2. Advances are being challenged
Activists don’t like the modern farming practices
Many want to return to “idyllic” vision of the past
Are the challenges valid?
Are there good scientific reasons to abandon our
modern farming?
Look beyond the headlines, be critical of "claims”
What are the environmental regulatory challenges?
Who should we listen to and what if we “get this
wrong”?
3. AFO
CAFO
Factory Farm
GMO
Localvore
Buy Local
Meatless Monday
Omnivore’s Dilemma
Righteous Pork chop
PETA
Vegan
10. Over grazing, lack of crop rotation, lack of
cover crops…didn’t use science
11. According to the American Farm Bureau, one farmer
in 1940 fed approximately 19 people. Today one
farmer feeds 155 people
200 years ago, 90% of the population farmed
Today less than 2% of the population farms.
12.
13. According to Neil Conklin, President of the Farm
Foundation, “Doubling agricultural output to meet
global demand by 2050 will require an annual
average growth of at least 1.75 percent in total
factor productivity (TFP)”
14. According to the United Nations General Assembly,
“Food production must double by 2050 to meet the
demand of the world’s growing population and
innovative strategies are needed to help combat
hunger, which already affects more than 1 billion
people in the world…”
16. How to produce more with less
How to do so while minimizing the
environmental footprint
17. ISO 14001 EMS Standard
An EMS meeting the requirements of ISO 14001:2004 is a management
tool enabling an organization of any size or type to:
identify and control the environmental impact of its
activities, products or services, and to
improve its environmental performance continually, and to
implement a systematic approach to setting environmental objectives and
targets, to achieving these and to demonstrating that they have been achieved
Source www.iso.org
18.
19.
20.
21.
22. “The Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance
Program (MAEAP) is a holistic approach to
environmental protection.”
26. Is it the former practices of farming?
Is it the modern farming practices?
Is it something else?
27.
28. Beef/Animal
1977 = 603 lbs
2007 = 773 lbs
Beef to Market
1977 = 3045 animal days
2007 = 1940 animal days
In 1977 it took 5 animals to produce the same
as 4 animals in 2007
(Capper, 2012)
29. 1977 v 2007 = net reduced environmental
footprint (Capper, 2012).
131% beef per animal
70 % of the animals
81 % of the feed
88 % of the water
67 % of the land
82 % of the manure
82 % of the methane
88 % of the nitrous oxide
84 % of the carbon footprint
30. “Go Natural” If all US beef was grass-fed:
We would need an additional 131 million acres
(e.g., 75 % of the land of Texas)
GHG emissions increase by 134.5 million tons of
CO2e (26.6 million cars)
Water use by 468 billion gallons (53.1 million
households)
(Capper, 2012)
31. Comparing dairies in 1944 to 2007 modern
operations require
21 % fewer animals
23 % less feedstuffs
35 % less water
10 % less land
They produce 43% less CH4 and 56% less N2O
per billion kg of milk.
41. The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the
1970s hundreds of millions of people will starve to
death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon
now. At this late date nothing can prevent a
substantial increase in the world death rate.
Paul Ehrlich
42. They didn’t happen because we continued to
advance farming practices with good science
What if had not embraced new technology?
43. Pressure from Environmental Activist
Pressure from Consumers/Sustainability
Pressures from Growing Demands…and
Pressures from Environmental Regulatory
44. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
State Environmental Regulators
ENFORCMENT – Includes Fines and Penalties
45. Keeping Raw Sewage and Contaminated Stormwater Out of our
Nation’s Waters
Preventing Animal Waste from Contaminating Surface and
Ground Waters
Cutting Toxic Air Pollution that Affects Communities’ Health
Reducing Widespread Air Pollution from the Largest Sources,
especially the Coal-Fired Utility, Cement, Glass, and Acid
Sectors
Reducing Pollution from Mineral Processing Operations
Assuring Energy Extraction Sector Compliance with
Environmental Laws
Source: http://www.epa.gov/oecaerth/data/planning/initiatives/initiatives.html
46. Clean Water Act
Spill Prevention Control & Countermeasure (SPCC)
Plans
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES)
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
Clean Air Act
National Air Emissions Monitoring Study (NAEMS)
Particulate Matter (PM)
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)
47. SPCC
Milk exemption – President mentioned in the State of the
Union Address
Deadline for compliance with amendments May 2013
NPDES
Several court rulings regarding CAFOs that discharge or
propose to discharge
State specific requirements (MI different)
TMDL
1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act
1st one RI Pond – $50K / 2 yrs
48. NAEMS
Data available
Groups “using” this data
Future emission standards?
Certain obligations by those who signed agreement
Soon Emission Estimating Methodologies published
49. Particulate Matter (PM) – Regulation of Dust
PM 10
PM 2.5
Good science?
Regulation?
53. If we want to feed the growing number of
people and reduce our environmental
footprint, then “intensification is the key”
(Mitloehner, 2012)
54. Farming must continue to increase
productivity to meet growing demands.
Must use science, but cannot just use
science to communicate to the public
Meet increased demands “sustainable”
farming
Have an active part in regulatory
development
55. Alan Hahn
Dragun Corporation
30445 Northwestern Highway
Suite 260
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
248-932-0228
ahahn@dragun.com
