sheep grazing on the Routt National Forest–reducing wildfire, building soil
As international negotiators huddled in the last hours to hammer out an acceptable agreement, agriculture garnered little attention, except as a source of methane emissions. The need to produce 50 percent more food worldwide in the coming decades was hardly mentioned at all. Virtually no notice was given to wildlife and wildlife habitat enhanced by agricultural production. These are glaring omissions.
Fossil fuels, especially coal, were the crux of the negotiations.
Oil, gas and coal provides about 80 percent of all the energy used by human civilization. In China, it’s 88 percent (US Energy Information Administration). In the U.S., about 80 percent. The other big influencer is India, third in emissions and receiving 70 percent of its energy from coal alone.
India and China’s negotiators intervened in the last hours to water down language about reduction of fossil fuel use and subsidies to “phase down” from “phase out.”
Here’s a link to see the makeup of the delegations.
An emphasis was placed on deforestation, but other than an exhortation to plant trees, attention was not given to the role sound forest management has in sequestering carbon and managing water.
To the credit of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) they stated, “At COP26, governments recognized that soil and nutrient management practices and the optimal use of nutrients lie at the core of climate-resilient, sustainable food production systems and can contribute to global food security. It was also recognized that while livestock management systems are vulnerable to climate change, improving sustainable production and animal health can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing sinks on pasture and grazing lands. improving sustainable production and animal health can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing sinks on pasture and grazing lands.”
In the end, we believe our Solutions from the Land team of seven was highly effective. We communicated with folks high (John Kerry) and low (the lone delegate from Tajikistan) about the importance of agriculture and forestry, and its role as a solution to climate change.
If the goal of no more warming than 1.5 degrees centigrade has a hope of being met (we’re currently at 1.1), it will take all sectors. The solutions are not simplistic,
Cattle trailing off the Forest, after a summer of grazing management
Sunset from the International Space Station (NASA)
It is challenging to summarize the experience and outcomes of attending COP26 as delegates representing Solutions from the Land (SfL). SfL focuses on land-based solutions to global challenges.
Our team carried the message that agriculture, livestock production, and forest health offer solutions to mitigate methane emissions. Farmers Ray Gaesser, Lois Wright Morton, Fred Yoder and AG Kawamura, ranchers Pat and Sharon O’Toole, and SfL President Ernie Shea attended the COP26 over two weeks’ time.
We were told that past COPs agendas had hardly let agriculture, let alone animal agriculture, get their foot in the door. Deforestation was the only lens through which forestry was viewed. Pat said his fellow Board members who attended past COP meetings told him, “You better get somebody from livestock to go because you’re really being demonized.”
It didn’t take very long to realize that demonization of agriculture and forestry is a potential issue that we all need to be paying attention to.
Pat observed that the COP process has been really naive in its view of production agriculture and its ability to create solutions. “Chilling” is the word that Pat used to describe this view. “The conversations at COP26 did not indicate an understanding of the need for success in balancing production and conservation in the context of overall strategy,” O’Toole observed.
It was obvious that that meat production, rice production, and farmers in general were characterized in a negative way. The people who have gone to these COP meetings over the last years from all over the world say it’s only now that agricultural producers are recognized. Only now are agriculturalists having an ability to participate. Our team strongly conveyed the message that we from ag need to have a seat at the table.
Our path was made easier when United States Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack showed strong support for ag when he, along with Fred Yoder presented at the U.S. Pavilion. Vilsack was very proactive in his support of agricultural production. This helped set the stage for the positive message carried by our team to focus on solutions, not agendas.
Here certainly was a feeling that there’s a lot of agendas about food production. Consumers have a very high level of concern without a very high understanding of production. Pat O’Toole said, “Luckily our family comes from a community of people who have been working on resilience in natural resources for over 30 years. We have example after example. On our landscape, a wetland that was created went from less than 40 species of birds to around 130.
“A trout passage program that made the entire watershed passable for trout from the main river to the heads of every tributary demonstrates agricultural resilience in terms of more efficient irrigation. This shows the vision of how we work together and use both our own initiative and programs from the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture to come up with solutions.”
Solutions include working with organizations which share SfL’s values. Intermountain West Joint Venture (IWJV) promotes “Healthy Habitat, Wildlife, and Communities.”
“The IWJV’s conservation delivery program brings people together to address complex challenges with broad-scale benefits for fish and wildlife, ranching and economic livelihood, and maintenance of the western way of life.” (IWJV.org)
Pat is the long-time President of the Family Farm Alliance, which advocates for irrigators. Their mission is to “Protect Water for Western Agriculture.”
