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And God made a Factory Farmer….
….here’s something on the internet that deserves to go viral. A take-off on the Paul Harvey salute to farmers that was the hit of last year’s Super Bowl. Watch it and laugh….(or cry). http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/e1abab3c2b/god-made-a-factory-farmer Thanks to Bill Roberts of 12 Stones Grasslands Beef for the link.
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Ready to take on the world….
This little English bull calf only looks like he’s getting ready to charge. He’s really just getting up for one of the first times in his first day in America….and trying to figure out if he can risk moving those front legs. TDA 11 is a Millennium Falcon son out of Goldings Norah….an embryo calf we bred in England and imported as part of our Traditional Devon America project. Right now he is in the capable hands of Doyle Unruh in Georgia but eventually he’ll join the Virginia or South Carolina TDA herds…..and probably make a few commutes up and down Interstate 81.
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Meanwhile, in South Carolina….
….while we’ve been calving the next group of English Traditional Devon in Georgia, just across the border, at Walker Century Farms in South Carolina, we’re monitoring the progress of earlier classes. In the foreground are two heifers just over two years of age…in the background, a bull calf from last year. Right now the Traditional Devon America herd numbers 14. Progress but still a long way to go.
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TDA 14….
….another English traditional Devon made it through border security this week. This little bull calf is less than a day old in this picture….the son of Millennium Falcon and Goldings Norah. We now have been calving for three years….and just beginning breeding here. And we do have confirmed pregnancies!
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Gotta new pair of hooves….
….somehow an idea I don’t think will catch on. But a Virginia calf has been fitted with prosthetics….successfully. Kinda. You can be the judge. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/01/28/cow-hero-gets-new-prosthetic-hooves/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fhealth+%28Internal+-+Health+-+Text%29
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US cattle herd shrinks still more…
The number of cattle in the United States has plunged to the lowest it’s been since 1951. That’s more than 60 years that the beef supply has been this low. For cattlemen that have been able to stick it out through high feed and energy costs—and droughts—this is good news in the short run. It means of course that cattle prices will continue to set records. But since that will chase consumers to other choices, it’s not so good. The only bright spot in the report is the news that farmers are starting to hold onto their heifers….that adds to the short supply but indicates an eventual turn-around. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_LIVESTOCK_INVENTORY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-31-16-46-54
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Scare tactics….
….some time ago the internet was having fun with “exploding” animals…generally drone strikes…and most often pigs. But now the food chain Chipotle has taken the art form to a new level….”exploding cows”. It Chipotle’s way of warning of the dangers of eating beef at competing fast food chains (and supermarkets, we might add). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5_D0rdqeAs
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More than you want to know….
….about the new Farm Bill. But here’s a detailed look at the details from both the Left and the Right. It starts by making the point that it should be really called “The Food Stamp Bill”. More money goes to food stamps than farmers and, despite the claims that the bill cuts spending, it does not! http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/
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Whoops!
In the post below (The true cost of a bull) I forgot to credit the link to Juliet Cleave, aka: The flower of Cornwall! Sorry.
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What cold looks like….
….this was the thermometer outside the door at our friend, Dr. Sue Beal’s home in northern Pennsylvania this morning. Something like minus 22 but at that reading, what’s a degree or two? And keep in mind this is actual temperature, not the new-fangled “feels like” stuff. Actually, Sue says the wind has mercifully died down….the sun is bright. Which means her neighbor Punxutawney Phil will be seeing his shadow. Which means still more winter to come…six more weeks!