美国国家公共电台 NPR--Moving cattle into the forest could help climate change, farmers and the livestock

Moving cattle into the forest could help climate change, farmers and the livestock¹

Transcript²

Most grazing animals spend their time in open pastures. But there is a movement to raise livestock in the forest to benefit animals and the environment.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

If you see a cow out grazing in the Midwest, most likely it's in an open pasture that used to be a forest. Clear-cutting trees made it easier to raise cattle. It also eliminated much of the landscape known as Midwestern Savannas⁴. As St. Louis Public Radio's Jonathan Ahl reports, an experimental farm in Missouri is trying to prove that moving grazing animals back to forests is better for the environment, for farmers and for cattle.

JONATHAN AHL, BYLINE⁵: Ashley Conway-Anderson is driving a four-wheeler down a dirt road on one of the University of Missouri's research farms. On the left side of the road is a thick forest. On the right side is a big open pasture, where cows are huddled⁶ under the few trees that are along a creek⁷ bed. The professor of agroforestry says neither side is what should be there. Conway-Anderson says before Europeans arrived, all of this was a forest, but much less dense⁸ than what's on one side of the road.

ASHLEY CONWAY-ANDERSON: That habitat was created intentionally¹⁰ by a lot of Indigenous¹¹ communities that lived here, intentionally managed with fire. And then once fire opened things up, what came next was grass. And then what followed the grass was large grazing herbivores.

AHL: Those herbivores were bison and elk¹². But Conway-Anderson says they could be cows today. She's leading a multi-year study at this farm to first thin out the forest areas, get native grasses growing and then bring in cows to graze. It's called silvopasture, and it's a very old way of raising animals. Conway-Anderson says her research is getting more attention because healthy forests can be a critical part of combating climate change. Trees are good at keeping carbon out of the atmosphere, and they're also resilient in the face of extreme weather caused by climate change.

CONWAY-ANDERSON: When we do have floods, when we do have droughts and fires, it won't be wholesale¹³ destruction. It will be able to recover much more quickly.

AHL: Conway-Anderson says she wants to get the data and create an example to help farmers move their cattle from open fields into forests. She says it should be a short trip because so many want to and some already are.

Bruce Carney raises cattle on his family farm north of Des Moines. More than 10 years ago, he decided¹⁴ to convert 200 acres from corn and soybean fields to land for cattle to graze on.

BRUCE CARNEY: What I learned was that I needed trees. I needed windbreaks. I needed shade. I needed a living barn. To me, that's what trees do for you.

AHL: Carney says silvopasture development is a success because trees make cows happier, healthier and bigger, so they bring in more money when they're sold.

Kaitie Adams with the Wisconsin-based Savanna³ Institute says it can also make small farms more viable¹⁵.

KAITIE ADAMS: By its very nature is - it's intentional⁹ and intensive, so it allows for us to do more on one piece of land.

AHL: Adams says silvopasture can combine raising cattle, growing food like apples or walnuts¹⁶ and a timber business all into one small piece of land. There are a lot of challenges to making a go of having cattle graze in forests, including the time it takes for trees to grow, the inefficiency¹⁷ of raising cattle that graze as opposed to a factory farm, and the time and effort to manage a forest properly. But advocates say it's worth it, and they're optimistic they can prove it.

For NPR News, I'm Jonathan Ahl in Rolla, Mo.

(SOUNDBITE OF YEARS' "THE ASSASSINATION OF DOW JONES")

1 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 savanna   

n.大草原

参考例句：

• The savanna is also the home of meat-eaters--the lion,leopard,and hyena who feed on the grasseaters.大草原也是食肉动物的家乡--狮子、豹、鬣狗--它们都是以草食动物维持生命的。
• They sped upon velvet wheels across an exhilarant savanna.他们的马车轻捷地穿过一片令人赏心悦目的大草原。

4 savannas   

n.（美国东南部的）无树平原( savanna的名词复数 )；（亚）热带的稀树大草原

参考例句：

• Therefore the jungles and the savannas know of no juvenile delinquency! 因此，丛林和荒原里没有“少年犯罪。” 来自辞典例句
• My soul flits away into the virgin forests and to the savannas. 我的灵魂飞向森林中的处女地和广漠的平原。 来自互联网

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

7 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

8 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

9 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

10 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

11 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

12 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

13 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

16 walnuts   

胡桃（树）( walnut的名词复数 )； 胡桃木

参考例句：

• Are there walnuts in this sauce? 这沙司里面有核桃吗？
• We ate eggs and bacon, pickled walnuts and cheese. 我们吃鸡蛋，火腿，腌胡桃仁和干酪。

17 inefficiency   

n.无效率，无能；无效率事例

参考例句：

• Conflict between management and workers makes for inefficiency in the workplace. 资方与工人之间的冲突使得工厂生产效率很低。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This type of inefficiency arises because workers and management are ill-equipped. 出现此种低效率是因为工人与管理层都能力不足。 来自《简明英汉词典》