www.sare.org publications twelve-aprils-dairying grazing-system Grazing System Paddocks Forages Supplemental Feeding Control Cow Comfort Cost Effectiveness Paddocks A trip to Ireland with a SARE PDP project headed by Steve Washburn changed Tom's opinion about paddock sizes. His 70 acres of grazing used to be divided into 8 paddocks, but now he has 25 paddocks ranging from 2.5 to 3.2 acres that are […]
www.sare.org publications twelve-aprils-dairying physical-layout Physical Layout Tom Trantham's property consists of 97.6 acres on a two-lane black top road in Pelzer, SC. The 130-year old farm house is his home. The 70-acre dairy is his life. A Holstein silhouette adorns his mail box and a Holstein flag occasionally flies from the white porch banister. The black and white herd, all udder […]
www.sare.org publications twelve-aprils-dairying the-herd The Herd Purebred Holsteins make up the herd, which now averages about 75 milkers with 10% dry at any time of the year. Many are still producing at 10 to 14 years of age. The oldest died of natural causes at 17 years old. Despite the current interest in Holstein/Jersey crosses for grazing in hot climates, Tom […]
www.sare.org publications climate-risk-management-and-resilience-on-farms-and-ranches climate-risk-management-resources Climate Risk Management Resources for Farmers and Educators General Resources Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN). A multi-state network of Extension professionals that offers research-based education resources on disaster preparedness and response. Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate. Explores agricultural climate risk and resilience through the adaptation stories of 25 award-winning sustainable farmers and ranchers producing vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and livestock products across America. Climate Exposures—Regional […]
www.sare.org publications climate-risk-management-and-resilience-on-farms-and-ranches getting-started-2 Getting Started: Exploring Your Risks and Assessing Your Options Photo by Karl Wolfshohl. Recall that vulnerability is a key concept in understanding your operation’s climate risk. Thinking about climate risk in terms of sensitivity (the response of individual components of the production system to exposures) and adaptive capacity or resilience (the ability of the production system as a whole to buffer damages and capture […]
www.sare.org publications climate-risk-management-and-resilience-on-farms-and-ranches managing-for-climate-resilience managing-financial-resources Managing Financial Resources for Climate Resilience Financial resources, which typically include family and farm income and assets, insurance, credit and cost-share programs, investments and savings, provide the necessary capital to invest in the other kinds of resources that you need to cultivate the response, recovery and transformation capacity of your operation. A resilient farm or ranch has the financial capacity to […]
www.sare.org publications climate-risk-management-and-resilience-on-farms-and-ranches managing-for-climate-resilience managing-physical-resources Managing Physical Resources for Climate Resilience Julia Davis Stafford and her family added this water tank to their New Mexico ranch as part of the infrastructure that supports their rotational grazing plan. Photo by Laura Lengnick. More frequent and extreme events are already presenting hazards to critical infrastructure needed in agriculture, including roads, buildings used for production and processing, storage structures for […]
www.sare.org publications climate-risk-management-and-resilience-on-farms-and-ranches managing-for-climate-resilience managing-social-resources Managing Social Resources for Climate Resilience Networking with fellow farmers and ranchers is a powerful way to improve the success of your operation. Here, Lisa Kivirist (far left) of the the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service speaks with women farmers about cover crops as part of a SARE-funded workshop series. Photo by Jean Andreasen, North Central SARE. Support from the community, and your engagement […]
www.sare.org publications climate-risk-management-and-resilience-on-farms-and-ranches managing-for-climate-resilience managing-human-resources Managing Human Resources for Climate Resilience Effective climate risk management will depend on human capacity, both on the farm or ranch, and in the local community, to learn, plan for and adapt to changing climate conditions. Taking action to enhance the resilience of your farm or ranch will likely make new and different demands on you, may increase production costs and […]
www.sare.org publications climate-risk-management-and-resilience-on-farms-and-ranches managing-for-climate-resilience mitigating-climate-change Agriculture as a Means to Mitigate Climate Change There is mounting evidence that agriculture can play an important role in the effort to slow climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that agricultural soils have the potential to sequester from 4 percent to 12 percent of total annual global greenhouse gas emissions, and a recent study by the Rodale Institute estimated […]