Reaping the Benefits of Diversification At Loverendale-Ter Linde

Reaping the Benefits of Diversification At Loverendale-Ter Linde

By: Tamisan Latherow and Linde de Vries
FSE-30306 Analysis and Design of Organic Farming Systems

Executive Summary

In this paper we explored the possibilities of integrating several multi-functional aspects to Ter Linde. Our primary goal is to make the system more diverse and thereby more resilient, but also to work within the farmer’s dreams of creating space for tourists, more permanent employment opportunities, better soil and water availability, and more returns on his crops. We have focused on these throughout the research and pinned down several features we believe can cover these topics: Alternative Fodder Production, Intensification of Rotation: Pasturage and Crops, Berry Production, and Flower Strip Utilization.

Animal Science: Gestation Crates

A gestation crate is a pen where the sow is held away from other pigs during pregnancy. The pen is usually 2 foot by 7 foot. This allows for individualized attention and an area free of the close quarters of the general housing area. The farrowing crate is a two pen system where the sow is on one side of bars and the piglets on another. This is so the mother doesn’t accidentally step or roll on the young, and so the farmer can assist in the births, as well as heat/cool each area separately (Allan Schinckel, n.d.). The pens allow for the pigs to move forward and back a few inches, but not turn around. They are also big enough for the sows to lay down. Pork producers say the pens provide security for the sows and produce “bigger litters, heavier piglets and reduced workforce costs” (Jackson & Marx, 2016). The industry says that if the sows are placed together in communal settings they will fight for food and establish a hierarchy where the weakest may not eat at all. If they are in the crates, they say research shows that “feed can be precisely calibrated to the pig's stage in her life cycle, and workers can easily track the well-being of individuals” (Jackson & Marx, 2016).

Animal Science: Food For Everyone

There are a few ways we could work out feeding 9 billion people. Some of it comes down to what we are eating, some to how much, and the rest to our moral and ethical stances on items like medications and Sustainability. The first issue is what we are eating. Most sources list ‘meat’ as beef, veal, pig, poultry, sheep, and goats. They do not take into account other protein sources, such as seafood, buffalo, camel, alligator, kangaroo, or rodents like beaver, Guinea pigs, or rabbits. If we included these and other ‘non-standard’ meat sources we could increase the availability of meats to specific regions where they are already consumed, such as the Guinea Pig in South America or the Camel in the Middle East. Other alternative meats include insects. “Insects are not harmful to eat, quite the contrary. They are nutritious, they have a lot of protein and are considered a delicacy in many countries,” said Eva Muller, the Director of FAO’s Forest Economics, Policy and Products Division (Welsh, 2013).  Of course, Asia and Africa have a long standing tradition of utilizing insects, but most Westerners still cringe just thinking about it.

Animal Science: Golden Spirit Alpaca Ranch

I was able to attend an amazing tour at the Golden Spirit Alpaca Ranch. After learning about alpacas we were given a tour of the ranch that included opportunities to feed, pet, and take photos.

Agricultural and Animal Sciences: Cattle Bedding Techniques and A.I. Rates

There are a different cattle bedding formats: deep-bedded sheds, where the straw is built up each day and then the bedding is removed after a certain timeline (1 week, 1 month, etc), free-stalls, where there is a shed set up for each cow/calf and the bedding is removed each day, and tie-stalls, which literally chain the animal in place. There are also calf sheds and bull sheds to keep them separate. It really depends on what the size of the herd is and the format the farm uses. A small farm might house the cows and calves together due to space issues. In almost all of the farm formats though bulls are kept separately because they are aggressive. "Stock Bulls are dangerous, bulls were responsible for 59% of fatalities caused by animals from 2000 to 2010 according to a recent HSA report" (A Stock Bull vs Artificial Insemination (Beef), n.d.). As for rates, it depends, one study showed in Ireland infertility rates around “25% of all working bulls are sub-fertile or infertile (10%** are infertile)” (A Stock Bull vs Artificial Insemination (Beef), n.d.). Veterinary manuals show A.I. rates between “50%–60% …[on the] first service, the same percentage on second service” (Statham, n.d.).

**Objective comparison of artificial insemination and the stock bull in Irish dairy herds - Donagh Berry*, Andrew Cromie†, Sean Coughlan† & Pat Dillon** Teagasc Moorepark, †The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation April 2005.

References

A Stock Bull vs Artificial Insemination (Beef). (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2017, from Progressive Genetics: http://www.progressivegenetics.ie/Blog/Post-Detail/Beef-A-Stock-Bull-vs-Artificial-Insemination

Statham, J. (n.d.). Breeding in Cattle Reproduction. Retrieved February 5, 2017, from Merck Manual Veterinary Manual: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/management-and-nutrition/management-of-reproduction-cattle/breeding-in-cattle-reproduction

My father is a turkey whisperer...

