This was taken this evening, looking out from the door to the chicken yard. It’s a cold day, barely above freezing, but that doesn’t stop the chickens from venturing far and wide.
The New York Times had an article today titled The Seeds of a New Generation by Michael Moss, describing corn farmers in the Corn Belt who are starting a movement by turning part of their corn fields into fruit and vegetable fields. According to the article:
The success of this movement, still in its toddler stage, could affect more than just the farmers. Field corn, bolstered by subsidies and corporate research, now dominates American agriculture and constitutes much of what we eat in processed foods. A turn toward locally grown produce would lessen the dependency on California (now plagued by drought), slash carbon emissions from trucking, make produce available to more people, increase its appeal through freshness and perhaps even lower prices.
These farmers are finding they can earn much more per acre growing fruits and vegetables than they can growing corn.