Western Kenya failed because of <a href="http://www.nature.com/hdy/journal/v113/n4/full/hdy201431a.html">the pressure of disease</a>. As soon as donor-funded programmes ended and disease control measures lapsed, natural selection kicked in. The animal populations reverted back to indigenous cattle as the exotic animals succumbed to disease.</p>
<p>Today, similar initiatives give rural families <a href="https://sendacowgifts.org">cows as gifts</a> to start them off in livestock farming. But many of these donated animals are breeds originally from temperate regions with low immunity to local diseases. The programme’s successes are often measured by the number of cows donated and immediate access to milk, which are great short-term measures. But they are rarely successful in the long-term. In the absence of sustained disease control, the end result is almost always the deaths of animals and continued poverty.</p>
<p>A more sustainable solution would be to use well-adapted African cattle to improve the indigenous gene pool. It would certainly help rural areas where progress towards poverty and hunger alleviation is slowest. But this would take much longer than quick fix cross-breeding or cow donations. </p>
<p>There’s an example of this working well. The production of the Boran cattle found in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia was significantly improved after the best performers were selected and the genes propagated. To date, the <a href="http://www.fao.org/Ag/againfo/programmes/documents/genetics/story/story1.html">improved Boran</a> cattle is a favourite beef breed for ranchers in many countries in Eastern and southern Africa. It is prized for its relatively high disease resistance, growth rates and production.</p>
<p>There is no one-size-fits all solution to address low income levels, malnutrition and disease that affect many communities in rural Africa. But for some at least, owning livestock with optimal production offers a pathway out of poverty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66281/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thumbi Mwangi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Using well-adapted African cattle to improve the gene pool is more sustainable than quick fix crossbreeding or cow donationsThumbi Mwangi, Clinical assistant professor, Washington State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/459122015-08-14T03:56:23Z2015-08-14T03:56:23ZPaint gives clues about the ingenuity of ancient culture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91807/original/image-20150813-21425-1bxuub2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Impala drink at a waterhole in South Africa's Kruger National Park. Milk used in paint nearly 49,000 years ago could have come from their early antecedents.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Jon Hrusa</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>How do we know when people developed minds capable of solving problems in the way that we do today? Archaeologists cannot excavate human minds from the past: they can only recover the material remains created by those minds. In the case of the people of <a href="http://archaeology.about.com/od/shthroughsiterms/qt/sibudu_cave.htm">Sibudu Cave</a> in KwaZulu-Natal, we can see that some items that they made required special skills that could only have been undertaken with minds like ours. </p>
<p>Mixing substances, like tempera paint, is one example of behaviour that involves the sort of brain power that we associate with people today. Sibudu’s people made paint from powdered ochre and milk extracts from wild animals because the process took place 49,000 years before the arrival of cows. </p>
<p>It is clear that that this type of composite paint cannot be made from precise recipes because the attributes of natural ingredients, like absorbency, vary according to local conditions. An artist must decide on recipe quantities while assembling the paint mix, and may need to make changes swiftly to avoid spoiling the product. </p>
<p>The ability to do this implies long attention spans, a capacity for multi-tasking and the ability to plan the assembly of ingredients. Such behaviour, also inferred from the making of compound adhesives at Sibudu, implies complex cognition of the kind possessed by modern people. </p>
<h2>The analysis</h2>
<p><a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131273">Discovered</a> by an international team of researchers, the unusual paint mixture used approximately 49,000 years ago at Sibudu Cave shows that milk was used as a binder well before the introduction of domestic cattle in South Africa in the first millennium AD.</p>
<p>The paint mixture contained red powdered ochre and casein, which is dried milk protein. Casein is an ingredient of <a href="http://www.crayola.com/things-to-do/how-to-landing/tempera-paint.aspx">tempera paint</a>, though some recipes use egg.</p>
<p>The casein was clearly not human, nor equid, but it closely resembled bovid. Domestic cows are bovids, but cattle were not present in southern Africa 49,000 years ago. The earliest date for these is AD 420 from the site of <a href="http://www.sahumanities.org/ojs/index.php/SAH/article/download/81/71">Mzonjani</a>, near Durban, where early farmers kept cattle.</p>
<p>Because the Sibudu paint predates cattle farming, it must have been made from the milk of a wild bovid. Bones of bovids that are known to have been the prey of the early hunters such as buffalo, eland, kudu, impala and duiker have been found at the site.</p>
