Free-range farming

68 Pages·2016·7.721 MB·English

by  Mickelson, Trina

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G r o w i n g
Green
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Free Range
Farming
by Trina Mickelson
LERNER PUBLICATIONS • MINNEAPOLIS
Copyright © 2016
by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
Content Consultant: Louise Calderwood, Sterling College, Craftsbury Common, Vermont
All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior
written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief
quotations in an acknowledged review.
Lerner Publications Company
A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
241 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
For reading levels and more information, look up this title at
www.lernerbooks.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Mickelson, Trina, author.
Title: Free-range farming / by Trina Mickelson.
Other titles: Growing green.
Description: Minneapolis : Lerner Publications, [2016] | Series: Growing green | Audience:
Ages 11-14. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015019694| ISBN 9781467793896 (lb : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781467797108
(eb pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Agricultural systems—Juvenile literature. | Livestock—Juvenile literature.
| Sustainable agriculture—Juvenile literature. | Organic farming—Juvenile literature. |
Animal welfare—Juvenile literature.
Classification: LCC SF140.P38 M53 2016 | DDC 630—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015019694
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 – VP – 12/31/15
Table of
Contents
Chapter 1
Farming Moves Indoors 4
Chapter 2
What Is Free-Range Farming? 20
Chapter 3
Benefits of Animal Welfare 32
Chapter 4
Challenges of Change 42
Chapter 5
The Future of Free-Range Farming 50
Working as a Rancher 60
Glossary 61
Source Notes 61
Selected Bibliography 62
Further Information 63
Index 64
1

Farming Moves
Indoors
When most people hear the word farm, a certain image often comes
to mind. A rambling farmhouse stands in the middle of green
fields. A few cows graze in the pasture while chickens scratch the dirt by a
henhouse. Pigs doze in a barn or outside in the sunshine. Farm animals that
are allowed to move around freely and eat what they choose are said to be
“free-range” livestock.
From the dawn of agriculture until the middle of the last century, this
was a typical farm setting. A small herd of cows could graze on fresh grass
and clover. Cows thrive on these foods, which are inedible to people. Cows
then provide milk, which people can drink. Bulls or older cows may be
butchered for meat.
After a few months in one pasture, the farmer would typically move the
cows to another pasture. Then the pigs took over the first field. They turned
up the soil with their strong snouts, revealing a feast of roots and insects.
Pigs are omnivores, so they enjoy many foods. Pigs can even eat cow dung.
Then chickens went into the field, finding insects to eat in the turned-up
Many people imagine farms as places where animals are
free to roam.
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soil and depositing their own waste. Chicken manure is high in nitrates,
which helps the grass grow thick and lush. Then the cows returned the
following year to graze the fresh grass that grew in the fertilized soil.
The different plants and animals worked together. Animals ate foods
that people do not eat, such as grass and insects. The animal manure
Before farming moved largely indoors, most cows spent their days grazing in
grass fields.
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became fertilizer, which helped new grass grow. This made an efficient
loop with little waste left over. Farm animals had space, some freedom of
movement, and usually enough food. They provided milk and eggs, and
eventually meat, to their farmers and local people. Variations on this system
worked successfully for thousands of years around the world. However,
rapid population growth in the twentieth century made it difficult for
farmers to grow enough food to feed everyone. New technology has
helped them to raise more and larger animals on the same amount of land.
But not everyone agrees that these new practices are the best choice.
Animal Feeding Operations
Farming in the United States went through major changes in the middle of
the twentieth century. With the development of mechanized equipment,
farms grew in size and began to specialize in raising one type of animal.
Sometimes they even specialize in animals in one phase of their life, such
as piglets from birth to weaning. This specialization allows farmers to
provide individualized housing, feed, and veterinary care for each stage
of an animal’s life. Many of these animal feeding operations (AFOs) have a
full-time veterinarian on staff to ensure animals receive medical attention.
AFOs can protect animals and farmers from certain threats. When
animals live on a pasture, they are exposed to predators and parasites.
Animals and the farmers caring for them can be injured during mating and
as mothers protect their young. AFO animals do not go out into fields to
graze; instead, they are kept in pens or cages, often indoors, and fed grain,
primarily corn and soy. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
defines these small areas as confined spaces.
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AFOs, sometimes called factory farms, are an efficient way to produce
a lot of meat, milk, and eggs without requiring a lot of land to house
livestock. It costs less to house and feed the animals because the farmers
don’t need to buy and maintain large pastures. Grain feed is also cheap
because the US government offers s ubsidies, or money grants, to farmers
who grow corn and soy, which keeps prices low. AFOs have helped make
these products an affordable part of an everyday diet for many Americans.
AFOs with a very large number of animals are called concentrated
animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The number of animals that makes the
Case In Point
The Value of Corn
The US government has paid subsidies to farmers since the 1930s. The goal
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