“The Alliance is a powerful advocate before the government for family farmers, ranchers, irrigation districts, and allied industries in 17 Western states to ensure the availability of reliable, affordable irrigation water needed to produce the world’s food, fiber, and fuel.” (familyfarmalliance.org).
Partnerships in agriculture and forestry management hold a key to enhancing our landscape and atmosphere.
Day 4 was a big one for Pat, Ray, and Sharon at the COP26 talks. While world leaders promise to stay up late to hammer out an agreement palatable to all, or almost all, participating countries, we have been talking, talking, talking to other delegates, trying to convey that agriculture is a solution and can offer mitigation and regeneration to landscapes needing healthy management.
Ray is a world-class farmer whose 30-year record of innovation is unparalleled. He has a gift for engaging people—from fellow travelers on the Edinburgh to Glasgow train to high mucky-mucks in our government and others. He is a large-scale farmer of corn and soybeans in Iowa. He is innovative and open-minded, and works extensively with researchers to determine the best way to produce crops, enhance soil and benefit natural resources.
Each of us has been engaging with whomever will listen to convey our message supporting agricultural production, and practices which improve the landscape.
Pat spoke at length with Joao Campari, Global Leader of World Wildlife Fund’s Food Practice initiative. He was curious and engaged, and recognized our message that wildlife habitat is largely dependent on private landowners and their stewardship. As an example, rice growers in California manage the flooding of their paddies to minimize methane release, and to accommodate the migratory birds who are dependent upon the rice fields to survive as they travel. The role of wildlife and its symbiotic relationship with agricultural practices is missing from these discussions at COP26. It requires education regarding the web of life.
We heard the drumbeat (sometimes literally) by some to eliminate meat from the human diet. There was no thoughtful consideration of indigenous and rural cultures and their role as pastoralists. There was no recognition or appreciation for the superpower of grazing animals to convert grass and sunshine into protein. There was a demonization of cows and other red meats.
While Greta Thunberg and other young protesters gathered in the streets outside the main venue to demand action, they did not seem any wiser than their negotiating elders within. If an easy solution existed, it would have been enacted by now. The protesters with their signs and their skits were colorful and entertaining, but they too were guilty of the blah, blah, blah they were accusing the negotiators of blathering.
Pat did engage with Fred Krupp, long-time President of the Environmental Defense Fund, which is sometimes a reasonable partner with progressive ag organizations. Fred spoke in front of a mural which depicted cows, along with the big “30%” description of livestock production’s contribution to the greenhouse gases, and the phrase “Simple Solutions.” When challenged, Krupp said it was just a pretty picture of cows and that the 30 percent was absolute fact, so how could this be offensive?. We did challenge those assumptions. We are all ears for the Simple Solutions.
Pat told Mr. Krupp that we had spoken with farmers from all over the world, who are feeling attacked and unappreciated. The anti-cow drumbeat, both subtle and overt, is just the most aggressive part of this messaging. The human population is growing, demanding resources from energy to water to food. Fifty percent more food production will be needed in the coming decades. With attacks on livestock and farming, and the havoc caused in production systems from climate change, we are not on track to feed the world.
Grazing and good farming practices are a solution to both producing food and improving the landscape. This message was missing from the COP26 deliberations. We did our best to make this message heard. Solutions from the Land is just what its name communicates—solutions, not agendas.
“Methane from livestock accounts for nearly 30 percent of global methane pollution”
“Eat less meat” (top left)
on site dining with carbon footprint 0.1 for the Spinach and Roasted Cauliflower, 3.9 for the Scottish Beefburger
These are examples of “information” shared at Pavillions and eateries within the COP26 site.
Peatville Pavillion, and another hat
another hat on the bus
Pat visiting with Howard Shapiro, Senior Scientist in plant science and agroforestry/agroecology for M&M, Mars. He is with the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Howard leads the Multi-Disciplinary Research Unit, a collaborative effort between Mars, UC Davis and The University of Nottingham. He’s a chocolate guy.
Pat talking with Stuart Roberts and Ceris Jones, British National Farmers Union
Greetings from Day 3 at COP26. It’s like the blind man and the elephant—we are perceiving a lot, but there’s lots that is unseen. With that in mind, here’s what we are not seeing.
