DS Family Farm
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Managing Soil Carbon
In a previous post we discussed soil organic matter and the storage of carbon in soil. The key point, plants in association with soil biology create a super highway moving carbon from the atmosphere into soil. This super highway is known as the liquid carbon pathway.
- Plants convert sunlight into liquid carbon energy
- Plants dump over half of this carbon energy into the soil
- Soil biology feeding on this carbon provides:
- Water, nutrients, and an overall improved soil environment to plant roots… a symbiotic relationship.
The happening place
Plant roots is where it happens. When it comes to “what’s happening” in the soil, the place to be is in that magical zone near plant roots called the rhizosphere. Bacteria increase by 2400% and fungi increase 1200% in the area right around plant roots when compared to the rest of soil. Soil creatures hang out in the rhizosphere for what they see as a “free lunch” (carbon).
With large concentrations of bacteria and fungi around plant roots, it doesn’t take much imagination to realize that all kinds of creatures will soon follow. Bacteria and fungi are lunch for the rest of the soil food web.
Though we can’t see much of this vast community with the naked eye, we know it is based on carbon just like all food webs on earth. The potential to sink carbon into the soil is significant when the soil food web is healthy.
So how can we manage what we cannot see?
It’s actually very simple, manage what you can see! The above ground portion of plants are a mirror to their underground roots. We can literally manage the rhizosphere by managing what we see above ground. When it comes to soil health the basic principles (that apply everywhere) are:
- Keep the soil covered
- A living root year around
- Plant species diversity
- Minimize man induced soil disturbance (chemical/physical)
These principles were taken from nature. If soil becomes barren in nature, plants arrive to start the healing process (think of those pesky weeds growing in the crack of a sidewalk). Plants form a cover and attract below ground critters with liquid carbon from their roots. They also attract critters above the ground with carbon in the form of vegetation and flowers. It is really all driven by biology. HOW you manage above ground biology will determine below ground biology and how much carbon ends up in the soil.
Here at DS Family Farm we mimic natures pattern to manage soil carbon with the cattle herd. We manage the below ground food web by applying the soil health principles above ground.
As you look at the photo below, we can literally see insects, mice, coyotes and cattle swimming through the above ground vegetation. Now translate this to what is going on below ground. It is not hard to imagine herds of bacteria, protozoa, nematodes and earthworms swimming around below ground roots.
Join us in the regenerative ag carbon cycle
With current elevated levels of carbon in the atmosphere, now is a great time to be a carbon farmer. We are using free sunlight energy and moving carbon from the atmosphere into plants. The plants are moving the carbon into critters above and below ground. Our customers are enjoying this carbon in the form of Pasture Grazed Beef.
Please join us and other regenerative agriculture practitioners in being an active, positive force in the carbon cycle. Your taste buds and your health will be glad you did.
For a more in depth discussion on this topic refer to ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture “Nutrient Cycling in Pastures” (24 page PDF).
Soil Organic Matter (SOM)
Soil organic matter makes up a small part of all soils. In this area of Nebraska, cropland fields will average around 3% organic matter. SOM is a small but powerful part of any soil. SOM can be thought of as the Soil Bank where carbon and other organic compounds are processed and stored below our feet. Remember that carbon is always cycling, moving from air to vegetation, to soil, to rivers, back and forth, always in flux. In the soil bank, we find fast moving carbon along with carbon that will be locked away for a very long time.
The pie chart above represents the organic matter portion (3%) of a typical soil. This chart indicates that about 15% of the carbon and other organic compounds in a soil will be quickly moving through living organisms and fresh residue (just as money flows quickly between bank tellers and individual checking accounts). Around 40% of SOM at any one time will be decomposing. During decomposition, organic materials will be part of the soil for a little longer period of time, maybe 1 to 10 years depending on climate.
100+ Years of Cropping
Actually, I think it is fairly amazing that our cropland fields in this area still contain 3% organic matter after 100+ years of cropping. In fact it is rare to find a field below 2% OM in this area. The reason for this is that the humus fraction (40% of SOM) is so stable that it is very hard to remove this portion of OM even under repeated tillage. It is locked tightly with soil minerals.
The humus/stable portion of SOM represent the ultimate goal for all soil health enthusiasts. Folks wanting to build healthy soils are implementing principles to move and lock as much organic material and carbon as possible into the stable humus fraction of SOM. Luckily, using proper regenerative farming techniques we can quickly build the fresh and active portions of OM. These quick gains help farmers see benefits in nutrient cycling and water holding capacity in a few short growing seasons.
