Toulouse geese in France
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Haney isn't so easily convinced. Stone Barns may look like someone's idyllic paean to sustainable agriculture, but it's also a working farm, and he's skeptical about the economics. Natural nesting means that the birds lay only one set of eggs per year--not nearly enough for an operation in which every animal must earn its keep. Also, he prefers to be scientific in his experimentation, altering one variable at a time. "Farms change in years," he says, "not months." For now, Stone Barns' geese will be hatched in incubators.
Does that mean Barber will have to go another year without his own foie gras on the menu? No one will know for sure until the birds are slaughtered in late fall. But Sousa remains hopeful. "Eventually," he says, "I know they'll get it right."
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