Bossy* Talk

    Farmer Jones’ guernseys were gossiping as they languidly chewed their cuds.  “Chin up girls,” began Daisy, “it looks like spring is still a long way off.”

    “I can’t wait to get out of the barn and on the pasture,” piped in Elsie. 

    “It’ll certainly be better than this!” added Grumpy Gertrude.  “But I don’t see why Jones can’t get his pastures to grow like Farmer Brown’s next door.  After the first month or so, all our grass seems kind of picked over.  Brown’s is always fresh and tasty looking.”

    “Last summer I was talking with some of the girls across the fence,” Daisy said.  “They told me that every day they get to move to a new section of grass.  After ten days or so, they’re back where they started, and the grass is all fresh again.”

    “Once I heard Farmer Brown talking about his girls to some agent from the county,” added Elsie.  “That man said Brown’s plan was called something like…’rotational grazing.’  He said it makes the grass stronger by helping it grow deeper roots, and that makes the soil healthier too.  It even cleans the air by taking something called ‘carbon’ out of the air and putting it into the soil where it can do some good.   That man said Brown’s cows were kind of like modern day bison – rotating from one grazing ground to another.  Bison and other wild herds helped keep something called ‘the carbon cycle’ in balance and helped create the deep, black soil that famers love.”

    “Girl…since when did you learn to use big words?” grumped Gertrude.  “I just wish Jones could learn some of this stuff; I love tender grass.

    “That county guy said Jones could learn more by taking a trip to some place.  He said, ‘Go to http://soilcarboncoalition.org to learn more!’” Elise continued.  “Brown is so proud of his girls; he called them ‘Heroes!’  The way they were feeding and moving around was a ‘sustainable’ way to do things.  He said that taking care of the soil and the air is how we all must live.  We need to protect the world around us because we aren’t ever leaving the farm.  We are forever…Earthbound.”   

* Bossy – old-timer speak for ‘milk cow’