Suburban Illinois family keeps chickens in backyard

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) — The chicken coop built out of a shed and some chicken wire sits next to the vegetable garden plots on the Lyon family’s lot. A rooster, standing atop the dark brown compost pile of dirt and food scraps, crows. The hens scratch in the dirt nearby and peck for worms or bugs in the garden.

The Lyons don’t live in the country or on a farm. They live near downtown St. Charles. The family’s 120-year-old house is across the street from an elementary school and close to the public library. The four hens and two roosters have free rein over the 100-foot-by-100-foot yard, keeping the grass low and the bugs at bay.
St. Charles is one of a few suburban towns that allows residents to keep chickens in their backyards. But many more, like Batavia, Carpentersville, Elgin, Hanover Park and Lake Forest, ban chickens and other farm animals.

Proponents say raising your own chickens is healthier for your family, the environment and the economy. However, critics say chickens can be a problem in neighborhoods with small lots because of the smell and noise, including early morning crowing.
Jeanne Lyon and her husband, Rich, unwittingly became part of the backyard chicken movement two years ago when their three sons bought chicks at the Garfield Farm Museum for $2 each. They brought home a Silkie rooster and hen, an Americauna and Rose Comb Bantam. Later, two mixed chicks joined the flock.

The family did not consume the eggs at first, but now they prefer the backyard eggs because she says they have higher nutritional value than store bought eggs. Plus, Jeanne Lyon adds, with backyard chickens you know what they are eating. Chickens eat any food scraps from orange peels to Big Macs.

The hens lay about four eggs per day.

“It really wasn’t the plan, we weren’t trying to be trendy,” Jeanne Lyon said. “We didn’t get the chickens because of the eggs. They make delightful pets and the eggs are a bonus.”

Michigan Barn Preservation Network selects a winner

VASSAR, Mich. (AP) — Ken Hecht has been meaning to apply for centennial status for his farm, which his family had owned for 100 years in 1997, but it’s his barn that’s getting all the attention.
The Hecht barn is a Barn of the Year recognized by the Michigan Barn Preservation Network, based in Mount Pleasant. The Tuscola County Soil Conservation District nominated the 94-year-old barn for the honor in the category for private agriculture still in use. It was one of five barns honored statewide.

In order to be considered, the barn’s preservation must have maintained visual appeal and integrity to its original appearance. The beams in the basement are dotted with barn swallows, but Hecht’s father Ruben Hecht, who died in 1982, told him never to take down the nests.

“My dad said that if there’s barn swallows in your barn, lightning will never hit it,” Hecht said of the mud-packed nests. The Hecht family barn was designed by Jacob John Hecht and completed in 1916 as part of a homesteaded farm purchased in 1897. A steam engine that was used to cut the 50-foot beams that span its width still sits alongside the 124-foot-long structure.

Ken Hecht and two of his three sons, Kevin Hecht, 28, and Andrew Hecht, 21, work full-time on the farm. Son Jacob Hecht, 29, helps out when he can but is primarily a crop adviser for Star of the West Milling Co. in Richville.

Louisville tries to connect farms to consumers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson says a new food program will help farmers connect with the city’s consumers.
Abramson says there is a disconnect between regional farmers who produce foods and vegetables and the consumer market in Louisville.

The program is called Louisville Farm to Table. It will connect farmers from Kentucky with restaurants, schools, workplaces and people in Louisville.

A statement from the mayor’s office says a study conducted in 2008 recommended expansion of neighborhood farmers markets, and that the city help serve as a connector for farmers and consumers.

Large Ohio dairy wants to add 2,500 cows

McGUFFEY, Ohio (AP) — Operators of a big dairy in Ohio want to add another 2,500 cows, which would make it the largest milking farm in the state.

The plan first needs approval from the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

The farm is in north-central Ohio’s Hardin County.

It began operating about three years ago with around 4,500 cows.
Some of the farm’s neighbors say they’re concerned that additional cows would bring more traffic and be harder on roads. Some also are worried about odors.

The farm’s owners say they have plenty of room to expand and won’t need any new manure storage facilities.