karen Prior to the invention of the refrigerated railroad car, small farms provided food for the communities that surrounded them. maybe you should take your own advice and do a little research

sorry that should read didn't not did

Ag That's exactly why i support my local farmers yes it dose cost me a little bit to go and get my meat but knowing exactly where it come from makes me happy. it's sad that people are happy with the food that's provided for them by factory farms. if they knew how there food was treated them might think twice and try to find other sources like Polyface Farms. My parents raised cows, lambs and rabbits on 17 1/2 acres of land so we had to raise our animals in an environmental sound way because we did have the land to make mistakes

If all farms were like this, more people would be able to afford having their own farms and could start community farms that operate somewhat like a grocery store, only you know that your vegetables aren't gmo or pesticide-laden, your meat didnt come from Mexico or Taiwan, and it's fresh so there are no preservatives as well as the vitamin/ mineral content at it's highest. And it wouldn't cost more, it would cost less because there would be NO FEED BILL, just fresh grass and seeds for the animals and people could volunteer their time in exchange for products. How does FREE sound to you?!

Karen and Ginger have both made incorrect statements! Karen: We only have 65 cows on a 178-acre farm and they STILL huddle close enough together to drop manure on each other (crap happens!).
Also Ginger: If you were to Google "factory farm" and look at "images", you might just see the 3-foot high mud and crap filled enclosures that some cows are kept in for most of their life. Also, these are not "man made" animals. If farmers did not feed them commercial feed and hay, then the animals turn to the trees-oranges, apples, nuts, acorns, moss, oak leaves, etc. Sure, some would die from starvation if there are more cows than the area could provide food for, but cows, chickens, and pigs are FAR from man-made! What IS man-made, however, are the problems that come from almost NO ONE knowing how to grow food for themselves. Most people do not know HOW to grow their own food and the corporate powers want to keep it that way.
Educate yourselves people. And if you don't have the ability to grow your own food, find a farm that will allow you to work in trade for fresh fruits, veg, or meat. Or better yet, put those video-game, facebook-addicted kids to work on a farm. It will be the best thing you ever do for them! Peace...

hold up considering i live in Shenandoah valley i know most of the cows around here live in HUGE pastures so nice try acting like you know what your talking about but cows crap on themselves thats just how it is