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Harvard Forest Symposium Abstract 2014

  • Title: Grass-Fed Livestock Production and New England Surface Waters
  • Primary Author: Betsy Colburn (Harvard Forest)
  • Abstract:

    The strong regional interest in local food production and sustainable agriculture has sparked an active movement advocating the expansion of farming in New England. A major focus is on fostering an increase in small- and medium-sized farms with a parallel increase in overall production of pasture-based dairy, beef, pork, sheep, and poultry products. Such an expansion has great potential for broad societal benefits. It also has potential to contribute to problems with water quality and quantity unless it occurs in a context of good management practices expressly designed to protect water resources. This new project will examine existing data, current research, and opportunities for future studies on relationships between grass-based livestock production, nutrient cycling and retention in soils, and fluxes of nutrients and organic materials into surface waters.

  • Research Category: Conservation and Management