Dairy 0 -|- Flowers 1

I stumbled across this story about an old-time dairy farming couple who converted their dairy into a hog operation and then into a flower growing operation. Keen to sustainable farming practices, the couple and their 33 year old son do what they can to be environmentally friendly and sustainable.

And, they are profitable.
From USA Today...
Ed and Joyce Kreidermacher, now 63, bought the farm when they married in 1967. Over the years, they shifted from cows to hogs to growing flowers. Their son Eric, 33, is using environmentally friendly techniques and making the farm less dependent on oil.

Biomass boilers heat the greenhouses. Ash from the boilers fertilizes fields. Watering systems were designed for conservation, the soil mix used to grow plants includes coconut fiber and rice hulls instead of peat moss from environmentally sensitive bogs, and plants are grown and sold in biodegradable pots.

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I feel good seeing articles like this in well known national newspapers like USA Today. Browse here to read the entire article.