Research on Sustainable Livestock Farming in the United Kingdom

[Hill Ground]

understand how the shift from traditional farming practices to more sustainable farming practices

If traditional farming practices weren't sustainable, how did they last long enough to be considered traditional?!

 

[DaveGrohl]

Thank you very much for your feedback. I defined sustainability in the three dimensions so as to give a 360 degree view of sustainability which are Environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The word sustainability here is the literal word for it. According to Wikipedia, sustainability is the ability to meet our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. That is why environmental sustainability is quite synonymous to reducing green house gases and protecting the environment from climate change. Economic sustainability here entails the ability for your livestock farmers to be able to meet their needs using proceeds from the farm. Social sustainability here describes how sustainable livestock farming has affected our interactions with one another as livestock farmers and the relationship between farmers and animals. Industrial scale livestock farming according to Wikipedia is a type of intensive livestock agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production, while minimizing costs.

That bit might seem right to you but it is actually complex bollox. Sorry, but there it is.

You seem to believe it though, which is why your survey is so badly worded and won’t yield worthwhile results. You sprinkle the word sustainable throughout it, but your idea of sustainable is at odds with most farmers, so that’s your problem. Not my job to solve it for you.

Oh, and using Wikipedia as your source isn’t a great idea. Their definition in this case is odd for example. Good luck though with whatever you’re trying to do, I’m merely commenting.

 

[DaveGrohl]

First, thank you very much for your honest feedback. I am not searching for any defined outcome. Smallholder livestock farmers especially in the United Kingdom are underrepresented. They are in minorities. So the aim of this research is to understand how the shift from traditional farming practices to more sustainable farming practices have affected these livestock farmers. Thank you very much for the suggestion. I will look it up and also add more insights.

I mean that’s just weird for a start. Many would argue that traditional and therefore sustainable farming practices are exactly what many have moved away from. We should probably be heading back towards traditional and therefore sustainable practices that rely less on multinational corporations.

It’s difficult to get a handle on your survey as we don’t know what your set of assumptions is.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I would still like to know what size a smallholder is? Is it to do with standard man days? Or enterprise type?

 

[Agrivator]

There are three certainties in life. Death, Taxes, and that Organic Farming isn't sustainable,

 

[Ffermer Bach]

There are three certainties in life. Death, Taxes, and that Organic Farming isn't sustainable,

And what makes you think that conventional oil based agriculture is sustainable then? So using bacteria to convert Nitrogen gas into a form that can feed plants, I would have said is the only sustainable way to feed plants, that in turn feed us. Far more so, than using a non renewable resource (natural gas) via the Haber Bosch process to produce Nitrogen fertliser. Please explain how come you think I am wrong and you are right.

 

[Dakore]

I would still like to know what size a smallholder is? Is it to do with standard man days? Or enterprise type?

Thank you very much for your feedback. I defined the criteria to be considered a smallholder farmer in this regard on the first page of the survey

 

[Dakore]

If traditional farming practices weren't sustainable, how did they last long enough to be considered traditional?

If traditional farming practices weren't sustainable, how did they last long enough to be considered traditional?!

Many traditional or conventional farming techniques introduce green house gases, and other harmful chemicals into the ecosystem. Even though they are thought to be economically sustainable, environmental, they are not sustainable. The use of technologies in animal husbandry to prevent spread of livestock diseases and changes to livestock nutrients to reduce greenhouse gases are all effort to make traditional livestock farming sustainable. So for true sustainability to be achieved, it must encompass both economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Sustainable farming
is a form of agriculture that aims to protect soils, ecosystems, and all living organisms. It has a higher reliance on ecological processes, biodiversity, and cycles of nature. No external interventions is required. It is a holistic approach to agriculture with greater reliance on ecosystems and natural resilience to protect the farmland.

 

[Dakore]

That bit might seem right to you but it is actually complex bollox. Sorry, but there it is.

You seem to believe it though, which is why your survey is so badly worded and won’t yield worthwhile results. You sprinkle the word sustainable throughout it, but your idea of sustainable is at odds with most farmers, so that’s your problem. Not my job to solve it for you.

Oh, and using Wikipedia as your source isn’t a great idea. Their definition in this case is odd for example. Good luck though with whatever you’re trying to do, I’m merely commenting.

Thank you very much for your opinion on my reply. I am still learning and I will like to really know what most livestock farmers describe as sustainable. I used Wikipedia because the definitions are easier to understand. The sources sited on the page are research pages from reliable sources. Though I don’t use Wikipedia as a reliable source of knowledge especially in an academic setting. I just wanted to pass my message across as easily as possible without needing to explain some words in the definition.

 

[Dakore]

Nope. The OP describes HOW he will define "sustainability" without actually doing it. I am now truly lost!

Perhaps those designing surveys in the future will find this link useful?

