Market Farming

["Rick Williams" <mrfarm AT frontiernet.net>]

Jay Gee wrote:
> As you say Rick, you cannot abide anyone who wants wolves
> in the lower 48.  On the flip side, I have no love for cattle ranchers
> who think that bison ranchers should have their herds destroyed
> because of brucellas (sp?).

Each person must make their own decision on each issue. I am saying that I
do not support those who want to press for increased wolf populations in
livestock farming areas. But I certainly support their right to speak out on
their beliefs and lobby for them in the best way that they can.

It would not be up to cattle ranchers if you had brucellosis present in a
herd of any ruminant. They are always killed as soon as possible to stop the
spread of the disease are they not? It would not be singling out buffalo.
>
> If you raised bison instead of cattle, your crop would be able
> to defend itself against the wolf.  I don't think domesticated
> cattle are hardy enough any longer to stand up against a serious
> natural predator.

Well it was never possible for sheep and goats to stand up to wolves. And I
doubt that it was very easy for cattle if they were calving or were young
ones that could be taken out. Dairy cattle would never have had it too easy
and we also usually dehorn cattle or use polled breeds. But I don't think
that this has much to do with an argument for the introduction of wolves to
an area.

> This is a question of beauty in the eye of the beholder.
>
> If your family has raised cows for the last hundred years on
> the ranch where you live, you are more likely to view bison
> as a threat, in spite of the fact that they do a much better
> job of raising themselves than cows do, are less susceptible
> to hard winters and the like.

We certainly do not view properly secured bison as any threat. Why would you
say such a thing? We have several bison farms in the area as well as elk,
emu, miniatures, etc. As I explained before, we have a number of value added
farms here in the driftless area and we welcome new farming ventures. In
particular, the Farm Bureau does the most in this manner. I have not heard
of anything from the WFU and certainly not the Wisconsin NFO because they
are focused mostly on commodity crops only from the little that you even
hear from them.

> Between the ranchers and developers, all native fauna
> is expendable in pursuit of the almighty dollar.  Rather than
> spending energy fighting Nature, smart farmers and ranchers
> need to learn to live with it, in harmony.

The first rule of sustainability in agriculture is ... is it economically
possible. It is nice to "work with nature" when it is possible to do so, but
you realize that much of what we call farming is to do things contrary to
what nature wants. Even with our grazing of livestock, which is much closer
to a natural way compared to say garden cropping or row cropping, we still
try to manage things to benefit ruminants over what nature might want.
Things like weed control, clipping, erosion control, lanes, etc.

Sincerely,

Rick Williams
Misty Ridge Farm
Dairy heifers and dairy beef graziers
Viroqua, WI

www.mistyridgefarm.com