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| During this time of year, the cows at Mac Dee Dee's Organic Farm are calving, but that's not the only thing they do during springtime. Keep reading to find out what planting time is like! |
Last fall, my trusty, junior photographer and I, Daniel P. Smithwater
and I went to Mac Dee Dee's Farm during the harvest time to see what
kind of operation Mac Dee Dee goes through when it's time to bring in
the fruits of his and his helper's labors. But guess what: in order
to harvest, you have to make something to harvest! During
springtime, Mac Dee Dee's farm is already busy preparing for fall's
harvest. So Daniel and I went back to Mac Dee Dee's farm to learn all
about what Mac Dee Dee does to prepare for fall.
“We like to start our sowing nice and early,” says Mac Dee Dee.
“Starting early has its advantages . . . I [always] know when it's
time to start planting and other spring activities when the cold
weather finally looses its winter grip, the snow melts and the length
of the day increases. That's when I know it's time to begin.” This
year, they started harvesting on March 4th. When we
arrived at the farm, Mac Dee Dee was all too happy to show us his
spring operations. First, he showed us the pastures where the cows
are kept. As you might recall from our previous articles, the cows
and other animals are kept in wide open areas on the 50,000 acre
farm, unlike many farms where the animals are kept in cramped, dark
and hideously smelly conditions where they never see the light of day
or get the chance to feel grass beneath their feet.
The farm also has a lot of cows and other animals giving birth this
time of year. Mac Dee Dee's wife, Jules Dee Dee explains, “During
the springtime, we reg have our cows tested to see if their pregnant
and normally we'll allow them to just give birth naturally in the
field, just like their ancestors would have done in nature.” One of
the cows, she went on to explain, would have had some birthing
problems if she'd been allowed to give birth naturally and without a
farmer's assistance, so the farmers brought her into one of the
birthing barns and we got to watch the cow give birth to her newborn!
Then Mac Dee Dee led us to the fields used for planting corn and
other crops. Man are they expansive! Mac Dee Dee is reported for
saying, “When it's time to plant corn and the other 'field crops'
as we call them (including soybeans, wheat and rice), we fly our
planter-planes out low over the fields and they spray the seeds out
over the field.” Now, what most farmers will do after seeds are
sprinkled over the field is use planes to spray pesticides and other
chemicals (actual chemicals) over the seeds! Pesticides are
used to keep pests away from the crops and other chemicals farmers
often spray is used to make the crops grow bigger and faster than
they would naturally. Not only are these pesticides bad for the soil
(as it seeps into the soil, eventually reaches water sources like
rivers and lakes and flows into the ocean), but it's also bad for our
bodies when we consume the chemicals with the food we eat. Mac Dee
Dee's Farm doesn't use pesticides and other chemicals because they're
a 100% organic farm, thank goodness! This made me curious as to how
they keep pests away. When we asked Mac Dee Dee, his response was,
“Well, there are numerous other ways to keep pests at bay than
using nasty pesticides. God already has plenty of pest-eating
creatures in nature that help us farmers that we encourage to come
around. Ladybugs are a perfect example . . . aphids are tiny insects
[that] like to like to suck the fluids out of plants, causing them to
sicken. Ladybugs eat aphids! And that's just one example of a
pest-eating creature. There are plenty more.”
Mac Dee Dee's crops will continue to grow taller as spring turns into
summer until it's time for harvest once again. Before leaving the
farm, Mac Dee Dee showed us the part of the chicken coop where the
hens lay their eggs. Of course, Mac Dee Dee's chicken coop isn't the
size of your average chicken coop – it's way larger to
accommodate the hundreds of meat, breeding and laying birds. “They
lay their eggs all year-round,” says one of Mac Dee Dee's sons
named James. “Like the other animals, we like to let the chickens
and turkeys roam around the whole farm except during the really cold
parts of winter. We don't have to come out everyday into the coop to
check whether or not the hens have laid eggs because we built special
sensors into each of the custom-made nesting boxes and they let us
know when the chickens have laid.” The chickens seem pretty happy
sitting on their nests in the chicken coop. If they knew Easter was
around the corner, they might not be so happy!
Mac Dee Dee's Farm is one of the largest 100% organic farms in the
entire United States and it takes a lot of work to run it, especially
when it's planting time. “Tiring as it is at the end of the day,”
Mac Dee Dee says, “the thought that people are happier and
healthier because of the way we raise our crops and animals makes me
feel great inside, and I thank God for that.”
Written by: Mr. Smiley
Photographer: Daniel P.
Smithwater
Edited by: Christian
Ryan, Joy Hammond
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