This is my first Wordless Wednesday post – ENJOY!
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- I know you!
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- Smells familiar
Fresh on the Farm
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Tag Archives: farm questions
Silver linings
If you’re friends with me on facebook, then you’ve probably realized that I’m kinda into finding the silver lining in every situation. I think it’s a mental-survival thing. Without it, I would be completely whack-o a few times over. (Be careful…I know what you’re thinking!)
But today’s silver lining showed up a few times! Yay!
First: George ran his first fever last night since we had The Plan in place. It was a bit scary, but things went well. I called the pediatrician, he ran through things with me, we formulated our plan and all went well. I ended up not having to take him in, the temp stayed down over night, took him in this morning and all things are well. Woohoo! Chalk one to George!
To celebrate, we got his FIRST big-boy haircut! Not bad, for a boy that’s about to be 2!
Not only will George be 2 in a month, but he got his first real hair cut today!
Second: Someone asked if the deer are still a problem. Here’s the answer:
That isn't just dirt on the horizon. Those are hundreds of deer, still making our yard home.
Yep.
But the silver lining? Another creature has followed them here…namely Bald Eagles. It is COOL! There are at least four of them right now. I think they’re eating off the carcasses. But they are so majestic and all things amazing. I tear up looking at them, and feel like saluting as they fly by…kinda weird, I know.
Getting close to a Bald Eagle isn't as easy as getting pics of deer in our yard.
And just to let you SEE what kind of damage the deer are doing, I’ve got these pics for you:
Yeah, that's what you think it is...deer urine
You can see where the hay has been moved from. Notice the difference between white and yellow/brown.
Notice the yellow/brown snow? Do you remember what your mother said about eating yellow snow? That’s right, that’s urine. As in deer urine. As in lots and lots and lots of deer urine. Now imagine all that on your breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yum.
But SB 2227, which will give landowners a few more options in deer depredation, is supposed to be voted on in the House of Representatives tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes. I’ll keep you posted.
And come next fall, I expect you and ALL of your family to come hunting.
Rain, sleet or snow
Farmers and ranchers are responsible for their livestock, their land, their resources, whether it’s raining in the south, or snowing in the north. That fact is true, even during a blizzard.
Our cows are normally red...not snow covered!
This afternoon a very strong storm hit our area. Now, compared to the tsunami that rocked Japan and the destruction felt in other areas afterward, what we were dealing with was small potatoes. But for our cattle, they still relied on us for safety, shelter and food.
That’s why Boss Man spent most of the evening in the barn, or out in the lot, covered in snow, not seeing more than a few feet in front of him, making sure that no new calves were born out in the terrible conditions.
This was the travel map for North Dakota for this evening. Fun!
And I went out this evening, once things had settled down a little bit, to make sure things were still good to go.
I'm on the cutting edge of blizzard fashion, I know.
Although this video isn’t the best, you can still hear the wind whipping through our trees. But rest assured, if the conditions weren’t improving, the cattle wouldn’t be out eating and they wouldn’t have been starting to move around.
They know WAY more than a meteorologist! 🙂
Looking to the future
Maybe I should actually title this post, “Looking FOR the future.” What do I mean? Well, once again, I was reading in a farm publication. (I think I need to quit doing that.) It was a very, very, very small brief. It was buried back in the regional news section on page 36 of AgWeek. And it stated that North Dakota is down 100 farms last year from the year before. (Statistics from the USDA’s Agricultural Statistics Service.)
Now, 100 farms doesn’t seem like a whole lot, but since agriculture IS North Dakota’s No. 1 industry, it should mean something to someone…and it should mean a lot more than a three-sentence blip in the back of a publication.
Again, I get that statistics get skewed in the whole picture. Some of the farms could have been non-existent for years, but were missed in the whole red-tape, paper-shuffle mess that we call government. But 100 farms is 100 farms. (To be fair, percentage-wise, that’s less than 1/2 of 1%.)
If you aren’t aware of the problem facing our world, we are gaining more and more people, and losing more and more farms and farmers. Any good statistician will tell you that those statistics don’t factor well for the future.