<p>Sibudu is already well known for having the earliest evidence in the world (77,000 years ago) for plant bedding with insecticidal properties, as well as early engraving of bone and ochre, and the manufacture of marine shell beads.</p>
<p>The paint residue looks like cracked mud on the edge of a small stone flake excavated from the cave. A micro-sample (3.3 mg) of residue was removed from the flake for testing. The researchers used elemental analyses (scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and chemical analyses (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry) to establish that powdered ochre was mixed with milk in its liquid form.</p>
<p>The elemental analysis identified hematite and clay minerals in the ochre powder. The chemical analysis identified several amino acids that were submitted to principal component analysis with more than 100 reference samples. The presence of casein was inferred from the score plot. The question that arose from this initial analysis was: what kind of milk was used? Was it human or animal?</p>
<p>Proteomic (protein) analyses were conducted on the casein and on a set of Sibudu bones from the same layer. The bones were from zebra and from various medium-sized bovids, for example, hartebeest and wildebeest.</p>
<p>Milk may have been obtained by killing a lactating or juvenile bovid. Many wild bovids separate from the herd when giving birth and some, like kudu, hide their young and go off to browse alone. Such animals are easy prey for hunters. Richard Klein concluded that hunters at Klasies <a href="http://archaeology.about.com/cs/humanorigins/a/klasiesriver.htm">River</a> Cave I, southern Cape, targeted giant buffalo in advanced pregnancy or in the process of giving birth. </p>
<p>Such cows would already have milk. Many southern African bovids give birth in early summer, so the use of milk could have seasonal implications. Nevertheless, small bovids like duiker may give birth several times a year making the season of collection uncertain.</p>
<h2>Older than Greek and Egyptian art works</h2>
<p>Casein paint was used for art works about 3000 years ago in Greece and Egypt, but the Sibudu find is much older. The Sibudu liquid paint may have been used as body decoration or for painting on surfaces such as stone or wood.</p>
<p>Body painting is documented in <a href="http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_bushmen.html">San</a> ethnographies and in rock art images. Ian Watts claims that red ochre was used as body paint for rituals from about 100 000 years ago. There are, however, no ethnographic precedents for mixing ochre with milk as a body paint, though modern Himba in Namibia mix ochre with butter as a coloring agent for skin, hair and leather clothing. </p>
<p>Ochre traces inside perforated marine shells from Blombos Cave, Sibudu, Border Cave and North African sites suggest to <a href="http://www.cecd.ucl.ac.uk/people/?go1=63">Marian Vanhaeren</a>and <a href="http://tracsymbols.eu/francesco-derrico">Francesco d’Errico</a> that they may have been worn against painted bodies. An ochre-rich compound blended with marrow fat was found stored in two abalone shells at the site of Blombos (100,000 years ago). </p>
<p><a href="http://www.wits.ac.za/academic/research/evolutionary%20studies%20institute/staff/22761/christopher_henshilwood.html">Christopher Henshilwood</a> and colleagues propose that this product may have been for decoration, but could have been for skin protection. Riaan <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KJn93toAAAAJ&hl=en">Rifkin</a> has shown that ochre can be both an effective sun screen and an insect repellent.</p>
<p>While it is not impossible that Sibudu’s tempera paint was used for body painting, the medium has a tendency to crack on flexible surfaces and is better suited to rigid planes like stone or wood. Rock paintings are known in Europe from about 40,000 years ago, but the earliest known southern African figurative art is dated to approximately 27,000 years ago at <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/apol/hd_apol.htm">Apollo 11</a>, Namibia. </p>
<p>These plaques have not yet been chemically analysed so we do not know how the paint was made. Where chemical studies have been conducted, neither milk nor casein has been documented as media for southern African rock art.</p>
<h2>The why and the how</h2>
<p>Although the use of Sibudu’s tempera paint remains uncertain, the people who made the product may have attributed a special significance and value to it. Whether or not it was obtained in a specific season, the bovid milk would have been an irregular acquisition.</p>
<p>Milk spoils quickly. So, in the absence of refrigeration, tempera paint must be used soon after manufacture. Although speculative, it is tempting to suggest that Sibudu’s tempera was reserved for special tasks that were different from ones making use of other ochre recipes.</p>
<p>Francesco d’Errico has suggested that the production of figurative art may not have a single geographical or cultural origin. The use of tempera paint at Sibudu suggests, further, that there may once have been several cultural traditions involved in the manufacture of colouring agents, just as there were distinct traditions involved in making bone and stone tools.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45912/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyn Wadley receives funding from the National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>It may have been a cultural tradition to use tempera paint that contained traces of milk on bodies according to a discovery at Sibudu Caves in KwaZulu Natal.Lyn Wadley, Honorary Professor, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.