A comparison of two modes of dairy farming intensi cation and their potential impact on water quality in two adjacent watersheds in Ohio, USA
Résumé
Agricultural intensification is a key factor in world environmental problems. This research project describes the process of intensification in contrasting farm systems in two adjacent small watersheds in Sugar Creek, Ohio. One of the small watersheds is farmed by Amish dairy farmers while non-Amish dairy farmers live on the other watershed. The intensification of Amish dairy farms started in the mid 1990s, some 20 years after conventional dairy farms intensified. We carried out a survey in 2007 to characterize the two contrasting farming systems (farm structure, animal and crop management). A dozen Amish and seven conventional dairy farmers were interviewed using a semistructured survey. All the fields were mapped using GIS. This survey allowed us to make preliminary generalizations about comparative differences between the Amish and non-Amish farming systems.The results confirmed that Amish dairy farms were smaller than conventional ones. Data collected allowed us to calculate nitrogen and organic phosphorus loading per farm, as well as to perform landscape analyses. Both analyses, along with manure and grazing management, showed that both systems had positive and negative potential impacts on the stream. To further refine the comparison, continuous water quality monitoring was implemented on both sub-watersheds in 2012 to better assess the two modes of intensification on water quality.
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