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Our government, here to protect us….
….The New York Times discovers the antibiotic menace. Of course, years after the problem first surfaced. This article is revealing on several accounts: First, the most recent warning from the FDA was published in February but no one noticed until a public service group publicized it. The government didn’t do much to spread the word. Second, the inevitable professor of agriculture at a major university—Minnesota—jumps in to defend Big Ag. Third, the prof lets the cat out of the bag. The antibiotics are used to “keep cows healthy”…not to cure a sick cow. A cow on pasture is as healthy a creature as there is. It is only when you feed…
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The antibiotic menace….
….is real and growing. Antibiotics are not used primarily to treat sick animals, but as a weight enhancer. They’re at least as effective as growth hormones but, just to be sure, commercial producers of meat use both. In fact, antibiotics are used more in farming than among humans. Dr. David Kessler, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, recently said this about the practice. “While the F.D.A. can see what kinds of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are coming out of livestock facilities, the agency doesn’t know enough about the antibiotics that are being fed to these animals,” he writes. “This is a major public health problem, because giving healthy livestock…
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Well, I’m banking on it….
….there’s a study out that says that if you stay away from the typical “western” diet, you have a better chance not only of living longer but in better shape. There’s the usual “scientific” warning about limiting red meat (no recognition that grass fed beef is a cow of a different color altogether). Still, for what it’s worth: http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=130281&CultureCode=en
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Thistle Hill Falcon….
….is four-and-a-half months old now. He’s one of the pure, traditional English Devon. Sire, of course, is Millennium Falcon…the dam Goldings Snowdrop. If you’re wondering where the rest of the herd is: about a quarter of a mile and two electric fences away. Yes, I do think he’s making a statement. It’s not the first time we’ve noticed that a really good animal prefers to be somewhat removed from the herd. The British class system is alive and well at Thistle Hill.
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Dessert….
….the main herd has now been moved from the last of the stockpiled grass and getting their taste of the “green stuff”. It’s so good, they don’t stop even when you stand right over them…certainly not when you take their picture. Ironically, this could be the first time they’ll actually need hay. Too green grass goes right through them. But there is enough dried grass mixed in that I suspect it may not be a problem. What we do now is just let them get the top inch or two and then move them….top all the pastures quickly and then they’ll return here in 45 days and take up a…
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And so it begins….
….tomorrow, with our main herd of mama cows, calves and steers moving from the last of this stockpiled grass into the pastures that will be their home through the spring and early summer. Not quite mob grazing…we’ll be putting only about 75,000 pounds pressure per acre…less if we think it’s wise along the way. And we’ll be moving them very fast at first….at least fast for us. Daily. There is considerable debate among cattlemen about when to turn out cattle….recommendations range from “first green” to 10 inches. We are agnostic on this and just do what feels right. This evening, after about five days of very warm temperatures and some…
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Don’t forget me….
….”Bacon” was a little late for the photo shoot but followed along the fence until her picture was taken. We enjoy the pigs so much we often consider raising our own. But that requires feeding a big sow year-around and dealing with a boar, too. Besides, the folks who supply our piglets, Deb and Curry Parker, do such a great job we couldn’t do better. Pig Portraits by Duane.
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Pinups…
….from the pig pasture. We never seem to have any trouble getting our pigs to pose. I guess when you know you’re beautiful…. They’re approaching 200 pounds now and thriving with the new non-GMO feed we’ve been giving them. Soon, we’ll take delivery of four more piglets and plan to have 8 to 12 at any one time. We’ve prepared a new pen for the “blessed event” and this time are planning to actually graze them in the woods for an unlimited supply of acorns. If you’ve never tried Thistle Hill pork, we urge you to put your name on “the list”…it’s really special. info@thistlehill.net
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One of those moods….
….sometimes you just don’t feel like going out and feeding the pigs….and that’s when you get what might be called “off topic posts”. Though as I confessed in my very first post, I have no idea just what the topic of this blog is. I like this for the spirit and an insight to one of the many things going on that we never hear about. The Miami Dolphins cheerleaders recently put together a music video for our troops in Afghanistan. Some creative types over there took time out from “surviving” to respond with a video of their own….perfectly mirroring the cheerleaders. Watch to see some young people enjoying themselves in dreadful…
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Baring their “all”….or almost all….
….a group of young farmers in southwest England got together for an unusual concept for a fund-raiser: a nude calendar. Don’t know what it is about the Brits and their nude calendars (remember the movie “Calendar Girls“? In Devon circles, about as racy as we get is a calendar featuring cows…unclothed…but nevertheless still cows. Warning: we’re about to show one of the pages so if you are easily offended, go away and come back in a few days. While you search for the “back button” we will fill with the report of the chap who put this all together. Rob Willcoxm, Somerset County chairman and now known as Mr December,…