[Draft] Preservation of Herding

[Umeria]

The Umeria trio is back! And they have a new proposal.

Category: Education and Creativity | Area of Effect: Cultural Heritage

The World Assembly,

Noting that advances in technology can render formerly common practices obsolete;

Realizing that some of these practices have existed for millennia and contain significant cultural value;

Understanding that foremost among these valued practices is the tending and herding of livestock;

Wishing to preserve the ancient art of herding from the winds of economics which push society toward monotonic mass agriculture;

Hereby

1) Defines, for the purposes of this resolution:

1. "herding" as the practice of using the natural resources of an area to raise and maintain a group of animals in that area for agricultural purposes;
2. a "herding nation" as a member nation in which herding is culturally significant; and

2) Requires that all herding nations set aside a small area to use for herding.

[States of Glory WA Office]

Fairburn: Ambassador Lockwood, are you seriously trying to pretend to us that this proposal is in any way genuine?

[Separatist Peoples]

"Goats are browsers. Not grazers. They won't do what you think they'll do."

[Bakhton]

"We rise in support of this proposal," says Ambassador Qzu petting her goat.

[Umeria]

Fairburn: Ambassador Lockwood, are you seriously trying to pretend to us that this proposal is in any way genuine?

"Yes. Uncontrolled fires in abandoned farms are a serious problem, and goats are an easy solution."

"Goats are browsers. Not grazers. They won't do what you think they'll do."

"If goats were unpredictable, they wouldn't have been domesticated. Besides, a whole herd of them will get the job done."

[Separatist Peoples]

Fairburn: Ambassador Lockwood, are you seriously trying to pretend to us that this proposal is in any way genuine?

"Yes. Uncontrolled fires in abandoned farms are a serious problem, and goats are an easy solution."

"Goats are browsers. Not grazers. They won't do what you think they'll do."

"If goats were unpredictable, they wouldn't have been domesticated. Besides, a whole herd of them will get the job done."

"Goats eat low hanging branches from leaves and bushes. They eat some grass, but they don't graze it down like cows and sheep, and its unhealthy for them to eat that much grass anyway."

Bell glances over at Chuckie, who is busy taking important looking stationary off another ambassador's desk.

"I'm not trying to scuttle your proposal here. You could swap out "goat" with "sheep" and solve the problem. But your choice of livestock is not in line with your goal."

OOC: I worked on a goat dairy before going back to school to cover room and board. They basically ignore grass.

[Lord Dominator]

DeeDee: I will not offer any support for this proposal so long as it continues to neglect to mention llamas.

OOC: To be clear, I have absolutely no idea what llamas eat.

[Separatist Peoples]

Deandra: I will not offer any support for this proposal so long as it continues to neglect to mention llamas.

OOC: To be clear, I have absolutely no idea what llamas eat.

OOC: Llamas and alpacas both graze and browse, but shouldn't really do either exclusively.

[Umeria]

"Goats eat low hanging branches from leaves and bushes. They eat some grass, but they don't graze it down like cows and sheep, and its unhealthy for them to eat that much grass anyway."

Bell glances over at Chuckie, who is busy taking important looking stationary off another ambassador's desk.

"I'm not trying to scuttle your proposal here. You could swap out "goat" with "sheep" and solve the problem. But your choice of livestock is not in line with your goal."

Lockwood turns to Cubbins. "You said goats were more qualified."

"They are! Listen," -Cubbins takes out a book titled "101 Things You Never Knew About Goats"- "it says right here that- oh. Well, like you said, it's an easy fix."

I will not offer any support for this proposal so long as it continues to neglect to mention llamas.

Carlyle: Feel free to use llamas in your own nation, but I believe a more universal animal is appropriate here.

[Separatist Peoples]

"Goats eat low hanging branches from leaves and bushes. They eat some grass, but they don't graze it down like cows and sheep, and its unhealthy for them to eat that much grass anyway."

Bell glances over at Chuckie, who is busy taking important looking stationary off another ambassador's desk.

"I'm not trying to scuttle your proposal here. You could swap out "goat" with "sheep" and solve the problem. But your choice of livestock is not in line with your goal."

Lockwood turns to Cubbins. "You said goats were more qualified."

"They are! Listen," -Cubbins takes out a book titled "101 Things You Never Knew About Goats"- "it says right here that- oh. Well, like you said, it's an easy fix."

I will not offer any support for this proposal so long as it continues to neglect to mention llamas.

Carlyle: Feel free to use llamas in your own nation, but I believe a more universal animal is appropriate here.