Our goal here is to represent agriculture, livestock, grazing and the nexus with conservation. COP26 is an attempt by most governments around the world to contain rising average temperatures to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, using 1850 (pre-industrialization) as a baseline. We are already at about 1 degree increase. Sometimes extreme weather—hurricanes, flooding, drought, derechos—are a result. While one can argue specifics—where is this taking place, how is it measured, etc.—we are all experiencing the results.
Part of our ranching operation lies in Colorado’s Moffat County, which is one of the world’s “hot spots.” Northwest Colorado’s temperatures have increased 2C or more already. In Moffat County, it is 2.1C. We are seeing, on the ground, in our lives, extreme drought which stresses vegetation, wildlife, livestock and people. You can call it “Global Weirding” but it is affecting us, without doubt.
While countries have delegations showcasing their assets and their concerns, an even bigger presence are the NGO’s (non-governmental organizations)—everyone from World Wildlife to the Amazon Alliance to the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition to the Farm Bureau. Nature Conservancy has its own center. Thousands of “Observers,” including Pat, Ray and me for Solutions from the Land, are at COP26.
While high level meetings are taking place to try to hammer out agreements to reach the goal of reduction in global warming, or Zero, as they call it, a literal babble of voices try to make themselves heard. China and Russia, two of the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, stayed home. It was a huge announcement yesterday when the Biden administration announced that a climate agreement had been reached with China.
What we don’t hear is a lot of practical solutions. While the high-level talkers are more sophisticated than the tens of thousands of demonstrators (WE WANT ACTION NOW!), I haven’t heard viable plans.
Lots of talk is about the “rich” countries–the biggest emitters–funding projects in affected “poor” countries to mitigate the environmental and economic consequences. What would this look like? How would the donators ensure that the money went to actually helping? And the first-world countries have problems of their own and don’t seem to have much appetite for sending billions.
Two “solutions” thrown around a lot are eliminating beef and grazing animals, and eliminating driving cars. Glasgow has a great public transportation system, but Wyoming does not. Many COP26 attendees celebrate indigenous cultures, but see everything through an urban lens.
In our community, and the larger food and forestry community, we do have solutions which will make a real impact. We have programs, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife that get real work done on the ground, in the landscape. Ray Gaesser’s Iowa farm is a showcase for the world on how to produce crops at scale while improving soil and resources. The people on the land offer actual solutions.
This is the message we are conveying at this conference.
It’s all about the hat. Who knew that a cowboy hat would be the key to opening discussions with other people attending the COP26?
Pat and Sharon are attending the COP26 climate meeting in Glasgow. Scotland. Folks from all over the world are here, from indigenous people from the rain forest to NGO staff to government representatives from many countries—and two ranchers and a farmer from the United States.
The COP26 site is amazing. The main venue hosts booths of all sorts. Countries have booths, and many booths are issue-themed. There’s the Methane Moment area and the Peatlands space. All are competing for the attention of the attendees. And the attendees like ourselves, called observers, are also trying to get their message out.
Our voices—Pat, Sharon and Ray—are not well-represented here. We are agriculturalists and conservationists. Little recognition is given to wildlife, unless it’s a polar bear or an elephant. Our message is that agriculture is not the problem, it’s a solution. Our message is that in many parts of the world, wildlife habitat is enhanced or even created by agricultural practices.
A pervasive theme here is carbon imprint of food. At the food venues around the site, a number representing the carbon imprint is posted. The Scottish beef burgers have the largest number, but we ordered them anyway. Actually they weren’t too far ahead of the fried broccoli.
Native dress is worn by folks from everywhere. Lots of feathered headdresses, Sikh dastars, Middle Eastern skullcaps, Saudi ghutras and Scottish fedoras are to be seen. Pat’s Stetson is the only one, and it attracts all kinds of people wanting to talk about cowboys and the American West. This gives us a good opening to talk about the issues, very much related to climate, and the importance of food and fiber production. We emphasize the relationship between farmers, ranchers, habitat and wildlife.
Rice is a topic at COP26. Lots of people, in their presentations and conversation, throw out numbers that, as Pat pointed out, add up to lots more than 100 percent. We attended a panel discussion at the U.S. Pavilion where the carbon footprint of rice was examined. The panelist from the United States said that two big methane emissions in California come from the Central Valley, a rich farming region, and the Sacramento-area rice fields. He said that rice is reputed to account for 30 percent of agricultural emissions. He also pointed out that without the responsible management practices of the rice growers, migratory birds would have no place to feed and rest on their journey. (https://iwjv.org/water/). Rice is a staple food for 30 percent of the world’s population.
