Earning Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badges

Garden Gate

4. Backyard Farmer

Beginner

• Start your own chicken flock or become a patron of farm-fresh eggs or raise some backyard rabbits for fresh meat and learn how to butcher them.
• Feed your animals organically as much as possible.

Intermediate

• Find a way to learn to milk a dairy animal. Many farmers will be glad to teach you if you offer to do the milking when they need a day off, as this is often a problem for dairy animal owners. If you already know how to milk, teach someone else how to.
• Become involved in raising or supporting rare and/or heritage breeds.

Expert

• Stop buying mainstream non-organic grocery store meats. Buy from a local meat locker or straight from a farmer or rancher. If you raise your own meats, write a letter to the editor explaining the benefits of knowing where your meat comes from.
• Learn to make your own cheese or butter.
• Enter your animals in a county fair or take artistic photos of farm animals and turn them into greeting cards.

April, 2024 Edition