1. Exploratory
In terms of brief statistics, Howell mentions that, “grasslands in aggregate globally comprise about 40% of the lands surface area, which is about 12 billion acres.”
When providing and introduction to the topic he is about to discuss, Howell includes how “grasslands are the most under-conserved biome globally. A lot of them have been converted into monoculture cropping areas.” Which is a great reason behind the podcast episode and why he is speaking out about the process and providing his knowledge on said issues.
In addition, when proving his point behind the loss of land that we have had due to degradation, Howell claims that “the Midwest is almost 100% corn and soybeans instead of grasslands.”
“Brutal tending environments are landscapes that, because of the nature or the pattern of the precipitation either it's very erratic meaning it's highly unpredictable how it falls over the course of the year or it's very seasonal and concentrated which means that for a big part of the year there is no rainfall.”
Towards the ending segment of the podcast, Howell describes the correlation grazing issues could have on the economy. After being asked of the knowledge behind land value and what determines it, he mentioned that, “in New Zealand, their property values are totally tied to how many sheep stock unit equivalents a property can carry.”
2. Diagnostic
Grasslands can possibly get grazed severely, but as long as it can fully recover, according to Howell, they deplete their carbohydrate reserves and their root system, changing the growing patterns or, depending on the species, causes them to die. When livestock continue grazing before the crops have been restored, that’s when it becomes such a big problem.
In addition, when looking into an external source about some other factors that play into causing overgrazing, it is said that overstocking, drought, and land can also cause this issue. According to the article provided by Geoffrey Migiro the World Atlas website, “overstocking occurs when a piece of land is stocked with more livestock than it can support for a grazing period. Drought affects the survival and growth of vegetation. Extended periods of drought result in the drying out and stunted growth of plants. Land usage determines the soil fertility of an area. Therefore, certain types of land use, such as mining, land pollution, logging activities, and burn and slush farming techniques reduce the amount of land available for grazing.” Which is a bit more of a thorough understanding to what Howell mentioned in the podcast.
3. Cause and Effect
As Howells discusses, the presence of animals is super crucial to these grasslands. Part of the grazing method he speaks about consists of managing the plants, and managing the cattle in bigger herds. This changes how the animals interact with the landscape. Instead of over resting the land, or overgrazing, they tend to stray 2 or more miles away from the water, expanding the use of the land which is way more productive than the alternative. With more land coverage from the animals, comes a higher value of profit when selling.
This approach makes these ranches more productive, thus, also providing a better income for ranchers.
4. Priority
There has been a gradual degradation of the world's grasslands. As Howell puts it, this is a result of the loss of “ecological integrity and biological diversity across landscapes.” But this degradation has been due to a multitude of reasons that Howell gives his input of knowledge on. Whether it is the cattle overgrazing, the economy, or just natural earth processes, it causes major problems.
Land degradation can even lead to food insecurity which in turn leads to rising prices of foods, environmental hazards, loss of ecosystem and biodiversity etc., which then becomes an even bigger issue for the population to worry about.
5. Application
Just as we learned from the last lesson, the land/ farming industry could affect the population in the long run without a doubt. This is where we raise our cattle and grow our food, it’s not just land up for show. Listeners of the podcast can now understand everything that goes into taking care of this land so these natural processes can continue on undisturbed. Because if not, it can result in a chain reaction that will eventually affect our cattle, the economy, and how we grow our crops. Though I am not a farmer myself, I can still say I have developed and even greater respect for all that they do to ensure that this cycle isn’t harmed and that our land isn’t at risk in the future.
6. Critical
My huge away from the podcast is learning about how these farms and grazing methods of preservation impact the economy. If the land isn’t properly taken care of, yes, of course the value will go down. But I didn’t realize how much the value could go up if the grazing is simply being expanded. Of course, farmers are looking for the bare minimum in terms of land upkeep, but this grazing method goes beyond those expectations. I don’t know why I never put two and two together with that correlation of value before. It seems like this is a long trail of cause-and-effect situations that could go in so many different directions. Howell even spoke briefly about this topic in relation to real-estate prices and tactics. I also became aware of how serious overgrazing can be as it causes a bump in the road for landowners. This not only sets back growth, but also any possible animal desire to expand or care for the area enough to properly graze it.
Sources:
Migiro, Geoffrey. “What Is Overgrazing?” WorldAtlas, 29 July 2019, www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-overgrazing.html.
Roberson, E. (Host). (2016, May 26). Conserving and restoring the world’s grasslands [Audio podcast episode]. In Mountain & Prairie Podcast. http://mountainandprairie.com/jim-howell/
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