NEWS
Sustainable livestock
production is possible
New research advocates use of pastures with shrubs and trees as it is more sustainable,
improving animal welfare and increasing biodiversity.
Professor Donald Broom
Reprinted From: http://bit.ly/2TutmKU
C
onsumers are increasingly de-
manding higher standards for how
their meat is sourced, with animal
welfare and the impact on the environ-
ment factoring in many purchases. Un-
fortunately, many widely-used livestock
production methods are currently un-
sustainable. However, new research out
today from the University of Cambridge
has identified what may be the future
of sustainable livestock production:
silvopastoral systems which include
shrubs and trees with edible leaves or
fruits as well as herbage.
Professor Donald Broom, from the
University of Cambridge, who led the
research said: “Consumers are now
demanding more sustainable and ethi-
cally sourced food, including produc-
tion without negative impacts on animal
welfare, the environment and the liveli-
hood of poor producers. Silvopastoral
systems address all of these concerns
with the added benefit of increased
production in the long term.”
Current cattle production mostly occurs
on cleared pastures with only herba-
ceous plants, such as grasses, grown as
food for the cows. The effects on the lo-
cal environment include the removal of
trees and shrubs as well as the increased
use of herbicides, all of which result in a
dramatic decrease in biodiversity. Ad-
ditionally, there is also contamination
of soil and waterways by agricultural
chemicals as well as carbon costs be-
cause of vehicles and artificial fertiliser
necessary to maintain the pasture.
The researchers advocate that using a
diverse group of edible plants such as
that in a silvopastoral landscape pro-
motes healthy soil with better water
retention (and less runoff), encourages
predators of harmful animals, minimizes
greenhouse gas emissions, improves
job satisfaction for farm workers, reduc-
es injury and stress in animals, improves
welfare and encourages biodiversity us-
ing native shrubs and trees. Addition-
ally, shrubs and trees with edible leaves
and shoots, along with pasture plants,
produce more food for animals per unit
area of land than pasture plants alone.
Trees and shrubs have the added ben-
efit of providing shade from hot sun
and shelter from rain. It also reduces
stress by enabling the animals to hide
from perceived danger. “The planting
as forage plants of both shrubs and
trees whose leaves and small branches
can be consumed by farmed animals
can transform the prospects of obtain-
ing sustainable animal production,”
said Professor Broom. “Such planting
of ‘fodder trees’ has already been suc-
cessful in several countries, including
the plant Chamaecytisus palmensis
which is now widely used for cattle feed
in Australia.” Another success has been
in Colombia where a mixed planting
of the shrub Leucaena with a common
pasture grass resulted in a 27% increase
in dry matter for food and 64% increase
of protein production. When ruminants,
such as cows, goats and silvopastoral
system, researchers have seen an in-
crease in growth and milk production.
Milk production in the tropical silvopas-
toral system mentioned above was 4.13
kg per cow when compared with 3.5 kg
per day on pasture only systems. As the
numbers of animals per hectare was
much greater, production of good qual-
ity milk per hectare was four to five times
greater on the silvopastoral system.
One of the additional benefits of using
the silvopastoral system is that it in-
creases biodiversity. Biodiversity is de-
clining across the globe, and the main
culprit is farming – 33% of the total land
surface of the world is used for livestock
production. If farmers were to switch to
sustainable livestock production meth-
ods, such as the silvopastoral system,
the result would be much greater biodi-
versity with no increase in land use.
Professor Broom added: “It is clear that
silvopastoral systems increase biodiver-
sity, improve animal welfare and provide
good working conditions while ena-
bling a profitable farming business. The
next step is to get farmers to adopt this
proven, sustainable model.”
Source
Figure 1: It is clear that silvopastoral systems increase biodiversity, improve
animal welfare and provide good working conditions while enabling a profitable
farming business.
23
Prof Donald Broom https://www.cam.
ac.uk/research/news/sustainable-live-
stockproduction-is-possible, Sept 12,
2013: Republished, slightly condensed
for lay-out purposes under https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
sa/3.0/.
Grassroots
Vol 19
No 1
March 2019