Happy Tuesday,
As we continue our discussion about the livestock industry and practices within it, I thought it would be helpful to talk about livestock educational efforts. Initially, a couple questions come to mind: "What types of campaigns exist?" and"Where can I learn more about these efforts?"
As
a child, I always dreaded the long, hot summer days that my dad spent
cleaning out the cattle lots. And I especially didn't enjoy riding
along in the tractor that pulled the manure spreader. Why did he do
this? All it did was stink up the yard! Little did I realize he was
doing ourselves a favor. Not only did the cattle lots stay clean, but
the fields also got fertilized. Although I didn't know what this meant
as only a five-year-old, my dad was actually practicing sustainability.
The
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines sustainability as:
"Able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed; involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources."
Now-a-days, the
word sustainability is commonly used within many different fields,
especially when focusing on environmental efforts. In particular, this
word is heard more and more in the livestock industry. But, how are livestock producers working towards more sustainable practices? One campaign in particular may have the answer to this question.
The Global Roundtable for Sutainable Beef (GRSB) is was developed to advance continuous improvement in sustainability of the global beef value chain through leadership, science and stakeholder engagement and collaboration. At the GRSB, they "envision a world in which all aspects of the beef value chain are environmentally sound, socially responsible, and economically viable." Although this particular effort focuses solely on beef, I feel as though their vision and mission applies to any sector of the livestock industry. By providing resources, the GRSB is not only educating the public on livestock industry sustainability efforts, but they are also allowing for transparency of the effort.
Overall, sustainability efforts are "about doing things right, making things more
efficient, improving public image, and reducing the cost of doing
business." Whether it's choosing a new bull with better
performance, improving pastureland, or replacing a piece of equipment with one
that is more efficient, all of these practices have the ability to impact
sustainability.
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| A view of my family farm during during silage harvest. |
As
a future livestock advocate, it is important to clear up negative
perceptions others may have about topics within the industry. The
concept of livestock sustainability isn't new on my family farm or
most other operations either. For those of us who've been in the
business for generations, the concept of sustainability simply
translates as running our business business in a responsible manner
that allows us to pass the operation along to the next generation. Livestock producers want the best for future generations and to leave the land in a better condition than it was.
If you have any further questions about livestock industry sustainability, I highly encourage you to visit the GRSB website or leave a comment.
Until next time, folks!
Sources:
- http://www.grsbeef.org
- http://www.americancattlemen.com/articles/beef-industry-sustainability
- http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sustainable
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