Nancy's Small Farms blog - Blog

Project gives grants for farm improvements that benefit livestock - Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) is accepting grant applications for its Fund-a-Farmer Project, which provides small grants to farmers who want to improve the welfare of their farm animals. Grants of up to $1,500 will be awarded for projects that (1) help farms transition to pasture-based systems, (2) improve the marketing of their humane products, or (3) more generally enrich the conditions in which farm animals are raised. Working, independent family farmers that raise pigs, broiler chickens, laying hens, dairy cows and/or beef cattle are eligible to apply for any of the three types of grants. Projects involving goats and sheep are only eligible for marketing grants. View guidelines or apply online by May 1, 2013 for awards made in August 2013.

Here's an idea to keep in mind for next year, how a cover crop cocktail can benefit your cattle and the soil. http://beefmagazine.com/pasture-health/cocktail-blends-provide-fall-grazing-soil-health

Here's an article form Ryan Goodman, a young rancher in Arkansas.  http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/06/15/cattle-farmer/

Article on the Animal Agriculture Alliance

Attachments:

From Mike Baker, Beef Cattle Extension Specialist, Cornell University:

The 10^th Semi-Annual Beef tour will be October 3-7, 2012.  We will be traveling by bus to Ohio.  Stops will include commercial and registered cow/calf operations, farmer feeders, and backgrounding operations. Tentative plans also include The Ohio State University and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.  There will be several pick up points across NY.

 

These tours are a great way to learn about the beef industry from a different perspective and also get to know other NY beef producers.

 

I’m looking forward to another great trip-hopefully we won’t get the bus stuck this time!

Here's a great piece from Fox News:  http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/30/hormones-in-cows-and-what-it-means-for-your-health/

I ran across this post from another blog. I haven't added anything recently, and this one reminded me why I have this blog!

Here's the video from the recent pasture walk at Terry and Mary Lou Rothfuss farm.

Here's an article on considerations for a handling facility. This website also has excellent information on other topics. 

An editorial regarding feeding the world.

Take a look at this article below. Creative use of the English language. Do we need to ding other producers for gain?

Attachments:

Check out this web site for useful information: http://www.ruraltax.org/. 

The Oprah show visited a Cargill facility. Watch the video: http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Inside-a-Slaughterhouse-video/topic/oprahshow.  

ATTRA's December newsletter covers the topic of marketing, including CSA's, buying clubs, as well as additional resources.

Check out this article about bale grazing written by Randy Kuhn. 

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2010/12/humane-society-united-states-not-what-you-think?quicktabs_1=0#ixzz17SS9qldx

Read and remember who feeds us this holiday season!http://www.agweb.com/livestock/beef/blog/a_passionate_voice/

Lamb Chops and Steaks Calm Down Stressed Men

Women who want to calm down their husbands after a stressful day should serve him a big steak, scientists said this week. Contrary to popular opinion that a hunk of red meat may make men aggressive, experts said it actually has a calming effect.

The researchers from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, said seeing meat provokes a sense of non-aggression that could be related to family feasting among the earliest humans and reminds males of friends and family at meal time.

Lead researcher Frank Kachanoff, Ph.D., admitted he was surprised by the findings. He said the idea that meat would prompt aggressive behavior makes sense as it would have helped our primate ancestors with hunting.

However, experiments found that the opposite was true and that the sight of meat had a calming effect on males and made them less aggressive.

Evolutionary experts believe it is useful to look at innate reflexes in order to understand trends in society and personal behavior. They said this latest research was important because it looked at ways society may influence environmental factors to decrease the likelihood of aggressive behavior.

Reprinted in part from Dailymail.co.uk

Take a look at the tips in this article: http://www.cattlebusinessweekly.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=2895.

http://www.capitalpress.com/content/CRD-Idaho-beef-w-photo-102910

This is the roundup from the grazing lands at the Finger Lakes National Forest in Hector.

http://www.bovinevetonline.com/newsCN.asp?contentid=1250338

http://www.agweb.com/livestock/beef/blog/100_Grass-Fed_139/something_to_be_proud_of/

I have thought this for a long time! It applies to size as well. Until I say it better: http://www.drovers.com/news_editorial.asp?pgID=758&ed_id=6420&component_id=953.

Here's a link to a British article. The same principles apply here in NY: http://www.thebeefsite.com/articles/2390/improving-profitability-from-grass.

Check out this video clip: http://www.extension.org/article/28874. 

Check out this article from University of Illinois, Cut Cow Feed Costs. http://www.agweb.com/livestock/beef/cut_cow_feed_costs_by_a_dollar_a_day/. This could be extrapolated to smaller operations. 

Article about Temple Grandin, Ph.D., professor of animal science at Colorado State University. http://www.hpj.com/archives/2010/aug10/aug23/OCAconvention20104picssr.cfm. 

Here's an article regarding creep grazing calves: http://www.noble.org/ag/Forage/CreepGrazing/index.html.

Well managed grass delivers a low cost feed and can potentially deliver growth rates of 1.0 kg/day or more. A good grassland system can produce finished beef at as little as 18 months, as Charlotte Johnston, TheCattleSite junior editor recently found out. 

