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The story…

Pigs on patrol

Learn language related to…

farming

Need-to-know language…

scarecrow – object, that usually looks human, used to scare birds

harvest – time when food is collected from the farm

crop – plants grown on a large scale

soil – ground; earth

fertile – capable of producing life

Answer this…

Other than the pig patrol, what other measures are being used to scare the geese off?

Transcript

Are pigs the new scarecrows?

Josse Haarhuis - Farmer, Extraordinary Pigs

I think pigs are the best scarecrows you can have. They are really big, large, moving. And they are a natural way of keeping the geese away.
But their greatest attribute here is their appetite.

They really like to eat everything.

The idea is they'll gobble up the leftovers from the sugar beet harvest, removing the crop residue from this freshly turned soil that usually entices the winged trespassers.

Josse Haarhuis - Farmer, Extraordinary Pigs
This is the sugar beet. When they harvest the crop, they take the sugar beet out. They sell the crop, and they leave the top off the crop, the harvest residues, over here. And the birds really like it. But the pigs are here first. So, they eat it. And that's why the birds fly over and search for another place.

This pig patrol is being used in combination with technological innovations like sound generators and green lasers that spook the geese.
They're watching twenty-four seven.

Yvonne Versteeg - Schiphol flora and fauna
We have a bird detection radar at Schiphol (airport). Birds learn pretty fast. So, we have to keep innovating with the measures.

When you look around, this land is below sea level. It’s fertile farmland. It's very attractive for geese especially. You're battling against nature, really, aren't you here? And the pigs can play a role on this front line.

Yvonne Versteeg - Schiphol flora and fauna
They sure can. Yes.

Anna Holligan - BBC Reporter
These are sensitive, intelligent creatures. So, I'm curious about how they feel being so close to the runways?

Josse Haarhuis - Farmer, Extraordinary Pigs
Here they got like four soccer fields. And they have the same houses, the same water system, the same feed system. So, for us it’s really normal to keep them like this way.

Anna Holligan - BBC Reporter
These snuffling swine are part of a six-week pilot project. And if they are successful in keeping the birds and geese away from the runway, then similar projects could be trotted out at airports all over the world.

Did you get it?

Other than the pig patrol, what other measures are being used to scare the geese off?

The pig patrol is being used in combination with technological innovations like sound generators and green lasers that spook the geese.

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