True to form, blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer began his presentation at the Alltech ONE Conference by explaining that he had only recently gotten back from climbing Cotopaxi, one of the signature peaks of Ecuador. He had undertaken this adventure to support a climber with a broken back who was reaching 18,000 feet via a sled and a team of people all dedicated to helping him achieve his goal.
Weihenmayer admitted that while the result of this trip was uplifting and inspirational, the process and path of getting there were literally exhausting.
“Accomplishments are fun to talk about,” Weihenmayer said. “What I think doesn’t get talked about enough, though, is the struggle. Because for me, [honestly], it's been a struggle to live this life.”
Weihenmayer is no stranger to overcoming obstacles. He began losing his vision at the age of 14 due to a disorder called retinoschisis, but that never stopped him from achieving his goals. He followed a passion for wrestling in high school, going on to represent his home state of Connecticut at the national level. He also discovered a love of rock climbing, which has led him down an exciting and awe-inspiring road — one that has seen him reach the peak of the highest summits on all seven continents, and much more.
What he has learned from his life and accomplishments is that overcoming challenges is all about the approach. How we see and perceive these obstacles determines how we work through or past them.
Camper or climber?
Weihenmayer told the audience that while writing his second book, “The Adversity Advantage,” he learned that there are three types of people: quitters, campers and climbers. Deciding not to dwell on the quitters, he explained that campers are the people who start out with hope, optimism and excitement, but somewhere along the way, they stop. This can be due to fear of the unknown, a lack of confidence after making mistakes, cynicism toward the world or simply exhaustion from constantly running into life’s many barriers.
Climbers, on the other hand, are the rare group that never stops going, growing and evolving. They are always moving forward onto the next adventure, challenge and idea, no matter what the world throws at them or the setbacks they endure. The question, however, is this: How do we continue to climb when it is so much easier — and makes so much more sense — to camp?
Weihenmayer explained that his own personal journey to becoming a climber began when he first began to lose his vision. When his sense of sight was all but gone, he used what little he had left to watch television. It was then that he learned about Terry Fox, an amputee with a prosthetic leg who ran across Canada. Weihenmayer realized that what drove Fox was a light inside of him, a passion that fed off of the frustrations and challenges of life. From this point on, Weihenmayer decided to stop focusing on everything he had lost and chose instead to look inward, discover his own light and emerge as a stronger and better person.
“I was tired of building walls around myself and protecting myself from loss,” he explained. “I wanted to break out of that prison partly constructed by my own fears.”
This led to Weihenmayer learning rock climbing. But while he says that this path has proven to be exhilarating and exciting, he admits that there is an aspect that still scares him: the reach.
The reach is the trust we must put into the unknown in order to keep moving onward. It allows us to take advantage of an immense number of possibilities that are never seen. However, Weihenmayer also admitted that when we reach, we bring adversity into our lives, and while it may be easier to avoid reaching, it is only by facing this adversity that we can achieve greatness.
Weihenmayer continued by giving examples of people he has met who not only face their adversities but use them in incredible ways. He calls them alchemists.
“What these alchemists do, I think, is different,” Weihenmayer explained. “They figured out how to seize hold of that storm of adversity that swirls around us to harness its energy and use that energy to propel themselves forward to places they would have never gone to in any other way.”
Lava Falls
Unfortunately, Weihenmayer explained that even when we have everything in the right place — the drive to succeed, the preparation for the task and a team backing us up the whole way — things still do not always go to plan. This was something he found as he tried to kayak through the Grand Canyon and, namely, the Lava Falls rapids.
Weihenmayer explained that everything had been prepared. He had trained for months with his team. They had developed a communication system that would enable him to easily navigate the course. However, on the day they attempted Lava Falls, everything went wrong, and he ended up overturned from his kayak, swimming blind through the rapids.
However, Weihenmayer said that he could not let this failure stop him, and that when we get knocked back, we all need to lean in, tap into the light inside us and try again. For Weihenmayer, this meant another — this time successful — attempt at the rapids, but for us all, it can mean the difference between achieving our dreams and never knowing what could have been.
“It is not one step that makes a path on the Earth,” he said, quoting Henry David Thoreau. “Nor is it one thought that makes a pathway in the mind. Instead, we step again and again and again towards those thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”
To register for access to on-demand content and more from the Alltech ONE Conference, visit one.alltech.com.
For evergreen optimists like Mick Ebeling, barriers, though perhaps initially intimidating, are only meant to be overcome, as soon as possible — the sooner, the better. Ebeling’s company, Not Impossible Labs, was born of necessity out of a chance meeting with the family of a locally renowned street artist known as Tempt One.
The start of something amazing
Tempt was suffering from the debilitating effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and had lost the ability to move any part of his body aside from his eyes. His family was desperate for the chance to effectively communicate with him again.
When Ebeling learned of this, he asked them why Tempt didn’t have a speech-generating device (SGD) like the one used by theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. Tempt’s brother informed him that owning such a device was only a possibility if you were wealthy (they weren’t) or had excellent insurance (they didn’t).
So, Ebeling — a successful video producer and entrepreneur — offered to buy Tempt an SGD. Naturally, the family was thrilled, and Ebeling, admittedly a bit caught up in the moment, told them he would also figure out a way for Tempt to draw again.
Although they were elated, Ebeling was initially worried he had overpromised. Despite this, he began to set things into motion, inviting a proclaimed team of “misfit geniuses and mad scientists” from around the world to live in his home while they worked on a solution, and the EyeWriter was born. It was truly life-changing, giving Tempt the ability to draw for the first time in seven years.
Ebeling and his team quickly made plans to open-source the technology associated with the EyeWriter, initially thinking that they’d simply go back to their regular lives afterward. But then, something incredible happened: Time Magazine named the EyeWriter a Top 50 invention of 2010. The Museum of Modern Art asked to put it on display. Award after award started coming in. And Ebeling realized that he could do more to help others in need.
Commit, then figure it out
Ebeling is on a mission to provide “technology for the sake of humanity.” His mantra? “Commit, then figure it out.” Working with a unique team of innovative thinkers, doers and creators, Ebeling’s Not Impossible Labs designs devices to better the world by giving accessibility to everyone.
Driven by the belief that “impossible is a fallacy,” Ebeling began to seek out other ways to help the disabled. And so, Project Daniel — initiated by the story of a 12-year-old Sudanese boy who lost his arms to amputation following a bombing near the field where he was tending his family’s animals — came to life.
Worried about being a burden to his family, young Daniel sadly admitted he would rather be dead than alive without arms. Upon hearing this story, Ebeling, who had a 12-year-old son of his own, realized that he had to solve this problem. So, the Not Impossible team set to work and, just a short while later, flew to an active war zone in Sudan, armed with 3D printers, laptops, spools of duct tape and more — all with the goal of building Daniel some arms.
This concept had been hatched on July 11, and just four months later, Daniel was able to feed himself for the first time in two years.
The Not Impossible team went on to create the first prosthetics laboratories powered by 3D printers. Most prosthetic arms cost around $15,000; Daniel’s cost $100. As Time Magazine said, “It’s hard to imagine any other technology doing more to make the world a better place.”
