Regional self-reliance for livestock feed, meat, dairy and eggs in the Northeast USA

Abstract

The production of livestock feed in the USA is geographically concentrated, which poses several risks. Extreme weather events and disease outbreaks have the potential to disrupt production in these areas, which could reduce the national output of meat, dairy and eggs. Additionally, geographically concentrated livestock and feed production systems have been observed to contribute excessive nutrient loads to surrounding soil and water bodies, thereby threatening environmental sustainability. Geographic relocation of production systems has been proposed as an adaptation strategy to increase system resilience and this could take the shape of more geographically dispersed livestock feed production. We estimate the degree to which the demand for meat, dairy and eggs in the Northeast region is met with current levels of regional feed and livestock production, a term that we refer to as regional self-reliance. We combine mean annual (2001–2010) data on Northeast regional land use; crop output; meat, dairy and egg output; and food consumption with a livestock feed requirements model. An annual mean of over 6.1 million ha of land in the Northeast was dedicated to livestock feed from 2001 to 2010, with nearly 80% located in just three states (Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia). The region is a net importer of livestock feed (in terms of total digestible nutrients and crude protein), as well as meat, dairy and eggs (in terms of total human-edible energy and protein). This is the result of a confluence of long-term regional trends that include the movement of agricultural production out of the region with a concomitant increase in the regional population and an increase in the national demand for meat, dairy and eggs. Limited slaughter output in the region is a key limiting factor to increasing the region's self-reliance for livestock products.

Nutrition and origin of US chain restaurant seafood

“…Availability of seafood may have implications for meeting Dietary Guidelines recommendations, particularly for populations in the Midwest and Southeast and low-income consumers who consume less seafood ( 10 , 52 ). We found regional differences in availability and preferences for certain species; however, more work is needed to understand regional markets for seafood and the role of seafood in regional food systems ( 53 , 54 ). Although there is a role for these niche markets to support domestic fishers and fish farmers, in a US seafood market dominated by imported fish, the concentration of species also suggests that it is difficult for domestic fishers to secure chain restaurants as outlets for their catch.…”

Baselines, Trajectories, and Scenarios: Exploring Agricultural Production in the Northeast U.S.

“…This is directly analogous to the RSR for food (i.e., RSR FOOD ) described above, and the supply side of the estimation is largely contained in Griffin et al (2015). Conrad et al (2017) extended this approach by estimating regional livestock feed demand for major livestock categories (beef, dairy, swine, poultry including eggs) using the model of Peters, Picardy, DarrouzetNardi, and Griffin (2014). This model uses maize and soy as the primary feed components to supply energy and protein, respectively, for all livestock categories.…”

“…Forage requirements in dairy rations are met with corn silage, alfalfa, and mixed forages (as hay or haylage), but no pasture. As shown in Figure 2 (from Conrad et al, 2017), about 60% of total demand for protein and energy (as total digestible nutrients, TDN) is from the dairy sector, followed by broiler chicken production.…”

“…The production of both grain crops (concentrates) and harvested forage, along with pasture use, is concentrated in a few states in the region (see Table 1 in Conrad et al, 2017, for livestock-associated land use for the entire region): New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia contain more than 80% of the region's forage and pasture land, while New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland contain more than 90% of the region's cropland used for grain feeds. The land base used for pasture in the region is more than 2 million hectares (nearly 5 million acres), but is primarily used at low intensity for beef production.…”

A Regional Imperative: The Case for Regional Food Systems

“…Between 2001 and 2010, about 65 percent of Northeast land in farms contributed to the regional food supply (Griffin et al, 2015). It should be noted that, as detailed above, over half of farmed land during that time period was devoted to growing crops used as livestock feed for poultry, beef, pork, dairy, and egg production (Conrad et al, 2017).…”