Pat’s hat (and his deep knowledge of the issues) attracted a young woman who videoed us discussing the value of food and fiber production. It led to a conversation with a Honduran who loved the American West. It gives us an opening to carry our message.
Never underestimate the power of a cowboy hat!
Pat on the bus from the Glasgow Queen’s Station train to the COP center
Pat in the registration line (Sharon was behind him with the camera)
Pat and Sharon were invited to attend the COP26 climate talks in Scotland. We will post a blog for each day we attend. The posts are longer than usual, but it is like drinking from a firehose! The Intermountain West Joint Venture (IWJV) is sharing these posts with agriculture and conservation groups throughout the West. The IWJV’s mission is to protect migratory birds and habitat. Thanks for sharing, Dave and Hannah!
World on fire billboard in Edinburg
Greetings from Scotland! Pat and Sharon O’Toole are delegates to the COP26 event in Glasgow. COP stands for “Congress of Parties” and this is the 26th year it has been held. The gathering is sponsored by the United Nations (UN) in order to address climate change—both its consequences, and strategies to slow or reverse the rise in temperatures, severe storms, flooding, effects on health and other consequences.
We are in Glasgow representing the organization Solutions from the Land, where Pat serves as a Board member. SfL focuses on land-based solutions to global challenges, with ranchers, farmers, foresters and partners who advocate for enabling agricultural landscapes to bring solutions in such challenging areas as food and energy security, sustainable economic development and environmental improvement. (See solutionsfromtheland.org.)
Pat also serves a President of the Family Farm Alliance, representing irrigators, and on the boards of Partnerscapes and the Intermountain West Joint Venture (IWJV). The IWJV staff has kindly offered to distribute this blog, so thanks guys.
In the debate over climate change, and ways to address its effects, agriculture has become a whipping boy. Competing studies, including those by the UN, cite statistics attributing methane pollution to livestock production. These percentages range from minor to as much as 32 percent. This usually includes the agricultural part of the transportation sector, as we run tractors, transport food and drive home from the grocery store. Animal agriculture has been a particular target. It is easy to attack domestic livestock production without recognizing that properly managed grazing animals are a tool—indeed one of the very best tools—to regenerate soils and plants on the landscape.
Agriculture has been scarcely represented at past COPs and the discussions led by the United Nations. In fact, SfL is one of the few organizations which has shown up at the table to consistently carry the message that we are a solution, not a problem. Pat likes to say, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” We also need to be in the kitchen!
Our first impression is the stark gap between those who are on the land, and those who think they know a lot about it. Our job is to bridge that gap.
Last week—the first week of COP26—was attended by four American agriculturalists with SfL. This week, Pat and Sharon are attending with Iowa farmer Ray Gaesser. Up to 30,000 people are delegates and around 100,000 people, many of them young, are demonstrating outside. The demonstrators are demanding action to avert the disastrous effects of climate change, but we didn’t hear any solutions proffered. The folks inside the “Blue Zone” are supposed to come up with those.
Getting to Glasgow, being invited to the event, and just being able to attend has been complicated. The days leading up to arrival included lots of paperwork, proof of vaccination, and a negative Covid19 test. As one wag said, “30,000 people getting together in the midst of a pandemic—what could possibly go wrong?!”
The organizers have taken plenty of covid precautions, including daily self-tests reported to the Scottish government, and loads of sanitizers, wipes and masking. Outside, it’s just a bunch of people milling about.
We arrived a couple of days early and decided to see the sights. All the locals told us that we must visit the Highlands—at least that’s what we think they said since their English is somewhat different than what we hear in Wyoming. We booked a tour and went north. It is amazing country! We were heartened to see the pastures dotted with sheep and cattle.
As we travelled further north to Loch Ness (didn’t see the monster), the country became wilder and the scene of many a battle with the British. Think “Braveheart” and “Outlander.” In the rough north country, almost all of the cattle were Scottish Highlanders. With the chill and the wet, you can sure see why they’ve developed those coats!
The Scottish people couldn’t be nicer. They are not just friendly, but really go out of their way to help. Yesterday a young man saw us struggling to buy train tickets, and he stayed with us until we had the proper tickets in hand. We are staying in Edinburg, about an hour’s train ride away from Glasgow. In Wyoming, we’re a little short on public transportation, so the assistance was much appreciated.