Enlightened capitalism
Ebeling reached out to Intel to ask for funding to keep Project Daniel going. They agreed and provided a modest amount in comparison to what they’d spent on other marketing and branding projects.
And yet, the thing that ended up doing the most for the company was that little investment in doing good. This led Ebeling to realize that doing good is — quite simply — good. It’s good for companies. It’s good for branding. It’s good for growth — and it’s a great business strategy.
The thing is that people want to make a difference. They want to do more. As Ebeling pointed out, “What have we learned in the last two years? It’s reminded us that life is fragile and that we could disappear, just like that.”
Many are re-evaluating their priorities and are seeking ways to make an impact in their local communities and beyond. So, Ebeling challenged the audience to consider what they could do for others.
“Will you help create advantages?” he asked. “[Because the reality is] when the world benefits, your business benefits. Everybody benefits. This is how you create [meaningful] change. This is [known as] enlightened capitalism.”
Tackling future absurdities
Since the inception of the EyeWriter and Project Daniel, the Not Impossible team has gone on to design several other astounding inventions that have changed the lives of many, including — but not limited to — a blind skateboarder, a group of deaf music lovers and a former pioneering avant-garde jazz pianist afflicted by the debilitating tremors associated with Parkinson’s disease.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebeling began to think about how big a problem food insecurity is, even in affluent countries like the United States.
“[Over] 50 million Americans struggle daily to put food on the table,” he noted. “One in five kids in America struggles with food insecurity. This is absurd. Why are people going hungry? This makes no sense. We are a wealthy country. We have plenty of food. [I realized] this is a supply chain issue.”
So, what happened next? You (probably) guessed it. The Not Impossible team created a solution known as Bento, a platform designed to connect people with readily accessible, nutritious, pre-paid meals from nearby restaurants in a stigma-free manner, all through discreet text messaging. And Time Magazine once again recognized Not Impossible on their best inventions list, making it the only company to ever win that award twice.
The why behind the try
As Ebeling closed, he remarked, “So, why do we do this? Why do we pull this stuff off? Because we shouldn’t! We don’t have the degrees or the credentials or the diplomas. There is nothing in who we are that drives us to do this aside from beautiful, limitless naivete. We simply didn’t get the memo that we weren’t supposed to be able to do this or pull this off.”
“What are you going to do with the blessing of your life?” he continued. “You won the lottery! Are you going to keep it to yourself? Or are you going to try to make this world a little bit better in the short, brief amount of time that you’re here? The one question I want to ask you to consider as you go back to your lives later this week is, ‘Who is your one? Who is the one person in your life that, if you think about it, you could help? Who is your Daniel?’”
This. This is how we can work together to make the world a better place. So, don’t wait. Start now. As Not Impossible has proven many times over, even a little effort backed by a passionate purpose can go a long, long way.
To register for access to on-demand content and more from the Alltech ONE Conference, visit one.alltech.com.
At the height of the 2008–2009 financial crisis, Unilever brought in Paul Polman as its CEO to jolt the business back to vigor and success. In his 10 years at the company, Polman led Unilever to double its revenues while reducing the company’s environmental impact by half. He has been described by the Financial Times as “a standout CEO of the past decade.”
Today, he works to accelerate action by businesses to achieve the UN Global Goals, which he helped developed. Polman recently co-wrote a book titled “Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take”. He joined the Alltech ONE Conference (ONE) virtually to share how organizations can transform themselves to achieve big goals by serving the world.
“It really is about making a business model where you can show that you profit from solving the world’s problems, not creating them,” advised Polman. “And when you can honestly answer the question, ‘Is the world better off because your business is in it?’”
The world needs business to step up
“What was very clear during the financial crisis, to me, (was) that we missed an opportunity to address the two most burning issues that science points us to: climate change and inequality,” said Polman. He sees the increases in disparity, natural disasters and diseases as the cost of our failures.
Polman went on to explain that if we put the planet’s age of 4.6 billion years old on a scale of 46 years:
Human beings have only been around for four hours.
The Industrial Revolution only started one minute ago.
In that one minute, we’ve cut down 50% of the world’s forests.
“You can’t have infinite growth on a finite planet,” Polman said. “Anything you can’t do forever is, by definition, unsustainable.”
For many companies, corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments are about less plastics in the ocean, fewer carbon emissions and less deforestation. But in a world that has overshot its boundaries so much, Polman argued that “less bad” is still bad.
“So, the only way of thinking is really to think restorative, reparative, regenerative,” he continued. “And that is what we call ‘net positive’.”
Net positive is not about doing less harm. It’s about doing more good.
According to Polman, a change needs to happen well beyond the scale of the Industrial Revolution. Increasingly, CEOs are required to be broader social leaders and to partner up within and beyond the industry level. Many CEOs are struggling to make change — and that is normal. The good news, however, is that the greatest challenges also present the greatest business opportunities.
“We are at the point confirmed by study after study (where) the cost of not acting is becoming higher than the cost of acting,” said Polman, “which actually makes it an enormous economic opportunity to create this greener, more inclusive, more resilient future and not go back to the past where we came from, which, frankly, had run out of steam.”
Helping the world is good for business
Polman noted three opportunities for businesses who step up:
Being highly valued in the financial market: Doing right by stakeholders is good for shareholders. Companies focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance get higher returns in the market.
Attracting the best talent and increasing engagement: Gen Z and millennials are looking for purposeful companies to work for, where they can make a bigger difference than themselves and work on something that improves the state of the world.
Getting economic benefits from using sustainable technology: Moving all supply chains to sustainable supply chains can reduce costs by 9–16%, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In food and agriculture, farmers are using precision farming, artificial intelligence (AI) and renewable energy to provide food to people in a sustainable way. “Planetary health (and) regenerative agriculture … are, by all means, possible,” said Polman. “We see economic benefits coming through as well.”
Key takeaways from Unilever’s transformation
For business leaders who wants to embark upon the path to net positive, Polman shared the following tips:
1. Think long-term
When Polman came to Unilever, he did something unusual in the business world: He stopped providing quarterly earnings reports to focus on a long-term strategy that would benefit all stakeholders. Within 10 years, Unilever saw a 300% shareholder return and a 19% return on investment capital, outgrowing their competitive set. This reconciled the need for shareholder returns.
“People often behave short-term because of the boundaries that are put around them,” said Polman. “It’s clear that the issues like climate change or inequality or food securities or these enormous opportunities out there can really not be solved in the rat race of short-term reporting.”
2. Have an aligned purpose
“Our first step was really to define that purpose, to get our people behind that,” Polman recalled. “You cannot run a purposeful company if you are not purposeful yourself.”
Unilever spent a year working to find out everyone’s personal purpose before collectively developing the company purpose: making sustainable living commonplace. This paid homage to their co-founder, Lord William Lever, who wanted to make good hygiene common practice in the 19th century. To drive performance, Polman introduced “3+1,” where three objectives aligned across the company and one objective was about personal development.
Unilever started to build true momentum when its purpose-driven brands were more profitable and growing faster than others. Those brands included the likes of Lifebouy, a bar soap with the mission to help children reach the age of five when 4 million children die every year of infectious diseases. That brand has grown by double digits and has more than doubled in size over 10 years, when it was previously a dying brand.
