Every day is Earth Day for farmers! Have you heard this line before? What does it mean?
71% of our world’s surface is covered with water. All water that leaves our farm goes into local creeks and streams and ultimately flows into the mighty Mississippi. Ultimately, it protects common water resources all year round.
Here are some of the things we do every season on our farm to celebrate Earth Day every day and be a sustainable part of our community.
Since Earth Day falls in the spring, this is a good start. Right now, farmers across the Midwest are preparing for spring planting. All annual crops, such as corn, soybeans, oats and sorghum, Sudan grass, are planted in spring.
Our cows and other farm animals produce manure all year round. Manure is a nutrient-rich fertilizer that helps our crops grow. We take the manure to the fields and utilize it before planting “minimally invasive cultivation,“ or as my dad likes to call it, “mixing the dirt a little!” Mixing manure with the soil creates a nice base for the plants we plant.
In fields that are not manured, we sometimes utilize no-till, which helps reduce water runoff and promotes soil biology. We also plant areas for insects to support pollinate our crops.
On many farms, including ours, spring is a busy time for little ones! In March alone, 37 calves were born. In spring, we also invite juvenile pigs and chicks to our farm. Whether it’s animals or crops, in spring we celebrate sustainability with recent life!
In the summer we are busy collecting fodder that will feed our cows all winter. We also spend time tending pastures and moving heifers to fresh grass to prevent overgrazing. The crops grow quickly and everything on the farm is green!
As you drive through rural Wisconsin, have you noticed alternating strips of corn and soybeans? This is called contouring. Each strip acts as a retaining wall and prevents erosion by keeping water and soil in place in each field.
Autumn seems to close the chapter of the year when the crops are harvested and everything changes colors. In my opinion, this is the most stimulating time for sustainability when it comes to crops. I love planting cover crops after the silage corn harvest and watching the different plant mixes grow and create a layer of green cover over the soil and living roots in the soil. These plants also protect the soil from wind erosion in winter and water erosion when snow melts in spring.
In winter, we pray for a layer of snow that will insulate our crops. Winter also requires special care for animals. Farmers are the best recyclers. We utilize the stems or stalks of the grain crops we grow as bedding to keep our cattle sultry and arid throughout the winter. These processed plants also mix with animal waste to create great fertilizer for our crops for the next growing season. Some of the harvest we harvest is fermented in giant plastic bags and stored until winter. Used plastic is collected by a recycling company and turned into garbage bags.
Although there is only one Earth Day a year on the calendar, farmers spend the entire year finding ways to achieve sustainability. Sustainability can be defined in two words – dynamic and hearty. We utilize living plants and hearty animals to sustain life in the soil, dynamic, neat waters and a hearty planet. Healthy animals, hearty crops, hearty people and hearty finances are everyday life on Earth Day for farmers.