The greatest cause for death in the first two weeks of a lambs' life is STARVATION!
 Mastitis, an infection or inflammation of the mammary gland in the ewe, is a major cause of this undesirable result. There are a variety of causes of mastitis, e.g. staph, strep, mycoplasma, ovine progressive pneumonia or trauma.

Most lambs from mothers with mastitis weaken and die from starvation or become "milk thieves" in a passionate effort to survive. The little robbers then become the world's best transmitter of mastitis organisms to any of the ewes from whom they rob milk. The ewe may survive the effects of mastitis but will likely be culled prior to the next breeding season due to a bad bag.

How many lambs starve to death due to lack of milk production from either acute bacterial mastitis or hard bag? Whether it is the loss of the ewe or the lamb(s) or costly treatments, it translates into a loss in profits. Is your flock affected by this malady? To what extent? Producers are being asked to participate in a survey being conducted by Optimal Ag and Optimal Livestock Services to determine the magnitude of the economic loss to the sheep industry attributed to mastitis. The data collected will support requests for funding to conduct further research on diminishing the negative impact of mastitis on the sheep industry and develop educational materials to disseminate important information relevant to producers.

To participate in this survey, go to https://optimalag.justsurvey.me/536823607265. The link is also posted to the American Sheep Industry Association home page at www.sheepusa.org. 

Check out all the information compiled by Beth Claypoole, CCE Wayne: http://blogs.cce.cornell.edu/wayne/2007/07/30/small-farm-dream/

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) this week announced the launch of Ask the Expert, a knowledge-based search engine that optimizes customer experience while conserving taxpayer dollars. This intuitive tool relies on self service to deliver reliable and relevant information 24/7, greatly reducing wait time and USDA resources associated with the previous system.

Ask the Expert connects with pre-existing USDA knowledge-base systems and leverages information from Food Safety and Inspection Service's AskKaren, www.fsis.usda.gov/food_safety_education/ask_karen/, and the Farm Service Agency's AskFSA, http://askfsa.custhelp.com/, enabling consumers to visit one place and receive a range of answers. Currently, the system holds nearly 2,000 questions and answers for a wide range of USDA issues and programs.

Frequently asked questions are stored in an online database that pulls data and information from all of USDA's agency resources.

In two short weeks, Ask the Expert has seen more than 1,625 customer use sessions and has answered more than 1,475 questions, boasting a self service rate of 90.8 percent. Over the next six months, additional questions and answers will be added to the knowledge base as a result of public inquiries, search patterns and new information. This system will "learn" based on feedback about the usefulness of answers and will expand over time.

Visit Ask the Expert online and view available information or submit an inquiry at www.usda.gov/askexpert.

There was a great turnout at the farm on Friday. Dr. Hue Karreman talked on the new organic pasture rule and estimating pasture consumption, soil health, and calf health and care. Take a look at the pictures.

I recently visited Teague Diversified, a family-owned feedyard in Colorado. Read about it here: http://www.nwnyteam.org/AgFocus2010/July/onafeedyardincolorado.htm. 

Here's a good article on the topic: http://www.agweb.com/BeefToday/Article.aspx?id=157835.

I just recently visited a feedyard in Ft. Morgan, Colorado, and went in with an open mind. Boy, was it enlightening!

http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~news/story.php?id=5762

We had 25 people at Steve Wells farm in E. Bethany at the fencing workshop. Todd Mach and Greg Miller demonstrated the "how-to's" of high tensile fence installation. Check out the pics on the Pictures & Video page.

We had a great turnout at Kevetta Farms. Kevin showed us his pastures on the way to the new solar-powered watering system. About 35 people attended.

Saturday, June 19, 2010 – 10:00 am – 4:00 pm - MacDonald Family Farm, Romulus NY

 Saturday, June 26, 2010 – 10:00 am – 4:00 pm - Glynwood Farms, Cold Springs, NY
 
By popular demand at our successful 2010 Cornell Poultry School for Small Farms, we are planning to offer 2 similar Poultry Processing workshops at 2 different farms  in New York State,as follows:
 
1-   June 19, 2010 , from 10am to 4pm at the MacDonald Family Farm in Romulus, NY  
2-   June 26, 2010, from 10am to 4pm at the Glynwood Farms in Cold Springs in the Hudson Valley Region.
 
Each Field day will be conducted in both Classroom and Hands-on practices in a licensed Poultry processing plant, including a Farm tour.
 
Participants will learn about the proper techniques for humane slaughtering, processing, packaging and sale.  Other timely issues such as Health, Sanitation and Safety, HACCP, rules and regulations, processing equipment, etc… will also be discussed.
 
Class size is very limited.  Pre-registration is necessary.
More details and Registration can be found at www.cornerstone-farm.com

We visited our son, Ethan, in Spain. We visited Picos de Europa, the Peaks of Europe National Park. The area where we hiked was a spot where grazing was expanded in the 1850's. Barns were constructed to house livestock. Check out the pictures! - by Nancy G

The USDA Rural Development has funding currently available for rural NY renewable energy projects in the form of loans and grants. This may be an excellent source of funding for those alternative energy supplies for livestock watering systems!