Vermont Dairy Farmer Touts Biotech’s Benefits to Senate Ag Committee
Author
Published
10/23/2015
Biotech crops are vital for dairy farmers, saving them money and allowing them to adequately care for their animals, Joanna Lidback, a dairy farmer and Farm Bureau member from Vermont, told the Senate Agriculture Committee earlier this week. Lidback and her husband feed their cows a mix of biotech crops that help balance the animals’ nutritional needs with the protein and nutrient their forage provides.
But biotechnology’s benefits go well beyond balancing the dairy cattle’s diet, she explained.
“Biotechnology enables us to lessen the environmental impact that growing can have because less fertilizer and pesticides are used, which in turn means fewer times [on a tractor] over the soil with equipment, thereby cutting down on soil erosion and compaction, as well as carbon footprint. Yields are typically higher and there are fewer weeds, growing a cleaner, more abundant crop,” she said.
FBNews article
But biotechnology’s benefits go well beyond balancing the dairy cattle’s diet, she explained.
“Biotechnology enables us to lessen the environmental impact that growing can have because less fertilizer and pesticides are used, which in turn means fewer times [on a tractor] over the soil with equipment, thereby cutting down on soil erosion and compaction, as well as carbon footprint. Yields are typically higher and there are fewer weeds, growing a cleaner, more abundant crop,” she said.
FBNews article
Want more news on this topic? Farm Bureau members may subscribe for a free email news service, featuring the farm and rural topics that interest them most!