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Hopkins farmers bring in oats for winter
The harvester is ready to bring in green oats from several fields surrounding Hopkins Dairy Farm outside Lewes. BY RACHEL SWICK MAVITY
November 23, 2012
Farmers work during the afternoon Nov. 16 to harvest green oats in a field off Hopkins Road outside Lewes. BY RACHEL SWICK MAVITY
As the harvester picks up the oats, another truck pulls along side to collect them and transport the oats back to the feed barn. BY RACHEL SWICK MAVITY
Farm workers from Hopkins Dairy Farm outside Lewes were harvesting green oats Nov. 16.
The oats are cut down and chopped before being transported to a feed barn where they will be mixed in with other grains for winter food, said Burli Hopkins.
While rich in some nutrients, the oats do not have as much protein as alfalfa, Hopkins said.
"It's really just for the fiber. Then we use it as a filler with corn and other grain," he said. The mixture is fed to all the Hopkins' cows, except those that are being milked, because they get a special feed to improve milk production.
"We are bringing in the oats now because the snow geese will be coming soon and they just annihilate our crops," Hopkins said.