So how do we build SOM?
Traditionally we thought keeping soils covered with residue and mulches was the main option to increase the organic matter level of soils. Referring back to our pie chart, crop residues would move in the following order through the Soil Bank:
- Bank Tellers (soil organisms)
- Checking Account (fresh OM)
- Savings Account (decomposing OM)
- Retirement Account (stabilized OM)
Actually this process is very inefficient or leaky along each step. The following graphic adapted from “The Nature and Properties of Soils” by Brady & Weil, gives an example of growing a corn crop. The corn crop produces a total of 7,500 lbs of organic matter per acre. Obviously we take off the grain immediately losing a third of the produced OM. We are left with 2,500 lbs. of OM in the above ground corn stalks and 2,500 lbs. of OM in the roots.
As the graphic indicates, almost 90 percent of the above ground residue never makes it into soil organic matter. It is digested, respired and oxidized before making it into SOM. Since the roots are buried in the soils, the conversion rate is a little better with only 70% of the produced biomass lost before reaching the soil organic matter pool.
When you run the numbers, it get’s a little depressing. To build soil organic matter from 3% to 4%, (a 1% increase) you would need to add 20,000 pounds of residue! Under optimum conditions this would take years.
Reports of significant SOM gains in short order
So how do regenerative farmers such as Gabe Brown report multiple percent increases in SOM over just a few years? Dr. Christine Jones, founder of Amazing Carbon, says this is possible through what she calls the liquid carbon pathway. Carbon is rapidly moved in liquid form via plant roots in association with fungi and locked away into the humus/stable portion of SOM.
Once again referring back to our pie chart of SOM, the liquid carbon pathway skips the leaky Checking Account and Savings Account steps. Soil organisms (mycorrhizal fungi in association with roots and mineral soil) move organic material directly into stable SOM compounds! In this process new soil healthy soil aggregates are formed.
Trees turn CO2 into wood. Soils turn CO2 into humus.
Christine Jones
Why does this just work in regenerative Ag?
The missing link with most of our agriculture lands is the required soil biology. As previously reported, most of the U.S. and World soils are currently degraded. The liquid carbon pathway first requires regenerating our soils with fungi. Most cropland is currently bacteria dominant, refer to the ecological succession image below.
The goal of regenerative agriculture is to get degraded (bacteria dominant) soils to the most ecologically productive part of the ecological succession chart. In our part of the world, that is at the edge of perennial grasses and forest. This is where we see wildlife flourish, at the edge. These soils have a near balance of fungi to bacteria ratio.
This requires building a home for soil fungi with the proper plants to advance succession from bacteria dominance. In addition fungi find it difficult to survive under annual tillage and inorganic fertilizer applications. Reducing soil disturbance and detrimental chemical applications is a key step in the process. Note that for areas where trees have taken over, management needs to be applied to set succession back!
At DS Family Farm we utilize the cattle herd to manage ecological succession. Currently we are building plant root and soil fungi associations with a long term goal of getting and keeping our pastures near the “Sweet Spot” of succession. We do have the challenge in some areas of keeping woody species from advancing into our perennial grass pastures.
We thank God that the overall system He put in place is very forgiving and even provides for an abundance while we begin the regeneration process. An abundance that we can share with others in the form of pasture grazed meat. Call or stop by to see the herd in motion and the steps we are taking to closer reach our goals in ecological succession.
Soil Carbon – Recorded History
We recently experienced the hottest July in “recorded history”… since around 1890! I don’t know how long Nebraska has been around but I am pretty sure at least once Nebraska was under water and where our farm is located, at one time it was under a glacier (see photo). Whether you believe the earth is about 10,000 years old or millions of years old, recorded history of Nebraska is just a blip on the timeline.
Historic Soil Carbon in Nebraska
Nebraska’s state soil is the “Holdrege soil” (find your state soil here).
- Holdrege soil is classified in the Mollisol soil order which means:
- the soil developed under grasslands
- the soil has a distinct dark humus-rich top layer
- (refer to previous post discussing “humus”)
Carbon stored in these soils create this dark rich color (think charcoal). These dark humus-rich soils occur through all the tall-grass prairie region of the U.S. forming what is called the “North American Bread Basket” (very productive soils).
