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More Good News
The Kroger Company has been working with animal welfare experts and has science based standards for animal welfare to ensure that their suppliers treat animals humanely. After reviewing the opinions of these experts Kroger Company believes that a gestation crate-free environment is more humane and that the pork industry should work toward gestation crate free housing for pregnant sows.

Piglets in their creep

chickens grazing
chickens on pasture

Hats off to Both Maryland and Georgia

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed a bill banning arsenic in poultry feed, making the state the first to have such legislation. The law specifically mentions two Pfizer drugs that contain arsenic: Roxarsone (which the company voluntarily withdrew from the market last year) and Histostat (which is currently on the market). The new law prohibits the use, sale or distribution of commercial feed containing arsenic, the law takes effect January 1, 2013.  Read more
In June Georgians celebrated pastured poultry week. Georgians for Pastured Poultry (GPP) spread the word about the important virtues of pastured poultry. Restaurants in Athens and Atlanta helped spread the word by promoting pastured poultry on their menus. Georgian Chef, Shaun Doty demonstrates how to cook a pasture raised chicken

Drought conditions continue to dominate the news. We've decided to have a positive attitude towards whatever life throws at us. If it's out of our control, it's out of our scope of worry. The site below has maps tracking drought conditions in the United States since 1896. The data is fascinating. Take a look at 1934, 1936, and 2012. Here's the   Drought's Footprint  Our neighbor remembers the drought of 1936. He and his brothers would walk their dairy cows onto the road and have them graze the ditches because the pastures didn't have any forage left for them. Some area farmers were cutting down cottonwood and poplar trees and feeding the leaves to their cattle. I hope this cycle ends and there will be plenty of snow cover this winter. I can't believe that I am hoping for snow.

Welcome to Forest Hill Farm, Iowa's only certified organic farm offering 100% grass-fed beef and lamb. Our farm is certified  through OCIA!

The beef is from our organic Red Angus steers. It's 100% grass-fed, dry aged, and rotationally MIG grazed. The Sheep and lamb are also certified organic, 100% grass-fed, and rotationally grazed.  The pastured hogs are heritage breeds; Gloucestershire Old Spots and Berkshire. They graze our pastures along with chickens, turkeys and ducks.  There are a few goats in the pasture, too who cause trouble when they can. We'd love to serve you as a customer, please email for details.

Antibiotics in animal feed is in the news again this week...

Chickens routinely fed antibiotics to fight E. Coli bacteria are creating a superbug that's resistant to antibiotics to treat bladder infections. Amee Magnus, epidemiologist at McGill University found that E. Coli responsible for bladder infections closely matches the bacteria found in retail chicken - and those bacteria have a high level of resistance. She went on to say, "They (the chickens) are getting drugs from the time that they were in the egg all the way up to the time that they are slaughtered." Forest Hill Farm chickens are fed non-GMO grains and never given antibiotics. Hormones are illegal to feed. You won't find them in any poultry or swine feed. Both beef cattle and dairy cattle are routinely injected with FDA approved hormones to increase milk production (in dairy cows), and to promote growth in beef cattle. Our livestock is all antibiotic and hormone free!

Forest Hill Farm pasture raised chicken

We've heard from many people concerned over the drought in Iowa. The Drought Monitor determined that 59% of the state is in severe drought.  We are concerned and are trying to prepare for the worst.  We're implementing a drought plan we've had in place for a few years, just in case.  Because we rotationally graze, the ground has additional recovery time between foraging. During drought conditions overgrazing certain areas by increasing the stocker rate (number of cattle in a paddock) and allowing them more time in each paddock, gives larger areas of pasture more time to recover.  This allows deep rooted legumes, weeds, and less palatable plants to hold the ground, keeping the soil in place when rain returns. If the weeds or cover crop were killed off, soil erosion would be accelerated. Soil erosion would leave very poor conditions for plant recovery.

As unpleasant as the subject is, culling older herd animals is necessary. A few favorite cows are going to be sold, two horses were sold, and a third is being advertised for sale. There isn't enough hay for the profitable animals so the older animals and recreational pets have to go. It's tough. These are difficult decisions but necessary to sustain the herd and the land.

The sheep who are prone to overgraze deep rooted forages while ignoring grasses have been brought closer to the barn for management. If confined to smaller areas, the sheep will eat weeds and clean up grasses and dry pasture matter. The saying, "Beggars can't be choosers", applies. Another drought management option is early weaning. The calves and lambs are offered better grazing areas and the cows and ewes reduce their required feed intake by up to 40% when not lactating.

The dairy cows and calves haven't been separated, yet.  Their yield is high and milk for the pigs keeps grain costs to a minimum. Sows, boars, and feeder pigs are grazing in smaller pasture areas, keeping rooting behavior to a minimum.

Hay prices and the rising cost of grain has us looking at changing our production model. This year we'll be selling off most of the feeder pigs. Carrying them through the winter months when grain prices will be at their highest would drive prices too high. We'll hold onto our sows and boars and breed for late spring rather than late winter farrowing.

With all of these practices in place we're optimistic about the coming year. As our friend says, "Every dry day that passes gets us one day closer to rain". He's right. Eventually it will rain. That's inevitable. The question is... when. Until that day our drought plan is in full force.

This would be the time to buy larger quantities of meat. The price is only going higher, at least until the next harvest season. Planning ahead can make a big difference in your budget.

