….that’s what a group of us who have been involved in the Holistic Management pilot project met to discuss last night.  To eliminate the suspense, we all quickly voted to continue. The idea behind the project is to demonstrate that a farm can be management without all the usual inputs of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and even grain.  And without, hay, too, which is by far the biggest expense in raising cattle.  Two of our colleagues said they had made good progress in their grazing: both were still basically on grass and one said he’d cut his hay costs in half.  The remainder were all satisfied they had made a significant improvement…

We’re keeping a close eye on the eastern pasture today, watching for three cows to demonstrate they’re ready to be bred.  (They mount each other and everything in site; have to be careful in our Gator)  Once we note the time, we count forward six to eight days to transplant more embryos. We’re also playing another game of “who’s the smartest” with our pigs, trying to lure them into the trailer for the trip to the butcher.  So far, it’s no contest, which is why we’re still playing the game two weeks after it began. But in between, I’ve been reading a magazine I was unfamiliar with until I spotted…

….but when it’s the middle of January and the sun isn’t quite up and the temperature is 16 degrees and there’s a wind, it’s one of those moments you question your sanity.  But the timing says this is the precise moment to implant an embryo that was collected back in England six months ago, and so you wrap your scarf a little tighter and grit your chattering teeth. Wooz is holding a stick because many years ago she was run down by an Angus cow and the stick has become part of her dress code when working cows.  But she would never use it.  The meanest she is to a…

…but there’s still some truth in this.  There are still some “little guys” farming, in defiance of Big Ag and Big Government.  And this is for them: http://www.youtube.com/embed/QuzhwkaNC40?rel=0

Thanks to our friend Dr. Sue Beal who sent us this true story of an authentic hero from the Korean War.  It is the story of a horse, Sergeant Reckless, who in one battle for a contested hill made 51 trips to the fighting…carrying ammunition on the way up and wounded Marines on the way down.  And she made the trips into the fire without anyone leading him!  And she kept going back, though she was wounded….twice! Here is Sgt. Reckless, an incredibly brave horse!

To make it easier for both our meat and Devon customers, you can now look for this sign at the entrance to Thistle Hill Farm.  We’re on Crest Hill road (647), 2.2 miles west of Leeds Manor Road (688). The sign was fabricated by Quail Run Signs over in Hamilton and we think John Ralph and his crew did an excellent job.  They delivered our vision and made the job fun.  We can certainly recommend them.