What happened to these carbon rich soils?
A great source of soil history is found in old government soil surveys. According to the 1917 Phelps County Soil Survey (home of the Holdrege soil), prior to 1885 only a small portion of these soils had been “plowed, but by 1895 probably 60 percent had been broken up.”
Reading through one of the oldest soil surveys in Nebraska (Grand Island 1903), we find a silty loam soil recorded with only 2.6% organic matter. WOW, that does not seem like a carbon rich soil after only 10 to 20 years of being broken up to farm. Grazing specialist Dale Strickler from Kansas has postulated that over grazing of our prairies during the 1800’s (open range period) depleted soil carbon significantly. This small piece of data from 1903 would tend to support that kind of thinking.
Now add 125+ years of plowing/tillage to these soils and we should be thankful for what carbon we have left in our soils. In spite of human activity, many of Nebraska soils today still maintain 2% organic matter and higher.
But what about the bison?
Didn’t the grazing bison build the soils that became the bread basket of the USA? How could overgrazing degrade the soils?
The key difference is how the grazing occurred. Overgrazing is not a function of how many animals are on an area. Overgrazing is a function of time, especially in the ‘return to graze’ time factor.
Large bison herd records indicate heavy animal impact (depending on the season) and the herds moving on. As the herds moved on, prairies recovered, grasslands moved CO2 from the air into ground forming rich dark soils. When the herds returned the grass had fully recovered. Natures way to insure a future harvest.
Open free range encouraged humans to over use prairies with cattle. Grazing cattle stayed around too long and came back to soon, before the grass fully recovered. This overuse resulted in loss of carbon from the soil into the atmosphere.
Regenerative Grazing
To rebuild carbon in our grassland soils we simply reintroduce natures pattern of grazing. Appropriate animal impact (depending on the season) followed by rest (time) for the grasses to fully recover prior to the next grazing event.
It is amazing how prairies respond with time, just a single growing season, when given an opportunity to recover. For example photos of recovery after rest, please revisit our September 2016 post (Animal impact while farming grass).
In this post we have introduced the term soil organic matter while discussing soil carbon. In our next post we will explore the difference between soil carbon and soil organic matter. Stay tuned and feel free to add a question or comments to our DS Family Farm FaceBook page.
Soil Carbon – CO2
Let’s continue our discussion of Soil Health and Carbon by taking a closer look at Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Everyone is talking about atmospheric carbon and much of the discussion is based on the now famous Keeling Curve. Named after climate scientist Charles David Keeling, a quick search will come up with multiple sites with extensive charting capabilities of CO2 over time in parts per million. Below is a screen capture from NOAA Research:
Note the stair step nature of the CO2 data in the chart above. I have highlighted a small section of the chart in green, let’s take a closer look. Refer to the screen shot below:
During the growing season of the Northern Hemisphere, green plants are doing a great job of extracting CO2 from the atmosphere (drawing down CO2 levels). When our green vegetation turns brown, leaves drop and CO2 levels in the atmosphere begin to rise. Dead vegetation alone does not cause the accelerated rise shown on the graph. Unfortunately there are many acres of cropland that are tilled exposing soil carbon to oxidation and release into the atmosphere.
For the most part the up and down movement of CO2 is quite natural as part of the carbon cycle. The issue is carbon flow into the atmosphere (up) is out pacing the flows from the atmosphere (down).
Carbon Pools and Flows
In the image below note the few arrows of carbon flowing down. Looks like more sources are flowing up. Carbon “pools” (storage containers) are noted in blue.
When we chart out the flows down versus the flows up, we end up with an extra 2 gigatons of carbon flowing up into the atmosphere.
If we dig a little deeper, we find the earth soil pool accounts for most of this net flow up!
Maybe the above scenario is to simplified? Considering we are working with numbers that have nine zeros, there is probably some room for error. But I like simple.
- 750 gigatons of carbon currently stored in atmosphere
- 1,500 gigatons of carbon currently stored in SOIL
- 135 gigatons of carbon have been lost from the soil due to land use degradation (JSWC Vol. 74, No. 2, Mar./Apr. 2019)
- Let’s reverse the annual trend of 2 gigatons of carbon leaving our soil and going into the atmosphere.
- Let’s return some of the 135 gigatons of carbon back into our soils. Should be plenty of room there.