We had turkeys and chickens when I was little. The turkey's pecked my hand once and scared me, so I never went back in their pen, but my father treated them like dogs. They would even sit in his lap. They loved him. Even decades later he seems to be a turkey whisperer. :)

Agricultural Sciences: Protein Supplements?

Protein supplements can be an easy and fast way to metabolize nutrients, but depending on the breed, species, and condition, can have different effects. In humans, protein supplements are not regulated as harshly as for animals. This leads to substandard regulation and oversight which can lead to contamination results such as Consumer Reports found in 2010. "The amount of lead in a single daily serving of eight of the protein supplements we tested would require that the products carry a warning in California (Consumer Reports, 2010)". They go on to say how teens are especially prone to marketing and that pregnant women are the most at risk.

Animal Science: Genetically Engineering the World

Goats on a Berkeley hill in Ca.

Genetically Engineering the World

Genetically engineered plants and animals are those that have had their DNA changed by man-made processes (also known as biotechnology). Historically, humans have been doing this for thousands of years by breeding plants or animals that had certain desirable traits together. Gregor Mendel became famous in 1866 for breeding different types of pea plants through observing how their genetics changed from parent to child (O'Neil, 2013). These hybrids laid the foundation for genetic engineering.

Animal Sciences: Meat Consumption

Meat consumption in the US is excessive. According to the World Health Organization between 1997 and 1999 Americans ate twice the amount of meat than the rest of the world (World Health Organization, 2017). Meat consumption is likewise shown in our book as being 27% of the total food energy in the developed world and 17.2% in developing countries (Damron, 2013). While countries like India and Somalia, where religion excludes part or all meat consumption, obviously account for a much smaller amount of the overall count than more liberal industrialized countries like the US and China, areas in Africa and South-East Asia are the lowest consumers of meat according to the FAO with India consuming only 7.1 lbs of meat per person per year vs. the US with 270.7lbs (Barclay, 2012). The discrepancy in usage can come from religious practices, agricultural growth and cost of new technology implementation, historical divisions amongst casts or socio-economic groups, preference in using animals for draft power instead of food, etc. In countries where animal protein is not utilized as much, alternative protein sources such as beans, legumes, soy, and peanuts are used to supplement the dietary needs. These countries also show an increase in milk consumption. For example, Somalia, a predominantly Islamic country, consumes roughly 7% of its diet in meat and 24% in dairy and India, a predominantly Hindu country, consumes only 1% meat and 8% dairy (National Geographic, 2017). In many countries there is a stigma on animals as food sources due to religious beliefs, however, one can look back and many times find that the religious constraints were from a time when refrigeration or preservation methods were unavailable or set down in places where a large portion of the populace had a genetic anomaly that made them ill from the food source, such as many Asians being lactose intolerant; there would, of course, be a smaller dairy consumption in these areas.

References

Barclay, E. (2012, June 27). A Nation Of Meat Eaters: See How It All Adds Up. Retrieved January 11, 2017, from National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/06/27/155527365/visualizing-a-nation-of-meat-eaters

Damron, W. S. (2013). Contributions of Animals to Humanity. In W. S. Damron, Introduction to Animal Science (p. 9). Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

National Geographic. (2017, January 11). What the World Eats? Retrieved from National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/what-the-world-eats/

World Health Organization. (2017, January 11). Nutrition. Retrieved from World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/3_foodconsumption/en/index4.html

Animal Science: Digestive System Differences

Potbelly pig

The differences in digestive features between horse, cattle, and pigs comes down to compartments. There are four types of animal digestive systems: monogastric, avian, ruminants, and pseudo-ruminants (CAERT, Inc., 2016). For this question I am focusing on all of the above except avian.

Environmental Science: Paul Greenberg: The four fish we're overeating -- and what to eat instead

Discussion Forum and Opinion on video:

Paul Greenberg: The four fish we're overeating -- and what to eat instead

Summary:

He discusses how we have moved from eating a multitude of animal species to only a few (four in fishing: salmon, cod, tuna, and shrimp). This trend has happened predominantly in the last 50 years. He also mentions how “we are currently taking between 80 and 90 million metric tons” (Greenberg, 2015) out of the sea every year and that with the advent of fish farming and aquaculture we are taking the equivalent of two of the human weight of China out of the seas every year.

Welcome

Welcome. I am an Agricultural and Environmental Sciences student taking way too many courses at way too many universities. LOL To keep things straight in my head, and maybe help a fellow student or two, I'm going to post some of my discussion posts, essays, and observations here. I hope they help.