Patent for a pig- Food/Big Ag Video.. worth the watch if you can.

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

http://youtu.be/vtiWG03FbOc

The American biotechnology firm, Monsanto, has applied for a patent for pig breeding in 160 countries. The patent is for specific parts of the genetic material of pigs which Monsanto’s genetic researchers have decoded. If this patent is granted, pig breeding would be possible with the approval of the company.

Farmers and breeders are naturally alarmed because these genes have long existed in the great majority of their pigs. Using DNA tests they can prove that there is no new invention in the patent applications but that, instead, granting this patent would be to allow a part of nature to fall into the hands of a single company.

Monsanto’s influence on the patent offices is huge. If the patent is approved, money will have to be paid to Monsanto for every pig in the world carrying this genetic marker. This has long been the case for certain feedstuffs, such as genetically modified maize. Many farmers in the US have already become dependent on the company.

It is not merely a question of money, however, but also a question of the risk posed to consumers. In America, as in Europe, cases of infertility in animals fed with genetically modified maize are becoming increasingly common. No-one yet knows what effects such products are having on humans.

 

Posted in Life moves on daily | 1 Comment

This Weeks Ten dollar food budget went for the Good Food Box.

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

Do you have a good food box program? While our program is run though this program its the same idea, you pay ahead of time along with a number of your fellow community folks and they are able to take the funds buy in season local fruits and veggies, Split up what is bought between the folks that put in the funds and everyone gets a very good wholesale deal on fresh fruits and veggies.

Its a great program, it has faults (I will get to those in a min) but for general value, its amazing, typically you get 30 to 40 dollars worth of value for your ten dollars investment, instead of giving that mark up to the stores, it stays in your own pocket.

I tend to buy two box’s myself, as its a once a month item and I am very able to process and store any extra’s either by freezing, drying or canning as required to make sure nothing goes to waste.

The two big flaws as I see it is A) No organic and you are eating food from all over the world as they come into season and the whole sale prices are lowest and what is put on sale in the open market..  Not great if you are a local food supporter.. B) you only get one box per month, its very hard to keep the fruits for more then a week or two without perserving extra’s for later in the month, depending on the veggies it can be the same issue

Now this could be a issue with some folks but I just like the challange, you never know what you are going to get in the box and so there are times where you get things you are unsure of how to eat or even how to use them, but its good to stretch your palete, instead of your wallet 🙂

So do you take advantage of a program like this in your neck of the woods?

 

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Brandy overview for 2012

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

Well its that time of the year for the blog, I have been busy updating the goals, the challanges, the garden and more pages on the front header of the blog, Brandy was a surprise in 2012 to say the least  and one that I am very grateful to have had enter my life.

I had a goal for how many hours I wanted to spend working with Brandy but I think I was just a touch to hopeful on that one, I had wanted a min of 300 hours working with her before the end of 2012, and I figure the truth is, we most likely did get there, because if you added in the time that we are training twice to three times daily when we are doing chores, while she follows us around like a huge horse puppy, I am very sure that we did in fact spend at least 300 hours since we got her together, and really we are training her, just as she is training us..

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But on a more formal note..Since I got her in Aug of 2012

56 hours in Ground Training

23.5 Riding hours

3.5 hours in harness.

Riders-4 in 2012, 3 adults, 1 teen

For a total of.. 83 hours of active horse time.. So right around 21 hours per month that she has been here..

I certianly expect to blow right though this amount of time working her in 2013, I really want to put at least 300 to 400 hours of combined active work time on her, more would of course be better..

There is so much to do in regards to manure pile, filling in of ruts, smoothing out pasture work, garden work along with I hope many hours of trail/buggy riding coming this year along with I hope hours to be spent having fun on ground train/horse agility.

While both of us really needed the time spent on the most basic’s in regards to ground training, I like the idea of using the basic tools in the horse agility to keep the ground training fresh for both of us for the coming year.

So talk to me, if you have horses, approx how many hours are you spending actively working them per week, month, yearly? I am not counting in care, or barn time, I am only counting active training, riding or working time..

How many hours does a horse need under the saddle to be considered green broke, experance rider broke, well-broke or bomb proof?

How many hours in a harness is needed to say that they are a Broke to drive? vs a driving horse, vs a seasoned driving horse?

I’ve read in a number of books that it takes a full thousand hours to really get a well trained horse, but I have no idea at all on how many hours she has in either riding or driving before I got her? and I could just start from scratch in the counting but I think that is a bit much..

So give me a helping hand here folks.. I have written enough, shared photos and video’s enough that I think I can ask this.. how many hours under the saddle do you think you would give her currently, how many in harness? She was broke and driven in a team so learning to be a single driving horse appears to be new to her.

 

 

Posted in draft horse | 2 Comments

Baked Beans with Lamb Bacon Recipe

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

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I put some good olive oil in the bottom of the cast iron pot and simmered in two huge diced onions along with half a pd of diced lamb bacon..

