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Harvard Forest Symposium Abstract 2016
- Title: Water Quality Implications of Projected Increases in Pastured Livestock Production in New England
- Primary Author: Betsy Colburn (Harvard Forest)
- Abstract:
Implications of Increasing Grass-Based Livestock Production in New England over the Next Half-Century
New England's local food, healthy eating, and food justice movements are strong, and all six states have seen increased numbers of farmers markets, small farms, and community supported agriculture (CSAs) in recent years. One projection envisions a three-fold expansion of agricultural land by 2060, to be accomplished largely through conversion of four-million acres of forested land to pasture for beef, dairy, pork, sheep, and poultry production. The current research is multifaceted but the overall focus is on potential impacts of such a large change in land use on water quality. One component of this work involves examining historical records of regional livestock production from colonial times to the present; estimating likely changes in runoff with conversion of forest to pasture; attempting to quantify past and projected loadings of nitrogen, phosphate, organic waste, and sediment from pastured livestock; reviewing data on the capacity of New England soils to assimilate manure; and estimating potential changes in surface water quality. A second component involves review of best management practices for pasture and of data on the effectiveness of various practices at controlling pollutant inputs to surface waters. A third component is studying the national socio-political-economic forces that have influenced New England Agriculture since World War II, and considering how these factors must be factored into planning for a regional agricultural renaissance, and for policy measures to protect water resources in the event of such an expansion of agriculture in the coming decades. - Research Category: Regional Studies
