Integrated crop-livestock systems: lessons from New York, British Columbia, and the Southeastern United States

Authors: Franzluebbers, Alan; HUNT, DEREK - Agri Food - Canada; TELFORD, GARY - Agri Food - Canada; BITTMAN, SHABTAI - Agri Food - Canada; KETTERINGS, QUIRINE - Cornell University

Submitted to: Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/7/2020
Publication Date: 3/29/2021
Citation: Franzluebbers, A.J., Hunt, D., Telford, G., Bittman, S., Ketterings, Q. 2021. Integrated crop-livestock systems: lessons from New York, British Columbia, and the Southeastern United States. Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering. 8:81-96.

Interpretive Summary: Livestock production in the United States and Canada ranges from small operations with a diversity of farm products to mega-farms with multiple houses of confined animals focusing on a single product. Manure is associated with all livestock sectors and requires a plan for effective utilization if the farm is to be truly sustainable. The migration to larger and more concentrated animal feeding operations in poultry, swine, dairy, and beef finishing during the past half century has allowed processors to streamline supplies to meet market demand for abundant, low-cost livestock products, whether that be for packaged meat, dairy products, or eggs. Livestock manure can be a resource if used to recycle nutrients and build soil health, but it can be a waste and liability if accumulated without a plan for balanced utilization and delivery off the farm. Changing manure from a cost into a value is the only way that balanced food production, environmental quality, and soil and human health can be achieved in this new era of concentrated feeding operations. How livestock manures can be integrated with regional land uses should be assessed and effective strategies developed. Examples of crop-livestock integration described for New York, British Columbia, and the southeastern US give stakeholders in the livestock sector potential solutions and opportunities for greater environmental sustainability.

Technical Abstract: Livestock production in the USA and Canada is diverse, but shows a similar trend in most livestock sectors toward fewer farms producing the majority of animal products and a large number of farms still small in production scale. The migration to larger and more concentrated animal feeding operations in poultry, swine, dairy, and beef finishing allows processors to streamline supplies to meet market demand for abundant, low-cost livestock products, whether that be for packaged meat, dairy products, or eggs. With concentration of livestock operations comes the burden of manures as byproduct, sometimes causing imbalance in nutrient concentrations relative to plant requirements on potential receiving lands. When sufficient land is available and nutrients needed, livestock manure is considered an excellent nutrient source and land application is the preferred method of recycling this resource. However, when livestock production is constrained in a geographical area and animal densities are high, livestock manure may become an environmental liability with potentially greater risk for runoff of nutrients, emission of odors and greenhouse gases, and release of pathogens and chemicals of emerging concern. Changing manure from a cost into a value is the only way that balanced food production, environmental quality, and soil and human health can be achieved in this new era of concentrated feeding operations. How livestock manures can be integrated with regional land uses should be assessed and effective strategies developed. Scale of livestock operations plays a large role and over-reaching a sustainable level needs to be considered in land-use planning. Some examples of crop-livestock integration are outlined for three distinct regions of North America that have important livestock sectors – New York, British Columbia, and the southeastern US.