Animal Tractor Systems

When planned and managed properly, animals can be key components in sustainable farming systems, enhancing important cycles of nature such as nutrient cycling and balancing of insect populations. A well-designed system with animals can also greatly reduce the human labor required to care for the animals and to prepare and maintain crop areas.

Animal tractor systems are a sustainable, cost-effective, and humane way to integrate animals into an agricultural system. Although the term "tractor" can be confusing, animal tractor systems do not involve draft animals.

Animal tractors are shelter-pen systems where animals such as chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, pigs, or goats become integral parts of agricultural environments. In animal tractor systems, the animals are managed for productivity of eggs, milk, or meat. At the same time, the scratching, pecking, tilling, and manure spreading behavior of animals is used to prepare, clean, or maintain planting areas.

In this issue of The Overstory, special guest author Andy Lee shares his extensive personal experience working with animals including chickens, pigs, turkeys, and goats in effective animal tractor systems. He describes animal tractors for many purposes, including market garden operations, orchard settings, pond preparation, land clearing, and pasture improvement/diversification.

http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory50.html

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