Our soils are hemorrhaging carbon.
Dr. Kristine Nichols, Soil Microbiologist
Regenerative Ag to the rescue!
So is it possible that Agriculture can reverse this trend? Actually yes according to Rattan Lal of the Ohio State Carbon Management and Sequestration Center.
Look again at the Carbon Flow – Sink vs. Releases chart, note that vegetation extracts about 110 gigatons of CO2 out of the atmosphere globally each year. Lal currently estimates that only 0.05% of the incoming solar energy is captured by photosynthesis each year.
WOW, that is pretty inefficient! Yet that carbon capture is enough to run our entire carbon based world (actually that is amazing).
Lal thinks that if we can just increase solar energy capture by 10% we can offset current carbon loss from fossil fuel combustion and land use change.
10% increase?
(That is moving from 0.05% efficiency to 0.055%!)
A simple example to gain 12% efficiency
In our area of Nebraska, corn and soybeans are the main crops. Typically corn is planted in April and turns brown in September. Soybeans are planted in May and turn brown in September also.
So over a 2 year growing season (Corn & Beans), there is green vegetation about 11 months (being generous) over 24 months. Remember the green and brown parts I put over the Keeling Curve above?
Adding a rye cover crop after soybeans is a very easy farming operation. If we plant a rye cover after just the soybeans we could pick up at least another 3 months of green vegetation (Oct., Nov. and Mar.) before planting corn. This would provide 14 months of green vegetation over 24 months.
No rye cover, 46% of the time, soil has green growing vegetation.
With rye cover, 58% of the time, soil has green growing vegetation.
12% increase in solar energy capture and carbon being drawn from the atmosphere into the soil.
Another plus to having the rye cover is that the soil is not exposed by tillage and carbon oxidation. Seems pretty simple and yes there are more acres going into cover crops every year. Let’s keep it up.
Soil Carbon
Atmospheric CO2 levels, climate change and carbon sequestration are all current buzz words in the news. CARBON. Carbon is everywhere. It is one of those elements that is always in a cycle. Remember those nutrient cycle diagrams from elementary school? Cows were always a part of the cycle, refer to our past post “Cow – Icon of nutrient cycles, we need the poop“.
Prior to climate change, the old ‘global warming’ discussions included comments that cows were part of the problem of too much CO2 in the atmosphere. More recently, cows were “recycled” as the bad guys during climate change and the ‘Green New Deal’ roll out (farting cows are back in the spot light). We tackled cow farts and dog farts back in our April 2019 blog post, now let’s take a closer look at carbon starting with the soil.
What’s the big deal?
When it comes to soil carbon and soil health, there is currently no lack of organizations (see list at end of post) ready to talk about this topic. Why all the interest in soil carbon/health? Should we be concerned about soil health? Do we have a connection with the soil?
- If we start from Genesis, note that “Adam” is derived from the Hebrew word “adamah” which means ‘ground’ or ‘earth’.
- Science classifies us as species “Homo”, translated we are “Humans”.
- Humans:
- adjective, describes something as humane or being of soil.
- Humus:
- noun, means soil or earth, hey we are back to “adamah”!
- Humans:
I like to summarize the “big deal” as the following:
Or put another way by the late French biochemist, farmer and author:
It appears we do have a special or unique connection to the soil! Based on the numerous health issues in our society (sick people), it is probably safe to say we have some sick soils. Take another look at the quote above from Andre Voisin and revisit our “Degraded Land” post.
Soil Carbon and Soil Health, let’s talk.
Look who’s talking about soil health! Wow. Just a few links you might find interesting. Many discuss the link between soil carbon, soil health and human health:
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Farmer’s Footprint
- Savory Institute
- Soil Carbon Coalition
- Soil Health Institute
- Soil Health Partnership
- Soil Health Academy
- Carbon Cowboys
- Kiss the Ground
- The Carbon Underground
- Soil 4 Climate
- Soil Solutions
In our next post we will start to look more closely at the carbon cycle and how it effects soil health. Please join in with any comments or questions you may have on our Facebook page.
Tea Time compost style
Since 2011 the cow herd and planned grazing has been the only input used on this degraded farm to bring the soil and pastures back to life. A simple low input system. No broadcast herbicides or fertilizers. Just sunshine, rain, grass growing and cows cycle nutrients through their stomachs and hoof action as God designed.
