On the farm title


Here are the answers to your farm questions.

  1. Chickens lay mostly white and brown eggs. You can buy both kinds at the grocery store and directly from some farmers.
    basket of brown and white eggs

  2. A plow is a tool made out of steel that is very sharp and cuts into the earth and turns it over as it is pulled through the fields.

  3. An average bale of hay weighs about 60 pounds. One of the big rolls of hay you might see stacked at the edge of hay fields weigh as much as 30 bales of hay--about 1800 pounds. Farmers cover the rolls with plastic to preserve them from the elements. (That means the sun, rain and snow won't hurt them as much).
    bale of hay    rolled bale of hay

  4. I'm sure you can name more than five. I will list just some that can be on a farm. Cows, both dairy and beef; horses, both for pleasure and work; chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, sheep, goats for meat and milk; rabbits, pigs and dogs and cats of course.

  5. A farmer does not need a tractor to work his farm. Many farmers (like the Amish) use draft horses to pull their plows and farm implements. Horses are quieter and can reproduce themselves. They have been used for centuries to help man with all his heavy work. One of the largest breeds is the Percheron from France. It can weigh as much as 2400 pounds (that's a lot of horse!) and was used to carry knights into battle with heavy armour. You are probably familiar with the Clydsdale breed from Scotland. They are the ones used in the commercial in the eight-horse hitch for Anheiser-Busch Co. Most farmers do use tractors to make their work easier. Some of the kinds of tractors you might see are: John Deere (the ones that are green with the yellow deer), FarmAll and NewHolland (which are usually red), and Case (which is also red).
    A tractor does lots of work!
  6. tomatoes A crop is something that is grown or cultivated for market or for personal use. Corn is a crop; as are wheat and soybeans. Tomatoes are a crop and you could call beef cattle a crop as well, though usually a crop is a plant. corn on the cob

  7. A truck garden is where produce is grown for market. All of the vegetables we eat are grown in truck gardens or green houses. A kitchen garden is one that is at your home for the cook (usually your Mom) to gather food for the table. Even kings have had kitchen gardens so they didn't have to depend on others for fresh food for their tables. I don't think they worked in the garden themselves but they liked the fresh food.
    sweet peppers     head lettuce     trunk garden     carrots     onions

  8. A dairy cow can produce an average of 40 pounds of milk a day. That's about 5 gallons for each cow. The average for a year is 1400 pounds. The state with the most milk production is Wisconsin and the breed with the highest records has been the Holstein--the black and white cows.

  9. Baby ducks follow their parents to the water as soon as they leave the nest. In the springtime watch for familes of ducks and geese on ponds--the little yellow or brown and yellow fuzzy spots behind the parents are the ducklings.
    gosling, a baby goose


  10. Baby horses and cows (foals and calves) try to stand as soon as possible after birth--they're hungry!!

  11. Organic farming is the method used to raise animals and grow crops without the use of synthetic chemicals. This is one way to reduce pollution of our food. We have only used chemicals since around 1900. Now most foods are produced with the use of chemicals. For a food to be labeled "organic" it must meet strict rules and guidelines set by the government. If you do not use any chemicals in your home garden, all of your produce is organic.
    I love working in my garden.  I wear a hat because of the sun. garden row

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