Agriculture durable : Nourrir la terre et le bétail

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Découvrez comment les exploitations agricoles mixtes peuvent aussi être bénéfiques pour l'environnement, de l'habitat faunique à la qualité de l'eau en et la santé des sols.

Transcript

00:00 Both Catherine and I went to university and we got our degree in science.

00:07 She in animal science and I in plant science.

00:11 It gave us a base to exploit the mixed farm.

00:14 We've kind of adopted and integrated the principle of sustainability and the environment in our farm

00:20 for quite a few years now and we've definitely seen some benefits.

00:25 [Music]

00:36 We started with the waterways.

00:38 We've kind of closed them off to prevent the cattle from getting in.

00:42 The water has created windbreaks that protect several wild species here.

00:48 We've also improved the quality of the water a lot.

00:51 That water quality is important to us because we use it to grow our vegetables and to give our animals water in their lives.

00:58 And for all aquatic species, it's a clean, fresh source of water.

01:03 [Music]

01:07 With rotational grazing, we divide a small area of grazing so that the animals eat the grasses in a given area.

01:14 We evaluate the impact of the animals on the land.

01:17 And the beauty of that is that the animals walk the grasses in the ground, which regenerates new plants.

01:26 The other part is that we create a wild habitat and biodiversity by reserving areas of grazing for certain endangered species,

01:34 for birds and for nesting.

01:37 So the rotational grazing is a good fit for our farm.

01:41 [Music]

01:44 We've extended the grazing season to keep the cattle in a much longer grazing period.

01:50 The goal, if possible, is to let the animals graze outside all year.

01:55 It's much healthier for them and also for the environment.

01:58 [Music]

02:01 We're using cover crops so that the animals can graze in November and December, before the snow.

02:08 It's fantastic because these plants allow us to feed the animals while keeping them outside longer.

02:13 But also to sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gases.

02:18 [Music]

02:21 And I think that completes the cycle because we add certain things to the soil biology

02:27 by letting the animals graze, just by grazing and walking.

02:32 And the soil and the microbiomes interact and play a role in the life cycle of soil biology and in the health of the environment.

02:41 [Music]

02:45 Farming has shown me a lot.

02:48 I think the most important thing is that it's Mother Nature that makes the rules.

02:53 [Music]

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