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Northern farmer McDonald Stevenson (right) speaks about the value of the grasslands at the Hope Plantation in St. Lucy to his operations, as CEO of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) James Paul (centre) and BAS First Vice President Woodville Alleyne-Jones pay rapt attention.

Dairy farmer: Project will compromise northern farmers’ operations

 

Why should one section of agriculture kill off the other?
 
That’s the question a seasoned dairy farmer in the North of the island wants answered, by the relevant authorities at the helm of the Hope Project.
 
McDonald Stevenson, a dairy farmer who has been supplying the Pine Hill Dairy with milk for the past 20 years and who has been utilising the grasslands surrounding the Hope Plantation in St. Lucy for about 15 years, aired his concerns yesterday, about the proposed removal of 45 acres of quality grassland at the plantation, in order to establish the HOPE Agriculture Training Institute at that location, for the benefit of agricultural students at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) and the Barbados Community College (BCC).
 
St. Lucy grasslands last hope for farmers
Stevenson put forward his case, stressing that the grasslands form a substantial part of his operations. He uses a tractor and other key equipment to produce about 1300 bales of hay per year, to supply about 20 to 30 farmers who rely on his operations to feed their livestock, which consists mainly of sheep and cows. Stevenson, who also uses the grass to feed over 100 cows and 50 plus sheep on his farm as well, says there are no other major pastures in St. Lucy from which quality grass can be sourced and he depends on it to aid in producing over 800,000 litres of milk he supplies to Pine Hill Dairy.
 
Suggesting that whilst some people may just see it as grass with little value, Stevenson noted that he sees it as a crop, given the labour intensive nature of producing bales of hay, to keep livestock alive. Given the periods of drought the island has been experiencing over the years, Stevenson noted that he often has to fertilise the grasslands and as soon as the rains come in and the grass sprouts, he is out in the field making hay bales, some of which he packages in a white covering on site, to ensure that the grass maintains its high nutritional content, for the benefit of the livestock it will be feeding.
 
As members of the media surveyed the grasslands, over 100 bales of hay could be seen in the distance, some already packaged and awaiting those who will come to purchase them.
 
However, Stevenson fears that due to a lack of response to his request to lease the land and with the Hope project coming, his operation will be compromised and that of the northern farming community as well. (RSM)

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