Cows graze, manure and stomp grass/hay into the soil and move on. The area is rested, soil microbes digest the manure and stomped forage into organic matter and nutrients. Grass regrows, the cows return to graze and the cycle repeats. Sunshine and grass photosynthesis results in new soil, new grass and new beef protein that we harvest for our customers, a simple & beautiful cycle.
Can we bio-hack this system?
We do provide the cows with minerals and apple cider vinegar to keep their stomachs (microbe vats) running at peak performance. A healthy gut microbiome in a cow keeps turning that incoming grass into nutrients the cattle use to grow and create new calves.
After researching the results from other farms, this past spring we tried to give the soil microbes a boost. Microbes in the soil turn old grass into organic matter, mine minerals and work with plant roots. The plants microbiome is the soil (like the cows gut). Soil microbes and plants form a “win-win” relationship. Plants provide food (sugar) to feed soil microbes and the microbes bring nutrients, moisture and other benefits to the plant.
This process adds carbon into the soil, improving soil structure and water holding capacity to grow more grass than previously possible. Weak soils are dominated by soil bacteria. A key microbe in advancing overall soil health is beneficial soil fungi. Grazing alone HAS improved our soils overall Fungi to Bacteria ratio as sampled and reviewed under microscope by Zach Wright of Living Soil Compost Lab LLC:
Compost Tea
Working with Ben Samuelson (soilbiology.tech) and the folks at Soil Works LLC we tried two compost applications in 2019 to see if we can supplement the plant microbiome (soil) as we currently do with the cattle (stomach).
- Ben brought out some diverse mature compost. We “rinsed” the microbes out of the compost into a “tea” and sprayed the pastures. Ben took samples of the tea as we sprayed to check for microbes. This was simply adding diversity to our current soil microbe population.
- Soil Works LLC suggested we try some additional inputs with our microbes. We added sugar and raw milk as a direct food source to help the microbes get a good start. In addition we added some calcium and phosphorus to the mix to help correct soil mineral deficiencies (similar to feeding our cows minerals).
So was it worth the cost and effort? That is yet to be determined. We will monitor the areas that we sprayed and collect some forage and soil tests later this year. We are fairly positive this work did not depress our soil biology like herbicides or pesticides or some other toxic “cide”. If anything we added new biology! We are being PRO-biotic rather than ANTI-biotic.
As we wait to see if the tea had any impact, a compost pile has been started here at DS Family Farm. For more information on building a simple compost pile and to review some astonishing results of being PRO-biotic with compost tea, check out David Johnson’s work at Regeneration International.
Hazelnut M & M’s
Saturday morning, drinking coffee, thinking about tasks to do on the farm when on the T.V. a Hazelnut M & M’s (R) advertisement appears. Hazelnut M & M’s? Doug had never seen this ad before. This seemed odd, as one of Doug’s tasks for the day is to finish planting 100 hazelnut seedlings!
Why “hazelnut” M & M’s?
Folks, international food corporations such as Mars Incorporated are jumping on the sustainable – regenerative agriculture band wagon.
- Mars Inc. Sustainability Plan
- General Mills Sustainability page
- Kellogg’s Environmental
- Just search “sustainable” and your favorite food company name.
This is not only good, it’s great!
So why hazelnuts?
When it comes to producing food (macro nutrients – carbohydrates, fat and protein) hazelnuts are a great option. Plant once and harvest multiple years. Hazelnuts are a perennial food crop. Compare this to planting an annual food crop such as peanuts. Peanuts are planted every year disturbing the soil annually (I am sure there are farmers working toward a sustainable peanut harvest). From a sustainability point of view, when Mars Inc. switches some product from Peanut M & M’s to Hazelnut M & M’s their overall environmental “footprint” goes down. Mars Inc. becomes a “more sustainable” corporation.
When it comes to Perennial Crop production, one organization that immediately comes to mind is The LAND Institute (Wes Jackson) in Kansas. Just a few hours south of our farm, they have been on the forefront of developing a perennial cropping system for years.
Why hazelnuts at DS Family Farm?
In our climate, trees and shrubs are part of the natural system. Our cow herd loves to munch on elderberry, ash, dogwood and other woody species. Nuts and fruits makes everyone on the farm happier. Hazelnuts will not only provide browse for cattle but shelter and food for future opportunities with chickens and pigs. Bottom line, adding perennial fruit and nut food sources to our perennial grass farm provides another layer of diversity.
