12/02/08 Women of the Year, Brady

In Virginia, Idaho, now far from Downey you'll find the Brady Plant Ranch. Karen Brady and husband John raise cattle, grow hay and have a greenhouse on their 450 acres. A registered nurse Karen says they're true believers in locally grown food. BRADY "This field right here we used to grow a quarter of an acre of cantaloupe and we would harvest it and then take it up the farmers market in Pocatello. We really need to go back to the local foods and small farmer and that's why we do what we do. The time is going to come when you won't be able to have all of you beef grown in Kansas." That's led to innovation like the year round use of the greenhouse. First the plants are removed. BRADY "We plant tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli that kinds of stuff and grow that as organic as we can. We take it to the farmers market and then when that's done in the fall because you can't afford to heat the greenhouses then we bring animals in, we bring in chickens and pigs and let them eat all the plants and of course it goes out the other end of them and they will then naturally fertilize it all." Karen Brady, Idaho Farm Bureau District One Woman of the Year. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott