-
Grass is always greener—II
Just a quick add…pictures of the turnips we’re getting (with our hound) and the radishes. Add in the roots we left behind and you get an idea of the wonderful impact in the soil! David
-
Upgrading some pastures…
…and using a no-till drill. In addition to clover, which we often spread, this year we’re mixing in perennial rye, cereal rye, turnips, radishes and cow peas. We’re doing several pastures hoping to extend the natural grazing season. Not only should it mean extra nourishment for mama and calf in the winter slump but some of these plants put down very deep roots. The theory is that will loosen the compacted soil and bring more minerals closer to the surface to feed the plants. It also should help capture rain water, limiting the effects of drought. As they say on television…”only time will tell”! David
-
The unending war continues…
…no not the one in Afghanistan but the fight over Roundup…the herbicide banned most places but here. It’s been going on almost as long! It’s a controversy that has, if nothing else, revealed the unholy alliance between Big Pharma and the government which is “here to protect us”. Along the way, there’ve been many successful lawsuits and government (not U.S.) bans against using the product. Now Bayer is advancing the defense that since the American government hasn’t outlawed its use, cancer victims have no right to sue for damages and wrongful death. Meanwhile Bayer plans to continue selling Roundup but under a new name. Joel Salatin in his latest blog…
-
Know your farmer…
…was never more true if you care about the food you eat. In recent years, organic and natural foods have begun to take a small slice of the household budget. It’s still minuscule compared to the total spent on groceries and eating out. But Big Ag and it’s allies in the chemical industry have taken notice of the upstart…and with the support of the government, they’ve been fighting back…muddying the water with deceptive labeling and advertising. A farmer just north of us in Chambersburg, PA finally had enough the other day and exploded on his website. https://yourfamilyfarmer.com/blog/double-agent With the connivance of Washington, we can no longer trust claims…
-
The happy marriage…
…of two great English herds at Thistle Hill. TDA 31 is an embryo heifer from Goldings Farm in Cornwall and Ashott Barton Farm in Somerset. 31 is Exhibit A in what we hoped to achieve with our pursuit of pure traditional English Devon genetics. We would be hard-pressed to find some way to improve her. The dam was Goldings Norah who we discovered in Ivan Rowe’s pastures at Lands End. Ivan told told us to select any cow we wanted from his herd of more than 100 Devon. He’d wait for us back at the house. Wooz and I trudged back and forth in the rain all afternoon before settling…
-
The magic of grazing…
This photo by son-in-law Curt Humphreys captures the harmonious relationship among soil, grass, animals and sky that is an on-going process on the pastures of Thistle Hill. There are no losers in this kind of farming…the soil, the grass, the cows and the environment all prosper. And the farmer does, too. It’s easy to lose sight of the Big Picture but every once in awhile we come across a kindred spirit, such as Suzanne Nelson Karreman in North Carolina, who puts it into words better than most of us can. She deals with the holistic nature of this kind of husbandry…yes, including the ultimate death involved. https://reverencefarms.com/ruminants-make-more-life-than-they-take/ David
-
The butcher’s breed…
…was the name the English gave to the Devon. That was because of the quality of Devon meat. It was about that time that the leading English agriculturalist Robert Bakewell pronounced Devon the perfect cow…in no further need of refinement by crossing with other breeds. At Thistle Hill we have devoted our time and resources duplicating that early English Devon…and by coincidence the other day some of cows lined up demonstrating what we are trying to achieve. I guess the larger one in the center helps demonstrate the uniformity of the rest of the herd. She’s part Senepol bred to a Devon bull, an experiment we tried to demonstrate the…
-
Words unnecessary…
He’s doing his part…are you?! David
-
Thistle Hill alumni club…
…features our Equinox at home at Spring Pastures farm near Middletown, Maryland. Equinox is packed with our best pure English Devon genetics…Churchill on one side…Buttercup on the other. It’s the second bull Thistle Hill has supplied to Brooke Henley and Tom Garnett. Brooke is excited by his first calves…eight so far, all vigorous and thick. We’re excited by the grass on Brooke and Tom’s pastures! The combination of that forage and Devon genetics will result in top quality meat! David
-
What’s the difference…
..between Grassfed and grass-finished beef? From time to time we allude to the benefits of Thistle Hill’s grass-finished beef…but the labels are confusing and the USDA does it’s utmost to confuse the issue to the benefit of Big Ag. So we thought we’d reprint an article that does a fair and balanced treatment of the subject by food writer Nathan Phelps which was recently published in the US Wellness newsletter. David