Am I Farming Sustainably?
One of the buzzwords among today’s local farmers is sustainability, and a lot of farmers seem to interpret the term differently. We maintain the foundation is “farming to provide your needs with the intent to produce as little impact on the environment as possible”. On our farm, we believe the animals and crops we choose to raise and how we raise them have a significant impact on our level of sustainability. We’re strong advocates for choosing heritage breeds and heirloom seeds with which to farm. We believe that in “improving” breeds and seeds, many farmers have actually produced animals and crops which are not as disease resistant as they should be, which don’t produce as healthy a product as they should, and which do not have the precious genetic diversity we need to protect our future food supply. Therefore, these practices have a negative affect and end up threatening the quality of the land and the ability to renew our food resources with natural and holistic means. Take for example the practice of using Round Up for pest control; this is an artificial substance that has a long term and detrimental effect on the environment. It has also been proven to be passed through the plant to the consumer, so your family and the animals your family consumes, will have residue of this chemical in their systems after ingesting the produce grown from the plant treated with Round Up. This chemical will remain in the soil for future generations to deal with, also.
By choosing to raise heritage breeds, you are minimizing the impact on not only your land, but also land in general. Heritage breeds are more suitable for foraging, thereby reducing their grain and hay intake. Less grain/hay means less tilling of the soil, use of diesel to plant/harvest, and less waste---no matter if you raise your own grain or purchase it. Heritage breeds are usually healthier and more disease resistant than commercialized breeds, which translate to the farmer seeing a greater return for his investment. Heritage breeds often are dual or even triple purpose animals, meaning the same animal can produce several products for your family. Heritage breeds are usually more prolific breeders, which means you can renew your own resource and not have to purchase new stock annually. They taste better, too, according to several studies. These benefits increase the sustainability level of the farmer and the farm.
By choosing heirloom seeds, you’re able to save your own seed, which again enables you to renew your own resources, as well as produce crops that are often times naturally disease and drought resistant, in addition to being more flavorful. Using heirloom seeds is also a way to secure our food’s future; take for instance the Irish potato blight of the 1800s, in which a single crop failure caused the deaths of millions of people. If more than one kind of potato had been planted, then the blight specific to that single variety would not have been so devastating, and the starvation deaths would have been far less.
There is always room for improvement, we’ve discovered. We always endeavor to be more sustainable in the new year than we were the year prior. So……are you farming sustainably? If you aren’t, or if you’re not to the degree you envisioned, what can you do to improve? We constantly ask ourselves these questions.
By choosing to raise heritage breeds, you are minimizing the impact on not only your land, but also land in general. Heritage breeds are more suitable for foraging, thereby reducing their grain and hay intake. Less grain/hay means less tilling of the soil, use of diesel to plant/harvest, and less waste---no matter if you raise your own grain or purchase it. Heritage breeds are usually healthier and more disease resistant than commercialized breeds, which translate to the farmer seeing a greater return for his investment. Heritage breeds often are dual or even triple purpose animals, meaning the same animal can produce several products for your family. Heritage breeds are usually more prolific breeders, which means you can renew your own resource and not have to purchase new stock annually. They taste better, too, according to several studies. These benefits increase the sustainability level of the farmer and the farm.
By choosing heirloom seeds, you’re able to save your own seed, which again enables you to renew your own resources, as well as produce crops that are often times naturally disease and drought resistant, in addition to being more flavorful. Using heirloom seeds is also a way to secure our food’s future; take for instance the Irish potato blight of the 1800s, in which a single crop failure caused the deaths of millions of people. If more than one kind of potato had been planted, then the blight specific to that single variety would not have been so devastating, and the starvation deaths would have been far less.
There is always room for improvement, we’ve discovered. We always endeavor to be more sustainable in the new year than we were the year prior. So……are you farming sustainably? If you aren’t, or if you’re not to the degree you envisioned, what can you do to improve? We constantly ask ourselves these questions.