• No comment….

    ….tough attack on vegetarianism.  Perhaps a bit over-the-top, but not more than the criticism of us omnivores. http://www.molonlabemedia.com/2016/04/29/vegetarians-unhealthy-mentally-disturbed/#

  • Thistle Hill East….revisited….

    ….the other day we featured our young cow “Bribery” at Bovine Genetics near Cambridge.  Actually the village is called “Bishops Itchington”.  (Much of the fun in England is in the town names.)  Now here is ” Ashott Barton Tulip“, who has also completed flushing.  Scroll down below the picture for more information. A second shipment of embryos from both animals is flying across the Atlantic as this is being written.  (4.22.16)  All the English genetics we import, for ourselves and for Traditional Devon™, land at Chicago’s O’Hare airport.  From there they’re trucked to Adel, Iowa. Embryos and semen are stored at Hawkeye Services until we’re ready for them.  Then, it’s…

  • Thistle Hill Alumni Club….

    …..Q48…was our first female when we switched to Devon in 2002.  We made the short trip down to Madison, VA  recently and Rich and Linda Maurer’s Springhaven farm, where 48 is still producing outstanding calves at 13 years of age.   Actually, we have double reason to be proud.  The Maurers brought 48 back home to breed to Traditional Devon’s ™ Highwayman and he barely let her get off the trailer before starting his courtship.  Apparently has a thing about older women. “48” was a daughter of Lakota’s H89….a bull we feel is one of the great unsung sires of the breed.  And it’s probably not a coincidence that an even older…

  • Forty years too late….

    ….just think of all the hamburger you didn’t eat (trying to be good).  A University of Minnesota study back in the 70s demonstrated that you can lower your cholesterol by cutting back on beef alright.  But the people with the higher cholesterol actually lived longer.  The old study was just discovered and published.   More settled science bites the dust! https://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2016/04/18/breaking-news-from-1973-burgers-are-good-for-you/?singlepage=true

  • A special place in hell….

    ….reserved for Monsanto, I trust.  Now they’ve found Roundup in California wines….not some of them….all of them.  Even the organic wines! Thanks to Church Matthews for the link. http://naturalsociety.com/glyphosate-california-wines-tested-6795/

  • My Christmas present….

    ….I think I just saw it on my grandson’s Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/FarminRigs/videos/1500468473503360/ Thanks to grandson Sergei Gentry for the link.  (and yes, you can use it anytime!)

  • Thistle Hill East….

    ….a clinic near Oxford, England where one of our heifers has just completed flushing.  Fifteen embryos will soon be on their way to Virginia.  She’s descended from the famed Champson Bribery by way of Ashott Barton Farm near Exford.  Her breeder was Shiamala Comer, one of our original Traditional Devon™ associates. Sadly, “Shi” has now liquidated her herd as have two of our other Traditional Devon friends.  It does, however, validate our decision to acquire the best English Devon genetics before they disappear.

  • Beware “settled science”….

    ….I do try to stay away from politics here…there’s enough everywhere else.  But with the increasing dogmatism (okay, fascism) in academia today it seems clear a lot of people are going to get hurt in the name of “settled science”.  All thought and speech really is being regulated now among the “educated”….and the rest of us will soon be caught in the net. Our concentration here is on food…and nutrition.  And this article raises the question of how many people have been killed by “settled science”. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-conspiracy-robert-lustig-john-yudkin  

  • Just because it’s interesting….

    ….though perhaps not to you.  We check the Sugar Mountain Farm website from time to time because it’s a good source of information on raising pigs.  Recently there was a discussion about whether pigs could be trained to work together as “warriors” much as dogs are. Pigs can be fearsome animals and bear watching when you go near them but apparently no match for a dog. As I say not for everyone but… http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2016/04/03/war-pigs/#more-7371