Grass
What is the role of grass on local sustainable farms?
Grass is the foundation of local sustainable farms and everything on the farm relies on it.
Where are the cows kept on local sustainable farms?
They are kept in pastures.
What animals do the laying hens follow on the farms to "clean up" after?
They follow the cows by going to the pastures where they were three days earlier.
How do the turkeys make the land more fertile in the pastures they are put in?
Their waste fertilizes the vines and trees.
What type of energy do local sustainable farms use instead of fossil fuel energy?
They use solar energy for the farms.
How does the grass make its food?
The grass makes it food by using the sunlight in the process of photosynthesis.
What is the diet of the cows that are kept on local sustainable farms?
They only eat grass. They aren't given corn or other grains that they aren't supposed to have.
What is one of the three foods that the farmers give the chickens that are raised to be slaughtered, in addition to the chickens' natural diet of grass and the insects found in it?
Corn, kelp, or toasted soybeans.
How do rabbits help turn wood chips into good compost?
Their urine, which is rich in nitrogen, is added to the pile of wood chips. So, when it turns into soil, it is more fertile.
How do local sustainable farms promote biodiversity?
They do this by raising many different plants and animals. They aren't monoculture farms.
What is the result of grass that isn't grown with chemicals, such as pesticides or fertilizer?
There is no waste or pollution that harms the environment.
What is the "Law of the Second Bite"?
Cows shouldn't take a second bite of the same patch of grass because it weakens the grass and doesn't allow the grass to regrow. As a result, the grass can eventually die and not continue to grow. By only taking one bite, the cows let the grass grow back.
Why are the chickens that are going to be slaughtered moved to a new pasture every day? (It's not to follow the cows)
They are moved to let the grass regrow. Also, they are moved because if they stayed in the same place for too long, then there would be too much waste (which has lots of nitrogen) and it would poison the grass and soil.
Before pigs are allowed to dig through the pile of cow manure, corn, wood chips, and straw to search for corn what happens to the corn that was added to it?
The corn ferments and turns into alcohol. This makes the pigs more eager to look for, and eat, the corn.
What don't local sustainable farms use?
They don't use any chemical fertilizer, pesticides, or fossil fuels.
What happens to part of the root system of the grass after it is bitten?
Part of the root system dies, and is broken down into new soil.
How do local sustainable farmers follow the "Law of the Second Bite"?
The farmers follow this rule by moving the cows to a new pasture every day. So, it prevents the cows from being in the same area for too long, and doesn't let the cows take a second bite of the same patch of grass.
How do laying hens turn wood chips into compost?
They dig through the pile of wood chips, scratch them, and turn them over while they look for worms, which helps turn into compost.
What do pigs do on local sustainable farms?
Once the corn ferments in a pile of cow manure, straw, and wood chips, the pigs dig through it to eat the corn. This helps turn the pile into compost by killing bacteria and airing it out.
In comparison to industrial farming, what is one thing that's different about the food from local sustainable farms after it has already been grown?
1.) It isn't processed, 2.) It doesn't travel long distances to reach the buyer (It's sold locally)
What type of plant is grass? What does this mean?
Grasses are perennial plants, which means that they don't need to have their seeds be spread for the grass to regrow and be reproduced.
How do the cows "give back" to the grass they eat and help it?
The cows help the grass because their manure acts as a fertilizer that gives the grass important nutrients that help it regrow.
How do laying hens act as a "sanitation crew"?
They follow the cows and dig through their manure to pick out any larvae and insects. As a result, the farmers don't need to use poisonous chemicals to get rid of the parasites in the manure.
What are three benefits of having a forest next to a local sustainable farm?
1.) Provide water supply, 2.) Keep ponds/streams from drying up, 3.) Keep the farm cool in the summer, 4.) Protects the farm from the wind, 5.) Birds in the forest eat the insects, 6.) Coyotes don't eat animals on the farm because there are enough of them in the forest, 7.) Trees can be added to compost.
How do local sustainable farms work?
They work by cycling the animals through the farm in an efficient pattern that doesn't use chemicals or fossil fuels.