Perhaps the story of farm numbers dwindling should rank a little higher than page 36.
Only if you like to eat.
We have a ways to go
Well, once again my blog stats have amazed me. Today one of the search terms that directed someone to my blog was, “Where does ground beef come from?”
Really?
Well, this is where they were led, but I’m hoping they followed a long a bit and maybe learned a thing or two about raising beef. Although, I’m OK with them knowing where I stand on Taco Bell as well! 😉
To me, this just goes to prove that we have a long ways to go yet, before we can consider our jobs successful. Yes, social media is reaching the consumer, and yes, we are finally opening up the communication between the plate and the pasture, but we can improve.
And I can’t wait!
Oh, and to answer the question…this is where ground beef comes from:
The source of some of the world's best ground beef!
Post of destruction
I’m not sure that words are necessary…so just watch the slide show.
I didn’t take the picture of the Game and Fish official who stopped and had picked up a pick-up load of the carcasses. (He did give me permission to take a photo.) These were just the ones left behind, or the ones not picked up yet. It makes me sad, frustrated and wondering.
To quote the Game and Fish website, the department’s mission statement is:
“The mission of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department is to protect, conserve and enhance fish and wildlife populations and their habitat for sustained public consumptive and appreciative use.”
Well, they’re failing.
Come along on a calf check!
A new twist
So, I’ve written quite a bit about our deer problems. But now they’ve taken a whole different turn. Now the deer are dying.
I don’t mean that one or two has met its maker in a peaceful ceremony performed by the deer-healer. No, we’re talking more than a dozen of them, all lying in our feed. I actually believe that there are at least two dozen carcasses, but I’m not interested in actually going out and counting. Here, see for yourself.
So, yeah, it’s a problem. And here’s the kicker…why are they dying? There’s plenty of feed (although, truth be told, deer aren’t meant to eat dairy-quality alfalfa, so that could be part of the problem), they’ve made nice little burrows in our haystacks, which should be providing excellent cover. Do they have diseases? Are they sick?
Next comes, what will happen to our feed? Is our herd at risk?
The master-minds at Game and Fish are supposed to be here in the morning. One of our neighbors called them this evening. It seems that one of the deer decided to die next to his house. Even kicked the house as it was taking its last breaths. I’m very sorry that the deer caused such a commotion, but I’m grateful that our neighbor called Game and Fish to complain. Perhaps if we’re not the only ones calling, they’ll start paying more attention.
Well, I better head to bed. There’ll be a long night of checking cows, since it’s so cold tonight. Plus today was a very stressful, crazy day. I’ll tell you more about it later.
If I remember.
Blame game
I’ve been trying to catch up on some reading, which isn’t an easy task with little ones suffering from cabin fever. But an article that ran on the front page of last week’s AgWeek really got me to thinking.
You see, I’ve been repeatedly told on numerous websites, blogs, article comments, etc., that part of the blame for our country becoming increasingly obese is the amount of meat that is consumed…namely, beef.
Yet, according to the cover article (and facts, stats from the USDA), beef consumption in the U.S. is down by almost 20 pounds per person since 1985. That’s right, our country may be becoming more obese, but the amount of beef consumed can’t possibly be the cause.
This is how our beef gets from pasture to plate.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not shocked by this information. I never bought into the argument that consuming beef is the issue with an ever-growing America. But it was interesting to actually see the numbers, right there, in black and white.
So, the next time someone tries to tell me that my family’s herd is part of the problem, not a solution, I’ll just kindly remind them of all the great-tasting, quickly-prepared cuts of lean meats available, and merrily go about my way.
You just can’t argue with ignorance.
Let the fun begin
In honor of calving season starting in just a few short days (hopefully not sooner!), I’m going to share with you the first video I ever “made.” As in edited, etc.
There is no music, voiceover, etc. to the video, just the absolute silence of the moment. Much the same as every birth in the barn…at least, when things go as planned.
I will warn you, this video shows an actual live birth, minus the blood (since it was dark and color didn’t show up well). But for those of you who have never been on a farm, or in a real barn, or seen a calf shake its wet head for the first time…here you are! Enjoy!
Wag'n Tales 
