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Rotational Grazing at Chesapeake Bay Foundation-Owned Farm
I took this photo during my Sustainable Agriculture class field trip (October 5th in Prince George’s County, Maryland). This photo depicts a cow herd grazing at Clagett Farm, a sustainability-oriented farm owned by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The cows here are managed with management-intensive grazing, a more sustainable method of raising cows as opposed to continual grazing or feedlots. At Clagett Farm, the cows are rotated between different areas of the field, with electric fences ensuring they stay within the designated sections. The cows graze the section they are limited to, mowing the grass and supplying the soil nutrients from their manure. The farm then removes this pastureland and uses it to grow their crops. Procuring nutrients via manure is a more sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers, which contribute to nutrient pollution. Rotating the cows is essential to prevent overgrazing, which can cause environmental issues like desertification and erosion. Also, keeping the cows in one area too long can result in excessive manure buildup. By controlling where and when the cows graze, the farm prevents the negative ecological effects typically associated with grazing animals (Cows tend to overgraze their preferred feeding areas if left unmanaged). Rotational grazing is just one of the many ways Clagett Farms practices regenerative agriculture. The farm’s program manager explained to our class that the idea of this practice is to leave land better than it started. Due to decades of rotational grazing, the pasture’s soil health has significantly improved.
The photo demonstrates the ecological concept of nutrient cycling. Nutrient cycling is the process by which “energy and matter are transferred between living organisms and non-living parts of the environment” (Crandall Park Trees). In this image, cows input nutrients into the soil via their manure, which can then be used by plants. Grazing cattle excrete most of their ingested nutrients in the form of feces and urine, with 70%–90% of the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ingested being recovered in their excrement (Silveira et al., 2019). As a result, animal excrement is an important source of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium for forage crops. When the farm removes this land to grow crops, another step of the nutrient cycle takes place where plants uptake these nutrients through their root systems.
UN SDG 14-Life Below Water is involved in the image. Although this goal may seem unrelated to a herd of grows grazing on land, this UN goal is the driving force behind why the cows are managed this way. As mentioned previously, this farm is owned by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The CBF was formed in the 60s to protect the bay, with their website describing their mission as “We fight for effective, science-based solutions to the pollution degrading the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams” (Chesapeake Bay Foundation). In the 1960s and 1970s, the Chesapeake Bay was in far worse condition than it is today, containing a marine “dead zone” that was depleted of oxygen to the point where marine life could not survive. This whole phenomenon reflects the ecological concept of nutrient cycling. Conventional agriculture utilizes fertilizers to supply plants with nutrients, meaning runoff from these farms contains these excess nutrients. When the runoff ultimately ends up in the Chesapeake Bay, high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus cause excessive algal growth. Algal blooms block sunlight and consume oxygen, creating hypoxic dead zones where underwater life cannot survive (Chesapeake Bay Foundation). Farmers, particularly Pennsylvanian farmers, have historically been blamed for eutrophication in the bay. This is because the Susquehanna River is the bay’s largest contributor of nitrogen, and second-largest contributor of phosphorus, meaning it is critical that nutrient pollution in this waterway be avoided (Torres, 2024). With agriculture being the greatest source of pollution in the bay, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation promotes regenerative agriculture to farmers as part of their efforts to protect the bay’s marine life. Clagett Farm’s use of rotational grazing as an alternative to fertilizer application reduces nutrient runoff and water pollution. It is just one of the many sustainable alternatives to traditional farming practices they promote. Therefore, the goal behind this image embodies SDG 14’s targets, including reducing marine pollution, protecting and restoring ecosystems, and conserving coastal and marine areas. More information about Clagett Farm can be found here: www.clagettcsasales.org/
Sources:
mdocs.skidmore.edu/crandallparktrees/ecosystem/nutrient-c...
edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/SS578
www.farmprogress.com/commentary/sickly-chesapeake-bay-get...
