Dear Friends. Some of you have heard by now of
the Steep Hollow Farm Sustainable Chicken
Project. We are looking for 40 subscribers
living in downtown Ithaca* to provide food scraps
for our compost system. Many downtown residents
may not have the inclination, time, permission
from their landlords, or the space to
compost. We'd like to collect your food scraps,
compost them at our farm, and allow our 95 laying
hens (and a few roosters) to forage on the
insects and other decomposing organisms living in
the active compost. The compost critters will
become a significant component of the protein
requirement of our flock, reducing our reliance
on traditional grains as a protein
source. Instead of going to the landfill, as is
currently the case, the composted food scraps
from urban residents would become part of our
chicken's nutrient base and the urban
participants would have access to high quality,
sustainable and locally raised eggs, establishing
an urban-rural nutrient cycle. We hope this
will become a demonstration project to illustrate
one way in which local agriculture can become
less dependent upon fossil fuels, reduce its
greenhouse gas output and become more sustainable overall.
We are asking for a $35 per year subscription fee
from each participating household to cover our
associated costs. This fee could be less per
unit for multiple units in one building. (The
average participating household could easily see
more than a $35 per year drop in the cost of City
of Ithaca trash tags.) Ideally, we need 40
subscribers to optimize our production. *We are
a small scale project and we are now only taking
memberships from the downtown Ithaca area as it
is unsustainable for us to collect food scraps
from outlying areas at this time. If you are
interested or would like more information, please
contact me by e-mail or at 342-0864. Tom Shelley
and Christianne White from Steep Hollow Farm.
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Steep Hollow Farm, Ithaca, New York
Sustainable Chicken Project
Do you eat eggs?
Do you cook at home?
Do you wish you could turn your food scraps into
productive compost but dont have the space,
permission, or inclination to make a compost pile in your urban neighborhood?
Do you live in Ithaca, on the flats? Southside,
Northside, Fall Creek, Downtown areas?
Your food scraps could turn into eggs
.
How does this happen?
Steep Hollow Farm is raising sustainable
chickens for egg production. We are doing this by
trying to reduce fossil fuel consumption and
greenhouse gas emissions to the extent possible.
Reduction in the use of commercial grain crops is
one way to accomplish these goals. One technique
that has been proven to work as a way to reduce
traditional grain inputs is to generate compost
from household food scraps and use the critters
in the active compostinsects, worms and other
decomposing organismsas chicken feed.
How can you participate?
* Donate your table scraps. We will provide
you with a five-gallon container with a lid for
storage of your food scraps and provide
instructions for preparing your food scraps.
* Well pick up your container and supply you with a clean container.
* As the hens start laying in July and August
youll get some eggs back as a thank-you, and be
able to purchase additional eggs, at a reasonable
price, which could be delivered when we pick up your compost.
We need a name for our project!
All of those persons or households who contribute
food scraps to our compost system are eligible to
provide an entry to name the sustainable chicken
project. The winner will receive a dozen eggs.
For more information contact Tom Shelley at
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
<mailto:[email protected]>or 342-0864.
_______________________________________________
For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please
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