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TheHorse.com THE HORSE August 2015
contribute to climate change as well as
impact livestock health, he says.
Sandra M. Matheson, DVM, a lifelong
farmer, traveling educator, filmmaker,
author, and retired veterinarian who lives
and ranches in Bellingham, Washington,
helps put this in perspective. One of her
areas of expertise is pasture management,
for which she offers a holistic perspective
that includes balancing natural resources,
people, and finances.
"Traditionally, agriculture has been a
huge contributor to climate issues," she
explains. Overgrazed pastures and bare
soils not only lead to dust and mud stress-
ors for livestock, but they also cause soil
erosion, scorched organics in the soil, and
hotter ground—dark, bare ground ab-
sorbs heat from the sun that grass cover
would otherwise utilize and reflect.
"By planning our grazing, we can put
animals in pasture areas for appropri-
ate amounts of time, so that we are not
beating up the ground," she continues.
"Then we can reduce dust and mud and
manage the pasture in a way that pro-
duces good-quality forage (for grazing).
Animals … will have less stress and fewer
predispositions to diseases. Plus, if we
can improve the health and biodiversity
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Healthy pastures and grasslands help pull carbon, which
contributes to changing global temperatures, from the air.