Warmest wishes and food for thought,
Glenda

When Pigs Fly

The federal government proposed new guidelines allowing people with disabilities, assisted by "service animals," to board flights. The list of approved service animals includes, but isn't limited to: monkeys, miniature horses, parrots, and pigs. It gives a whole new meaning to "when pigs fly." Snakes have not been approved, yet. There is a gentleman with a service snake who warns him of upcoming seizures. Someday he may have approval to board a plane with his service snake.  Oh, here's the catch...the other passengers may not object. If I boarded a plane and there was a snake on it, you can bet I'd object. And, If the plane was flying over Middleborough, Massachusetts I'd be issued a huge fine. Police in Middleborogh, MA are allowed to issue $20.00 tickets for cursing in public. At that rate I'd owe close to a million dollars if seated next to a "service snake".

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I realized that I’ve never explained the reason for my opposition to Genetically Engineered crops. Twenty one years ago we bought a small place in the country, three and a half acres, and started gardening, raising chickens, and pigs.  We fed them garden surplus and non-medicated feed. The nearest farms hadn’t switched to genetically engineered seed yet so we could buy directly from the neighbors. Adding supplements and pasture provided the animals with a varied diet and made great meat. These old timers still used a rotary hoe to combat weeds and rotated their crops annually. It was unheard of for a field to have a succession of corn planted year after year. For goodness sake, cover crops were being planted, what were they thinking (this is sarcasm)!

We bought an additional ten acres, added dairy goats, and started milking. Little by little the neighboring farms were passed down to younger family members who were educated in a “modern” approach to crop science.  If the universities were praising chemicals and genetic engineering as the answer, then by golly, they must be. Common sense was replaced by corporate subsidies funding education and research. Students became indoctrinated agriculturists who believed that the seed giants and chemists had all the answers.

Monoculture farming started replacing diverse farms. Soon we were surrounded by acres and acres of single crop farm land. Livestock disappeared from the landscape. It either moved to feed lots, into confinement buildings, or off the farm completely.

Soil health became less of an issue. The soil was simply a medium to anchor the root to the ground. Nutrition came from chemical fertilization, not soil. There was a time, not very long ago, when healthy soil was all that mattered. Feed the soil, feed the ecosystem that supports the soil, feed the crop, feed the world. No longer. Now it was feed the seed company, feed the chemical company,  feed the world.  Erosion control became the new buzz word. No-till drills replaced chisel plowing, discing, and soil conditioning. With the old equipment put aside more chemical applications were required to kill weeds, kill insects and add nutrients. Compaction of soil was the next buzz word. Meanwhile, no guidelines or limits were issued concerning the grade of slope that shouldn’t be cropped. The dead zone in the Gulf grew. Creeks, streams, and rivers collected nitrogen and top soil.  Genetically modified crops were sprayed with insecticides and herbicides to increased yields significantly. More profit meant more land was converted to row crops. Genetic engineering turned a profit on average and poor cropland. Bad farming practices were rewarded with higher yields.

We bought more land and continued in our antiquated ways. Meanwhile, a large feedlot for beef cattle (three acres under roof) opened just down the road from us. It was the pride of the university animal science department. Tours, accolades, and national recognition hailed this modern feeding system.  Newspaper was printed with soy ink; shredding the newspaper provided soy feed. Mixed with feather meal (from confinement poultry barns in the area), molasses for palatability, and a small amount of corn and hay the cattle were fed for less that $0.08/per day (1994). Oh, and hormone implants added faster gain. When a television crew came to feature this farm on a nationally syndicated weekly farm show we felt that surly someone besides us would find this repulsive. No one did. More of these model systems popped up.

Now we were a family of four. Food issues were important to us, as was education. The more people who visited us and tasted the difference our methods made, the more they remembered their grandparents farms. The price for being different was great. The reward was greater and more satisfying. My wonderful grandmother use to say, “Right is right if no one does it. Wrong is wrong if everyone does it.” What’s ‘right or wrong’ isn’t decided by consensus or popularity, it’s determined by conscience. Raising animals on pasture, without antibiotics or implants, for us, was a conscientious decision. And, no one was doing it, or at least it seemed that way. Fast forward to today; the education is paying off. More small farmers are returning to rural America. Family farms create teamwork; families experience life through labor, laughter and love. We’ll continue to educate and promote healthy choices. We wouldn’t trade our antiquated ways for anything, especially since they’ve become ‘right’ again.

So I’ll be posting a three part series on Genetically engineered crops. Sometimes I’ll refer to them as genetically engineered or GE, transgenic, or GMO.  The terms are all interchangeable.

NEWS WORTHY WEDNESDAY:

With pink slime out of the news it might be time to revisit Transglutaminase  A recent conversation at the farmers market brought up the subject of pork tenderloin. This particular customer had seen pork tenderloins in the grocery store that were about 6 inches in diameter and a couple feet long. The package was vacuum sealed and a tenderizing solution was listed on the label, no ingredients listed (if the ingredient is proprietary it doesn't have to be labeled), just a tenderizing solution. Large tenderloins could be from an older sow, but more than likely they were "meat glued" pieces.

HERE"S AN EYE OPENER...no pun intended

Caffeine could improve dry eyes, but obesity is linked to sleep deprivation.  The good news... you can be fat and cry about it.  Tokyo's School of Medicine researchers have shown that caffeine intake significantly increases the eye's ability to produce tears. Dry eye syndrome affects four million people aged 50 and older. In another study, published in The American Journal of Human Biology, inadequate sleep causes obesity. Lack of sleep can impact appetite regulation, impair glucose metabolism, and it increases blood pressure. In summary; increasing caffeine for dry eyes could make you a big fat crybaby. Also, you're over 50 so you have that to cry about, too.

WHAT"S IN A LABEL?

Apparently not enough information, or misleading information. Kashi Cereal's maker, Kellogg Company has issued a clarifying statement after a grocer in Rhode Island posted a sign in his store stating Kashi Ceeal is made with GMO grains. The word "natural" on the label was misleading consumers. The company has issued an apology and promised that by 2015 70% of the ingredients in Kashi will be organic.