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And the green grass grew all around….
….NOT! But our cows, including 180, are waiting patiently. And actually, if you look carefully, you can see some tinges of green beginning to pop out. And if look carefully, you’ll see that bull calf in the background. We’re pretty excited about him. He’s A126, the result of a mating that occurred when we brought back a Thistle Hill alumni, whose mother had been a double bred Rotokawa 667. A126’s dam was also the mother of one of our herd bulls. She’s been quite a performer for us. Another of her offspring is the cow on the right. Photo by our farm manager, Duane Ard.
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A Traditional Devon update….
….just back from a trip to South Carolina and Georgia, looking at the latest British imports. This heifer is two weeks old, a product of Essington’s Buttercup and our herd bull, Millennium Falcon. Essington has been closed down now so we’re fortunate to have saved genetics from that grand old herd developed by Brian Drake. She and five sisters and brothers will be raised at Doyle Unruh’s farm in Georgia and will play an important role in our project to save British Devon genetics here in America. For this one, you’ll have to click on the picture. Some of our older British animals were gracing the pastures of our partners Bill…
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Grass feeding is for “crazies”….
….that’s the view in the Midwest, where corn is king. Dr. Joseph Mercola discusses the possibility that view is changing. No, next question. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/06/grass-fed-beef.aspx
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A sure sign of Spring….
….in England, our Cornwall Correspondent and her husband, Chris, have just turned out their heifers after wintering in their shed. A beautiful set of animals! Can’t wait to get over there to walk in all that green grass. Just one more month to wait! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=423305741149258&set=vb.231333727013128&type=2&theater
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They keep comin’….
….we’re off to South Carolina and Georgia to see our latest Traditional Devon calves…embryo imports from England that we paired over there. Meanwhile, our British colleagues keep coming up with exciting possibilities. This is a Bribery cow….one of our favorite lines. And the sire is from another favorite line….the Bywood herd. Unfortunately Bywood has recently closed down after many years of producing some great animals. This little calf is at Ashott Barton Farm owned by our colleague Shiamala Comer. It was Shiamala who bred the Millennium Falcon bull, the cornerstone of our pure English Devon project. Study this cow and you’ll see why we had to launch what has been a…
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An increase in beef prices….
….everywhere else. The size of cattle herds continue to slide and that means beef prices at the supermarket will continue to climb. Of course, they’ll go up even faster because of other costs. Thistle Hill has been able to hold the line on prices for several years now because we’re less vulnerable to the economics of commercial operations….and we don’t spray, pour and spread all those expensive chemicals on our land and animals. While the most expensive input in most cattle operations is nutrition, for us it is butchering. We’ve made the point before that it costs us about $500 to process a steer; the big commercial operations get it…
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A “take-down” of Whole Foods….
….outrage over the discovery that Whole Foods is a business…and not above taking advantage of the gullibility of some of its customers. There’s also some anti-creationism thrown in. Still, this is kind of amusing, particularly if you stick around for the comments. And worth plowing through just for this college-boy insight: “Very few of us are anywhere near rational. And pretty much all of are hypocrites.” It’s a good line, though. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/23/whole-foods-america-s-temple-of-pseudoscience.html Thanks to Linda Rozett for the link.
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The EPA stands guard….
….protecting our health! Don’t dare light up a cigarette on the beach. But when it comes to pesticides in your food…the EPA says not to worry. It’s just Monsanto doing its thing! http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/26/bt-toxin-residues.aspx
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From our Bonn bureau….
….a tv report on a huge 32,000 cow dairy near Chicago. Big Ag thinks this is great, of course, but we find it very depressing. This is the future folks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJRy82i8e5Q&feature=email Thanks to Gisela Volkert of Meerkatze.
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From our Cornwall bureau….
Thanks to Juliet Cleave.