Bell coughs, "The term is shepherding, not sheep herding."

[Umeria]

Bell coughs, "The term is shepherding, not sheep herding."

Lockwood: Are you sure? I thought shepherding was a general term to describe guiding someone in the right direction.

Carlyle: In this case it makes sense.

[Separatist Peoples]

Bell coughs, "The term is shepherding, not sheep herding."

Lockwood: Are you sure? I thought shepherding was a general term to describe guiding someone in the right direction.

Carlyle: In this case it makes sense.

"Where do you think that term came from, ambassador?"

[The Greater Siriusian Domain]

Teran Saber: "There's no reason why the World Assembly needs to be enforcing this. By all means, go ahead and promote the industry of your choice, but don't force it on people."

OOC: I suspect that this is a prank proposal. I can't see this being serious, and as much as I support making legislation funny again, I think this might need to be pulled.

[Separatist Peoples]

Teran Saber: "There's no reason why the World Assembly needs to be enforcing this. By all means, go ahead and promote the industry of your choice, but don't force it on people."

OOC: I suspect that this is a prank proposal. I can't see this being serious, and as much as I support making legislation funny again, I think this might need to be pulled.

Ooc: if tweaked, it's not that different from Promotion if Beekeeping.

[Imperium Anglorum]

OOC: I presume that the Shepards spoken of are these. If this can be confirmed, I will gladly support this proposal.

[Umeria]

Lockwood: Are you sure? I thought shepherding was a general term to describe guiding someone in the right direction.

Carlyle: In this case it makes sense.

"Where do you think that term came from, ambassador?"

"Well, terms evolve, and I thought-" -he takes out a dictionary- "Okay, you're right."

Teran Saber: "There's no reason why the World Assembly needs to be enforcing this. By all means, go ahead and promote the industry of your choice, but don't force it on people."

"Field fires are a serious issue. Too often they are left abandoned because they have no reason to care, and the farm turns into a huge fire that spreads over a nation's borders into a city and kills countless people. And we aren't forcing an industry on anyone. This is just a WA committee that clears away fire dangers in the most efficient way possible. What exactly is the problem here?"

OOC: I suspect that this is a prank proposal. I can't see this being serious, and as much as I support making legislation funny again, I think this might need to be pulled.

OOC: Using herds to clear away grass fire hazards is an RL thing too. Sure, I could make it sound more official by using phrases like "domestic grazing mammals" and "deliberate digestion program", but it would take the common sense out of it and I'd prefer to make my proposals as direct as possible. If you can show that the fire hazard control I reference multiple times in my proposal doesn't exist, then by all means, flag it as illegal.

[Bakhton]

"Field fires are a serious issue. Too often they are left abandoned because they have no reason to care, and the farm turns into a huge fire that spreads over a nation's borders into a city and kills countless people. And we aren't forcing an industry on anyone. This is just a WA committee that clears away fire dangers in the most efficient way possible. What exactly is the problem here?"

"Goats are of course the most efficient way possible. I don't know what all the hubbub is about," says Lara Qzu as she drinks from a soda wearing a goat sweater.

[Umeria]

Ooc: if tweaked, it's not that different from Promotion of Beekeeping.

OOC: We need to have more animal-based proposals. People underestimate the power of nature.

OOC: I presume that the Shepards spoken of are these. If this can be confirmed, I will gladly support this proposal.

Well, there's no reason why the WASTE can't wear those metallic uniforms.

"Field fires are a serious issue. Too often they are left abandoned because they have no reason to care, and the farm turns into a huge fire that spreads over a nation's borders into a city and kills countless people. And we aren't forcing an industry on anyone. This is just a WA committee that clears away fire dangers in the most efficient way possible. What exactly is the problem here?"

"Goats are of course the most efficient way possible. I don't know what all the hubbub is about," says Lara Qzu as she drinks from a soda wearing a goat sweater.

IC: "Maybe later we'll make a proposal regarding goats and litter control."

[Separatist Peoples]

"Ambassador, I have a technical question. How on earth does this deregulate any environmental policy? If anything, this creates regulations by requiring health and safety standards to prevent environmental disasters. I think you have a category violation. Furthermore, you assume that wildfires need to be prevented, when many grassland ecosystems rely on regular, low-level burning to propagate species. Furthermore, there are far more effective wildfire management tools available, such as regular controlled burns or the creation of artificial firebreaks. While I believe there is benefit to promoting shepherding, I believe you've homed in on a weak reason."