I took my cooked beans, drain them and put them in that cast iron pan full of hot onion/lamb bacon, added one qts of homecanned crushed tomato’s, a pint of homemade Chili sauce, 1/4 a cup of molassies, some black pepper and some keens hot dried mustard powder to the mix, covered and baked, I baked for close to 3 hours and it was good and needed water added twice but it could have used another hour of cooking.. at a slow simmer in the oven till close to done, at which point, I uncovered it and gave it alittle extra brown time for another 15 min or so.

Now lets try that for folks that don’t home can

  • 6 cups of Navy Beans-Soaked and cooked, which will double to triple in size
  • One large can of V8 Tomato Juice
  • One can of Tomato Paste
  • One large onion diced fine
  • 1/4 cup of fancy Molassies
  • 1/4 cup of brown sugar or maple syrup
  • half a pd of the best bacon you can get-cook, diced in peices, keep the fat in the beans.
  • 1/2 tsp of black pepper and 1/2 tsp of dried hot keens mustard powder

Follow the directions listed above in the order and how to put it together.. Add a bit more tomato juice if you want more sauce.

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Do you dry things from the Herb Garden?

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

Do you grow herbs in the garden? if so do you make your own tea’s, I find the best one to start one with is of course Mint.. can you think of anything more simple to grow, harvest, dry and then pop in boiling water to steep for a number of minutes.. Do you use a tea ball? or do you buy paper tea bags that you can fill yourself, or do you have one of those fancy pots that has a built in loose herb middles or are you a purest, do you just go full loose leaf?

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Posted in Life moves on daily | 7 Comments

Grrrr….the battle has started again..

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

Once again, with this insane cold snap, I am having field mice move in, I have not seen one yet but I know they are there.. and if there is one thing I hate to see in my house.. its a mouse! or their little droppings!!!!!!

Going on the war path over the next while on them!

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Posted in Life moves on daily | 3 Comments

Snow Removal with the Horse Drawn Sloop..

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

What a great way to spend two hours with your horse,  so let me first say that I fully intended to have a small homemade V Plow done for the driveway, so that it would be a simple one way down, one way up and the turn around and done for the snow plowing and then was planning on using the sloop for the smaller pathways and the V-plow for the way up and down to the  big barn..

It will get done some time in the new year but it was not made and ready for to, so instead I hitched up Brandy in her new harness she got for christmas a English style of driving harness and we jigged it up with peices I have gotten over the years and hooked up the sloop.. The video shows the basic’s, we would have needed three peaple to show it work proper, one to lead/drive, one to work the sloop and one to video, so you don’t get to see it in proper action but still it shows it enough, DH would tip the handles up and put the lip down, it fills with snow, we drive it over to the other side of the road, flip it upside and she pulls it forward smoothing it out as it empties, flip again and go for the next load.

This allowed me to figure out that we could do this very same lift, move and then flatten/spread out in the field work, which is great as it will allow us to help fill in the little bumps and ruts in the pastures now that I have learned we can do this.

Then just for fun, we also both took turns riding in the sloop with the other pulling us around, cuz why not? as always the video’s are in the comment area..

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First Lambs of the Year- New Year Babies..

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

Well, we were very sure that Bubbles was ready to lamb at any time and we had jugged her up, she spent yesterday with her buddy sheep giving us the sheepy eye and asking to be let out..so glad we listened to our own voices that said, no way girl, you have babies coming..

Look what was waiting for us in the barn this morning, the first lambs of the season and New Year babies to boot..  She had to pick the single spot in the pen that didn’t have a good cover of fresh bedding, (that was across from where she birthed, of course!) but after health checks, we hauled down two more big slabs of straw and rebedded out that whole half again. Video will be put in the comments section of this post when its ready..

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Posted in Critters | Tagged | 3 Comments

Ten dollar a week Grocery challange for Jan..

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

Now I did this challange last year in Feb, but I’m moving it to Jan, I have to admit that am a touch worried with the increase in food costs that this will be a bit harder this year then last, but I will once again take a photo of each shopping trip/total.

Here is example of the week, the rest of them can be found in Feb month if you want to look them up..

The Rules are the same as last year, everything available from the farm and the pnntry are allowed, critters are exempt, the ten dollars per week are for human use only. I am making it a bit more challanging this year because I don’t have a in milk sheep yet.

I’m heading into this challange with a good amount of fresh in the house, five green apples, a full head of green cabbage, four onions, 2 heads of broccoli, one honeydue melon, ten pds of carrots.

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Happy New Year!

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Just another day on the farm

This Photo come though on a horse facebook page, no credit was given, so I can’t share that but whoever’s team and who took the photos did a awsome job.. Wishing all wonderful readers a very happy New Year! Tomorrow, I will go though my goals for the year of  2012 and see what we got done and write out my goals for 2013.. See you all tomorrow.. have a wonderful night and be safe out there!

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