3. Setting aggressive, net-positive goals
“Once we decided that we wanted to make sustainable living commonplace, we also felt that we needed to take responsibility for our total impact in the world,” said Polman.
Unilever started to measure its impact in terms of water, waste, carbon emissions and livelihoods. The company wanted to decouple their growth with an environmental impact and increase their overall social impact.
Unilever set 50 targets in building a multi-stakeholder model, including:
Improving the health and well-being of 1 billion people
Creating 5 million jobs for smallholder farmers
Running zero-waste factories
The company made these goals public. For Polman, transparency drives trust, and trust is the basis of prosperity. Being trusted attracted the needed partnerships that opened up many business opportunities for Unilever.
4. Create partnerships
Business cannot thrive in a society that fails. “Net positive” is about driving the broader systems changes that society needs. No company can do this alone — but in partnering up with each other, as well as with civil society and governments, businesses can drive bigger transformations.
Unilever worked with numerous other companies (including its competitors), as well as governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in its effort to improve the well-being of people and the planet. This built credibility for the company. Consequently, Polman earned the only seat at the table as a private-sector representative on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) working group in 2013.
In concluding his virtual talk at ONE, Polman emphasized the important role that agri-business plays in creating a thriving world for all.
“I think what you (Alltech) are doing and what you are referring to as the Planet of Plenty™ is an important vision where you bring together the key principles of consumer health, environmental health and also animal health — where you leverage, obviously, very important technology, where you call out the importance of sustainable farm management, where partnership is engraved very high in your philosophy,” Polman said. “These are all key elements.”
“I could not think of a more important industry for the integral parts of health or people and planet — what we call planetary health — probably than this industry that you represent,” he continued. “The implementation of the [United Nations] Sustainable Development Goals, I would argue, is in the hands of the people that control our food and land-use systems. And that’s why it’s so important that we talk today.”
To register for access to on-demand content and more from the Alltech ONE Conference, visit one.alltech.com.
Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, joined the Alltech ONE Conference to offer an insider’s perspective on how companies can profit from solving the world’s problems, not creating them.
Addressing the Alltech ONE Conference, Dr. Mark Lyons reflected on the journey that Alltech has taken over the last few years. He reminisced about the 2019 event at which he stood on the main stage to announce Working Together for a Planet of Plenty™, a new idea that would soon become the organization's overarching vision.
Lyons admitted that the concept was not the easiest for people to grasp at the time. However, it was a perspective that was deeply rooted in the DNA of Alltech. It was directly connected to and expanded on Dr. Pearse Lyons’ original ACE principle; the belief that it was agriculture’s duty to care for the animal, consumer and environment. Similarly, when this idea was introduced in the 1980s, many people were also slow to get on board.
However, focusing on the present day, Lyons said that the time of the ACE principle and a Planet of Plenty has truly come. He stated that consumers, especially the younger generation, are thinking about food differently, and agriculture must respond to their needs.
To achieve this, however, he explained that we might require a shift in approach.
“Reducing is not enough; we have to do something different,” Lyons said. “Our belief is that agriculture has the greatest positive potential to influence the future of our planet that can provide nutrition for all and help rural communities to thrive and replenish our planet’s resources.”
Carbon sequestration
One of the ways that agriculture can have a major impact on restoring and conserving the environment is through carbon sequestration. Lyons welcomed Dr. Vaughn Holder, Alltech ruminant research group director, to the stage to further explore this concept and how it could be implemented within the industry.
Holder began this discussion by looking at data on greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on our planet. What was clear to see from these graphs was that CO2 is the primary contributor to global warming. However, Holder believes that agriculture could do a lot to solve this issue and showed that Alltech is already working to help farmers address it.
He introduced the audience to an Alltech research alliance called Archbold Expeditions. Based at the 10,000-acre Buck Island Ranch station in Lake Placid, Florida, this research monitors land, nutrient and pollution inputs and outputs to evaluate experimental methodologies and modeling techniques for estimating carbon and nutrient fluxes on working cattle operations.
Holder explained that Buck Island Ranch production data analysis documented emissions from its 3,000-head cattle operation of 10,884 metric tons of CO2e/year, with enteric fermentation responsible for 64%. However, estimates of sequestration by Bahia grass pasture suggest that Buck Island Ranch pastures take up 17,813 metric tons of CO2e/year, resulting in a net sequestration of 6,929 metric tons of CO2e/year.
So, what does this mean for farmers? Holder revealed that the data shows us that by implementing pasture management practices, agriculture is in a unique position where it can both provide the food resources that the world population needs while at the same time engaging in actions that will help conserve and restore the planet. In fact, he stated that by focusing on feed and growth efficiency strategies and carbon sequestration management strategies on grazed lands, we could reduce greenhouse gases by over 50%.
“Our ability to manipulate it is going to become more important,” Holder explained. “No one else is positioned in the way that we are to do this.”
When asked what the next step is for making this a reality, Holder said we first need to create a mindset shift. He explained that a scalable model of how to approach this must be developed so that farmers can focus on food production and the environment simultaneously. Only then can we preserve the future of the planet.
Nutrition for all
Echoing Holder’s message of the importance of conserving the world in which we live, Nikki Putnam Badding, managing director and chief dietitian of Acutia, focused on expanding this theme to the world population.
“Sustainability does not begin and end with environmental impact,” Putnam Badding explained. “It actually means that we are taking care of the health of the planet and the people who share it.”
Putnam Badding presented the ONE attendees with the troubling figures that 1 in 10 people is undernourished, while 1 in 4 is malnourished. This issue can have severe health repercussions, such as pregnancy complications, heart problems and cognitive function. There are also further-reaching consequences, such as slow economic growth, poverty and reduced numbers of children receiving education.
“So, is it enough to just feed the world?” Putnam Badding asked. “Do we need to provide nutrition for all and change the dialogue from food security to nutrition security?”
Putnam Badding believes that agriculture has the opportunity to be the world's hero in this situation, as societal health starts in the soil. She explained that people have known that soil health and human health are intrinsically connected throughout history. This is also backed by numerous case studies showing that bringing deficient nutrients back to the soil can rectify many human health issues.
However, once we bring the nutrients back to the soil, Putnam Badding says we need to focus on the best way of getting the nutrients to the people. This is where animals come in.
“Livestock is nature’s original upcyclers,” Putnam Badding stated. “They take plant stuffs that our bodies cannot do anything with and create highly bioavailable, nutrient-dense, protein-packed meat, dairy and eggs.”
She also revealed that enriching products with nutrients not only benefits human health but the commercial aspects of agriculture too. Studies show that 48% of consumers are willing to pay more for healthier food, while 72% believe that businesses need to play a bigger role in the availability and access to healthy food.
“We must remember that soil, plants, animal, environmental and human health are all deeply interrelated, and our purpose is more than farming,” Putnam Badding concluded. “It’s more than food production; it’s more than the reduction of environmental impact. It is sustaining the life and health of the planet and the lives and health of the people who share it.”
For additional on-demand content and more from the Alltech ONE Conference, visit one.alltech.com.
