Bristol County Daily News

Farmers seem to be a unique bunch of people. The old school, the new school and the weekend farmers all have there own way of doing things. I am not a farmer by trade but am surrounded by farms. I have always thought of farmers as the earths keepers. Why would they damage the very land that gives them the food we eat and the ability to make money. But there is this one farmer and I use the term loosely because I will tell you there are many that refer to him as a weekend farmer which if you are a "real farmer" this is a big insult. So a few years ago he decided to buy some cows and raise them. He has a fine piece of land and maybe 50 cows. But decided to feed the cows food scraps. I guess what people would consider slop. Which is his choice. Its cheaper then hay/grain/alfalfa. It also means he is not keeping his fields. The grazing grass is gone and has been reduced to mud. Mud and manure. Which when it rain flows freely down the hill into the street and I have watched his neighbors films this as it runs across the street filling there yard. And I guess I should mention we all have well water. So I,m sure they buy bottled water at this point. But with food scraps comes vermin!!!! First of which are hundreds of seagulls. These birds fly around his mud field squawking and defecating on everything. Houses, cars, children's slides, swimming pools so with the complaints this "farmer" buys an air cannon. You ask , "Whats an air cannon?" Well seeing how he can't shoot them he fires a cannon every 5 to 10 minutes that goes BOOM BOOM BOOM. Making everything within 5 miles tremor. My dogs are so horrified that they that taken to chewing anything and everything. One actually tried to eat my washer. He fires the cannon all day every day in hopes that the birds will go away and never come back. After six or eight months you would have thought he would realize that the birds have not gone away and that the air cannon is not working. I called the town hall thinking maybe I could put an end to this but there is no law that would require him to stop. I even tried animal cruelty but it didn't work. So we complained to the state department of agriculture and for about 72 hours he stopped. My husband asked if we had heard the cannon and that's when it hit me I had not but that must have been why earlier in the day the children and I got such an entertaining show. The farmer was in a dump truck driving all over the field chasing the seagulls, blowing the horn and stopping short so the tailgate slammed. We watched and laughed and thought this guy has really lost it what on earth is he doing. Now of course I realize he was asked not to use the cannon and so I am sure there is no law that says you can't drive around your field blowing the horn. This only lasted a few days then he went back to the cannon. And in some way I can actually handle the cannon now its been going on for so long that like the seagulls my dogs and I don't hear it so much. But now the other vermin yes as your mind wonders and stops because you say NO NO NO yes the RATS. Its like the town before the piper came. They are running in the street and across the street and down the street and they have come to my house. They are in my barn and my trash and I can not handle that. I am afraid to bring the trash out. I am afraid of my garage. I am afraid of my barn. Some how the air cannon doesn't seem so bad. The seagull droppings don't seem so bad. They say if two rats uncontrolled were left to reproduce in one years time there could be as many as 6000. If your mind is screaming like mine when you read this the nightmares may follow. Then I say what about the people who like directly next to him what must they be going through? How horrible is it at there house. Why are we not doing something? There were four dead rats at the end of his driveway the other day as I drove by. I am sure rats serve a purpose. I think ever creature serves a purpose. The problem here is that our farms and farmlands are disappearing we are more and more dependent on foreign countries to supply our food yet we fear food contamination. We have had spinach scares and tomatoes scares, cantaloupe, bananas and peanut butter contamination. We promote the local farmer. We want the locally grown food. It is the quality we are looking for. When you shop local you are helping those who are keeping our earth. There are wonderful organic farmers on the south shore. Hydroponic vegetables, local wineries, cranberry bogs, cattle, pigs, chicken, eggs you name it the farmers are raising it. Look for these farms the well established quality farms will give you a tour if you ask. If you don't know of one go to http://www.umassd.edu/semap/welcome.cfm for a directory. If we don't buy cheap meat and products from cheap farmers who don't care for our land and animals they will disappear. Quality does cost more. But a ride to the hospital is really expensive.