[Umeria]

"Ambassador, I have a technical question. How on earth does this deregulate any environmental policy? If anything, this creates regulations by requiring health and safety standards to prevent environmental disasters.

"Well, it displaces some habitats by introducing sheep feces to the environment."

I think you have a category violation.

"I suppose it's borderline. Would Environmental: Agriculture be more appropriate?"

Furthermore, you assume that wildfires need to be prevented, when many grassland ecosystems rely on regular, low-level burning to propagate species.

"This resolution doesn't concern ecosystems, only cropland, due to the exclusion of designated wilderness. Though I see your point."

Furthermore, there are far more effective wildfire management tools available, such as regular controlled burns or the creation of artificial firebreaks.

"Those methods require regular human maintenance, while shepherding merely needs a few herders to direct the flow of sheep. It would be impractical to methodically torch or dig a ditch around a dry field that stretches dozens of miles, crosses a national border, and is adjacent to a vulnerable forest, while a sheep herd would prove perfect for the task."

While I believe there is benefit to promoting shepherding, I believe you've homed in on a weak reason."

"Hmm. It's time for some edits."

Edit: Changes made. I'm done for the night.

[Araraukar]

I don't care what advice Benjamin gave you, this is not an environmental proposal. Dry grasslands cannot sustain large-scale browsing, especially during a drought. Or any other kind of agriculture for that matter. (OOC example.) You can't honestly encourage soil erosion and then claim it's good for the environment!

Especially as sheep clip the grass stalks much closer to the ground than, say, cows do, leaving less of the plant to regrow itself after.

Also, your definition of "abandoned field" completely ignores fallow fields. I doubt most farmers would be very pleased with someone else grazing their sheep on their land. Except for very small family farms, it's generally speaking not profitable for one farmer to both keep sheep as well as grow crops in the large scale. Also, apparently a prairie would count as "abandoned field"...

About the only situation where sheep are good for something else than merely sheep farming, is clipping lawns. Forcing everyone to shorten their lawn with sheep instead of using a usually not-man-powered lawnmower, would be an ecological suggestion.

If you persist on this thing, please, please include some clause about requiring the landowner's permission. Sheep can cause a lot of damage to a grassland.

Now, what the fuck is a WA committee doing, herding "as many sheep as needed through any abandoned field of which they have been notified"? Through a field? Would the committee itself come over and do that? And as many sheep as needed for what?!

I'd also want to ask what exactly in the name of all that's green do the Umerian ambassadors think would be included in "to utilize more sheep for natural and effective use in their farms"? Natural and effective use for sheep is to shear them for wool and kill them for meat. If the Umerians have other, personal needs for sheep, I honestly don't want to know.

[States of Glory WA Office]

If the Umerians have other, personal needs for sheep, I honestly don't want to know.

Fairburn: Gross! Please could someone just pass an animal protection resolution already?

[Umeria]

I don't care what advice Benjamin gave you, this is not an environmental proposal. Dry grasslands cannot sustain large-scale browsing, especially during a drought. Or any other kind of agriculture for that matter. You can't honestly encourage soil erosion and then claim it's good for the environment!

"This isn't about sustaining the grassland, it's about preventing a fire. This isn't going to harm any natural areas because our definition excludes wilderness. The lack of agriculture use during a drought is precisely the problem. If a farmer leaves his field untended while it dries out with no one to watch it, an uncontrolled fire could easily erupt. Shepherding will fix that problem."

Especially as sheep clip the grass stalks much closer to the ground than, say, cows do, leaving less of the plant to regrow itself after.

"Exactly. We wouldn't want the field to grow back and present a renewed fire hazard. And since these abandoned fields will usually come about due to a drought, most of that grass will already be dead."

Also, your definition of "abandoned field" completely ignores fallow fields.

"A area being tended for future crops counts as an area being used. Our definition will not include those."

I doubt most farmers would be very pleased with someone else grazing their sheep on their land. Except for very small family farms, it's generally speaking not profitable for one farmer to both keep sheep as well as grow crops in the large scale.

"Which is why the WASTE will only come when the land is not being used for any other purpose."

Also, apparently a prairie would count as "abandoned field"...

"Only the uninhabited, unused, and non-wilderness parts."

About the only situation where sheep are good for something else than merely sheep farming, is clipping lawns. Forcing everyone to shorten their lawn with sheep instead of using a usually not-man-powered lawnmower, would be an ecological suggestion.

"Again, this proposal does not concern grasslands that have people in them."

If you persist on this thing, please, please include some clause about requiring the landowner's permission.

