4-H leader Jeanine Moyer asked her 4-H members this summer, how their families make every day Earth Day on their farm. All are members of the Eramosa 4-H Beef Club in Ontario. Here are the responses she received from these young environmentalists:

How we make Earth Day every day on our farms:

Luke, age 14

We make every day Earth Day on our family farm by registering for an Environmental Farm Plan and by recycling all materials that are recyclable. There are just a few examples of ways we make our farm environmentally friendly.

Edward, age 19

A lot of our feed supplies come in plastic or cardboard containers and we recycle these each day.

Valerie, age 18

We make our own feed for our 4-H calves every two weeks. To transport the feed from the mixer to our barn we put it into 40 kg feed bags. Since we don’t buy a lot of feed in 40 kg bags we reuse these bags for as long as possible, year after year. Not only do we use these bags for feed, but we also use them to collect garbage in the barn. Reusing these bags is something that we do on our farm to make everyday Earth Day.

Danielle, age 16

We compost manure on our farm to serve as a natural fertilizer. It returns nutrients to the soil without the use of harsh chemicals. Allison, age 15 We use baler twine to fix almost anything on our farm. After holding square bales together, we use the twine to hold fences, doors, tying bags, holding shrubs, etc. This spring I have helped my Uncle Allan bag, tie and sell manure that can easily be used in gardens. We used baler twine to tie the bags and we have found a way for cow manure to be used for a good purpose to make every day Earth Day.

Kate, age 15

On the farm we make every day Earth Day by growing our own food for ourselves and the cattle. For example, we grow the hay and most of the corn for the cows and we grow different vegetables in our garden. Growing our own food right on location cuts down on pollution from transportation because we don’t have to drive and truck the products. Also, by growing our own vegetables we don’t use plastic containers or packaging like the food you buy at the grocers. This means that we will have less to throw in the trash, thus producing less garbage and gasses from decomposing trash in a land fill.

Rachel, age 15

I recycle whatever I can. I know a lot of people don’t, but I believe recycling is my part in saving the environment.

Amy, age 22

To care for the environment on a daily basis in my household we have a system for recycling. Recycling helps to limit the amount of natural material that must be taken from our environment and it reduces the toxins created by waste disposal. It is also important to have a planned system for recycling on your farm. Many farms use a dumpster service and discard all the things that they no longer need in a single dumpster. Creating a plan and arranging receptacles to recycle items around the farm such as containers contributes, and specially disposing of hazardous materials are easy alternatives to using a single dumpster that will benefit the environment.

Wade, age 10

One thing I do on my Poppy’s farm is clean up the yard. I help recycle the plastic bottles and papers into the blue boxes. I also help put the yard trimmings in the compost pile that my Poppy has on his farm.

Owen, age 11

One thing that we do on our farm to make every day Earth Day is that we spread manure. But we still use a tractor which gives off exhaust, but it is better than chemical fertilizer.

Allan, 4-H leader for 18 years

I have been farming for almost 30 years on our family farm. I am the sixth generation to raise livestock and grow crops on the same farm for over 175 years. Agriculture sustainability and environmental stewardship obviously has to be very important to us to be able to continue the legacy of our farm. Over the past years I have tried to improve our soil’s structure by using reduced tillage, no-till cropping, manure management and crop rotation. These concepts all take years to show signs of improvement, but the one thing our family farm, the Wallace Farm, has is time.

Jeanine, 4-H leader for 7 years

We make every day Earth Day on our farm by respecting and caring for our land and waterways. We test our soil each year for nutrients, this enables us to apply only the necessary amounts of fertilizer, and most of the fertilizer we use is organic matter, or manure. Reducing unnecessary fertilizers prevents them from leaching into the ground water and helps our crops grow to their best potential.

 

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Posted by FFC on October 12th, 2012 :: Filed under 4-H,Agricultural Advocates,Agriculture Education,Beef cattle,Canada,Earth Day,Environment,Environmental Farm Plan,Farm life,Uncategorized
Tags :: 4-H, agriculture, animals, beef, Canada, earth day, environment, Environmental Farm Plan, farm, Farmers
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