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Comment by tharkun__ | Hacker News Reader

I'd totally agree w/ this from the "grow corn and then feed cows with it" standpoint.

This is doubly bad if you're displacing natural grasslands and grassland grazing with this. I.e. plant corn on your previous grasslands and cram the cows into some barn.

This came through HN just recently. Another way to do the same though is to go back to what the big buffalo herds were naturally doing. I.e. let your cows actually "trample and shit on the land" and that's what actually keeps it fertile. Then you harvest the cows for meat while keeping their number stable.

Win - win

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Kinda what Iceland does. Multiple sheep per person. They tag 'em, let 'em roam free and collect them later in the year.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/iceland-welcomes-tourists-t...

Same with many random islands explorers came across: they'd leave some livestock so when they came back later they'd have some dense and fresh food ready to harvest.

Didn't work so well in Australia. And probably any of the islands most likely.

The reason why iceland can't have trees: sheep owners

Iceland actually has some trees. But in that climate they don't grow very tall.

Also, much of Iceland is a desert of lava, glass, and black sand; some other parts are covered with ice. Not many plants can survive in such a landscape, and those which do are usually not trees.

Deforestation in Iceland predates industrialization.

“Deforestation is a major issue that is highly prevalent throughout the world. The country of Iceland has been hit especially hard by this catastrophe. A nation that once had forests covering 40 percent of its countryside began to lose its tree cover, when the Vikings arrived in the 9th century. By the early 20th century, however, this tree cover was reduced to just 0.5 percent. To this day, the government of Iceland is working towards reviving the lost forests and restoring the land, in order to work towards a more sustainable future. This problem relates to the course of Sustainability for the Common Good because it covers the environmental issue of deforestation as well as the solutions that are being put into play to make the land more sustainable”

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a4e20c53ee77427cb587cb7...

Does that account for climate changes? IIRC, there was a warmer period around the time the vikings arrived?

Australia is one of the largest meat exporters.

The plague of sheep, camels, cows, rabbits, cane toads and whatnot isn't such a good deal for the indigenous flora and fauna.

It is not that bad, except for the birds with introduction of cats.

Then you have a dispute about who owns the 10000s of acres and who to pay for the grazing rights. And who is responsible for maintaining all that range? And can somebody be tried twice for a mistake in their management of open range? Then people with and without badges show up with guns.

Ok, that hardly ever happens.

I'm not sure I understand. Nowhere did I say anything about actually putting bison back out there in the way the settlers found things when they moved in.

But instead of planting lots of corn and feeding your barn full of cattle with it you can also own that same piece of land and sustainably make grass fed beef. Said beef would keep your soil fertile by trampling and shitting on it.

In addition to this your vet and meds bills will be lower to non existent because you don't get the same disease issues you get in cramped barn quarters.

In the USA, the BLM administers some 18000 permits to farmers and ranchers who pay them grazing fees.[0] Then cattle wander on that range exactly as you propose.

The BLM also employs snipers and gunmen to intimidate ranchers who don't pay the grazing fees. Some ranchers respond with impromptu militias.

Sometimes things escalate to the point that goverment agents kill protesters. Sometimes law enforcement officers get assassinated.

But mostly, cattle graze as you suggest and the BLM collects grazing fees.

[0] https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/rangelands-an...

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