Crop/Animal Integration

Jim Bender with Katie Richards and McKenzie Rogers from Ashland-Greenwood High School

About:

• Jim Bender's farm is oriented around a well-organized crop rotation that integrates his cow/calf operation. Bender seeks to incorporate large environmental goals within his operation in a manner that similar farming systems can work toward while maintaining economic viability. Author of Future Harvest: Pesticide-free Farming, the full interview with Jim is packed with well thought-out components of what can influence a farm's sustainability.

Website/Contact:

• No website
• Call (402) 267-2955 for visits

Teaching Objectives:

• To think critically about conventional farming schemes with crops and/or animals
• To examine the importance of land stewardship

Discussion questions:

• How might you convince a farmer to integrate crop and animal systems on his/her operation?
• What benefits are seen from having a diversified farm?
• What other mixed crops and livestock might be integrated?
• What kinds of farming systems are dominant worldwide? Are monoculture or integrated systems more common?
• How would you measure the sustainability of Jim Bender's operation? What could be improved?