Gobbledygook generator

This page generates random examples of business jargon.

www.plainenglish.co.uk

Thank you very much for your response. I will like to hear from you exactly what you understand about the word sustainability and sustainable. I agree sustainability can mean different things for different people. I am just using the 360 degree view of most sustainability researchers before me but I am curious to understand what you will define sustainability to be? I am open for feedback and communication.

 

[Dakore]

Thank you very much for your feedback. I defined the criteria to be considered a smallholder farmer in this regard on the first page of the survey

Enterprise type, size of the farmland 1 to 10 hectares, etc. I didn’t use standard man days because there are different sizes and no unified or clearly agreed number of Man days for smallholder farmers in particular and varies from region to region

 

[Dakore]

please I still need more volunteers for the survey. I have only had 4 responses so far. Please I am soliciting for your response. All responses are highly appreciated.

 

[DaveGrohl]

I read something like 50 articles a day easily, some scientific papers too. Most of them involve the word sustainable sprinkled liberally throughout. Its use is sooo widespread and misused now that it has lost all meaning frankly. The only word now competing with it is biodiversity, which is mentioned in every article too. It still has a meaning though, but that will change.

I don’t have an answer for you. Maybe a start would be to split your individual sustainability uses into separate questions? ie ask each question three times for each use of the word? But then your survey would be massive, so you’d need to trim it right back down again. But in so doing it might make you think about the word properly rather than just "using it" cos it sounds like a good word to use. But I would make the point again that the most important use is financial. The other two are nice to think about, but remember you’re asking people running businesses.

Maybe if you did that you might get more responders? Just trying to help.

 

[SteveHants]

Thank you very much for your opinion on my reply. I am still learning and I will like to really know what most livestock farmers describe as sustainable. I used Wikipedia because the definitions are easier to understand. The sources sited on the page are research pages from reliable sources. Though I don’t use Wikipedia as a reliable source of knowledge especially in an academic setting. I just wanted to pass my message across as easily as possible without needing to explain some words in the definition.

Why did you use wiki when sustainability is discussed extensively in the scientific literature?

I really think you need to go back to your supervisor about this. This is an undergraduate thesis, yes?

What is your degree programme?

 

[Dry Rot]

Enterprise type, size of the farmland 1 to 10 hectares, etc. I didn’t use standard man days because there are different sizes and no unified or clearly agreed number of Man days for smallholder farmers in particular and varies from region to region

I have already given an example of why size is not a good example of a "small holder". (The 6,000 acre "back paddock"). In Scotland, the legally protected "small holder" is a crofter (but even then restricted to certain areas). A croft has been defined as "a small area of land surrounded by legislation". My neighbour's croft in the islands was 1/2 an acre yet there are some crofts that extend to over 1,000 acres. So defining by size doesn't work. Whether an area of land forms a "sustainable holding" or not will depend on location, fertility of the soil, adjacent urban population, the energy of the occupant, and many other things. But you still have not defined "sustainable" in any terms that makes sense to me. Frankly, I am surprised you've got four contributors. University is meant to teach you how to think. Sounds like a good idea to me. And the usual place to start is at the beginning.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

fifth contributor now, I did do it.

 

[Treg]

Done

 

[Dakore]

I have already given an example of why size is not a good example of a "small holder". (The 6,000 acre "back paddock"). In Scotland, the legally protected "small holder" is a crofter (but even then restricted to certain areas). A croft has been defined as "a small area of land surrounded by legislation". My neighbour's croft in the islands was 1/2 an acre yet there are some crofts that extend to over 1,000 acres. So defining by size doesn't work. Whether an area of land forms a "sustainable holding" or not will depend on location, fertility of the soil, adjacent urban population, the energy of the occupant, and many other things. But you still have not defined "sustainable" in any terms that makes sense to me. Frankly, I am surprised you've got four contributors. University is meant to teach you how to think. Sounds like a good idea to me. And the usual place to start is at the beginning.

Thank you very much for your response. There have been so many literatures on sustainable livestock farming. A vast majority of smallholder livestock farmers have farms between 1 to 10 hectares. I truly agree with you on the use of location, and other components. But there are a lot of variations from say Scotland and England. Unfortunately farm sizes above 10 hectares are an outlier not the norm. But I also added in my definition of a smallholder the size and amount of livestock raised to be considered a smallholder. It doesn’t have to do with farm size alone. Some other criteria were considered in the definition as a definition of a smallholder. So even if your farm size is larger than the mentioned 10 hectares but your flock size falls within the range then you are a smallholder farmer by my definition. I will like your input on what you understand to be sustainable. I am open to feedback and learning. I acknowledge I do not know it all.

 

[Dakore]

fifth contributor now, I did do it.

Thank you very much. I really appreciate.

 

[Dakore]

Please I still need more contributors for this survey. The aim is to help smallholder farmers successfully achieve economic, environmental, and social sustainability without having to go out of business.