More than 172 tons of newspaper are recycled each year in Pennsylvania.

Dennis Koehler, a farmer in Bethlehem Twp., Northampton Co., uses some of that as a type of cow couch for his cattle.

"A big benefit is, I think it keeps the animals a little warmer than straw," Koehler said.

On the utilitarian side, Koehler said the bedding decomposes much faster than straw and cuts fertilizer costs.

He'd like to use a quarter ton of recycled paper per day, however, Koehler said he can only use 400 to 500 pounds per day.

He is working on that. A public bin sits in his driveway on Freemansburg Avenue.

"[They] can drop it off here and off they go. Don't even have to see us," Koehler said.

Koehler puts the paper, he asks without metal or plastic, into a a shredder. It's then lifted and towed to a pen. Like a giant office shredder, the paper is then chopped and dropped.

You may be wondering if the ink is toxic for the animals to lie on. A study by Penn State University said no.

"Almost all of your magazines and all your newspapers use soy ink. So soy-based ink is completely safe for them," said Koehler, who isn't the only farmer bucking century-old agricultural trends.

An Ohio farmer is using waterbeds to increase milk production in his dairy cows.

But for Koehler, a 9th generation farmer, utilizing paper is proving to be the practical way to work the farm.

"They'd probably laugh," Koehler said when asked what his ancestors would say about him using paper as bedding for the cows.