Backyard Farming

In this Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013 photo, Sandy Schmidt, who owns a portable chicken coop, rounds up her chickens at her home in Silver Spring, Md. "Eat local" is the foodie mantra, and nothing is more local than an egg from your own backyard. More and more urban and suburban dwellers are deciding to put up a coop and try chicken farming. ( (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

In this Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013 photo, Sandy Schmidt, who owns a portable chicken coop, shows three eggs that were laid this morning by her chickens at her home in Silver Spring, Md. "Eat local" is the foodie mantra, and nothing is more local than an egg from your own backyard. More and more urban and suburban dwellers are deciding to put up a coop and try chicken farming. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

Susan James stands on her farm in Washington, Va., where she specializes in farmstead cheese and customized meats. (Courtesy Susan James)

Courtesy Susan James

In this Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013 photo, Sandy Schmidt, who owns a portable chicken coop, poses with her chickens at her home in Silver Spring, Md. "Eat local" is the foodie mantra, and nothing is more local than an egg from your own backyard. More and more urban and suburban dwellers are deciding to put up a coop and try chicken farming. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

In this Monday, Nov. 28, 2011 photo, Jennie Grant puts yard cuttings into a holder for the morning feeding of her goats, Snowflake, foreground, and Eloise, at her home in Seattle. No stranger to urban farming, Grant already had chickens, bees, and a large vegetable garden before she added goats to her lineup. After doing some research, she cleared a 20-by- 20-foot patch of her yard, fenced it in, and added a shed, feeding stations, and the goat equivalent of a jungle gym. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

In this Monday, Nov. 28, 2011 photo, Jennie Grant smiles as Eloise playfully leaps up in the backyard of Grant's home in Seattle. No stranger to urban farming, Grant already had chickens, bees, and a large vegetable garden before she added goats to her lineup. After doing some research, she cleared a 20-by- 20-foot patch of her yard, fenced it in, and added a shed, feeding stations, and the goat equivalent of a jungle gym. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

Tim Beckman in Indianapolis, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. In this photo taken Dec. 3, 2010, Tim Beckman picks greens from one of his garden plots in the backyard of his Indianapolis home. Beckman had been gardening for more than 15 years before he saw researcher Gabriel Filippelli on public access TV and asked him to test his dirt. The results were somewhat of a relief: Low lead levels where he gardens. But other parts of Beckman's yard had extremely high levels, and he's since reconsidered where he lets his chickens roam. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

in Portland, Ore., Friday, June 18, 2010. Robyn Streeter works in a residential front yard vegetable and flower garden she helped create in Portland, Ore., Friday, June 18, 2010. Your Backyard Farmer began in 2006 when Streeter and Donna Smith were growing weary of driving through the city's outskirts looking for affordable land to farm. The thought struck them: "Why aren't we bringing food to the people?" (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

AP Photo/Don Ryan

in Portland, Ore., Friday, June 18, 2010. Donna Smith, right, and Robyn Streeter pose for a photo in a residential front yard vegetable and flower garden they created in Portland, Ore., Friday, June 18, 2010. Your Backyard Farmer began in 2006 when Smith and Streeter were growing weary of driving through the city's outskirts looking for affordable land to farm. The thought struck them: "Why aren't we bringing food to the people?" (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

AP Photo/Don Ryan

in Portland, Ore., Friday, June 18, 2010. Robyn Streeter works in a residential yard vegetable and flower garden she helped create in Portland, Ore., Friday, June 18, 2010. Your Backyard Farmer began in 2006 when Streeter and Donna Smith were growing weary of driving through the city's outskirts looking for affordable land to farm. The thought struck them: "Why aren't we bringing food to the people?" (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

AP Photo/Don Ryan

In this Monday, Nov. 28, 2011 photo, Jennie Grant encourages Eloise up a ramp in the backyard of her home in Seattle. No stranger to urban farming, Grant already had chickens, bees, and a large vegetable garden before she added goats to her lineup. After doing some research, she cleared a 20-by- 20-foot patch of her yard, fenced it in, and added a shed, feeding stations, and the goat equivalent of a jungle gym. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

In this Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013 photo, Sandy Schmidt, who owns a portable chicken coop, poses with her chickens at her home in Silver Spring, Md. "Eat local" is the foodie mantra, and nothing is more local than an egg from your own backyard. More and more urban and suburban dwellers are deciding to put up a coop and try chicken farming. )(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak