Things we can agree about

We perhaps agree that we will continue to use some form of energy for industry, home heating and lighting and transportation. We need energy to continue to live a lifestyle similar to what we have now.

We will continue to eat. Food production will need to continue on a commercial basis to produce enough food for there to be opportunity for every citizen in the USA to consume adequate nutrients.

We can agree that open spaces are important for many reasons, wildlife habitat, recreations and solitude and agriculture production. 

We may or may not agree how we as a country get to each of those objectives. Shelter, heat, food …

Yet we may agree more than we anticipate.

We may agree that using new technology to produce cleaner energy or to clean the energy we use is good.

We may agree that we need to develop and use environmentally friendly food production methods. That we should promote land friendly animal production agriculture. That we also need to develop and build environmentally, worker friendly, humane animal slaughter and processing facilities for meat production.

Just as we see improving in mining development using the modern and environmentally friendly technology available to protect the water, viewscape and so on at the Black Butte Copper Project located by White Sulfur. We should strive for that sort of cutting edge, environmentally minded development. Just as we can see land that has been reclaimed from coal mining at Colstrip being grazed by cattle and crops of sainfoin being grown for forage, we should continue to strive for that sort of reclamation of ground.

With meat processing, Madison Food Park proposes to use the newest technology to conserve, purify and reuse water, to reduce if not eliminate odor with covered storage tanks and a bio-digester to change solid waste into usable and sellable by-products and biogas which to supply energy for the plant. The most up to date automated meat processing and technology using digital imagery to direct the cutting of meat in many areas improving worker safety and reducing risk. Madison Food Park plans to offer career paths with college courses for employees to improve their career opportunities and advance in the company. MFP will encourage clean waste management at the livestock production end of the system and help the livestock producer with feedback on how to improve animal nutrition, health and growth for maximum efficiency and quality beef. 

Does this not sound like the very technology and food production system we would like to support for the future? Why are we in agriculture so quiet?

——

Maggie Nutter, rancher and former president of the Marias River Livestock Association

Sweetgrass