A new web series is putting the spotlight in dairy farms. Acres and Avenues will give city dwellers an inside scoop into the inner workings of farm life. The series really features two people, one from an urban background and another from a rural one, and allows each one to experience the lifestyle of the other. Four pro Instagrammers were also invited in.
The show's premier episode gives the urbanites a behind-the-scenes look into the inner workings of a tech-savvy and eco-friendly dairy farm in Modesto, California: Fiscalini Farms. The farm is a pioneer in the industry as its owners focus on sustainable practices and the ethical treatment of animals.
Brian Fiscalini, a fourth-generation farmer, said, "Sustainability has a very personal meaning for me because, like many farmers, I live on the farm. My family, my wife and my children breathe the air, drink the water and live on the very same land the animals do, and our family has done so for four generations."
One example of the sustainable practices the farm employs is its methane digester. This machine allows the farm to let nothing go to waste and uses the refuse to power the farm and provide heat. "All of our livestock manure, whey from the cheese plant and leftover feed and green waste are pumped into large heated tanks where bacteria break down the components and produce methane, explained Fiscalini.
The farm also uses solar and wind energy for more sustainable energy the farm needs. But it does not end there. The forward-thinking farm also employs state-of-the-art monitoring systems to view each cow. The amount and quality of their cows' milk can be controlled this way. The system also measures how many steps the cows take each day, their weight, and also the manner by which they consume food.
The painstaking ethical treatment of their cows contributes to the high quality of the farm's products. The Fiscalini family makes sure the cows are comfortable and always have access to clean water. A nutritionist specializes the cows' diets to cater to their individual needs. The herd roams freely when the weather permits. When it does not, they are safe indoors and their stalls raked twice a day.
All the hard work is paying off both for the farm and for the environment in general. "Thanks to advances in animal care, more milk is produced today with only nine million cows, compared to 26 million used for milk production in 1944," Fiscalini told Mashable. He also explained that 90% less land and 65% less water is used to get quality results. Also, the practices produce 64% less carbon emissions than traditional methods.
