Groups Work To Integrate Livestock And Crops

Groups Work To Integrate Livestock And Crops Mixing livestock and crops really is a good idea, according to farmers, researchers and representatives of more than 50 ag and conservation organizations. They were all part of Match Made In Heaven: Livestock + Crops. The project involved developing case studies, holding field days, creating graphic tools and resources and conducting a survey of crop and livestock farmers. All of it is detailed on the Match Made in Heaven website. “This was a three-year project of Green Lands Blue Waters,” says Jane Grimsbo Jewett, associate director, Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture. “Our goal was to give educators more tools to focus on when educating farmers to alternative practices and the barriers to adopting them.” Green Lands Blue Waters (GLBW) is a network of groups working to get Continuous Living Cover (CLC) on the land. This includes the expanded use of cover crops, as well as increased use of perennials, partly through the development of new crops. Like Match Made in Heaven, it includes a wide variety of ag and conservation organizations. GLBW was established in 2004 to undertake a range of initiatives aimed at demonstrating the benefits of CLC farming and promoting its adoption. The three-year, multi-state Match Made in Heaven project provided opportunities for participants to discuss the integration of crops and livestock. They examined how integrating grain and livestock benefits soil health, soil conservation and farmers’ bottom lines. “Farmer case studies provide a deeper dive into what farmers are doing,” says Jewett. “The graphics are for use as conversation starters when asking farmers where they’re at.” The group also created a partial budgeting tool based on the case studies. “It doesn’t provide the details of some farm management information, but it provides a quick and dirty of what farmers should have top of mind if considering adding livestock to their farm. It provides calculations of what it costs, along with a range of numbers to plug in.” Perhaps most helpful to farmers considering making the switch is the Library of Resources. It includes a list of news articles and technical publications on the subject. A key element in the project was a survey of farmers throughout the Midwest to understand what works and what doesn’t. The website features summary fact sheets that include charts and data tables. “We had 566 useable responses from 20 states,” says Jewett. “The majority of respondents had both crops and livestock. Questions were about practices, including grazing and soil health. The survey also asked about attitudes toward livestock and crop integration.” The significant challenges that crop farmers faced in adding livestock were mainly operational. They included the cost and maintenance of fencing, water systems and housing. “Both crop and integrated crop and livestock participants saw funding as a major challenge,” says Jewett. “They noted that the subsidy structure for crops is really robust, but not so much for livestock and even less for grazing and soil health practices.” Jewett encourages farmers and others to visit the website and review the information presented there. “There are a ton of summary fact sheets under the survey section,” she says. “They cover a lot of information.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Match Made in Heaven: Livestock + Crops (jewet006@umn.edu; https://greenlandsbluewaters.org/match-made-in-heaven-livestock-crops).

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