RE: organic farm dependence on off-farm manure sources

Andrew McGuire (AMCGUIRE@unlvm.unl.edu)
Tue, 24 Nov 1998 08:25:58 -0600

On Monday, November 23, 1998 5:14 PM, Wilson, Dale
[SMTP:WILSONDO@phibred.com] wrote:
>
> I guess your implication is that use of off-farm nutrient sources is
> undesirable, but I don't see why. It seems like the scale of land
ownership
> is purely arbitrary in a biological sense, and that the size of typical
> farms is small compared to biologically rational scales like landscape or
> watershed. Just as you would not object to a farmer moving nutrient
sources
> from field to field on their own farm, what is wrong with moving
nutrients
> around in a bioregion from farm to farm?
>
> Dale Wilson
>

Dale,

I am not against off-farm nutrient sources myself, but it is easier to farm
organically with livestock on the farm for nutrient recycling and other
reasons. However, there is a point when recycling of nutrients becomes
inefficient or impossible because the scale is too large. When thousands
of tons of corn are shipped from the corn belt to the high plain's
100,000+ head feedlots the nutrients do not make the return trip unless
they flow by in the runoff.

My argument is against the large-scale separation of livestock and crop
production because of the inefficient nutrient cycling.

Andy

Andy McGuire, Extension Educator
AMCGUIRE1@UNL.EDU
P.O. Box 736 office 402-254-2280
Hartington NE 68739 fax 402-254-6891
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension

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