There's a common misconception that Livestock is a significant problem of carbon emissions and global warming. I would suggest to anyone who thinks such is to follow the money. Factory farming is terrible, but that goes for large-scale monocropping vegetables too! To farm soy, corn, or other vegetables on a mass scale, entire habitats are destroyed. Smaller animals like rabbits, moles, mice, and other small mammals are often crushed under the turbines of working farm equipment. This doesn't even scratch the surface of the synthetic chemicals used to control such a large production of vegetables that kill our most essential pollinators, bees! All this is to say that Mass Scale Farming is unsuitable for the planet.
The argument continues down the line of our human health, which I pose the same question as before. Follow the money and search the work of Dr. Weston A Price, who studied 22,000 plus humans over the spread of 12-plus countries to find out that we're not so different. We all require the exact needs... eating nose to tail. Medical issues resulting from toxicities and a poor diet may mean specific regimens for other folks. But we need animals, and they need us. Humans have evolved over 200,000 years to be the shepherds of this Earth.
Regenerative Agriculture comes as our ancestors farmed, and many farmers live in harmony with the land today. In Regenerative Agriculture, the manure of animals sequesters carbon by adding rich nutrients back into the soil from the waste. Animals are rotated through pastures to minimize parasitic load and allow the regrowth of plant matter.
Integrating Animals also taps into the central theme of Permaculture, a closed loop system. Closed loop systems typically connect three components of the Homestead to serve one another. For example, We grow hay, oats, and peas for our goats and us. The Goats provide us and our pets with milk. The Goats create manure for the Garden. There is no waste. Humans, animals, plants, and soil are all taken care of.
What animals you choose to incorporate largely depends on your space and goals. Here are some ideas starting with smaller spaces:
Rabbits - can be raised in an apartment for manure and meat. See our first setup for pet rabbits used for manure!
Chickens - can free-range in a small backyard for waste, eggs, and meat. I have a playlist of education videos on Chickens you can find below:
Goats - 1/2 acre can host 2-4 goats with rotational grazing of 8-11 paddocks for milk, meat, waste, and land care. This is how we decided to get started. Check out our video on what to do with Baby Goats!
Cows - ideally, you could have 1 acre per cow with rotational grazing of new paddocks every four days for meat, milk, manure, and land care.Pigs - Can be used as natural land tillers and meat. They can grow fast and have a short turnaround time, so less space is required; however, proper electrical fencing to prevent escape is needed.
These are just a few ideas with surface-level information to spark your curiosity to read more!
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