Farming Comes to Town
You no longer need to travel “out of town and into the country” to visit a farm. The newest trend in farming is called – Urban Farming. Urban farming incorporates agricultural plots located in urban areas where people raise animals and plants to produce food. If you’re getting ready to take the plunge into urban farming or you’re already active – we’d love to help. Urban farmers also use Drinking Posts to provide clean, fresh, water year-round to the animals under their care.
Fresh, Healthy Food
Urban farms can be an important source of food for many communities in the United States and across the globe. City farms can vary in size from a small vacant lot to several acres. With more and more people moving to cities, food resources in urban areas are less accessible than in rural areas.
This disproportionately affects the poorest communities, creating what is often termed food deserts. A food desert refers to a lack of healthy food options for some city dwellers. Fresh produce, meats and eggs present themselves as being more flavorful and desirable than store bought products. Urban farming is associated with increased consumption of fresh foods leading to healthier lifestyles for urbanites. Daily intake of a variety of fruits and vegetables is linked to a decreased risk of chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Urban farming is a healthy practice for everyone to enjoy!
Raising Livestock in Town
When most of us think of urban farms we think of fresh vegetables and fruit or berries. Not every city dweller is wanting to or is ready to raise a goat, horse, cattle, or pigs in town. Before you can introduce backyard livestock to your home, first be sure to research local zoning laws. How many animals can you keep? What kind of animals can you raise? What are the facility requirements, and can you provide the proper care of these animals? In many cases, you will need to submit documentation to your city before you can set up a livestock farm in your backyard. There are also laws on how you can go about selling milk or eggs from your animals.
While keeping urban livestock can require a delicate balancing act with your next-door neighbors, it is possible to raise animals in the city without getting neighbors up in arms about noise and odors. Proper housing, maintenance and your animal’s overall health and hygiene will go a long way to ensure the animals are welcome in your neighborhood.
Urban farming can reconnect people with how food is grown. That is, people who participate in urban farming learn what it takes to grow different crops and livestock— and appreciate how difficult raising food can be. These new urban farmers can better grasp the seasonality of different fruits and vegetables. That knowledge is, at the very least, a handy skill in the grocery store. In addition, they can learn why food waste occurs. They can see firsthand the ins and outs of a complex, vital system most of us have lost touch with.
Urban Farming and Water
Whether your livestock lives in the country or the city, a Drinking Post Frost Free Automatic Livestock Waterer provides an unlimited supply of fresh-water year round. You can connect your Drinking Post to any pressurized
water line. By keeping the operating valve 18 inches below your local frost line, your animals get fresh-water without the need for electric heaters. That’s an important money-saver and safety feature you won’t get from a heated water tank or trough.
The Drinking Post drinking bowl fills with fresh, clean, 50-degree water year-round. Your animal simply pushes the paddle to fill the bowl. When the animal is finished drinking, releasing the paddle allows any remaining water to drain back below the frost line. So, there’s never any standing water to freeze in the winter cold. In the summer heat and sun, no standing water translates into no algae growth to scrub from watering troughs and tanks. The Drinking Post clearly is a time, money, and labor saver for the urban farmer. Best of all – no heating element means no danger of electric shock or devastating structure fires from malfunctioning heater elements.
Find Your Drinking Post
Drinking Post makes automatic waters with all those features in a variety of lengths and styles. This is to accommodate animal height and your local frostline.
Here is a link to our what size tool to help you decide which Drinking Post is best for you:
https://dpwaterer.com/what-
Once you’ve decided on a size, here is a link to our online shop for pricing and shipping costs:
Better yet – buy locally! Save on shipping! Here’s a link to our Dealer Locator Map:
https://dpwaterer.com/drinking-post-dealer-locator/
Whether you’re urban (or country) farmer concerned with animal health and everyone’s safety, a Drinking Post Frost Free Automatic Waterers is the best answer. Leave a comment below and share this article using the social media links at the bottom of the page. Find out more today at: https://dpwaterer.com/faq/.