Farmers fight bay polluter image
'Everyone's in this ballgame, not just farmers'
By PAMELA WOOD, Staff Writer
Published 06/21/10
More than 200 farmers have penned a letter to Gov. Martin O'Malley, urging him to work with them - and not against them - when it comes to cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay.
"We want everyone to realize everyone's in this ballgame, not just farmers," said Maryland Farm Bureau President Patricia Langenfelder of Kent County.
The farm bureau organized the petition effort, which grew from farmers' frustration at constantly being blamed for the bay's unhealthy state. The petition was delivered on Wednesday.
Shaun Adamec, an O'Malley spokesman, said the governor acknowledges the contributions farmers have made toward reducing pollution.
"There's nobody more appreciative of farmers than the governor when it comes to cleaning up the bay," Adamec said.
The petition was intended mainly to counteract negative attention that has been cast on farmers, Langenfelder said.
Farmers have built manure storage structures, planted buffers along streams, grown winter cover crops and instituted other "best management practices" to reduce nutrient and sediment pollution, Langenfelder said.
She noted that nutrient and sediment pollution from farms has decreased over the years due to such practices. Meanwhile, other sources of pollution - particularly urban and suburban stormwater runoff - are increasing.
Farming contributes just 7 percent of nitrogen in the Lower Western Shore. The top polluter locally is stormwater runoff - rainwater that rushes across roofs, parking lots and streets, carrying pollution into waterways. That contributes nearly 44 percent. Read More
It’s undeserved, but agriculture gets the blame for many things that they shouldn’t when it comes to pollution. The main reason is that they are the easiest target. Even though ag is the foundation of our entire society, since so few people are involved it makes it easy for the majority to attack. The top polluter for the bay is runoff from urban areas. If they really want to make a difference, they should start there.
Showing posts with label urban sprawl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label urban sprawl. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Amercian Beef Production
LOCAL BEEF... it's what's for dinner somewhere else
BY ROGER WILLIAMS rwilliams@floridaweekly.com
EVEN NOW, LATE IN THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU CAN still see them on the edges of our lives, often where a few acres lie open with some grass — beef cattle, known generically as cows whether they're heifers, steers or bulls.
Although few people now living along the Gulf coast ever lay hands on a cow, or build the fence necessary to contain one, or do the calving, raising, sorting, marking, branding, or selling of cows, we remain wedded to them.
But the labyrinthine market maze now means most of us are unlikely ever to eat beef raised nearby, or at least finished and butchered nearby. Read More
There are a couple things to discuss about this article. First, the article starts off talking about the fact that if you buy beef in the grocery store, it probably isn’t locally raised. That’s probably true unless otherwise posted at the meat counter. However, in most areas locally raised beef is available through a local producer. The other thing that was touched on was urban encroachment of agriculture land. This is a major problem for many producers all over the US. Just look at the cattle numbers in Florida and think of the amount of food that is now NOT being produced because of this issue.
BY ROGER WILLIAMS rwilliams@floridaweekly.com
EVEN NOW, LATE IN THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU CAN still see them on the edges of our lives, often where a few acres lie open with some grass — beef cattle, known generically as cows whether they're heifers, steers or bulls.
Although few people now living along the Gulf coast ever lay hands on a cow, or build the fence necessary to contain one, or do the calving, raising, sorting, marking, branding, or selling of cows, we remain wedded to them.
But the labyrinthine market maze now means most of us are unlikely ever to eat beef raised nearby, or at least finished and butchered nearby. Read More
There are a couple things to discuss about this article. First, the article starts off talking about the fact that if you buy beef in the grocery store, it probably isn’t locally raised. That’s probably true unless otherwise posted at the meat counter. However, in most areas locally raised beef is available through a local producer. The other thing that was touched on was urban encroachment of agriculture land. This is a major problem for many producers all over the US. Just look at the cattle numbers in Florida and think of the amount of food that is now NOT being produced because of this issue.
Monday, May 19, 2008
What is a huge farm?
CAFOs in conflict: Huge farms increase efficiency but create environmental concerns
by Rosemary Parker Kalamazoo Gazette
Factory farms. You've gotta hate 'em.
Opponents of huge livestock operations complain they cram animals together like sardines, threaten the environment with massive quantities of waste and generate smells that could peel paint off the walls.
Concentrated-animal-feeding operations, or CAFOs. What's not to love about 'em?
Supporters call them technological models of efficiency and energy conservation that protect animals from predators and disease, manage manure wastes that were once scattered across fields and streams, and create cheap food and full-time employment.
While some state and national environmental groups and rural township governments have pressed for a moratorium on large livestock facilities, their numbers are burgeoning in this area.
If a Leonidas Township farmer's plans pass muster with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality after a hearing on Wednesday, his dairy will become the 53rd CAFO in southwestern Michigan. Throughout the state there are nearly 200 such operations for dairy cows, beef, chickens, turkeys and pigs. Read More
This is the first in a four part series about modern food production. With rising food prices, many are looking at how we can produce more. Not only do we need to produce more, but we need to do it with less land. Urban sprawl continues to be a problem in a lot of areas. With new neighbors moving out into the country, the complaints that are mentioned in this article continue to be on the rise. The attitude of some moving into ag land seems to be that of wanting their cake and eating it too. Working with, and educating our new neighbors is an important step in educating our consumers.
by Rosemary Parker Kalamazoo Gazette
Factory farms. You've gotta hate 'em.
Opponents of huge livestock operations complain they cram animals together like sardines, threaten the environment with massive quantities of waste and generate smells that could peel paint off the walls.
Concentrated-animal-feeding operations, or CAFOs. What's not to love about 'em?
Supporters call them technological models of efficiency and energy conservation that protect animals from predators and disease, manage manure wastes that were once scattered across fields and streams, and create cheap food and full-time employment.
While some state and national environmental groups and rural township governments have pressed for a moratorium on large livestock facilities, their numbers are burgeoning in this area.
If a Leonidas Township farmer's plans pass muster with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality after a hearing on Wednesday, his dairy will become the 53rd CAFO in southwestern Michigan. Throughout the state there are nearly 200 such operations for dairy cows, beef, chickens, turkeys and pigs. Read More
This is the first in a four part series about modern food production. With rising food prices, many are looking at how we can produce more. Not only do we need to produce more, but we need to do it with less land. Urban sprawl continues to be a problem in a lot of areas. With new neighbors moving out into the country, the complaints that are mentioned in this article continue to be on the rise. The attitude of some moving into ag land seems to be that of wanting their cake and eating it too. Working with, and educating our new neighbors is an important step in educating our consumers.
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