I learned to care for our land and animals from my father, and from generations of ranchers before him

Louis Sukovaty

Managing an Ecosystem

Spraying broad-spectrum nerve toxins isn't what I think of as organic agriculture. But when I wanted to buy a virus that attacks coddling moths, the seller suggested that what I really wanted was Entrust, an "organic" insecticide. He was wrong, I don't want to treat my land with a chemical toxic to a broad array of insects - beneficial and pest alike - regardless of whether the origin of the chemical is natural or synthetic. While a species-specific parasite exploits a niche and its use can help to check an out-of-balance proliferation of one pest, a broad-spectrum insecticide creates greater imbalance in an ecosystem. The intent of Entrust isn't to carefully manage an ecosystem, it's to make things easier for the grower. And to make a profit for the chemical company, of course.

Our trouble as a society comes from trying to make a buck so we can buy something so the next guy can make a buck and buy something, and so on, especially when the things we buy are supposed to make things easier for us - to make less work. There's nothing wrong with work. Our quality of life depends on it. Think about it: are you happier sitting for hours in front of the tv, or when you have a meaningful task you can take on? Being an artisan is about knowledge and work. I believe proper animal husbandry requires the care of an artisan.

Ear Tag Pesticides

Did you know most of the cattle fed in commercial feed lots have an ear tag that kills flies for six months by infusing pesticides into its blood stream? Can you believe six months!  And to make matters worse there is no withdrawal period required before slaughter. This means the full concentration of pesticide could be in the animal at the time of slaughter. This worries me.

It just bugs me to no end to drive by a ranch and see animals being winter fed in a separate feed lot and not on pastures and fields.  This confinement feeding makes an awful mess by concentrating animal waste in a single area rather than spreading it over the pastures and fields where it is a natural fertilizer.  By feeding the animals on the pastures and fields instead this fertilizer is spread and ready to grow pasture or crops in the spring.  But instead they create an environmental hazard and because they dead end the nutrient cycle in the feedlot they must provide a fertilizer supplement in the pastures and fields.