“Mom, where are the baby boomers, where are the millennials? You can’t leave this (climate) crisis all on our shoulders … We are running out of time,” Heather White’s teenage daughter said tearfully to her at the dinner table one day in 2019. White, who has been a noted environmentalist for 20-plus years, recalled the moment during her keynote presentation at the Alltech ONE Conference (ONE). At that moment, she decided to dig into the mental health impact of the climate crisis and create an opportunity for more people to see themselves within the movement.
“The climate crisis is the biggest challenge of our time,” White said at ONE. “Everyone is needed, and everyone is welcome. But … it’s so overwhelming, most people don’t know where to start.”
Here are the three steps you can take right now to contribute to the climate movement:
Step 1: Think beyond your age and listen
First, White argues, it is important to think about the people who created opportunity for you — someone who might no longer be here but who changed the trajectory of your life. Our ancestors were intentional in trying to create a better legacy for us, and we can become good ancestors for the next generation, too.
Now, envision that it’s 2050. What would a teenager in 2050 thank you for?
White invites everyone to listen to young people about their climate concerns and also to give them hope.
“We need to be intentional and share with them about the progress that we’ve witnessed in our lifetime so they know that change, hope and progress is not only possible, but that it is inevitable,” White asserted. “That’s on us, and that happens with conversations.”
We all have a role to play in climate change, and White helps people find the roles they were meant to play.
Step 2: Find your unique role
With two decades of environmental advocacy work and national nonprofit leadership to draw from, White wrote a book titled “One Green Thing: Discover Your Hidden Power to Help Save the Planet”. In that book, she created the Service Superpower Profile Assessment, which is similar to a personality test that you can take for free here.
“This is an assessment that asks you, ‘Who are you in service? How do you show up for the people that you love?’” White explained.
After taking the assessment, you will find yourself among the following seven service types based on which one best suits your personality and talents:
The adventurer loves the physicality of the outdoors. They are a calculated risk taker. They love taking other people outside their comfort zone.
The beacon is all about social justice. They are comfortable behind the podium. They are visionaries who can see what’s possible.
The influencer is about bringing people together and connecting them.
The philanthropist is the giver who gives their time and resources and connects other people to causes they care about.
The sage focuses on the spiritual connection to nature and the moral case for acting on behalf of the future generation. They can break through the political divide and find common ground for people to see the bigger picture.
The spark is the cheerleader who ignites the movement and is always ready to cheer on friends and family.
The wonk loves science, policy, data and graphs. They can translate complex technology into solutions people can understand and rally around.
“The point of these different seven personality types in service is this idea that you don’t have to do it all,” White assured the audience at ONE. “You can manage to your strengths and contribute to the movement based on your strengths. First and foremost, it is not about perfection. It’s about progress.”
Step 3: Apply the daily practice of sustainability
Now that you know what your service superpower is, it’s time to save the world. This is where one green thing — a daily sustainability practice — comes in.
Start by making a 21-day plan filled with activities you want to do that are fun for you and good for the planet. If you need inspiration or you’re just curious, learn more about your service superpower and matching climate actions here.
Follow your plan for 21 days. If you need motivation, reflect on how you want to show up for the people you love, then dedicate a time on your daily schedule.
Keep your daily habit of one green thing after the 21 days.
“Individual action shifts the culture,” White said. “You are the influencer in your community. Because the reality is (that) all the solutions to the climate crisis exist right now. What is missing is the political will. And the political will only happens when every single one of us acts every day to shift that culture.”
With her experience in lobbying for environmental policy on Capitol Hill, White advises that we must create cultural change for policy to work and for market solutions to be adopted at scale. If we all do one green thing every day, we can build a momentum to create support for change to become reality.
White left the ONE audience with this parting thought: “What will your legacy be? Because together, we can create a Planet of PlentyTM. Thirty years from now, what can we create together that will stop our future loved ones in their tracks and create a moment of breathtaking gratitude?”
To register for access to on-demand content and more from the Alltech ONE Conference, visit one.alltech.com.
Noted environmentalist Heather White speaks to the audience of the Alltech ONE Conference on how to determine their role in the climate movement and create one daily sustainability practice that gives them joy. Photo courtesy of Chuck Zimmerman, ZimmComm
Agriculture is facing increased challenges at the crossroad of environmental awareness, sustainability and profitability. Equipping farmers to better respond to these demands is the driving principle of Alltech Crop Science through the development of biological solutions that contribute to crop productivity and protection while sustainably increasing farmers’ profitability.
The threat of ongoing climate change, along with the ever-increasing extreme weather events seen around the world, creates uncertainty and instability in crop production. Decades of poor farming practices and high levels of pollution have led to soil depletion, resulting in the loss of approximately one-third of the world’s arable land. This scenario raises alarm bells for potential devastating consequences as the global demand for food soars, threatening food security and bringing sustainable agriculture to the forefront of everyone's minds.
The great challenge facing us for the immediate future is to provide enough healthy, accessible and nutritious food for an ever-growing world population. Farmers and the food industry in general are being asked to increase food production by 70% by the year 2050.
At the same time, the most recent environmental policies and regulations are oriented toward a reduction in and limitation of synthetic fertilizers, active substances and other solutions commonly used in crop production to stimulate yields and protect plants.
The excessive use of chemical products increasingly affects soil health and nutrient availability and leads to soil degradation, the release of greenhouse gases generated by nitrous oxide, a risk of the chemical pollution of soils by nitrates and the contamination of aquifers.
Several new regulatory, governmental, social and environmental requirements imply an evolution and innovation for the agricultural sector, and it is urgent that producers adopt new solutions that revitalize our soils, lead us to the responsible management of this crucial resource and assist in securing more sustainable crop production.
Biotechnological solutions are gaining ground as an alternative to meet both current and future agricultural demands and are becoming a tool in sustainable agriculture.
Bio-solutions drivers
1. Demographic growth. The need to feed more people with fewer and better-managed resources.
3. Crop nutrition. Sustainably improving crop nourishment and yields.
4. Sustainability. Partnering environment stewardship with profitability.
5. Soil preservation. Supporting the soil’s ecosystem balance and nutrient availability.
Biologicals: What are we talking about?
“Biological” is a buzzword encompassing a wide range of microscopic infinite potentialities fitting into three major groups: plant growth regulators, beneficial microorganisms, and biostimulants. From their roots to the tips of their leaves, plants are surrounded by virtually billions of these tiny species, whether they be bacteria, viruses, protozoa or fungi.
Agricultural biologicals are one of the fastest-growing segments in agricultural inputs. The global biostimulants market alone was valued at $2.5 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $5.35 billion in 2027, with the backdrop of an estimated $10 billion biologicals market by 2025. Biosolutions research, development and application span from seed treatment and soil and plant health to post-harvest and shelf life.
Biofertilizer and biostimulant products are being used on a vast diversity of crops throughout the world, from fruits to vegetables and tree nuts, as well as row and field crops. Their use can strengthen plants, making them resistant to stress factors such as extreme temperatures (heat or cold) and water scarcity, and can boost their development and productivity.
Biological products can incorporate conventional crop treatments — complementing and even enhancing the use of chemical crop protection products — in integrated pest management (IPM) programs or can be used in a full organic agriculture-oriented program.
