Local Farmers Seek Pumpkins for Animals
by: Libby James and Ryan Trowbridge
WESTERN MASS NEWS, November 3, 2022
SOUTHWICK, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – For those with pumpkins still sitting on your front steps, Western Mass News has a way for you to recycle them while helping out local farmers.
With Halloween over, local farms are looking for leftover pumpkins to help feed to their animals. In Southwick, Lindsay Hale, the owner of Firefly Fields, told us how her animals love munching on them.
“They are a great source of fiber for them and they actually act as a preventative for worms,” Hale explained.
By donating your Halloween pumpkins, it help farmers feed their animals throughout the winter months-
“If they are not carved, we can store them and they will last lot longer and if they are carved, those get fed put first because they don’t last as long,” Hale noted.
Most pumpkins are accepted, except for those that are moldy, painted, or treated with chemicals.
“Some people treat with bleach…then they cannot be treated and they can’t have any paint or sparkles or any spray or anything on them,” Hale said.
Hale told Western Mass News that, on her farm, the pigs and goats enjoy the pumpkins the most. If you are looking to donate other fall staples, leftover apples from apple picking make a great snack for the chickens and horses and, looking ahead to future months, pumpkins aren’t the only holiday item that make great snacks for these animals
“After Christmas, we also take all of the tree donations for the animals. They just have to be non-treated trees and no tinsel or ornaments on them,” Hale added.
You can drop off your pumpkins at the free library located on Firefly Fields.
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