This is an adventure, both in seeing the countryside and in attending the COP with people from all over the world. Our goal is to carry forward our message that agriculture is essential, and that it is a solution.
Beware of horns!
Highlands of Scotland
intrepid swimmers in the Loch
after swimming
ferry at Loch Ness “You only see the monster, Nessie, if you’re not looking and you don’t have a camera”
Fall days are the time of year when the cattle and the sheep come down from their summer grazing on the the national forests. We bring them all to the Home Ranch, and sort them through the corrals. The ewes bring with them their whole entourage–herders, horses, Border collies, livestock guardian dogs. For a couple of weeks, we manage a rotating menagerie of sheep, dogs and–pigs? We keep a few feeder pigs over the summer to provide winter pork, but in the meantime the pigs consider themselves free-range critters who are likely to show up about anyplace. The guard dogs are suspicious of the pigs, but the pigs don’t care. I am reminded of “Babe” and wonder if we couldn’t train them to herd livestock. They are utterly indifferent to the dogs, who are puzzled by the pigs.
Crunching as the calf dives into dry willows
“Quakey” aspens rustle up autumn, leaves flutter to the ground
“Hup, hup!” I holler, trying to spook the calf out of the willows
A thump on the ground as I dismount, followed by
more crunching as I thrash through the willows
A sigh as I realize the calf has somehow escaped me
“Hey there, pretty baby” as I push the filly aside
“Stand still, I said” to my mare as I mount
We sit very still, listening
to low bird song and the chuckle of aspen
but not the bawl of a calf
“Hey, you guys OK?”—our cowgirl come back to see what’s taking so long
“Holy cow, look at that!”
A smoke plume silently rises, signaling the faraway
crack and crash as molten trees succumb
as animals dash madly from the deadly flames of the Mullen Fire
Another sigh—of relief—that the blaze is far away
“That calf caught up”
“Oh good”
The quick clop of hooves as we trot up to the herd
“Come by! That’ll do!” Reluctantly the Border collie drops back
Mooing—meaning “get over here and stay by me”
Whinnying as the filly realizes her mom and I have moved to the lead
Clip-clopping as she races past the cows to catch up
They watch, knowingly
The distant rumble of cars, trucks, RV’s
The flash of my gloved hand
“Just go slowly. The cows will move. Watch the calves”
“Thank you”
Finally, the clank of chain and squeak of gate
as the cows and calves slip through
to green grass
The dark settles, birds silent
September 30 is the off-date for most of our Forest permits. Bridger Peak above Battle Pass is one of our highest grazing areas for the sheep in the summer. Alejandro takes the yearling ewes to the top of the Continental Divide. He had a flat tire on his wagon, so German changed the tire before we pulled the camp down the really rocky road to the highway. Alejandro shepherds the yearlings with the help of his border collies, his livestock guardian dogs, and his pet lamb, Solano. We saw snow on the Divide, and glorious fall colors on the trail down.
Patrick and Sharon O'Toole are ranchers in the Little Snake River Valley on the Wyoming-Colorado border. They represent the fourth generation on the six-generation family ranch. The O'Tooles raise cattle, sheep, horses, dogs and children on their high country ranching operation. The transhumance operation stretches from north of Steamboat Springs, Colorado to Wyoming's Red Desert.
Pat has served in the Wyoming House of Representatives, the Western Water Policy Commission, and is currently President of the Family Farm Alliance, representing irrigators and water users in the western United States.
Sharon is a writer and poet. She writes extensively on western issues, and the relationship between landscape, animals and people. She is widely published as an author, essayist and editorial commentator.
Sharon's father George, 89, passed away December 25, 2010. He lived much of his life in the house where he was born, and remained active in the day-to-day life of the ranch. Mr. Salisbury was a decorated World War II veteran, a former member of Wyoming's House of Representatives, and former President of Wyoming's Board of Agriculture.
Pat and Sharon have three children. Their daughter, Meghan and her husband Brian Lally, live on the ranch with their children, Siobhán, Seamus, Maeve and Tiarnán. Meghan also served on the Wyoming Board of Agriculture, and she and Brian are active in community service. Daughter Bridget lives in Denver with her husband, Chris Abel, where she works in public relations and he serves agriculture in the food business. Son Eamon and his wife Megan live on the ranch with their sons, McCoy and Rhen. Eamon is a horseman and natural resource manager, and Megan is a nurse.
The blog traces the activities and life on the ranch, from the mundane to the fabulous.
Ladder Ranch