These biotechnology solutions help farmers reduce their fertilizer inputs and nutrient losses without reducing their soil fertility and protect the soil from physical and biological degradation. Biological products favour the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen or the solubilization of phosphorus and other nutrients in the soil, increasing their availability and uptake by plants. Microbial populations have always been a part of farming, but they’ve long been overlooked as a result of decades of poor agricultural practices. Restoring soil biology is a game-changer, bringing biologicals to the forefront of agriculture in the very near future.
Alltech Crop Science (ACS) has a long-standing history of developing crop biologicals and bringing these sustainable alternatives to the market, helping farmers increase their productivity while addressing their concerns about profitability and sustainability.
A new crop revolution is on the move
“Produce more with less” is somewhat of a catchphrase, but it translates in full to the shift in farmers’ mindsets taking place in light of the different pressures to which agricultural production are being subject.
The growing trend of sustainable agriculture, low residue levels, and support of worldwide legislation are the primary drivers leading the sector's growth.
The use of biological solutions enables farmers to stay ahead of demands for the market’s environmental sustainability, responding to the pressing demands for quality, wholesome, zero-residue crops, aligning their search for sustainable yields with environmental concerns and global climate goals.
The benefit comes from maximizing the use of natural resources such as water, light, the edaphic environment, and the genetic potential of crops, among other factors.
Key benefits of biologicals use:
Reduces the use of chemical inputs, lowering the environmental impact of crop production
Optimizes crop productivity and quality, promoting food security
Enhances plant resilience and response to biotic and abiotic stresses
Promotes soil microbiological balance, favoring the soil
Research and innovation bring farmers the solutions to respond to these great challenges, combining sustainability with profitability, respecting our common natural resources, caring for our animals and preserving the land, air and water to leave a planet full of potential for future generations.
Reports of avian influenza (or bird flu) are currently resurfacing around the world. Cases of H5N1 HPAI have been confirmed in many countries and various regions of Asia, Europe and North America, affecting both the commercial and wild bird populations. Thus far, more than 31 million birds have been culled this year in an effort to try to prevent the further spread of the current avian influenza (AI) virus outbreak.
In this article, you will learn more about the signs and symptoms of AI, some best practices to help prevent the spread of AI, and several recommended actions to take and resources to turn to if your flock tests positive for avian influenza.
Signs and symptoms of avian influenza in poultry
Avian influenza is a disease caused by influenza type-A viruses, which can infect both wild and domestic birds. Several factors can contribute to the spread of AI, such as migratory bird flight patterns, international trade and human-wild bird points of cross-contact. AI is more commonly detected in colder regions due to the resilience of the virus in low to freezing temperatures.
There are two clinical types of influenza virus in poultry: highly pathogenic (HP) and low-pathogenic (LP). The HP strains of bird flu can spread rapidly among poultry flocks and may cause multi-organ failure and sudden high mortality levels. The LP strains of bird flu form as asymptomatic infections, respiratory disease and/or drops in production.
Symptoms indicating the presence of avian flu in birds include:
Sudden death without any warning signs
Purple discoloration of the wattles, comb and legs
Swollen head, eyelids, comb, wattles and hocks
Soft-shelled or misshapen eggs
Decreased egg production
Lack of energy, appetite and coordination
Diarrhea
Nasal discharge
Coughing or sneezing
Ruffled feathers
How to help prevent avian influenza in poultry
Avian influenza viruses spread through direct contact with infected birds or through contaminated feed, water, equipment and clothing. Therefore, biosecurity is the first and most important method of prevention at the farm level.
For poultry producers to prevent the introduction of the virus to their flock, they are advised to:
1. Reduce wildlife attractants:
Remove standing water:
Grade your property to avoid the pooling of water.
Avoid walking or moving equipment near standing water used by wildlife.
Reduce food sources:
Do not feed wildlife.
Locate your feeding structures on a clean pad.
Have quick clean-ups for the feed storage area.
Mow frequently and remove fallen fruits.
Cover waste:
Do not pile used litter near barns.
Close dumpsters properly.
Keep carcasses covered.
2. Prevent wildlife access:
Install exclusionary netting, screens and perch deterrents, like repellent gel or bird spikes.
3. Add wildlife deterrents:
Move and replace scare devices frequently.
4. Keep birds away from areas frequented by wildfowl:
Keep your birds indoors during high-risk times. If they cannot go indoors, make sure wild birds cannot access their feed and water sources.
5. Cover your run:
Protect housed birds that may be able to have contact with wild birds, such as smallholding flocks in outdoor runs.
6. Maintain control over the access of people and equipment to poultry houses:
If infected wild birds are in the area, reduce the movement of people, vehicles or equipment to and from areas where poultry are kept. Change your clothes before and after contact with your flock, and ensure that any visitors do the same.
7. Maintain sanitation of the property, poultry houses, equipment, vehicles and footwear:
Disinfect regularly. For commercial poultry owners, clean and disinfect your housing at the end of a production cycle. Wash your hands thoroughly before and after contact with birds.
8. Avoid the introduction of birds of unknown disease status into the flock:
Only acquire birds from sources that can verify that they are disease-free. Then, quarantine new birds for two weeks in separate quarters to ensure that they are healthy.
9. Report illnesses and bird deaths:
Contact a vet if you have any concerns. Taking action quickly will help protect other flocks in the area if the disease is confirmed.
10. Appropriately dispose of manure and dead poultry:
Follow local guidelines regarding depopulation and disposal methods.
11. Maintain surveillance:
At a minimum, follow local regulations regarding breeder flock monitoring and testing protocols.
Best practices to help prevent the spread of AI
Treatment with antiviral compounds is not approved or recommended for AI. It is best to have a monitoring system in place and to implement biosecurity measures as prevention against this virus.
Each country has a specific AI protocol in place, but in general, the policy is to humanely and safely cull the affected flock and enhance the biosecurity measures of the operation.
The humane destruction of all infected and exposed animals.
The appropriate disposal of carcasses and all animal products.
Surveillance and tracing of potentially infected or exposed poultry.
Strict quarantine and controls on the movement of poultry and any at-risk vehicles.
The thorough decontamination of the infected premises.
A period of at least 21 days before restocking.
Following all local and national guidelines.
Vaccination can be a powerful tool to support eradication programs if used in conjunction with other control methods. Using emergency vaccinations to decrease the transmission rate could provide an alternative to preemptive culling, reducing the susceptibility of healthy flocks at risk of contracting the virus.
According to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the typical steps to take when concerned with a potential avian influenza outbreak are:
Find: Detect, report and confirm the disease.
It is important to monitor each flock closely when an AI outbreak is present in the surrounding area. If signs of AI are detected, it is important to notify the USDA or your state veterinarian immediately. The USDA will then test samples to confirm if there is a positive case of AI and will provide more information regarding the specific strain and follow-up protocols.
Respond: Quarantine, depopulate, compensate and dispose.
If a location has tested positive for avian influenza, only authorized workers are allowed in and out of the facility. All movements of birds, poultry products and equipment are restricted to avoid cross-contamination between flocks. The birds are usually depopulated within 24 to 48 hours of testing positive and are disposed of shortly thereafter.
Recover: Clean, test and restock.
When the houses are empty, you must thoroughly clean and disinfect them, along with any equipment and other potentially affected areas. The house must then stay empty for an extended period of time, which varies depending on the species of bird. The USDA collects samples and tests to ensure that the AI virus has been eliminated, and a period of vacancy is required before new birds can be placed.
