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Summer camp…
…for our two-year old heifers. They’ll eventually be bred here at Slainte Farm and return home to calve. For now it’s a welcome break in their routine and fresh grass! And btw congratulations to our partners Mary and Mike on their recent marriage! David
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What’s for dinner…
…a juicy beyond organic hormone and antibiotic free sirloin steak. Curt went overboard with his seasoning on this one: avocado oil and then a rub of black pepper, yellow mustard, coriander, lemon peel, garlic, celery seed, dill, Chile, cardamom, and salt! Lightly and quickly grilled. In a word: delicious. David
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Ready to start…
…the main herd reporting for their preg check. The calves have been separated to be worked separately…vaccinations, dehorning, steering. Curt is the chief wrangler today…waiting for the signal to start bringing them in. David
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The time capsule…
…F212 carries genetics from many of the milestones in the 20-year history of Thistle Hill Devon. 212 is the daughter of Lakota 180…a natural daughter who until she died recently at the age of 19, had produced some of our best bull calves. So when 212 came along we grabbed her and now have great hopes for this young cow. On the other side, her sire was Highwayman…an English cow by Ashott-Barton Millenium Falcon. And now, to top it off, she is expecting a calf by Lakota P60, one of the finest meat sires in the breed! So if there’s a legacy cow on our pastures it is 212…with an…
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Meat sales soar…
…according to a survey of supermarket and on-line buying. Meat during this pandemic year has gained about 20% in sales volume…it’s now 35% of the food dollar and twice as much as chicken. https://www.supermarketnews.com/meat/meat-sales-reach-record-highs-2020-increasing-192 It’s interesting that on-line sales have really increased while at the same time people are more concerned about healthy food. Now note this summary is based on dollar sales…not pounds. But now that younger people have broken the restaurant habit, will they continue cooking at home? Will their interest in healthy foods continue? Most smaller farmers we know haven’t been able to gear-up production to get a piece of this action. Nor do they have the…
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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
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A new wrinkle…
…to cooking steaks. Church introduced me to grilling on a soap stone. It’s pretty simple and pretty much guarantees even cooking. We cooked a filet and two boneless strip steaks…all from a 10-year old cow. Tenderness and the flavor could not have been better! We have pretty well satisfied ourselves that for our personal eating we’ll stick to the older cows. Will the day ever come when the government does away with the 30-month nonsense? The rule that older cows cannot be butchered goes back to the “mad cow” scare in England. Just what caused it was not conclusively proven but millions of cows were slaughtered “just in case”. In…
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A refresher course…
In grass finished versus grain finished beef. An increasing number of people seem to be turning away from industrialized beef and trying the grass finished version. Farmers too are increasingly marketing their own products…not willing to accept the take-it-or-leave-it pricing of the national processors. Just a few…like Walter Jeffries in Vermont, Joel Salatin in Virgina and Greg Gunthorp in Indiana…have gone all the way and have vertically integrated their operation, including everything from production to processing to direct marketing. At the forefront of that group is White Oak Pastures in Blufton, Georgia…a giant operation with 150 employees and 10 different kinds of animals under production. Its webpage includes a review…
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Another convert to…
…sous vide cooking. The young son of a friend recently was given a sous vide cooker for his birthday. His very first attempt at a ribeye steak (grass fed if not Thistle Hill) was a smashing success. Incidentally, if you’re one of those who prefer your meat more well done. Your just increase the settings We were late to using the sous vide method. Son-in-law Curt introduced it to Thistle Hill about two years ago. Being a traditionalist, it took awhile for me to be converted but there’s no doubt this technique of slow-cooking guarantees a perfect steak every time! Heating in water results in a more tender, moist steak…
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Proud mother…
…and son. The bull calf is now a week old and shows promise. He certainly has the pedigree: his grandmother was the great Tilbrook Cashtiller…who dominated English show rings for many years. And for three years running her bull calves topped the sales! We think the sire was from another well-known line, Champson Defender. But we won’t be sure until we get the DNA. This was the first success at AI-ing for grandson Church. We’re hoping for more than 25 calves over the next month or so. You’re always welcome to drop by and talk Devon. David