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Open for business….
….once again. We had to drag one of those big utility company trucks through two pastures (making a mess of several years of holistic work) but we finally have power. The crew from southern Kentucky made a truly heroic effort and we appreciate their work. They thought the whole thing was kind of fun….and all were taking pictures of their adventure. Unfortunately I left my camera at home. The cows took the foot of snow in stride. The yearling heifers, pictured here, did graze through the white stuff but the grass really wasn’t long enough and they were glad to see a bale of hay show up. The temperatures during…
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You have to care a lot….
….to brave a cold February evening to talk about pastures. Cliff Miller of nearby Mt. Vernon farm in Sperryville was host to a group of grass fed farmers to discuss the finer points of raising all-natural beef. Cliff does a better job than most of us in documenting the results he’s achieved and he’s getting excellent results. Mt. Vernon raises not only beef but chickens, pigs and sheep on one of the oldest farms in Rappahannock county. The group of holitistic farmers meets regularly to compare notes and offer encouragement in this still experimental method of farmers.
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Margie Fry, R.I.P….
Margie Fry, the wife of Gearld Fry, died this morning, February 20th, after a long battle with cancer. Fry, of course, is the man largely credited with sparking the resurgence of Devon cattle in America both with the import of Rotokawa genetics and his crusading fervor for the breed. With Ridge Shinn and David Schoumacher, Fry founded the North American Devon Association in 2006. In recent years, Fry has devoted his attention to the American Herbataurus Society, an organization supporting crossing of Rotokawa bulls to other breeds. Margie Fry was a beautiful Christian woman who lived her faith to the fullest and her life was an inspiration to all of us who…
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In the tank…Pt 2….
…do you ever wonder how much of the so-called “scientific research” we treat as gospel has been bought and paid for by Big Ag, Big Food, Big Chemical and Big Government? The other day we posted an article about how the association of nutritionists was essentially a propaganda arm for the likes of Kellogg and Pepsi. Naturally, no one is more active is corrupting what used to be called “research” that our good buddies at Monsanto. Just the other day we read how soon we’ll be eating what is labeled as salmon, but in reality is a genetically-engineered combination of two types of salmon and…..eel! You see, this wonder salmon grows…
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Are nutritionists in the tank….
….for Big Food? You probably aren’t surprised to learn that the answer is “yes”. Again and again, though, I am stunned by the details of the unholy alliance of industry, bought-and-paid-for experts, and government that have so thoroughly corrupted our food system and devastated the health of our country. Chris Kresser, a blogger on health matters who specializes in covering holistic health issues was interviewed recently on the sell-out by the professionals we believe are protecting our well-being…and he discussed a press release on the subject: Chris Kresser: So, the press release was “Public health attorney and author Michele Simon asks: Are America’s nutrition professionals in the pocket of Big…
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Thistle Hill alumni club….
…a happy Thistle Hill mom and daughter happily at home in their new pastures at Tomina Farm in Tennesse. We delayed the shipment of Q1 for a few weeks until she had safely delivered her heifer, now named Shenandoah. The heifer’s sire is one of our herd bulls, U2. Two lovely additions to the Tomina herd. It’s been our feeling that would-be buyers often make a mistake when they overlook older cows in making their decision. Q1 has many good years ahead though she’s a “used cow” and is a more reliable prospect than a heifer.
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What’s in a name (continued)….
The European horse meat scandal has now spread to the United States, but with a twist. In Europe, they’ve discovered that some brands of prepared beef dishes actually have been using horse meat. Actually, there is some history of the use of horse meat there; sauerbraten, for instance, technically should be made using it and our aversion to its use is based in culture, not really nutrition. Still, in the United States, it’s illegal to serve horse meat but in California, a local tv station has discovered horse meat is being exported. http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/02/12/undercover-investigation-reveals-little-oversight-at-california-horse-auctions/ What the story doesn’t point out, is that it would be easy….and profitable….for a foreign supplier to…
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Eating the baby….
A diner in England has garnered a lot of publicity by offering a “Kidz Breakfast” which they claim weighs as much as a baby. No one seems to have succeeded in polishing off the breakfast until now, which is when Robert Pinto walked in and “ate the whole thing”….9 pounds of bacon and eggs…and sausage. It prompted calls for it to be banned and had one expert warning that someone could die after eating it. But the “Kidz Breakfast”, described as weighing the same as a small child, has remained the talk of a Norfolk seaside town. Consisting of a dozen sausages, 12 bacon rashers and enough eggs to be produced…
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A Cornwall kind of a mood….
…don’t know whether it’s Juliet Cleave’s video below or that I’ve been working on the Traditional Devon photo albums over at www.traditionaldevon.com … but I was feeling a little “homesick” this morning. But nope, this isn’t Cornwall. Fortunately, our farm manager Duane Ard sent a long a picture he took on his way home past our pastures on a recent evening. This will do, until the next trip!
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The pay-off….
….regular readers know that we’ve made repeated trips to southwest England in recent years and, with two American partners, have selected outstanding pure, traditional English bulls and cows…collected embryos from the matings….and imported them to the United States. And here’s the result: a three-month old bull calf out of Goldings Norah by Millennium Falcon. We just saw him recently at the farm in Georgia where he was calved and we couldn’t be more pleased. Doubly pleased. There on the same pasture was his brother, another Falcon sired bull calf out of a cow from another great, historic British herd, Essington Park. These two, with a third British bull that calved here…