Did you know?
Although avian influenza A viruses do not typically infect people, rare cases of human infection with these viruses have been reported after unprotected contact with infected birds or surfaces contaminated with avian influenza viruses (CDC, 2017).
H5N1 is a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus. It can be deadly for poultry and humans. The first human case occurred in 1997. Since November 2003, H5N1 has killed more than 50% of the people who have been infected with it (WHO, 2020).
H7N9 bird flu is rated by the Influenza Risk Assessment Tool as having the greatest potential to cause a pandemic, as well as potentially posing the most significant risk to severely impact public health if it were to achieve sustained human-to-human transmission.
Humans are usually infected through close contact with infected birds. Birds shed the influenza virus in their saliva, feces and mucous. Therefore, contact with bird droppings is also a possible transmission route.
Not to use the “we’re living in unprecedented times” phrase one more time, but it really is quite a time to be alive. It is impossible not to notice the increases in most items we buy, including horse feed.
Instead of just accepting that everything is more expensive right now, I investigated the root causes of the increasing cost to feed a horse and can offer recommendations on making the most of the nutrition in your horse’s feed bag.
We are currently experiencing three critical factors in world markets that directly impact the ingredients in a feed bag:
1. First and foremost, there is a trucking shortage. This is a hangover from the effects of COVID-19 that is still being reorganized, whether we want to admit it or not.
With fewer trucks on the road and different mandates restricting how trucks can cross borders, the current reality is that the transportation industry is challenging.
Many minerals and other commodities, such as wheat and oats, must be transported between countries and states. Additionally, as fuel prices have increased due to conflict around the world, freight charges have increased too. These input costs to get a bag of horse feed to your local dealer directly impact the price you pay.
2. The weather patterns over the last year, including drought, resulted in a poor growing season and caused dramatic price increases in oats, flax and horse hay, to name a few.
To put it simply, fewer trucks and ingredients lead to increased hay and feed prices.
3. The world is interconnected. For example, Russia and Ukraine together produce approximately 14% of the world’s wheat crop and about 80% of the world’s sunflower seed production (some estimates are higher).
This means that the current conflict is not just horrifying on a human level but also directly impacting agriculture and the commodities that are often used to formulate your horse’s feed bag.
Is there any good news?
Yes! Commodity prices are cyclical. As the human race, we have been through many difficult times previously, and we will make it through this period of history as well.
The best things that we can all do right now include:
1. Do not panic: Perhaps cliché, but fear does not do anyone any favors. Do your best with what you have in this moment. Staying in a steady state will be your superpower during these times (i.e., let us not all panic buy like we did when COVID-19 came onto the scene).
2. Develop your curiosity: Rather than jumping to conclusions about increasing prices, I would encourage you to do your own research and really take the time to understand what is going on. Read articles and news sources that you would not normally read. Talk to experts. Embrace the fact that there is much to learn.
3. Give each other (including your local feed dealer!) grace as we all navigate the current challenges: No one is out to get you or your wallet. Having grace and understanding is what others require from you at this time.
How horse owners can save money on feed
The other good news is that there are a few ways to ensure that you are getting the most from your horse’s nutrition. Some things to try include:
1. Feeding efficient feed: Yes, prices are high right now, but you can make the most of each dollar by choosing high-quality horse nutrition programs. For instance, feeds that use science-backed pre- and probiotics can help improve your horse’s ability to digest and absorb nutrients, which means that less of the money you spend per bag will be excreted as waste.
2. Feeding hay in a slow feeder or hay net: As you know, hay is the most important part of a horse’s diet. Slow feeders and hay nets can help minimize hay waste by horses and also contribute to horse health by offering a consistent supply of forage.
3. Feeding organic minerals: As noted above, one component of increasing prices has to do with weather patterns. While we will never have control of Mother Nature, doing our best to minimize environmental impact is crucial. Organic minerals are better utilized by the horse, which means that fewer are excreted into the environment. Choosing horse diets with 100% organic minerals can help reduce your environmental footprint.
In summary
The point of this article is not to incite fear, start a political conversation or make anyone angry.
The point here is that horse feed prices have increased, and many, including myself, are asking why. The reality is that the last few years have been challenging in many ways, and we are still experiencing the repercussions.
If nothing else, I hope this article reminds you that we are all connected. It is not about one country, one state or even one city. The world relies on us in many ways, and it is more important than ever that we start to realize that. Maybe you feel disconnected from what is happening across the country or around the world, but it truly has an impact on our lives, even at the level of how much we pay for a bag of horse feed.
My hope is that this blog opened your eyes a little bit more to the current world climate. I hope that you can start to see that everyone is doing their best right now, and maybe, just maybe, if we can offer one another the grace and compassion to navigate these times, we will come out stronger and more connected on the other side.
I want to learn more about nutrition for my horses.
It’s impossible to not notice the current increases on most items we buy, including horse feed. Let's investigate the root causes of the increasing cost to feed a horse and learn how to make the most of the nutrition in your horse’s feed bag.
Audentes Fortuna Iuvat: This Latin proverb translates as “Fortune favors the bold,” in reference to the ancient Roman goddess, Fortuna. This phrase has adorned coats of arms and emblems for families, teams and societies throughout world history, advocating the virtues of bravery and the prosperous rewards that can come from it.
While this proverb may not be the official motto of Andrea Stroeve-Sawa and her family business, Shipwheel Cattle Feeders Ltd., the story behind this agricultural enterprise — from its humble yet extraordinary beginnings to its current innovative successes — embodies the same message.
“My Great-Grandpa (Albert) Green started farming in 1893, and he was 17 years old,” Andrea said, explaining the origins of her family’s business in Taber, Alberta, Canada, about two hours from the U.S. border. “The eldest of three sons, he grew up in a time in Sweden of massive drought, poverty and famine, and the story goes that, one night, he overheard his parents talking about the famine and poverty and how they were going to have to send somebody out to work, because they couldn't afford to feed all the mouths that they had to feed.
“So, in the middle of the night, Albert just took it upon himself to go down to the boat docks and board a ship, and he landed in America in search of a better life, in search of starting his own farm and in search of a different life and to send money home to his family,” Andrea continued. “And so, he arrived in Michigan and then worked his way up to Skiff, Alberta.”
Nearly 130 years later, Albert Green’s courage and bravery continue to reap rewards. Shipwheel covers about 900 acres of grassland and comprises a yearling grazing program, a 5,500-head cattle feedlot, bee pollinators, pasture-raised chickens, a no-till “chaos” garden, a fruit orchard and agricultural compost production. Andrea is the fourth generation of her family to manage the operation, but in the same spirit as Great-Grandpa Green, she still searches the horizon for unforeseen opportunities.
Shipwheel defines a “chaos” garden as the following: “The basic idea behind a chaos garden: Mix the seeds in a bag, scatter in loose soil and then sit back and see what happens. As long as you start with soil that’s somewhat loose and bare on the surface, some will sprout and take root. We choose to use cattle to ‘disturb’ the land instead of some means of mechanical tillage because with mechanical tillage we would definitely destroy the habitat of the millions of microbes that take residence in the topsoil.”
