One of our best little helpers!

Friday we were out on the pasture cleaning up some scrub brush that had been cut down.  One of my sons drove the 4-wheeler for me as I loaded the trailer.  What a blessing to work with your children!  I love spending time with each of our children, teaching and learning things together like: seeing God's hand in nature, developing a good work ethic or watching the animals enjoy a sunny day.  Experts told us years ago that children need "quality not quantity time" with their parents.  I disagree with this; our children need both and Lots of it!  Our children need US more than anything else to help and train them into becoming healthy, well-balanced citizens; people who live out character in all they do, who know the value and shortness of life, and who understand the importance of having healthy relationships.  The Bible tells us "Children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward" Ps. 127:3  What a blessing our children are.  Thank you Lord for each one of them!!!

Grass-fed beef gets a number Ten score!

Score Ten for Grass-Fed Beef

Grass-fed beef is better for human health than grain-fed beef in ten different ways, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date. The 2009 study was a joint effort between the USDA and researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina. Compared with grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef was:

1. Lower in total fat
2. Higher in beta-carotene
3. Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
4. Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin
5. Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
6. Higher in total omega-3s
7. A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)
8. Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter
9. Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)
10. Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease

S.K. Duckett et al, Journal of Animal Science, (published online) June 2009

Two years of production then most dairy cows are turned into hamburger!

The typical dairy cow raised on a conventional confinement dairy farm is injected with hormones to increase milk production. Then after only two year's on the job, she's slaughtered and turned into hamburger because she's either sick, lame, fails to breed, or is a less than stellar producer. The average cull rate in the dairy industry is 30 percent. That means that each year, almost a third of our dairy cows are slaughtered and replaced with new heifers.  Most of these cows go to cattle buyers for large packing companies, and go into your supermarket hamburger, fast food hamburger, or mixed into other supermarket meat products. 

A cow that's treated well, spared the hormones, and raised on pasture can be expected to produce milk for ten years or more. The cull rate in a grass-based dairy can be as low as 7 percent. The money that a farmer saves by not having to replace a third of the herd every year helps offset the fact that a cow free of artificial hormones produces less milk. Bossy gets the respect that she deserves and consumers get hormone-free, nutrient-rich milk.

New term you need to know: "by-product feedstuffs" for animal feed ration

Fresh pasture and dried grasses are the natural diet of all ruminant animals. In factory farms, animals are switched to an unnatural diet based on corn and soy. But corn and soy are not the only ingredients in their “balanced rations.” Many large-scale dairy farmers and feedlot operators save money by feeding the cows “by-product feedstuffs” as well. In general, this means waste products from the manufacture of human food. In particular, it can mean sterilized city garbage, candy, bubble gum, floor sweepings from plants that manufacture animal food, bakery, potato wastes or a scientific blend of pasta and candy.  

Here are some of the “by-product feedstuffs commonly used in dairy cattle diets in the Upper Midwest.”*

• Candy. Candy products are available through a number of distributors and sometimes directly from smaller plants… They are sometimes fed in their wrappers…. Candies, such as cull gummy bears, lemon drops or gum drops are high in sugar content.
• Bakery Wastes. Stale bread and other pastry products from stores or bakeries can be fed to dairy cattle in limited amounts. These products are sometimes fed as received without drying or even removal of the wrappers.
• Potato Waste is available in potato processing areas, and includes cull potatoes, French fries and potato chips. Cull fresh potatoes that are not frozen, rotten, or sprouted can be fed to cows either whole or chopped. Potato waste straight from a processing plant may contain varying amounts of inedible or rotten potatoes. French fries and chips contain fats or oils from frying operations.
• Starch. Unheated starch is available from some candy manufacturers and sometimes may contain pieces of candy.
• Pasta is available from pasta plants and some ingredient distributors as straight pasta or in blends with other ingredients, such as candy.

*This list is excerpted from “By-Product Feedstuffs in Dairy Cattle Diets in the Upper Midwest,” published in 2008 by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. 

FYI: I know several beef feedlot producers that are using these same ingredients to feed out their BEEF animals for slaughter.  It is a high energy sugar or fiber source for a cheap price.  This is another reason it is good to know personally the person who is raising your food for your family.   by: Mark

Fresh California Orange & Grapefruit

A friend of ours has gotten a load of fresh fruit from California.  He has organic oranges at $30.00/box, #1 traditional raised oranges for $24.00/box or traditional grapefruit for $26.00/box.  This is tree ripened fresh fruit.  We have been enjoying the oranges and grapefruit in our house, and we all love them.  Limited quantities are available.  Contact us monica@pastureplace.com or 765-414-9352. 

Grass-fed meats improve fat levels

Eating moderate amounts of grass-fed meat for only 4 weeks will give you healthier levels of essential fats, according to a 2011 study in the British Journal of Nutrition.

The British research showed that healthy volunteers who ate grass-fed meat increased their blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids and decreased their level of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. These changes are linked with a lower risk of a host of disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, and inflammatory disease.

Interestingly, volunteers who consumed conventional, grain-fed meat ended up with lower levels of omega-3s and higher levels of omega-6s than they had at the beginning of the study, suggesting that eating conventional meat had been detrimental to their health.

British Journal of Nutrition (2011) Red meat from animals offered a grass diet increases plasma and platelet N-3 PUFA in healthy consumers. Volume 105, pages 80-89.

Some things for 2012!

As we start into the New Year, I would like to share with you a few things that we are up to:

1. This year we are adding an apple orchard to our farm.  This is an established orchard with McIntosh, Jonagold, Yellow Delicious and Honey Crisp, to name a few varieties.  We are pruning the orchard now, getting it ready for the coming growing season.  We intend on raising our apples naturally, using very limited spray & maintaining tree health through fertility.  We will be offering apples at the farm or at the market locations along with our existing meat products.
2. We are growing our sheep flock and cattle herd to better meet our customer's needs. This means that we are clearing more brush to create productive pasture, overseeding existing pastures and always looking for more ground to raise hay on for winter feed.
3. We are planning on adding another weekly market to our schedule in 2012.  We haven't decided on the location yet, but will be letting you know asap so you can come and visit us.

These are just a few things that we are doing.  As always we appreciate your support and referrals and will try to keep you updated on our progress.