Animals

With many growers specializing in the production of one or two crops, Sofsa growers have embraced more biodiversity on their farms.  In addition to cultivating several varieties of apples, they also produce kiwis, cherries, blueberries and asparagus.  Some of them also cultivate cereal grains. 

This small-scale agriculture is typical of the region and has another ecological benefit: field boundaries.  Many of these boundaries consist of small tree stands with hedges and a natural understory of shrubs, herbs, and grasses.  These also protect from possible influences of conventional farms.  Others are just meadows which show their flowering beauty every spring.  Some are just small brooks or rivulets that have divided different fields for centuries. 

What they all have in common is that they consist of a wide variety of plant life that serves as an important habitat and feed source for many birds and animals.  They also function as corridors between the open field, an orchard, and woodlands, corridors that allow animals to roam freely between the sections.  In effect these ‘plant belts’ have a very balancing effect on nature.