Readers Blog: We need to talk about farming and water usage
As Ireland bakes, it is time to discuss the impact industrial farming is having on our water resource.
There are more farm animals on this island than humans. That shows the intensiveness of the Irish farming industry.
A hands-off approach by the Government allows Irish farmers to produce livestock in numbers that ignore the environmental impact on natural resources.
Irish farmers are wedded to livestock production, without any environmental brake to limit cattle numbers.
During hot weather, farmers have no system to ensure animals receive an uninterrupted water supply. Industrial farming soaks up precious water.
It is difficult to sympathise with farmers who bleat that reduced water on their farms is impacting production, when they haven’t developed an in-farm supply.
Are farmers ignoring the fact that technology and systems to harvest rainwater exist, so that this sky-produced resource can be utilised when drought grips the land?
Starting a debate on the sustainability of intensive livestock farming and its environmental footprint might just be a welcome by-product of this heatwave.