“I feel an immense responsibility for the way that I not only maintain what we currently have, but now, I feel like I have to push past where we are and do more,” Andrea said. “Do better. Be bigger.”
Paddocks lead to productivity boost
When Andrea says she feels the need to “do better,” she is not just talking about economics. Sustainability and caring for the land are important aspects of Shipwheel’s modus operandi, and she credits her father, Blake, with implementing this ethos.
In the early 1980s, Blake — with baby Andrea in tow — attended a conference on holistic farm management held by Zimbabwean ecologist Allan Savory. The sparsely attended talk touched on topics that were considered radical at the time but struck a chord with Blake.
“Everything that he was saying made completely logical sense in Dad's brain, and it was different than anything he'd ever done in agriculture thus far,” Andrea said. “But it was logical: working with the ecosystem, allowing the plant to rest and photosynthesize — and, I mean, we didn't know as much then as we do now about what happens underneath the ground as far as microbes and storing carbon and mycorrhizal fungi and the functional glomalin and all those things, but we knew about photosynthesis, and we knew about ecosystems and the water cycle and mineral cycle, and all those things made sense.”
Blake went straight to work on converting their long-established continual grazing operation into 65 different paddocks and three separate grazing cells. While this move may have been seen as peculiar, or even ridiculous, by their peers, for the descendants of Albert Green, decisions like this were what drove the success of the family business.
After adopting holistic land management practices — or what Andrea personally refers to as “adaptive multi-paddock grazing” — the benefits were soon obvious. Improvements in the physical look of the land, the water cycle and the mineral cycle told the family that they were becoming more productive and definitely better than average. These changes also brought more wildlife and forage to the land. But it was not until many years later, when Andrea took her place at the helm of the operation, that the family saw the proof of just how much these radical changes had boosted their business.
Digging out and poring over faded, yellowed grazing charts and pictures dating back to 1982, Andrea traced the farm’s stocking days, revealing that they had gone from an initial 2.36 stock days per acre to reaching around 110 stock days per acre this year. From where they started, this is an increase in productivity of a staggering 3,862%.
“I had to do the math four times to convince myself,” Andrea admitted. “When I looked back to the Ecological Suggested Stocking Rate, which was for our soil type in our area, I realized that we were stocking cattle at six times the suggested stocking rate.”
Of course, there are bigger-picture benefits to multi-paddock grazing. Moving the cattle between paddocks allows the natural vegetation to flourish and, most importantly, to photosynthesize. Plants use energy from sunlight to build carbohydrates from CO2 and water. Most of the carbohydrates plants produce go into growth, but they also release exudates into the soil, which helps build up soil carbon and creates a healthy soil microbiome.
Even with cattle feeding on any given day, Andrea says that 30% of the vegetation is able to photosynthesize. Overall, this means that, along with significantly increasing production, Shipwheel has also managed to integrate natural carbon sequestration methods into the operation, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
From feedlot waste to fertilizer: Creating nutrient-rich compost
Another environmentally friendly procedure established by Blake was the upcycling of Shipwheel’s feedlot waste into nutrient-rich compost. This idea again came from a class he attended, after which Blake immediately integrated a process for utilizing the 20,000 metric tons of organic matter — namely, manure and bedding — from the feedlot.
According to Andrea, through this process, the operation produces an average of somewhere between 10,000 to 15,000 metric tons of compost. Half of this is used on Shipwheel land as an organic fertilizer, while the other half is sold to local farmers, who are more than happy to use it on their own land.
“We see the compost as a tool to (impact) many acres of land,” Andrea said. “Over the last few years, we have seen that the demand for compost has increased to the point that we can’t meet demand with our current supply.”
With the popularity of their compost products, the Shipwheel team has not only found another way of successfully gaining profits through sustainability, but it has also managed to demonstrate the advantages of using sustainable practices to their peers. In four generations, the business has gone from one person taking a determined shot at building a better life to an enterprise that is now showing others how bold moves can create positive change.
Looking at what Shipwheel has grown into and where they could go from here, Andrea is confident that her Great-Grandpa Green would look fondly on his legacy.
“He had the dream that he was going to be a farmer, but he didn't necessarily know how successful he was going to be,” Andrea surmised. “He didn't know that the fourth generation was even going to be here, right?
“And I don't know what the eighth generation is going to look like,” she continued, “but I think he'd be immensely proud of what he started.”
The Shipwheel blueprint
The name Shipwheel Cattle Feeders only hints at the scope of the entire operation. Over four generations, the farm has implemented and developed a whole host of innovative projects. Taking an all-encompassing look at Shipwheel, the blueprint incorporates:
What sets Shipwheel apart is their unwavering dedication to their holistic management goal of continually improving their land base, the animals entrusted to their care and the community. Let us take a deeper dive into some of the innovative activities on the farm.
1. Low-stress handling (especially during the receiving period)
In 2014, Shipwheel was approached by a customer who wanted to feed cattle without added hormones or antibiotics. They jumped on the opportunity, looking to the knowledge, skill and cattle handling principles taught by rancher Bud Williams. Named one of the “Top Ten Innovations” in the beef industry by Beef Producer in 2011, Bud’s revolutionary stockmanship, combined with high-quality feed and focusing on individual animal care, aligned with the customer’s needs.
This philosophy highlights the importance of focusing on the animals’ emotional well-being, outlining a direct correlation between it and performance. Shipwheel took the knowledge of cattle handling that Bud taught and used it to help boost depressed immune systems and maintain healthy cattle.
“Cattle are herd animals,” explained Andrea. “They far prefer to move as a herd. Our job as caregivers or handlers of the cattle is to gain the trust of the herd through our posture, position, distance and angles while handling. When the cattle have confidence in us as their caregivers, we are then actually able to take the herd for a walk.
“Proper exercise for the herd releases their stress, which will decrease (their) cortisol response, thus increasing the suppressed immune system and breaking the negative cycle of stress,” she continued. “Just as humans would reduce stress through movement individually — by going for a walk, for example — cattle can release stress with proper exercise, but (they) need to do this as a herd as opposed to individually.”
In 2017–2018, Shipwheel fed more than 3,500 ranch-direct cattle. The average weight of the heifers and steers was 451 pounds and 508 pounds, respectively. They were not treated with antibiotics on arrival, were not fed ionophores and did not receive implants. Only 4.74% of the heifers and 6.06% of the steers were treated with antibiotics by the time they weighed 850 pounds.
Every member of the Shipwheel crew must understand Bud's cattle handling concepts and continually practice and apply them. The other leading figure in stockmanship research is Colorado State University professor Temple Grandin. While Bud and Temple differ on their approach and application, ultimately, both have the same goal of working with cattle’s natural tendencies to minimize stress and improve animal welfare through handling. Temple’s research work has changed how we handle cattle across North America and has provided the science to back up what Bud found in the pen — low-stress handling just makes good sense.
Fifteen years ago, Andrea’s father took a composting class. He came home and started to compost the 20,000 metric tons of manure and bedding from the feedlot to produce an upcycled feedlot waste product.