"Why would we need permission from someone who has no use for the field on which we are herding?"

Sheep can cause a lot of damage to a grassland.

"An uncontrolled fire can also cause a lot of damage, to the grassland as well as any neighboring forests and cities."

Now, what the fuck is a WA committee doing, herding "as many sheep as needed through any abandoned field of which they have been notified"? Through a field? Would the committee itself come over and do that? And as many sheep as needed for what?!

"The clause has been edited. Hopefully its purpose is clearer now."

I'd also want to ask what exactly in the name of all that's green do the Umerian ambassadors think would be included in "to utilize more sheep for natural and effective use in their farms"? Natural and effective use for sheep is to shear them for wool and kill them for meat.

"Yes, wool and mutton are the uses we are suggesting. Was something unclear?"

If the Umerians have other, personal needs for sheep, I honestly don't want to know.

"Oh. Should we clarify the wool and meat use in the clause, to avoid any further misunderstanding?"

Fairburn: Gross! Please could someone just pass an animal protection resolution already?

Cubbins vomits into a paper bag.

[Araraukar]

"This isn't about sustaining the grassland, it's about preventing a fire."

Sheep are not a fire-prevention method. A controlled burn would be much better, both for the environment and fire-prevention.

This isn't going to harm any natural areas because our definition excludes wilderness.

False. Your definition excludes "designated as wilderness". Designated wilderness¹ is land intentionally set aside with the idea of preventing its urbanization. Regular wilderness² is simply untamed land that hasn't been developed yet. (OOC: RL examples one and two. Neither should be mistaken for Wilderness, also known as "Wildy".)

The lack of agriculture use during a drought is precisely the problem. If a farmer leaves his field untended while it dries out with no one to watch it, an uncontrolled fire could easily erupt.

In a proper drought, there won't be much to burn in the first place. Forests are both a much bigger danger and at a much bigger danger when it comes to wildfires, since they have much more biomass, the fire temperatures are hotter, and the fire will generate a wind of its own that encourages its spread. Additionally, due to large amounts of flammable biomass, the fire burns for a long time. Whereas a grassland fire will, due to low flammable biomass, burn in a thin line and usually very shortly. It is entirely possible to run through the fireline without injury, just remember to cover your hair.

If we're talking about proper grassland ecosystems, whether or not they have fields on them, they wouldn't count for your soil erosion promotion program anyway, since they exist in an "[area] that utilize[s] fires to benefit its ecosystem". All grasslands, savannahs, praeries and whatnot are used to fires and often the plants grow in a way that will accelerate the fire so that it burns only for a short time and thus avoids damaging anything more than the sacrificial parts of the plants involved. Grass, for example, mostly is not the green stalk you see, it's the mass of roots and stems that are underground or right below the surface. The stalks burn, but new stalks grow quickly because most of the plant wasn't damaged. And in any case the fire will release nutrients from the parts that did burn up.

Sheep on the other hand will not return the nutrients to the ecosystem, they use as much as they can to build their own bodies. Their excrement does not provide adequate nutrients compared to what they take away.

"Exactly. We wouldn't want the field to grow back and present a renewed fire hazard."

Have you ever heard of this thing called "soil erosion"? That's worse than the occasional fire.

"most of that grass will already be dead."

And thus not good for the sheep. So you're adding animal cruelty to your soil erosion promoting. Also, what would the sheep drink?

OOC: According to Fife Smallholder, the daily water requirements for sheep:

Daily Water Requirements

Adult sheep 1-2 gallons or about 4 litres
Lactating ewes 2-3 gallons or up to 10 litres
Feeder lambs 1-2 gallons
Baby lambs 0.1-0.3 gallon or about 1 litre

Note that baby lambs are calculated to get their water as milk from their mothers, which is why lactating ewes need so much, compared to other adult sheep.

Also from that site: "Sheep may consume 12 times more water in summer than in winter. Adequate intake of good-quality water is essential for ewes to excrete excess toxic substance such as oxalates, ammonia, and mineral salts." It also says that if they eat dry stuff, they obviously need more water.

"A area being tended for future crops counts as an area being used. Our definition will not include those."

But you're arguing that a field abandoned because of drought counts as an abandoned field, even if the farmer intended to continue farming on it once the drought had passed.

"Which is why the WASTE will only come when the land is not being used for any other purpose."

That would also make the proposal entirely optional on the part of your soil erosion fire-prevention program, as any reasonable nation would have a land management program for all of its land areas and thus could reasonably claim the land has a pre-destined use and thus there's no need for WASTE. (OOC: The committee acronym keeps making me think you're not serious about this.)

