The Weblog
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The Weblog is a forum for students to share up to the moment news stories and narrative experiences from the Berea College Farm. We hope you will return often to this feature of our online store.
About us…
In order to tell you about our unique operation,it is crucial to introduce you to the remarkable labor program of Berea College.
As you may or may not know, each student at Berea College is granted a full tuition scholarship upon acceptance. Part of the contract is a requirement to work on campus for the duration of their enrollment. Students work a minimum of ten hours a week and positions vary from residence facilities assistants (janitors) to beekeepers, cooks to accountants; Berea College students do it all. In fact, the College depends greatly on the work of its students. This is especially true for the Berea College Farms and Gardens.
Students who work in these areas devote a tremendous amount of time and energy to ensure the success of our operations. As with any agricultural business, this is a full time job and requires much responsibility. Students who work on the farm and in the greenhouses know that weekend commitments and evening hours are part of the deal.
They love what they do … And it shows.
We are committed to excellence in every aspect of our operation and a great deal of this comes from our student workers. From the pig pit to the hoop houses, diligence is our modus operandi.
-Maggie Greene’08
FOUR-LEGGED WEED-EATERS
This post expired on July 16, 2009.
by Jennifer Boyle
Who says weed-eating has to be a noisy, messy job? Berea College Farms is always looking for the sustainable alternative – even to mundane chores like weed control. They recently contracted four goats to clean up a weedy situation near space reserved for shiitake mushroom production.
The goats are tackling a dense stand of oriental bittersweet, Japanese honeysuckle, and bush honeysuckle. They might even eat the poison ivy, says Dr. Sean Clark.
The four-legged weed-eaters will need a few weeks to complete their job, but Dr. Clark says it’s worth the wait. He explained that although a couple people could do the same work in about half a day, the goats are more efficient. Using these livestock in place of human labor eliminates the need for chainsaws and traditional weed-eaters.