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The processing conundrum….
….the largest single cost in producing local meat, whether beef or pork, is the processing. Butchering your meat is just about half the total cost. We reported awhile back that the bill for processing a steer into beef is very close to $500. That compares to the $50 the Giants pay at the huge, factory meat-packing plants. It’s not that the local butchers are getting rich. It’s a matter of scale. They have to hire full-time crew to handle a sporadic supply as small farmers finish their animals. And butchering itself is something of a “lost art”. We’re very fortunate here to have a choice of many butchers (some dare…
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The elephant in the room….
….or in Congress. Now that the dreaded farm bill….with billions for town and farm….has marched down the hill (as in Capitol) again….what next? Normally, the city legislators get behind the pork (with apologies to the guys out back in the woods) for farmers in exchange for easy sailing for their much-loved Food Stamps. This time, however, at the last minute some cost-conscious folks upended the deal. Brian Snyder, the executive director of The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, was very involved in the early stages of the Farm bill negotiations and we were critical of his role. We felt he had been lured in by the Big Boys to provide…
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The “high” cost of pork….
….we’ve been warning that, because of increased feed and processing costs, our pork prices will be higher this time. But not this high: http://news.yahoo.com/flavor-experiment-wash-farmer-feeds-pot-pigs-083209301.html Thanks to Keith Smith for the link.
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For my fellow wine drinkers….
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Is it alright to be jealous….
….of your own grandson? Church has the summer experience of a lifetime….working with Jim Gerrish at his Idaho ranch. We’re going to miss his help here and we’re also a little worried that he’s going to want to change everything when he gets back. Wooz is more worried her grand-baby is going to get lost in those mountains back there. And his experience has been limited to our docile Devon herd of 50. Now he’ll be helping watch over thousands of cattle. Seriously, Jim is a rare combination of thinker and do-er. Church is now thinking he wants a career in forages. Whatever he decides, time with the Gerrish’s is…
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None dare call it Big Ag….
….or Big Government, for that matter. The giant hog farms are in the midst of a desperate struggle to save their piglet crop. Reuters is reporting a devastating virus has now hit about 200 farms in a dozen states and is spreading. No one is estimating how many piglets have died but the mortality rate is apparently about 50%. Bigger pigs are affected too….and while they really don’t have a handle on the situation….the folks in the government are quickly assuring us that pork is safe to eat. Whatever their other sins, the members of the Unholy Alliance has its press releases close at hand. Here’s the link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/24/us-usa-hogs-virus-spreads-idUSBRE95N1DR20130624 Industrial…
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Beef on the way….
….starts with pulling the steers out of the main herd. They all come into the pen, and it’s up to me(far right) to let a bunch out at a time checking tags and undersides. They’re held briefly in that alley until Wooz (far center in white shirt) okays the return to the pasture. When we get a steer, it’s aimed to another pen where Kurt Volkert (left) is controlling the gate. Afterwards the steers are moved across the road to a large pasture with other cows awaiting shipment to farms that have purchased our seed stock. Tomorrow the steers will be brought in for loading. We always try to keep the animals together and…
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Fighting the big boys….
…not only a lot of hard work but lots of creativity. We enjoy reading about farmers and cattlemen who are going the extra step to insure the survivability of their operations. In business school I think they call it “line extension”. With the kids gone, maybe Wooz will rent the spare bedrooms? (About as fast as I start mob cooking!) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20130622/DA72T1880.html Thanks to Sue Beal for the link.
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Peek-a-boo….
….well, we took a deep breath and released our month-old piglets into the woods. Not quite freedom though; a two strand polywire electric fence is holding them to about a half acre. They come back for food and water and to sleep in an old stall, but we’ve noticed a decline in feed consumption, probably because of all the acorns they’re finding in their new “digs”. They are clearly reveling in their new-found freedom and we’ll eventually expand their area for roaming. Someday (perhaps) we’ll let them go altogether. I’m already fairly confident they’ll come back in the evening for the safety of their beds. We do have bear, fox and…
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A shed raising….
….nothing so grand as a new barn. Just a shed to keep the elements off handlers and animals at the chute. We’ve put the joists in place and now we’re waiting for the roof trusses to arrive. “We” are Kurt Volkert, a good friend visiting from Germany, Farm Manager Duane Ard, and the architect.