EGGS 351 Field Trip to Greene Kitchen Farm

During the fall semester, Dr. Hintz and the students in his Sustainable Food Systems Course (EGGS 351) took a field trip to Greene Kitchen Farm, which is a small meat and vegetable farm located just a couple of miles outside of Bloomsburg. Students learned about sustainable livestock grazing, movable poultry pens, and organic vegetable production for a community supported agriculture (CSA) subscription service. This was an enriching experience for the students because they had the opportunity to help out in each area of the farm that we visited. For the livestock pasture, students moved and set up portable electric fence and moved and filled a stock tank so that Joshua Greene (the farm’s proprietor) could move the herd of cattle from one pasture to another. (They learned that moving livestock from pasture to pasture on a near-daily schedule is key to sustainable maintenance of the pasture.) 

Students learned how to set up electric fences

Setting up electric Fence

Moving the a herd of cattle into a new pasture

Filling up a watering tank

Students also moved the portable, outdoor chicken and turkey pens and then fed the birds. These poultry pens are moved into livestock pasture after the livestock are rotated to a new pasture. The birds peck through the cow pies, receiving high protein feed in the form of grubs and larvae and removing potential disease pathogens from the pasture in the process. To top off the visit, students picked green beans in the organic vegetable rows for the farm’s CSA subscribers. Being actively involved in the afternoon’s farm work really made the day for the students.. All in all, a beautiful afternoon and an enlightening and enriching experience for everyone.