Director: Let's get acquainted

By MARK RASMUSSEN, Director

My first few weeks as director of the Leopold Center have been exhilarating and I am amazed at how time flies by. Every day I’ve encountered new people sharing their ideas in regard to the Leopold Center and its work. Some offer a discussion of principles based upon the work of Aldo Leopold while others bring a note of pragmatism concerning food, agriculture and sustainability. All viewpoints are welcome and important as we try to move forward in a digital culture that is very distant from biology and the natural world.

In spite of these cultural trends, I find it encouraging and refreshing to see a growing number of people who wish to be “active food citizens.” These consumers no longer are content to purchase food without some knowledge of its safety, content and origin. They have challenged food producers, processors and regulators to rethink the way they conduct their business. We are all running to keep up, and although this trend may cause discomfort to some, it is useful and productive because it makes our food system more responsive and resilient. As a result, it increases the odds that we will be able to successfully confront the challenges that face us in our food future.

So with these introductory thoughts, and given that this is my first Leopold newsletter column, I would like to share a few basics about my experiences with agriculture, food and sustainability.

We are all products of our environment. For me it is clear that my experience with sustainable agriculture began in the loess soils of northeastern Nebraska where the land is steep, the soils are highly erodible and the upland soils are low in native fertility. These fundamental resource limitations meant that our operation was based upon conservation and sound farming practices. This was not a choice but a requirement if we were to be considered “good farmers.”

These practices involved the construction of terraces, fertilization to build soil productivity and crop rotations that kept a large portion of the highly erodible land in pasture and hay production. Of course, hay and grass production meant that ruminants (cow/calf, yearlings and feedlot) were significant enterprises because they allowed us to convert forages into cash. My interest in cattle as part of a sustainable soil management system was formed at this time.

Years later as I studied the science of ruminant physiology and rumen microbiology in graduate school, I came across the words of Dr. R.E. Hungate, a prominent rumen microbiologist in the field. In a 1950 paper, he wrote:

In summary, an industrial cellulose fermentation might be profitable if the cost of collection of raw materials could be minimized through use of numerous small plants, if these small plants could be cheaply constructed, if operation could be made automatic to decrease necessary personnel, and if the concentration of cellulose fermented could be increased by continuous removal of fermentation products. Although such a situation is at present quite out of the question as an industrial process, it is almost an exact specification of the ruminant animal, a small fermentation unit which gathers the raw material, transfers it to the fermentation chamber and regulates its further passage, continuously absorbs the fermentation products, and transforms them into a few valuable substances such as meat, milk, etc. To these advantages must be added the crowning adaptation: the unit also reduplicates itself.

In today’s world where agriculture struggles to adapt to the changing demands of an intertwined food and energy future, Dr. Hungate’s words are as relevant as they were 62 years ago.

In spite of Dr. Hungate’s timely timeless comments, dramatic changes have taken place in animal agriculture. My description of the past is in stark contrast to how my home county is farmed today. Most of the cattle herds are gone, as are many of the farmers who tended the cattle. Pastures have been plowed under, the terraces leveled and the waterways torn out to accommodate large equipment that ignores the natural lay of the land.

There are many economic and technological reasons why the land is farmed so differently today. Farming is interconnected to global energy markets and fewer farmers farm more land faster than ever before. Today’s crop and livestock operations are specialized and concentrated. Technology and simplified management operations fuel the trend toward continual expansion.

Many farms are planted in continuous corn and high yields require increased fertilization that is accompanied by the inevitable loss of nutrients. In some areas intensive row cropping has increased rates of soil erosion to levels approaching those of eras before the widespread application of conservation measures.

These practices give rise to questions of resilience and conservation of our soil resources, and more fundamental questions. Are things really different now? Are we entering a time of chronic and multifaceted resource limitations that impact productivity, long-term sustainability and food security? It always has been risky to state that “this time it’s different.” History repeatedly has taught us, for better or worse, that we should never underestimate human resourcefulness and ingenuity.

Global population pressures may be propelling us into a new era and the need to rethink many of our past assumptions. The Leopold Center has a history of asking unconventional questions and supporting research that seeks creative solutions. It is an honor to be a part of this organization and to be on the forefront anticipating the changes that are coming to our food system. I foresee many more conversations as we move forward into our agricultural future.

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Director: Let's get acquainted