BENEFITS: To Your Health | Quality of Life| Taking Care of the Planet| Wildlife Benefits | Smaller is Better | Taste the Difference
WILDLIFE BENEFITS
Well-Managed Pastures Provide Habitat for Wildlife
Throughout history, farming has proved advantageous to wildlife. It creates a suitable environment for a wide range of wildlife, which, in turn, provides services to the farmer such as pollination and pest control. However, with intensifying pressure to increase food production, conventional farming activities are now proving detrimental to grassland birds and other wildlife. In fact, the shrinking populations of many ground-nesting birds are directly linked to the loss of grassland.
Conservation and wildlife-preservation experts have become some of the most avid supporters of grass-based farming. According to a report issued by the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension, “Increased use of rotational grazing by dairy, sheep, and beef farmers has opened an opportunity to help increase the populations of grassland birds at little or no cost to the farmers.”2 By protecting wildlife, we ensure a healthier ecosystem and preserve the aesthetic and educational values that wild game and birds afford. Through responsible farming, not only can farmers avoid the unnecessary destruction of life; they can also help grassland birds and other wildlife flourish.
The information on this section of our website is reprinted from The Great New About Grass produced by: Eating Fresh Publications, 2004. A full version of this publication can be dowloaded by clicking here.
Endnotes:
1 Shannon Hayes. The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook: Healthy Cooking and Good Living with Pasture-Raised Foods. Eating Fresh Publications, New Jersey. 2004.
2 Grassland Birds: Fostering Habitats Using Rotational Grazing. Dan Undersander, Stan Temple, Jerry Bartlet, Dave Sample, Laura Paine. University of Wisconsin System. Cooperative Extension Publishing. 2000.
|