Shipwheel operates a wind-row composting system in which a mixture of raw materials is placed in long, narrow piles or wind-rows. The team observes and monitors the temperatures of the rows, and when they get to 150–160 degrees Fahrenheit, they turn them with a compost turner. This process helps to aerate the composting materials. The end product is a natural fertilizer high in nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium and sulfur. Compost helps increase the biological health of the soil, and it also helps decrease the need for synthetic fertilizer. In one teaspoon of compost, there are 1 billion microbes (e.g., bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, protozoa and nematodes), which are invaluable for boosting soil and plant health.
In Taber, Alberta, Canada, Shipwheel is surrounded by high-value irrigated land used to grow crops such as corn, onions, potatoes, pumpkins and canola. Because of their proximity to this land, they can sell a high-value byproduct to the farmers.
“Every year, in the spring, we clean our pens and put the manure, bedding and whatever other green material we can get our hands on into wind-rows on our (National Resource Conservation Board)-approved compost pad,” Andrea explained. “On average, we haul out about 10,000 wet metric tons that will turn into approximately 5,000 dry metric tons for us to sell.
“We will also sell small amounts of compost to members of our community as a community outreach project,” continued Andrea. “We like the thought of two neighbors comparing gardens (and) saying, ‘Oh, that Shipwheel compost made some great big tomatoes.’ It gives them good feelings about Shipwheel in their community and about regenerative agriculture.”
Shipwheel also boasts a vermicomposting operation. This system of compost bins houses roughly 16,000 red wiggler and European night crawler worms that break down everyday household waste into vermicompost. This mineral-rich soil additive is full of beneficial microbes. Shipwheel sells their vermicompost product, as well as worms for others to make their own.
Andrea is passionate about increasing the storage of carbon in the soil, and Shipwheel has been involved in a study of technology that measures exactly that. This project has seen Andrea work with soil microbiologist Dr. Kris Nichols, a leader in the movement to regenerate soils for healthy soil, crops, food, people and the planet. Andrea has also collaborated with Kim Cornish, director of the Food Water Wellness Foundation, an organization that works with farmers, ranchers and researchers to understand how soil can be used to mitigate climate change, droughts and flooding, increase biodiversity and, most importantly, produce healthy food.
“I am very grateful to Dr. Kris Nichols and Kim Cornish,” she said. “These two outstanding women leaders have helped me learn about soil health, mycorrhizal fungi, glomalin and their role in storing carbon and building soil aggregates.”
The Shipwheel team hopes that by working with organizations developing a carbon measurement system, they can put a value on the carbon that they have been sequestering. By maintaining the grassland, keeping the carbon in the soil and putting a value on that carbon, Shipwheel will potentially be able to increase their income per acre in order to compare with high-value cultivated crops, such as potatoes.
Early indications from their participation in the study show that Shipwheel has stored an estimated minimum of 230 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per hectare and as high as 800 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per hectare.
The current Canadian federal government has committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 30% below the 2005 levels by 2030.
“What if the cattle feeders, the beef producers and the agriculture industry were the solution to that?” asked Andrea.
Shipwheel is a one-of-a-kind farming enterprise, but the principles they follow are being used throughout the world. Check out the links below to learn more about regenerative agriculture, multi-paddock adaptive grazing and stories of others using these methods to create a better future for our planet.
Colder weather has begun to lay its annual claim on the land, and horses, especially those who live outdoors 24/7, are experiencing changing nutritional needs. Despite what many of us may think, and unlike their human counterparts, horses fare better in decreasing temperatures. In fact, our equine friends are most comfortable at temperatures between 18–59° Fahrenheit, depending on their winter coat, body condition and wind and/or moisture presence.
However, depending on the horse, the cold winter months may prescribe a need for dietary changes or supplementation not otherwise required in warmer weather. Hard keepers, senior horses and those with poor dentition, especially, can struggle to maintain a healthy body weight, while others may suffer from decreased thirst. All of these can equate to big problems for horse owners. Luckily, some seemingly minor nutritional changes can be beneficial for feeding horses in the winter, helping maintain weight, increase hydration and improve overall health.
Success starts with adequate roughage for horses
A mature horse at maintenance will consume 2–2.5% of their body weight in feed (both hay and grain) each day. At a minimum, horses must consume 1% of their body weight per day in good-quality forage to maintain a healthy gastrointestinal tract.
Some quick math will put this in a real-life perspective. The average 1,000-pound adult horse, on a day of normal weather conditions, will eat:
Between 20–25 pounds of total feed
A minimum of 10 pounds of hay/pasture (1.5–2% is preferred)
If you are feeding a diet that is solely forage, then you will need to estimate how much pasture your horse receives and how much additional hay you need to supply. Keep in mind that these ratios are likely to change in the winter when the ground is covered with snow, mud or other moisture, which is one reason why you may end up feeding more hay in the winter.
Additionally, increased energy will be spent to stay warm during the winter. Horses are better able to control body heat if suitable roughage is provided. The horse’s hindgut is a big fermentation center due to millions of bacteria, fungi and yeasts that reside there. As these good gut microbes ferment hay, they create heat as a side effect. This is just one reason why it is critical to promote gut health in horses.
Keep in mind that a horse’s need for heat (and therefore extra calories) will vary with the individual, depending on their:
Age
Breed
Size
Body condition
Hair coat (has the horse been clipped?)
Access to shelter
Overall health status
Geography and acclimation to cold weather
Observing your horse individually as the temperature drops is the best way to determine their needs. It is a good idea to consistently body condition score your horse throughout the winter and put your hands on the six key areas as winter coats can easily hide weight changes.
Also, remember: The horse has evolved over many centuries with much better systems (including a long winter coat) to keep warm than humans. Do not judge your horse’s circumstances or needs based on how you personally feel about the winter cold.
The lower critical temperature in horses
The lower critical temperature (LCT) is the temperature below which a horse requires additional energy to keep warm. In general, the estimated LCT is 41° Fahrenheit for horses with a summer coat and 18° Fahrenheit for horses with a winter coat.
The rule of thumb is that for each degree drop below the LCT, your horse requires a 1% increase in energy.
For example, if the temperature dropped to 0° Fahrenheit, a horse with a winter coat would require an 18% increase in feed. While some of this increase could come from grain concentrates, forage is the preferred source of increased energy due to its core-warming side effects that will help raise body temperature.
Improving water intake
The air temperature is not the only thing you need to consider. Drinking water should ideally fall between 45–65° Fahrenheit. If the water is too cold, intake will decrease, thereby reducing water and lubrication in the gut and, in turn, increasing the risk of cold-weather colic. As a reference, mature horses weighing 1,000 pounds require a minimum of 10–12 gallons of water daily to serve just their basic physiological needs.
To help encourage drinking in cold temperatures:
Consider purchasing a water trough heater or de-icer to keep drinking water at preferred temperatures
Add salt or an electrolyte mix to your horse’s diet. Electrolytes are not just for hot weather but are involved in thousands of body functions to keep your horse healthy throughout the year
Summary
In the wild, horses can move continuously, forage for food and water sources, and utilize thick, wooly coats and the warmth of the herd to survive in the winter months. Domesticated horses do not always have the same options. They are limited to the space, pasture mates and food we provide, and their hair coats often do not stand up to the elements, possibly requiring blanketing and/or appropriate shelter. It is our responsibility to ensure that their cold-weather needs are being adequately met to keep horses healthy and happy through every season.
