d2 writes:
<<I can understand that managing animal waste, in the case of fiber
animals, would be a subject of concern.>>
Factory farming in confinement conditions usually produces manure in
quantities that are difficult to use sustainably. Most often beef
cattle in feedlots, pigs and chickens in 'factories' are mentioned in
this context. I've never heard of sheep or other fiber animals being a
concern, possibly because in this country people would rather buy cotton
or synthetic fiber textiles, so fiber animals are rarely raised in large
quantity in confinement situations. An exception might be meat sheep,
such as the 'hot house lamb', where lambs are kept indoors to put on
weight as fast as possible, especially during NA winters, to be
butchered in time for Easter. I don't know for sure, but I doubt they
bother to shear those lambs, but instead sell the skins for slippers and
the like.
The issue there has *nothing* to do with fiber production, and
everything to do with unsustainable factory farming of food. Sheep are
the only textile animals I know of that are much eaten, and since, at
least in the US, they're not all *that* much eaten, factory farming is
not as common with sheep. Confinement farming of sheep is somewhat
common, because many agribusiness growers (and quite a few small
shepherds) of sheep prefer to hayfeed year round, rather than manage
grass for their sheep. Still, the amount of manure produced could be
managed wisely pretty easily, if not really sustainably due to the
amount of fuel used to move the tractors that move the manure, even if
directly to a garden bed or compost pile, would make it unsustainable
over time.
Ideally, sheep would be grazed year-round--that's the most sustainable
scenario. But with our mania for every inch of land being privately
owned, and our other mania of every householder having his/her own
private acre of land, grazable land is disappearing fast, or totally
gone in many areas. Next best is to graze the animals as much as
possible, thereby fertilizing the field that feeds them, and use the
manure pack from feedlot areas to provide great fertilizer for gardens.
Sheep manure is odorless and easy to handle, doesn't burn the plants,
and doesn't look 'poopy'. In fact, I'm going to dig up a few buckets of
stuff from our barnyard today, to create a bed for some annual
chamomile, add a couple new feverfew and lemon balm plants to their
existing beds, and a spot someplace for some lavender cotton :)
Holly
who doesn't like digging the stuff up, but loves what it does for plants :)
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