{"id":1815,"date":"2010-04-01T14:18:58","date_gmt":"2010-04-01T18:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/?p=1815"},"modified":"2012-03-20T14:23:51","modified_gmt":"2012-03-20T18:23:51","slug":"out-to-pasture-student-farmer-curt-lentz-10-works-to-diversify-college-farm-livestock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/out-to-pasture-student-farmer-curt-lentz-10-works-to-diversify-college-farm-livestock\/","title":{"rendered":"Out to Pasture: Student Farmer Curt Lentz ’10 Works to Diversify College Farm Livestock"},"content":{"rendered":"

Out to Pasture: Student Farmer Curt Lentz ’10 Works to Diversify College Farm Livestock<\/a>
\nDickinson Website
\nBy Jordan McCord ’10
\nApril 1, 2010
\n\"out<\/p>\n

If Dickinson is a place where students cultivate their interests, Curtis Lentz \u201910 is taking that charge literally. An environmental-studies major, Lentz has a passion for sustainable-farming practices, especially when it comes to free-range cattle and livestock.<\/p>\n

This spring, he\u2019s breaking new ground at the 180-acre College Farm in Boiling Springs, Pa., where he has worked for two years as a student farmer. As the first intern for the burgeoning livestock program, he will expand the farm\u2019s livestock holdings\u2014from the current sheep to other species.<\/p>\n

Besides his own research, he\u2019ll gather input from area farmers and agricultural specialists to determine which species will be the best fit for the farm, then go about introducing three breeds of cattle and one breed of turkeys, as well as two flocks of chickens that he\u2019ll raise from eggs. By monitoring their progress Lentz will discover which breeds can be most successfully introduced to the farm, taking into consideration Pennsylvania\u2019s climate and seasonal changes. Lentz also will determine which cattle produce the best sustainably raised beef.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an area in which he has put theory into practice. Lentz only eats meat that has been raised free range, grass fed and devoid of antibiotics or steroids. \u201cNothing disgusts me more than factory farms,\u201d he said. A grave concern for him is genetic engineering, which causes disproportionate organ growth.<\/p>\n

Besides making recommendations on livestock development, he\u2019ll do some hands-on work by creating a chute in which to direct chickens and turkeys, using a moveable fence to section off the areas the fowl will fertilize. \u201cA profitable farm doesn\u2019t have chickens running all over the place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Using responsible, free-range practices also helps create a symbiotic relationship on the farm, he noted. The roaming chickens follow behind the cows and pick at the soil while unknowingly fertilizing and aerating the land. \u201cWith this relationship every part of the farm is working together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll also be building a moveable structure for the chickens that will help prepare the soil for harvest season. Student farmers will wheel the chickens to the fields then release them to fertilize and aerate the soil.<\/p>\n

Being the initiator of a sustainable-livestock program is a challenge that leaves Lentz undaunted. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a lot of work, but I\u2019m excited that I am the first one ushering in this new thing at the farm; I\u2019m starting from scratch and will be learning the process through and through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At this point only five acres have been set aside for pastureland out of the 30 acres that are dedicated to College Farm crops. Lentz hopes to alter the balance by adding more pastureland; his job will be to discover which types of cattle will be best suited for the additional acres.<\/p>\n

Lentz\u2014who worked on a horse farm back home in Baldwin, Md., before college\u2014hopes to employ his farming skills in a future career. \u201cI could definitely see myself working for an organic farm or a free-range livestock farm,\u201d he said. Or, he might just take the process entirely into his own hands: \u201cI could absolutely see myself having my own farm just to do it [raise livestock] right.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Out to Pasture: Student Farmer Curt Lentz ’10 Works to Diversify College Farm Livestock Dickinson Website By Jordan McCord ’10 April 1, 2010 If Dickinson is a place where students cultivate their interests, Curtis Lentz \u201910 is taking that charge… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1256,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44383],"tags":[44404,22061,22064],"class_list":["post-1815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press","tag-center-for-sustainability-education","tag-dickinson-college-farm","tag-sustainable-agriculture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1256"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1815\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}