The efficiencies American farmers and ranchers have implemented in the last 60 years have done more to help the environment than hurt it, said an American Farm Bureau Federation environmental specialist.
"Our ability to increase our efficiencies in feed conversion, our ability to in-crease the genetics of our herd and increase the meat per animal, has basically reduced our environmental footprint, rather than increased it," said Don Parrish, AFBF Senior Director for Regulatory Relations at North Dakota Farm Bureau Convention and Exposition informational session.
Compared to 1948, across all production in agriculture, animals produce 25 per-cent less manure. At the same time, each animal we raise produces 700 percent more meat than it did in 1948.
"That's phenomenal," Parrish said. "We've got to be able to articulate that mes-sage."
Parrish also expressed concern about the concept of sustainability and how it will impact farmers and ranchers.
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"If we had defined sustainability around a certain type of buggy wheel, we wouldn't have had the gains we've had. I'm afraid that if we define sustainability in a way that locks us into certain technologies, all the gains we've made in agricul-ture, where we produce more with less, we're going to hurt ourselves, not only in world markets, but we're going to hurt the ability to feed ourselves."
The North Dakota Farm Bureau Convention and Exposition, held at the Fargo Holiday Inn, November 20-23, brings together Farm Bureau members from across the state to chart the organization's course on issues for the coming year and to recognize and highlight the volunteers who make the organization effective.
