The Patriot-News features a York County farm that incorporates sustainable practices, such as pasture-raising animals and using them to till the soil.
Specifically designed moveable pens for the poultry and pigs are a crucial part of the operation. For example, mobile structures for the pigs are built to be the width of a vegetable row. The porkers till the soil as they voraciously root and forage for food, preparing the ground for the next crop. No Rototiller or tractor is used on the farm, unless you count the animals.
Another resource-saving system is the row of rain barrels lining each side of the hoop house where carrots, peas, lettuces, tomatoes and other vegetable crops grow. The barrels are connected to drip tape irrigation lines that automatically water the vegetable beds. Walden has plans to add a second tier of vegetables above those growing on the ground to maximize the use of space in the hoop house.
(Farmer Homer) Walden learned from other pioneers and their methods, including Joel Salatin and his well-known mobile poultry pens, but refined them with his own designs that he believes make them more efficient. He wants his systems to be easy for kids and older people, not just farmers in prime physical condition.
Original source: The Patriot-News
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