Our Commitment to Wildlife Conservation

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There are already numerous established hedgerows on the farm and we are always working to create new ones.  Hedgerows not only provide important travel corridors and food sources, but also help to protect the sensitive riparian areas near our pastures from erosion.

We have installed numerous nesting boxes for native songbirds, specifically swallows and bluebirds.  These birds are not only beautiful to behold, but play a hugely important role in mosquito and gnat reduction on the farm.

A balanced ecosystem requires both predators and prey.  To help us better control garden pests, we make sure to create habitat (and perches) for predatory birds such as hawks and owls.  Mammalian predators are also hugely beneficial, and we encourage creatures such as weasels and coyotes, both of whom work to keep our gopher, ground squirrel, and rodent populations in check.

Each summer, we work to time our haying in order to protect young turkey poults.  By delaying our haying until a bit later in the season, we provide vital cover and predator protection.  Later, once haying is complete, the open fields are an excellent source of grasshoppers for these growing birds.

We spent six months analyzing wildlife movement before putting up any fencing, thus helping to prevent impediment of important travel corridors.  In addition, we placed gates at specific points that could be left open during certain seasons, allowing wildlife to more easily pass through areas of the property.

The best way to coexist with wildlife is to prevent conflict!  By enclosing our livestock and poultry in secure shelters each night, we help to decrease the chance of a negative interaction.  Just because we understand the importance of predators on our landscape doesn't mean we want to encourage conflict.