Can farm profit and a pristine environmental go together?

Posted by Brendon Walsh on 21 July 2017

It is fascinating to observe the struggle going on in the farming industry between those who want to produce as much as they can to “receive a decent profit,” and those who want to protect the environment. The debate seems to be that you can only have profit OR a protected and pristine environment. I can see both points of view but I disagree wholeheartedly that those two things are mutually exclusive. Protecting the environment AND receiving a good profit can certainly be achieved together - that's sustainable farming. Whether you agree or disagree is your choice but it is being done and it can be done by those who choose to. The only catch is that there may have to be a few tweaks in perspective and understanding.

What do I mean? Let’s examine the general perspectives at play here. Those who want to produce as much as they can have generally assumed that to create profit you must produce more, meaning running more animals on the same area of land for the whole year, to get more volume of product(s), therefore more sales, therefore more income and therefore MORE PROFIT.

Now, that is a big assumption! More profit from more production may happen sometimes but it is definitely not a 100% safe assumption. Profits can stay stagnant or reduce with “increasing production” beyond a certain point and it is well documented how there is often environmental degradation, loss of soil carbon, and increased workload stress for no extra profit….the list goes on. Is that really sustainable farming?

Interestingly, a recent rural publication reported the LIC CEO announcing that the dairy industry is at “Peak Cow numbers” with nil growth in cow numbers projected for the next 5 years. The reasons? “A variety of reasons – some economical, some environmental.” Perhaps a hint at the system being overcooked in terms of production? Nothing against dairy at all - a similar thing has been happening in the sheep and beef industry for years.

Clearly the assumption that increasing production will bring more profit AS A GIVEN, is just plain shaky. All assumptions that are shaky are based on shaky principles. They just don’t stand up to objective scrutiny. The sheep and beef industry has generally been working on this shaky assumption since the 1970s and where has it got us?

Those who are really concerned for the environment and its degradation are rightly concerned, as discussed above. However, to assume that livestock farming and the push for profit is bad for the environment, is using a pretty broad brush based on some equally shaky assumptions. It’s more accurate to say that those pushing production (and not working WITH nature) in the mistaken belief that it always leads to more profit, are overcooking what the environment can handle and are therefore doing a poor job at being environmental stewards for the rest of us. That is not sustainable farming.

Unfortunately, and whether intended or not, both arguments use some misinformation and a few inaccurate assumptions in an attempt to argue loudest and win out. This justifies changing nothing. This situation will not help anyone.

Of course, there are many (some farmers included) who are not that extreme and they genuinely are perplexed about how to move forward to achieve both profit and a pristine environment together. The good news is that it can be done and it is being done quietly on many farms around NZ.

What? Having your cake and eating it too?? You can’t do that! Actually, you can but the perspective must come from a different place than those mentioned above.

As per a recent blog, I suggested 2 questions that all sheep and beef farmers need to ask themselves, in order to eliminate poor profitability. They were:

• “How can we be more profitable?”
• “How can we keep being more profitable?”

The secret to profit and a pristine environment together lie in these 2 questions. To be profitable requires focusing on the 6 Profit Principles and following them. Fully feeding profit animals during profit periods means profit animals have appropriate and nutritious pasture covers for the times they are profitable. For that they need good pasture covers at the start of, and during, those times. To achieve good pasture covers, appropriate stocking rates need to be kept, and these can vary according to the season. After all, if animal demand is too high for the pasture supply to achieve a certain target pasture cover at a required time, the target will not be achieved and the opportunity for profit will be reduced or lost. Every farmer has 100% control over what they run on their land every day of the year.

Good pasture covers for full feeding are often higher than what is conventionally accepted. Variation in stocking rate to achieve these is essential, simply because pasture growth rates vary through the season. Positive outcomes from operating this way can include lower stocking when pasture growth rates are lower, more plant bulk above ground, more extensive root systems and a huge reduction in pugging. Yes - sustainable farming!

By the way, did you know that pastoral farming that works with nature is the fastest way to sequester carbon in soil? Pasture is designed to be grazed. Post-grazing, some root mass dies and along with dung, is digested by bacteria and fungi and becomes humus (containing carbon), which has a load of benefits for soil and soil life. Once pasture has grown back to good levels (because it have been allowed to), the root system has built up again and the process starts over - more carbon from more contributors to humus build-up. Soils in better balance and condition retain nutrients and moisture far better than low carbon soils, not to mention freedom from the usual amount of physical damage from conventional stocking rates that are too high most of the year.

Farmers operating this way then tend to be able to keep being profitable because they are working WITH nature and not hammering the soil, their animals or themselves. They can take profit but then put back into the system by varying their stocking rates during non-profit periods. They then repeat this process through the year at key times and work WITH nature to provide nutritious products without the expense of constant stock intensity.  Less sediment and nutrients run off or leach from the soil, little or no nitrogen is used and carbon builds up, meaning pasture production is increasing over time. That folks, is sustainable farming! Generally, around New Zealand, pasture production has been decreasing over time due to the mining of carbon using conventional animal and fertiliser management practices. Don’t believe me? Please go and look at the objective data.

Done well consistently, sheep and beef farmers have a huge chance of banking profit without stripping out the environment. They can actually add to a healthy environment and take the pressure right off their land, their animals and themselves. But, it does take clear perspective and true understanding of profit, not assumptions about production.

That is why we set up GrowFARM - to help farmers to be profitable and stay profitable, so they can achieve what is important to them while positively adding to themselves, their families, their communities, their industry and their country. It does take a system, clear thinking and solid support to achieve this. A structured process is vital in changing habits for good!

So, as a farmer how is your perspective around profit? How close are you getting to achieving what is most important to you and your family, while adding to your environment? Please answer these questions honestly as your answers have a huge influence on the future of our communities and country. Please get in touch - I’d love to hear your thoughts.

If you are curious about how the GrowFARM® System can help sheep and beef farmers generate the profits they really want, contact me here.