"Only the uninhabited, unused, and non-wilderness parts."

Designated wilderness is not the same as wilderness.

"Again, this proposal does not concern grasslands that have people in them."

It should. Most grasslands tend to have people "in" them.

"Why would we need permission from someone who has no use for the field on which we are herding?"

Because presumably the drought will pass some day and then the landowner would most likely want to continue using the land. Regardless of which, trespassing is still trespassing, whether or not you have animals with you.

"An uncontrolled fire can also cause a lot of damage, to the grassland as well as any neighboring forests and cities."

Hence why you use controlled burns, not sheep.

"The clause has been edited. Hopefully its purpose is clearer now."

Now it reads "needed to clear". What exactly does that mean? Sheep are not like lawnmowers, they don't advance in a single line and snip every grass stalk at the root. They're not machines. And unless you keep them in one area long enough without additional feeding - which in drought conditions most nations would likely class as animal cruelty - you're very unlikely to have them eat every damn thing on the property. Especially as, if it's a non-tended plot of land, it most likely contains plants that are harmful or even poisonous to the sheep, and which they most likely will leave untouched, what with being sensible animals when compared to things like humans... (OOC: Do take note that Janis is an Araraukarian bureaucrat, humans in general aren't very smart animals in her view, nevermind her being one. )

"Yes, wool and mutton are the uses we are suggesting. Was something unclear?"

The part where you need to have them unless you specialize in sheep husbandry (OOC: I know that sounds bad, it's intentional, but still the correct wording )?

"Oh. Should we clarify the wool and meat use in the clause, to avoid any further misunderstanding?"

You're still not getting the point. You do not need sheep unless you want to raise sheep for wool and meat. Yet you want to urge every farmer to have some, whether or not they need or want them. Clause 4.

(OOC notice: the "alternative use" in an earlier post, that has had people jumping to conclusions, was, yes, I admit, meant to be read the way you seem to have read it, but also as a personal joke on an "alternative use" for sheep, since this whole proposal is proposing to use sheep in a way they're not meant to - nor would be effective to, frankly - be used.

Also... I see that both Fairburn and Cubbins immediately jumped to the worst conclusion. Makes me wonder how they knew to make the connection? )

---

OOC: Just a reminder that GA #296, Prevention of Wildfires exists, if anyone wants to check it for reference.

[Separatist Peoples]

"This isn't about sustaining the grassland, it's about preventing a fire. This isn't going to harm any natural areas because our definition excludes wilderness. The lack of agriculture use during a drought is precisely the problem. If a farmer leaves his field untended while it dries out with no one to watch it, an uncontrolled fire could easily erupt. Shepherding will fix that problem."

"If your concern is wildfire prevention, you should read this."

"Exactly. We wouldn't want the field to grow back and present a renewed fire hazard. And since these abandoned fields will usually come about due to a drought, most of that grass will already be dead."

"If the field is dead, how will it grow back?"

"Which is why the WASTE will only come when the land is not being used for any other purpose."

"Perhaps the field is being used to promote meadow species in between agricultural use? Or has a recreational use? Just because something is not so designated doesn't mean it doesn't have an intended use."

"Only the uninhabited, unused, and non-wilderness parts."

"Uninhabited and unused is often an indication of wilderness."

"Why would we need permission from someone who has no use for the field on which we are herding?"

"Because the landowner still has an exclusionary right to exercise in their land. Owning land in fee simple, which is the most common way of owning property, means you have the right to use, or waste, that land as you see fit. That includes barring others from making use of it. Regardless of benefit, permission is a necessary factor, or you're trespassing and committing a crime."

"An uncontrolled fire can also cause a lot of damage, to the grassland as well as any neighboring forests and cities."

"An uncontrolled fire is a natural phenomenon that the ecosystem has a resilience against. And almost all ecosystems burn. Even wetlands burn. Sheep, as potentially introduced species, are not something an ecosystem has a protection against."

"Yes, wool and mutton are the uses we are suggesting. Was something unclear?"

"And if we have synthetic textiles that are more profitable? Or alternative protein preferences? Again, promoting certain animal husbandry practices is not itself a bad idea, but your particular execution here is poor. You might be able to take a stronger angle on a cultural heritage protection."

OOC: Kind of like how certain European governments subsidize outdated trades that they don't want to see die out, like thatching or peat cutting. Nobody needs their roof thatched, but if the last of the thatchers quit to do something actually productive, a serious chunk of cultural history is lost.