Prior to winter round bale grazing on our pastures, trying to plant fruit and nut trees in our pastures was impossible. The thick stand of grasses would choke out any attempt of nuts, seeds or seedlings to grow.
Cow herd to rescue – tree establishment
Round bale hay for this past winter were placed through the pasture. Fruit seeds and nuts were ordered. Seeds and nuts were sprinkled around the perimeter of the round bales knowing that the herd would stomp, poop, pee and scatter hay over the seeds and nuts. Left behind hay would provide a mulch to suppress the grass and give the trees and shrubs a chance to grow. We were too late last fall to order hazelnuts (sold out) so we opted for planting hazelnut seedlings into the center of the spent round bales this spring (photo above).
Won’t the cows kill the trees?
We do experience some tree and shrub loss to the cattle herd each year, in fact, in places, we manage the herd to do it! Simply by keeping the herd concentrated on a shrub or tree patch overnight will set back a shrub patch or kill a tree. Overall, the cow herd cannot keep up with the shrubs and trees we have encroaching on our farm pastures, we probably need goats! So we are not concerned if we loose some of the fruit and nut trees we have planted.
Cows versus squirrels
As of today, we have not noticed any of the seed and nuts growing that were sprinkled around the hay bales last winter. Check back for future updates to find out if we had any success. Hopefully Doug and the cows were as successful as a few squirrels.
Cow Farts, Dog Farts…
Let me go on record, certified grassfed cows simply do not pass that much gas. We visit the herd nearly every day and Doug can count on one hand how many times he has heard a pasture grazed beef fart over the past 8 years.
Doug just happened to hear a cow fart the other day when a steer was getting up from chewing his cud. Let’s face it, sometimes when we strain, a little toot will slip out. The reason Doug took note of this recent toot is because cow farts are rare from our 100% grassfed herd. In addition, cow farts are a current “hot” topic with the Green New Deal media coverage.
Why are farts so rare with grassfed beef?
An animal eating a diet it is designed to consume will have a healthy digestive system. For example, who hasn’t been by the pet food isle lately and noticed the surge in “Grain Free Dog Food“? Doug must admit, we messed up with our dog for a number of years. Why did we ever feed our dog (a carnivore), food heavy in grains?
When we switched our dog to “grain free” food, the results were amazing. Her coat and attitude improved and wow what a reduction in dog farts! Again, an animal living on a diet that it was designed to eat will have a healthy digestive system and rarely pass gas.
Dog Farts, People Farts
You probably don’t need another example, but it is true! Years ago Doug complained to the Doctor about “gas“. What was Doc’s suggestion… BEANO! This is back in the day when Doug had some serious digestive health issues. Let’s face it, Doctors just do not receive nutrition training during their medical education. After years of my own nutrition research and help from our friend at the Health Nut Highway, “passing gas” is a rare event now compared to what it use to be in the Garrison house. Switching to a LOWER CARB – HIGHER FAT – HIGHER PROTEIN diet has done wonders for Doug’s digestive health and Sheila’s nose. Doug still likes his carbs but tries to stay below 50 grams of carbs a day.
Where are we headed with this blog post?
Farting Cows, the New Green Deal and carbon! We are going to spend the next few blog posts talking about carbon in the soil, in plants, in the air, in water, in rocks and wherever else we can find it.
Do cows living in a feedlot being fed a diet high in starches pass more gas than cows living full time on pasture? You bet! Feedlot beef have upset stomachs from eating a diet they are not designed to eat, a high starch diet. For a review comparing our pasture grazed beef diet to the diet of feedlot beef, refer to the blog post, ‘Gamey or Beefy Flavor‘.
Do DS Family Farm Animal Welfare Approved – Certified Grassfed cattle contribute to the “elevated” carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere? Follow along with our upcoming blog posts and feel free to share your thoughts on the DS Family Farm FaceBook page.
Black Swan Event Visits NE
This past week much of Nebraska experienced an event that one simply could not predict. We can imagine that a future flood event may be two times worse than the last worse flood BUT it could be ten times worse! We simply do not know the odds for these kind of rare events or “Black Swans” according to Nassim Nicholas Taleb. When was the last time you saw a black swan? Nebraska experienced a Black Swan this past week.
