This morning we woke up really early and drove to Cory Farms, which primarily specializes in grass-fed lamb and beef, though we found out the family is also interested in many other agricultural and non-agricultural pursuits. When we first got to the farm, we went to the barn to milk the goats that they had. While I did not participate in the milking, I watched, and they gave each goat individual attention as they milked it, brushed it, and then let it out back into the pasture. The family drinks the raw milk from the goats, which is an important part of their diet. After milking the goats, we helped pick both rhubarb and asparagus from their organic gardens, which we were to have later as part of our lunch. We then were shown both where they kept their broilers (meat chickens) and egg laying chickens. The broilers were kept in movable coops so that they could be relocated around the pasture, giving time for the grass to replenish itself using the manure from the chickens. The broilers were also fed with a soy-free feed, and they explained that there was a market for chickens raised without soy. Because of this lower protein diet, the chickens do not grow as quickly as conventionally raised chickens. The layers were in a similar movable coop (an egg mobile modeled after the one made famous by Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in Virginia).  The egg mobile was above ground (unlike the coop designed for the broilers) and had areas for the chickens to lay the eggs. The other large difference was that these chickens could go in and out of the coop during the day as they pleased to roam about the pasture. They were, however. closed in at night to protect them from predators. After seeing the chickens and collecting eggs from them, Tom Cory took us into his shop to talk to us more about the business side of their operation and to show us samples of his meat products. The product that the Corys seemed most excited about was their meat sticks, which are similar to Slim Jims but are made with their grass-fed beef and include no preservatives or additives. We then rode in the van with Tom over to one of his pastures, where there were cattle and sheep grazing. This was the first time we had seen sheep on our trip. We were going over to the pastures to move all of the livestock from one fenced in area to another, and we had to put up a temporary fence around the new area. This is done to minimize the amount that the livestock can graze on to a single plot of land.  The Corys own wetlands, which is where they extract most of the water that the use to water their livestock. On our way back, we noticed a lamb that appeared to be very sick and close to death, so Tom put it in the back of the van to take back to the farm. However, on the way back it died, and many of the other students were upset about it. It was not upsetting to me because animals in the wild die of disease all the time and this lamb died naturally. It is bizarre to me that people can be saddened by a lamb dying naturally but can continue to support the systematic raising of animals to be killed by supporting the meat industry. The last thing we did before lunch at the Corys was to help in their garlic plot by laying down cardboard and composted mulch to keep the weeds from growing up in between the plant rows. At this point, we went inside to eat and to hear Mary talk about how she views food as a medicine and how she believed that eating correctly can help to prevent sickness. When her family did get sick, Mary promoted the idea of home remedies to heal the ailments rather than taking her children to the doctor. I really respect this outlook on health, as I feel that people are too quick to medicate themselves and trust in pharmaceutical companies when our bodies have the means of healing themselves. Also Mom if you read this the Corys are largely influenced by Joel Salatin’s ideas.  The Corys even generously gave the program one of his books and have attended seminars at Polyface and hosted him at their farm.

After we left the Cory Farm we went to Lincolnway Energy, which is an ethanol plant. While there we learned all about the different processes that go into the production of ethanol and were able to see them happening during our tour of the plant. We also talked a little bit about government policy, as our tour guide was worried about what the new Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) would do to the ethanol industry. His answer to those who criticize the ethanol industry for being too dependent on government support is that oil is subsidized even more than ethanol by the federal government.