-
Throwback at Trapper Creek….
….is a very informative website we found recently. It details the “adventures” of Nita Wilson, a third generation farmer in the Pacific Northwest. She spends a good deal of time on each topic she develops; her treatment of beginning rotational grazing in the spring is an example of her work. http://matronofhusbandry.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/its-complicated/ It’s worth your time to check out the entire site.
-
Slow food a “hot” investment?
Apparently some folks like to think so. And there’s a group looking for investors to invest in sustainable agriculture. Most of the people who have developed small scale, but profitable companies specializing in healthier foods find they can’t compete against the “big guys” who move in and threaten to crush them. So far, those small companies have just given up and sold out to the highest bidder (who proceeds to corrupt the brand). Farmers, by and large, are terrible businessmen and worse marketers. In fact, they’re repelled by the idea they should have to sell their products. But for those out there who are still interested in making the “fight”, there’s…
-
Why am I not surprised….
….that food labels don’t necessarily tell the whole truth. “Food fraud” has become big business, and bigger with the introduction of what we’d like to believe is healthier foods. Big Ag, of course, has moved in to corrupt labels such as “natural” and “organic” and just about every box or bag of processed foods contains stuff that’s not on the label and is not good for you. Food blogger Dr. Joseph Mercola has the story here. Important reading but I’m at a loss as to how to protect ourselves. Oh, right. Buy from a local farmer you know. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/04/food-fraud.aspx Anyone who still believes the government is protecting you from this…
-
On the trail of the “Highwayman”….
….a bit more information on the 1960s British champion, Uggaton Highway 2nd. Our Cornwall lass, Juliet Cleave, came up with the picture and wondered who he was. Wooz added some detail from the old herd books (including the fact that he’s an ancestor of one of the bulls calves we now have on the ground here). In case you missed her comment yesterday, I’ve pulled up the latest information from Juliet: Have just spoken to William Brent (of the now dispersed Clampit Herd): his family bought Uggaton Highwayman 2nd as an 18 month bull at the Devon Society annual sale & worked him “as much as we could” within the…
-
Jerry Engh on the mend….
We thought his many friends in the Devon world would want to know: We saw Jerry Engh at Lakota Ranch today. Jerry suffered a stroke a few weeks ago but he’s not only up….he’s running. And supervising things at Lakota from a 4-wheeler. He does have some mild paralysis but my non-professional diagnosis is that it will pass. The major problem, Jeremy tells us, is holding his Dad down. Jerry says he expects to be on hand for the joint meeting of the two Devon associations in September…a meeting that should heal the breech between the two organizations.
-
Worth waiting for….
….the second pass over the new grass and we’re still moving them quickly. The plan is to cover every pasture (but one) within 21 days. The “one” is our Italian rye pasture, intended for the steers but they didn’t get the memo. We put the steers on the “special” grass earlier this week. By the end of the next day, they had found their way through to wire fences and across a creek to re-join the main herd. I can hear Ian saying: “Of course, dummy.” Maybe there’s a book in that: Grazing for Dummies. But I’m a fast learner, the next time the rotation takes the herd to the Italian rye,…
-
Our alumni club….
….we think we treat our animals pretty well here at Thistle Hill, but Regina Tesnow at Tomina Farms in Kentucky puts us to shame. Here she’s grooming a bull we shipped to her not long ago. She calls him “Casino“…a Rotokawa 243 son…who she hopes will replace her famed “Magic” who is also a Thistle Hill alum. Regina apparently pampers all her Devon this way. I suspect she even tucks them in at night with an alfalfa cube.
-
Piglet’s first time….
….rolling in the mud. There can’t be a photo that better captures pure joy. The photo and the pig belong to Mike Jones, who just purchased some cows here at Thistle Hill. (see “Parting is sweet sorrow” below) This little Tamworth pig was lucky enough to find some mud her first day in the pasture.
-
Parting is sweet sorrow…
…whenever it comes time to ship our animals. Wooz is always an unwilling partner in that part of our business. Here Michael Jones of Deerfield, Ohio reviews the seven animals waiting shipment to his Tierra Verde Farms. They’re at the vets, getting their travel papers. Mike selected a veteran bred cow with a heifer calf at her side, three young heifers and two steers. He tells us his grass fed beef business has outpaced his current supply so he needs both more females and some “ready” steers. Wooz insists on violating a cardinal rule of the cattle business: never name your animals. With anywhere from 60 to 80 critters on…
-
All growed up….
well not quite. Traditional Devon Churchill is still probably not quite halfway there. But you can see “the shape of things to come”. He’s out of our favorite English cow…Tilbrook Cashtiller…by Cutcombe Jaunty. Churchill is just 18 months old but we’ve put him with a few cows to introduce him to the facts of life. This will be the last photos of our English calves for awhile. Now back to regular programming.