Milk Isn’t Green. Really?

| May 27, 2016

A recent article discussed the ‘real cost of milk’ in terms of environmental impact and animal welfare. Max Thomas however suggests that there is a need for informed thought and not simple dogma.

If you see a farmer who’s down, why not ‘sink the slipper’ and then ask them to pay to have your boots cleaned? I can’t wait for ‘The Conversation’ to reveal its prescription for: Cropping systems that don’t require land to be cleared; management of dryland and irrigation-induced salinity and sodicity; economically competitive cropping techniques that retain all nutrients, don’t cause erosion, pollute groundwater or disturb soil structure; pest plant and animal control without the use of evil ‘chemicals’; fostering and protecting biodiversity on and around croplands.

The implicit assumption that intensive horticulture and cropping have negligible environmental impact highlights the need for informed thought and not simple dogma. A lot of vegetables are grown in Gippsland. Without good management, these crops can lead to severe environmental damage. And should we discourage mixed farming enterprises integrating livestock and cropping with rotations and management techniques designed to minimise inputs and to protect natural assets?

Dairy farms and cane growing are both found in catchments that drain to The Great Barrier Reef. Are we to accept the environmental impact of nitrogen-rich drainage from cane cropping but not from dairying? The control and fate of nitrogenous fertilizers is complex but can be more problematic in cropping than dairying.

Gippsland is characterised by highly variable seasonal conditions. For the sake of ‘conversation’, perhaps over a milk-free latte, it would be handy to know ‘The Conversation’s’ prediction for future seasonal conditions in our region. Can farmers in West Gippsland expect more summer rainfall but drier subsoils? Will rainfall in the east become less ‘peaky’ and more predictable? Some irrigated crops use more water than pasture. Would new dams be acceptable and where will they need to be? What transitional financial arrangements could be made for a relatively aged farming workforce? How will markets be developed for dairy alternatives? What is the plan for retraining and/or redundancy?

I suppose unwanted famers could join the ‘The Greens” scheme for ex-power workers, filling up open cuts and demolishing the despised power stations in the Latrobe Valley. Alternatively, there will be plenty of opportunities in the giant bureaucracies needed to shape and regulate the perfect world they envisage.

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