Perceptions and adoption of sustainable dairy practices in the Eastern Cape
Reading Time: 2 minutes
To encourage the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices amongst farmers one needs to understand what drives their decision-making processes.
Author Archive for: Craig Galloway
Entries by Craig Galloway
How do you manage soils that are afraid of water?
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Hydrophobic soils are the results of a waxy organic compound which forms around soil particles. This substance coats the particles, resulting in water repellency.
Thriving soil ecosystems
Reading Time: 4 minutes
What if we could build healthy, thriving soil ecosystems? Soil which allows plants to grow well, without excessive and expensive inputs.
Are cities healthier than farms?
Reading Time: 2 minutes
I realised again that there is still a lot of work for us, as the sustainable agriculture community, to do. We need to continue improving the health of agricultural land.
Green ranging free grazing
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Dairy cows on pastures are green ranging and free grazing. These cows can move around with freedom and eat grass in a natural manner.
How much water does it take to produce a litre of milk?
Reading Time: 5 minutes
The average water use across farms is therefore 911 litres of water per litre of milk. The main point I would like to make though is that the water use efficiency varies between the different farm systems.
Carbon neutral cows
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Did you know that dairy cows can be carbon neutral? Yes, I am talking about greenhouse gas emissions neutral. I know it seems crazy.
Case study: The journey to sustainability
Reading Time: 9 minutes
The SWAN system is composed of soil, water, atmosphere and nutrient components. The best way to show how these integrated and interrelated measures reflect the journey of improving agricultural sustainability is to show a case study of a farm which has become more sustainable over the past five years.
Implementing well
Reading Time: 2 minutes
What I want to discuss is the difference between putting ideas into practice in a manner that just ticks the box and putting ideas into practice in a manner that brings about tangible results.
Sustainable food production: Is agriculture playing its part?
Reading Time: 3 minutes
It is going to take considerable effort from researchers, consultants and farmers, and a commitment to developing farm systems which better mimic nature, but I am hopeful for the future of sustainable agriculture in South Africa.