At the present time, there is serious concern about the future of the planet. The growing need for animal food for the human population means that a large part of land is used for this purpose. It is estimated that 26% of ice-free land area is used for livestock grazing, while 33% of arable land is used for livestock feed production. The contribution of indigenous breeds plays a crucial role in the development of this practice, as we will see in this article.
Therefore, the impact of livestock farming on the landscape is undeniable. Another point related to this issue is that in certain areas, especially in developed areas, the abandonment of traditional livestock farming – involving native or local breeds, many of which are at risk of extinction – leads communities to abandon the care of pastures and rangelands that form well-established ecosystems in these areas. This represents a double threat to biodiversity, due to the loss of livestock culture and the damage to the ecosystem.
All this leads to the fundamental concept of the sustainability of livestock production, seen from different points of view: economic, social, ethical and ecological. A sustainable livestock system can be defined as one that is economically viable and bearable in terms of labor requirements. As well as social requirements, which implies that it is a transmissible knowledge in terms of generational succession, as well as reproducible in the long term, from an environmental point of view. Extensive systems of different livestock species can be adjusted to this sustainable model. Economic viability will depend on the income generated by production, government subsidies in many cases, and complementary activities such as tourism and ecosystem conservation work.
Sustainability
In sustainability, we must take into account several specific factors:
- Traditional farming systems: old is not always anachronistic and can be adaptable with new technologies.
- Zootechnical/genetic value of livestock populations and their influence on ecosystems.
- Income evolution, working conditions, social recognition, quality of life, etc.
- Production quality and market positioning.
- Use of the land for complementary activities: rural tourism, hunting, forestry, etc.
- Rural development policies and cooperation of all stakeholders: landowners, ranchers, farm workers, private and public agricultural institutions, as well as environmental protection organizations.
In Europe, therefore, extensive livestock farming helps to fix population in disadvantaged areas, which due to their characteristics, do not lend themselves to other economic productions.
Adaptation of Populations to the Environment
Livestock populations in extensive farms are clear examples of adaptation to the environment. In this regard, extensive farms are characterized by:
- Use and maintain ecosystems and their diversity.
- Use poor and difficult areas that are not susceptible to other uses: high mountain pastures are used thanks to transhumance.
- Fertilize the soil by activating the recycling of its nutrients.
- Control shrub vegetation that helps in the prevention of forest fires.
- Maintaining humanized landscapes, an adequate stocking rate increases grass cover with better quality, favoring its diversity and the microfauna associated with it. Pastures are an important part of the municipalities and are a fundamental economic resource in small towns.
- Fix the rural population.
- Collaborate with productive diversification: non-forestry uses such as beekeeping, hunting, mushroom and fruit gathering and others such as leisure and tourism.
- Preserve genetic diversity thanks to the diversity of adapted breeds.
- They use sustainable resources, with low feed and fuel costs.
- Preserve animal welfare.
- Have an undisputed ethnographic value.
- Food products are of high quality; the fat composition is much healthier due to the way cattle are fed. Many of them are recognized through labels and appellations of origin.
- Use protected natural areas.
Conservation of Extensive Ecosystems
As mentioned above, extensive systems have great advantages due to their adaptation to the environment, but there are also many disadvantages that must be overcome. Thus, the current challenges are as follows:
- Maintain the resilience of ecosystems by managing the factors that may affect them, such as the presence of nutrients, soil characteristics and the biomass of the species present.
- Be able to adapt to constant environmental changes.
- Conserve ecosystem species including livestock using appropriate management practices.
In many areas of the planet, livestock are integrated into natural or humanized ecosystems, but in many of them their specific impact is not sufficiently known. It is essential to integrate these populations in a sustainable manner, which requires research:
- The influence of livestock on pasture composition, fertilizer reduction, nutrient balance and the possibility of maintaining a multi-species pasture.
- The influence of livestock on natural vegetation and fauna diversity.
- Interactions between animals and plants in order to optimize landscape management.
- The production and nutritional value of the species present in pastures to integrate them into livestock production.
Agroecology aims to link ecological processes and local resources for the development of sustainable agriculture and livestock farming. Good livestock management will result in good agroecosystem management, while poor use can lead to major damage, such as habitat degradation, pollution, and ecosystem abandonment, etc.
Livestock Utilization and Fire Prevention
Within the complementary activities to extensive livestock production, fire prevention can provide a natural solution to an important problem in some areas. These zones are generally rural areas where land abandonment has led to the degradation of pastoral ecosystems. The clearing of combustible mass, in addition to herbaceous and shrubby plants, makes the spread of fires more difficult. Different animal species can be used for this purpose.
Various species have been used: small ruminants, sheep and goats, with the goat being the species most used for these purposes worldwide. Cattle and horses have also been used. Small ruminants have the disadvantage of a smaller bite, while cattle have a preference for grasses. The ideal would be a combination of species: goats and horses.
Instead of horses, donkeys can be used, which is one of the species that has suffered the most from technological change in agricultural work and has become critically endangered in many breeds in Europe. Both species consume a wider spectrum of plant species that contribute to a better cleaning of the area.
The veterinarian and livestock farming
Livestock farming is currently a very complex field due to the cost of the natural resources it requires. However, it is still a crucial practice for human beings, both financially and in terms of food. For this reason, new techniques must be implemented to allow this practice to be carried out while reducing its ecological impact.
TECH Technological University seeks to engage with social impact in modernity. It is for this reason that many of its programs respond to the needs of both professionals and the world at large. A case in point is the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, where postgraduate courses such as the Master in Aquaculture and the Master in Equine Rehabilitation can be found. However, for those professionals seeking to complement their basic education with the area of livestock farming, there is no doubt that their best choice will be to opt for the Master’s Degree in Extensive Livestock Farming Management.