www.cbf.org/about-cbf/our-mission/index.html
Rotational Grazing at Chesapeake Bay Foundation-Owned Farm
I took this photo during my Sustainable Agriculture class field trip (October 5th in Prince George’s County, Maryland). This photo depicts a cow herd grazing at Clagett Farm, a sustainability-oriented farm owned by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The cows here are managed with management-intensive grazing, a more sustainable method of raising cows as opposed to continual grazing or feedlots. At Clagett Farm, the cows are rotated between different areas of the field, with electric fences ensuring they stay within the designated sections. The cows graze the section they are limited to, mowing the grass and supplying the soil nutrients from their manure. The farm then removes this pastureland and uses it to grow their crops. Procuring nutrients via manure is a more sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers, which contribute to nutrient pollution. Rotating the cows is essential to prevent overgrazing, which can cause environmental issues like desertification and erosion. Also, keeping the cows in one area too long can result in excessive manure buildup. By controlling where and when the cows graze, the farm prevents the negative ecological effects typically associated with grazing animals (Cows tend to overgraze their preferred feeding areas if left unmanaged). Rotational grazing is just one of the many ways Clagett Farms practices regenerative agriculture. The farm’s program manager explained to our class that the idea of this practice is to leave land better than it started. Due to decades of rotational grazing, the pasture’s soil health has significantly improved.
The photo demonstrates the ecological concept of nutrient cycling. Nutrient cycling is the process by which “energy and matter are transferred between living organisms and non-living parts of the environment” (Crandall Park Trees). In this image, cows input nutrients into the soil via their manure, which can then be used by plants. Grazing cattle excrete most of their ingested nutrients in the form of feces and urine, with 70%–90% of the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ingested being recovered in their excrement (Silveira et al., 2019). As a result, animal excrement is an important source of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium for forage crops. When the farm removes this land to grow crops, another step of the nutrient cycle takes place where plants uptake these nutrients through their root systems.
UN SDG 14-Life Below Water is involved in the image. Although this goal may seem unrelated to a herd of grows grazing on land, this UN goal is the driving force behind why the cows are managed this way. As mentioned previously, this farm is owned by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The CBF was formed in the 60s to protect the bay, with their website describing their mission as “We fight for effective, science-based solutions to the pollution degrading the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams” (Chesapeake Bay Foundation). In the 1960s and 1970s, the Chesapeake Bay was in far worse condition than it is today, containing a marine “dead zone” that was depleted of oxygen to the point where marine life could not survive. This whole phenomenon reflects the ecological concept of nutrient cycling. Conventional agriculture utilizes fertilizers to supply plants with nutrients, meaning runoff from these farms contains these excess nutrients. When the runoff ultimately ends up in the Chesapeake Bay, high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus cause excessive algal growth. Algal blooms block sunlight and consume oxygen, creating hypoxic dead zones where underwater life cannot survive (Chesapeake Bay Foundation). Farmers, particularly Pennsylvanian farmers, have historically been blamed for eutrophication in the bay. This is because the Susquehanna River is the bay’s largest contributor of nitrogen, and second-largest contributor of phosphorus, meaning it is critical that nutrient pollution in this waterway be avoided (Torres, 2024). With agriculture being the greatest source of pollution in the bay, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation promotes regenerative agriculture to farmers as part of their efforts to protect the bay’s marine life. Clagett Farm’s use of rotational grazing as an alternative to fertilizer application reduces nutrient runoff and water pollution. It is just one of the many sustainable alternatives to traditional farming practices they promote. Therefore, the goal behind this image embodies SDG 14’s targets, including reducing marine pollution, protecting and restoring ecosystems, and conserving coastal and marine areas. More information about Clagett Farm can be found here: www.clagettcsasales.org/
Sources:
mdocs.skidmore.edu/crandallparktrees/ecosystem/nutrient-c...
edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/SS578
www.farmprogress.com/commentary/sickly-chesapeake-bay-get...
www.cbf.org/about-cbf/our-mission/index.html