Rent-a-cow system keeps everyone content

　僕は英辞郎を使って英語を読みまくり、インターネットラジオのNHKのラジオジャパン英語ニュースで時事英語を聞きまくってます。（＾＾；また、VOAでヴォイスレコーダーにDLしたMP3音声とテキストも楽しんでます。
参考「こんな感じで英辞郎を使ってます」

Rent-a-cow system keeps everyone content

08/15/2005

Four black wagyu Japanese cows graze contentedly on common weeds-kudzu, pigweed and overgrown goldenrod-effectively acting as "live weed eaters" in the fallow rice fields of Yanai city, on the Inland Sea coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture.

The cows are part of the city's "rent-a-cow" system for local farmers. Many of the farmers are elderly and ready to retire but do not want their fields to become overgrown with weeds and infested with pests. They fear those pests could ruin their neighbors' crops.

2005年07月31日（日曜日）付
【天声人語】

　のんびりと、牛が草をはむ。おいしそうに食べているのは、クズ、シロザなどふつうは雑草と呼ばれる草木だ。伸び放題の黄色いセイタカアワダチソウも平らげる。

　草刈り用に牛を貸し出す。その名も「レンタカウ制度」。瀬戸内海に面する山口県柳井市で、ことしもやっている。人影の少ない、山あいの休耕田に、４頭の黒毛和牛を放っている。

Hiring people to cut the weeds can be an expensive proposition, even if done through the city's "silver personnel agency," a program for retired people who want to take on odd jobs and make themselves useful to the community.

Even if "silver personnel" would undertake the job, working under the scorching summer sun would be extremely strenuous for them.

　牛を借りるのは、年老いて農作業がつらくなった農家が多い。周りの田んぼの稲が青々と育つなか、草だらけにしていては害虫がわく。迷惑をかけまいとして、草刈りをシルバー人材センターに頼むと、金がかさむ。炎天下での作業は、請け負う人もきつい。

A solution to the problem of overgrown rice paddies came four years ago. Yanai Mayor Tetsuro Kouchiyama, 47, suggested during a meeting with farmers that perhaps cows could do the job. At the time, the city's shrinking farmland and declining stockbreeding industry were cause for serious concern in the farming community.

Letting cows graze in the paddies would mean eliminating the costs of labor and as well as feed-a perfectly happy solution for landowners and cattle owners alike. The local agricultural association acted on the mayor's suggestion at once. This summer, seven farming households are taking advantage of the rent-a-cow system.

　ならば、牛に食べさせたらどうだろう。４年前に、市長の河内山哲朗さん（４７）が言い出した。農地が減り続け、畜産も振るわない。ため息が重なる農業関係の集いでのことだ。牛を使えば、人件費も、えさ代も浮く。借り手も貸手も都合がいい。さっそく農協が事業化した。今夏は７軒の農家が利用する。

The system is hassle-free. All the user has to do is corral the grazing area with two electric wires hooked up to solar batteries.

According to the city's estimates, it would take two people working two days to cut all the weeds on a 5,000-square-meter property. The bill would come to 50,000 yen, including transportation and disposal costs.

If the same job is done by two cows, however, they would eat all the weeds in about 50 days. The bill would come to around 24,000 yen, including the cost of equipment.

　手間もかからない。放牧地の周囲に２本の電線を張る。そこに太陽電池で電気を流すと、さくになる。持ち運びも取り外しも簡単だ。市の試算では、５千平方メートルの草刈りを人間がやれば、２人で２日かかる。運搬処理費も含めて５万円なり。牛なら、２頭がそこに寝泊まりして約５０日で食べ尽くす。機材費込みで２万４千円ほど。

There is something serene and soothing about the sight of grazing cows. How pleasant it would be if such a scene were common on fallow fields around the nation. Just when I had this thought, my eyes met a cow's innocent stare.

　牛はもぐもぐと黙々と働く。こんなのどかな光景が全国の休耕地に広がったら気持ちよかろう。そう思った瞬間、きょとんとした眼の牛と目が合った。

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 31(IHT/Asahi: August 15,2005)