Shortly after the reports of problems in Nebraska farm country made the news, the folks at A Greener World emailed us asking how our farm & animals were doing. They were wondering if we needed some help. We replied that our farm was fine but to let us know if others in the Animal Welfare family could use some help. They soon replied that all of the farms working with A Greener World certification programs were OK in this area.
Prior to being certified with A Greener World programs (Animal Welfare Approved and Certified Grassfed by AGW), we were required to have a written plan with steps to follow in cases of natural disaster. We appreciated working through that planning process so when something does happen, we know we have options already in black and white to consider in dealing with the situation.
What can we do now to help those who are hurting?
This is a personal decision for everyone to make. Luckily we have a great connection through the Lutheran Church with an aid organization right in the center of the recent Nebraska disaster area. We would encourage everyone to check out Norfolk Nebraska’s very own Orphan Grain Train website.
https://www.ogt.org/
So in the face of a truly devastating event like this, we take time to re-evaluate how our operation and animals faired. The key take way from Taleb’s writings is to have options. Since we cannot predict how bad these future natural events will be, we are best prepared by having multiple options. One thing is for sure, nature will rebound from this event as it has in the past. Nature has redundancy (options) built in. This is a key reason we try to mimic nature in our farming operation. Nature knows what to do, just follow her pattern. And when a black swan arrives, it is nice to know others are there to lend a helping hand.
What’s Really in Your Meat?
If you are eating Pasture Grazed beef, we are confident there are no hallucinogenic party drugs in your meat!
Consumer Reports is at it again. Two years ago we wrote a blog post about Consumer Reports – Beef Report (Feb. 2017). That report focused on how beef cattle are raised, sustainability issues along with what labels are meaningful when choosing beef products. Consumer Reports validated our Pasture Grazed approach to raising beef. The report also confirmed the Animal Welfare Approved and Certified Grassfed by AGW labels as meaningful!
This past November (2018) Consumer Reports published this article: “Are Banned Drugs in Your Meat?” The reporting is summarized into a 16 minute video, “What’s Really in Your Meat?“.
Some take home points:
- Consumer Reports investigators found USDA had meat sampling data showing beef, pork and chicken contaminated with banned drugs above the Food Safety and Inspection Service safe levels.
- There is some debate over the reported drug data according to government representatives.
- Doug agrees with Consumers Report (CR) that it is not a data issue. The data is most likely accurate, it seems to be a government agency struggling with how to implement results from new and improved testing procedures.
- The report says it is not “always clear” how the banned drugs get into meat.
- Doug agrees with the report that the drugs could enter the animals from the water they drink or the soil. But a search of PubMed suggests more research is needed to determine if the water pathway is responsible for the levels found in the meat sample data.
- Will Harris of White Oak Pasture is featured in the video suggesting the drug source is likely at the “farm” level, administered or part of the feed. We respect Will’s opinion. If you have not seen this video of White Oak Farm, it is worth your time: One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts – YouTube.
- What should you do as a consumer?
- Unfortunately we disagree when the report (and video) suggests consumers reduce their intake of meat due to health and environmental reasons.
- Doug would like to see the research that suggests meat production is an environmental issue and meat is unhealthy when it comes to Pasture Grazed animals! In fact there is research readily available that shows the opposite.
- Meat animals raised in natures image are a very important nutrient source for human health and regenerating our nations lands.
- It is the HOW not the COW.
- What do we mean by the “HOW”? It’s not the cow’s fault.
- It is how the cow is raised.
- It is human management that is the problem.
- The cow is simply a natural resource provided by God.
- Raise and manage a cow according to natures pattern (cows eat grass, manure and move on) and you end up with the most environmentally friendly and nutrient dense product available on the planet.
Good work Consumer Reports
We applaud Consumer Reports for their investigation and hope that this will encourage more meat consumers to source healthy, environmentally regenerative meat grown by local farmers. This is truly what we as consumers should be doing.
We vote for the type of food system we want every time we put something in our mouth. Spend your food dollars to change the system. We know this is happening, as described in our Mothers On Mission post from just last year. The food industry is responding, keep voting by purchasing locally from farmers you know and trust.
In this latest investigation, Consumer Reports has expressed what we have been trying to convey to our readers since day one. IF YOU ARE:
“Worried about what you are ‘really’ eating? Have peace of mind with pasture grazed meats.”
DS Family Farm
