GRAZING: THE WHOLE PICTURE: Is grazing good, or bad, for the environment?

摘要

THE environmental impact of our farms has become an important issue. Environmental concerns include nutrient leaching to groundwater, runoff in surface water, gaseous emissions, and the carbon footprint of our production systems. Recent reports have labeled grazing-based dairies as less environmentally sustainable compared to year-round confinement systems. These reports have not been comprehensive in their evaluation, though, and perhaps biased by their goal.