• Sugar is still the problem….

    ….just when I thought I had cut out sugar in all its variations, along comes Dr. Joseph Mercola with nutritionist J.J. Virgin to tell me I’ve barely begun! http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/11/02/high-sugar-impact-diet.aspx?e_cid=20141102Z1_SNL_art_1&utm_source=snl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20141102Z1&et_cid=DM59372&et_rid=713193555

  • I don’t know why….

    ….but this just tickles me.  The perfect Christmas gift for the man who has everything? There’s a whole bunch of similar cups over at buzzfeed.com but Warning:  adult language on most of them.

  • “I don’t eat fat”….

    ….words still heard too often…along with “I try to limit the amount of meat my family eats”.  I gave up long ago trying to convert those still worshipping at the government’s Food Pyramid. But I have wondered why the belief persists despite all the evidence that meat can be good for you….and so can the fat. It’s all the more mystifying since the government quietly abandoned the Food Pyramid a long time ago.  And the lead government scientist has even warned against low-fat dieting. The key is in the word “quietly”, according to Nina Teicholz, who says the bureaucrats don’t want to admit they were wrong.  So, a la Lucy, they’ve moved…

  • Jim Helfter, R.I.P….

    ….we’ve just learned of the passing of one of the unsung heros of the natural grass fed beef industry.  Jim Helfter, designer of the Helfter cafeteria mineral system, died after a fall from a horse Monday, October 28th. Jim had been dealing with serious heart problems for some time and it’s not clear at this moment whether a heart attack preceded or followed his fall.  Funeral services are pending. Helfter, a quiet, unassuming man, came up with the original cafeteria mineral plan and one that, we think, out-performs all others.  It gives the cow free choice of about a dozen minerals and permits the animal to choose what its body…

  • Farming: A Life….

    A lovely profile of an 86-year old farmer in rural New York….still in the business after 7 decades of farming despite a hip replacement, a knee replacement, and a broken back.  (Why do I feel a certain kinship?) http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/381503/the-86-year-old-farmer-who-wont-quit/ Choose your word:  stoicism, acceptance, understanding?        

  • Special delivery….

    ….our  Traditional Devon™ bull “Churchill” has been transferred from Thistle Hill in Virginia to our partners, Bill and Nancy Walker’s farm, in Anderson, South Carolina.  Churchill’s first calves are on the ground here….and the Walkers will be trying him out during the next breeding season. From South Carolina, we dipped down into Georgia and picked up some Traditional Devon™ from Doyle Unruh’s recip herd.  We brought back three calves along with two 2-year old bulls raised at Century Farms plus Wellington, Churchill’s full-brother.  Doyle is on the left and our friend, Glen Covington, who volunteered again to make the trip with me.  Bill Walker is on the far left if you click…

  • Is there no limit…..

    ….to the magic of a cow? Perhaps Wooz would have said “yes” more quickly if I had thought of this! https://gma.yahoo.com/big-lego-fan-uses-lego-cow-pop-legoland-110324935–abc-news-sex.html

  • The annual Devon meeting….

    ….was held at Jacob and Jenny Owens’ beautiful “Brookview Farm” in Kentucky thoroughbred company.  And the Owen’s more than hold their own in that high-powered company. The 600-acre farm is home to about 50 mama cows so, as one of the visitors put it,  stocking density is not a problem.  Calving season had just begun, adding both fun and an extra educational opportunity. The 100-plus attendees included quite a few new faces. If any scene typifies a Devon meeting, it is Gearld Fry (in yellow shirt) lecturing from a wagon bed about the proper cow.   Among the listeners was Jacob’s herd, which crowded close and were rewarded to hear that their thymuses…

  • The new Devon leadership….

    ….there was quite a turnover in the leadership of Red Devon USA this weekend.  The new officers all come from the smaller of the two associations that recently merged to form the new blanket organization. Elected president is Roy Doan of Tennessee, Vice President is Jacob Owen of Kentucky, and Treasurer is Paul Calucci of New York.  Guille Yearwood was added to the board. When the merger was first suggested, there was considerable opposition within the American Devon Cattle Association because of fear it would be gobbled up by the larger North American Devon Association (NADA). As a gratifying sign that the six-year long rift between the two groups has…

  • Waiting for breakfast….

    ….the main herd watched this morning as we put a new, huge water tank in the Eastern pasture.  They’ve been patiently waiting….and watching that succulent stand of Italian rye on the other side of the wire.  Our chief-of-everything, Duane Ard, noticed the advance guard on the horizon while filling the tank.  A few minutes later we were surrounded!