Let's make sure we level the playing field for farmers in America. For too  long the big players have danced around the laws to keep the smaller producers at a disadvantage. Here's our chance to stop it.

I just received this email from the Center for Rural Affairs.


Do you appreciate the hard work that our family farmers and ranchers do?

If so, please take a few moments of your day this Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday to call the White House and tell President Obama that you support the proposed Fair Livestock Competition rule [PDF] that helps independent farmers and ranchers get a fair price for their hard work. (It's also called the "GIPSA rule".)

On February 14, 15 and 16 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, hundreds will participate in “Love the American Farmer and Rancher” call in day because the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed Fair Livestock Competition rule would greatly benefit livestock producers across the country. However, the meatpackers and processors have pushed back against the rule, spreading false information to protect their own greedy bottom line.

You can help!

• Call 202-456-1111 to reach the White House Comment Line (you may need to call back if the line is busy)
• Share the message below (or something similar)
• "My name is _______ from _________ (city and/or state) calling in support of USDA’s proposed livestock rule. This rule would level the playing field for livestock producers. Livestock producers need this rule finalized to protect them from retaliation and level the playing field. I encourage USDA to finish and implement the GIPSA proposed rule as quickly as possible. Thank you."

For more information on issues related to fair competition in livestock, go to www.cfra.org/competition. Thank you for supporting independent livestock farmers and ranchers!

You can also go to the Food and Water Watch website and use their automated form.

I first heard of full spectrum lighting several years ago. Full spectrum lights are the closest light to natural sunlight available. It got me to thinking about how it would effect livestock during the long days of winter here in Ohio.

The main thing I was pondering was would it make a difference in piglets that are born in the early winter? I kept researching and came to the conclusion it would. Here is what one study indicated.




Scientists have discovered a new receptor in the eye that, among other things, monitors your biological clocks.

Apart from the other photoreceptors in your eye that allow you to see, this "third eye" responds differently to light by sending signals to your brain's hypothalamus, thus regulating your production of melatonin, which in turn controls your body's circadian rhythms.

Researchers experimented with lamps emitting different wavelengths of light on workers toiling in the high-stress environment on one floor of a health insurance call center. In comparison to co-workers on other floors, they felt more alert, and the quality of their work improved too. The independent September 26, 2006

Since I'm always striving to mimic nature, this new technology of full spectrum lighting seemed like a good fit for our farm. I first bought some bulbs from BlueMax Lighting(tm) and used them in my home.

I immediately noticed that after getting up in the morning and sitting under the full spectrum lighting I felt in a better mood. That was enough to convince my wife! Seriously, the only way I can describe it is I felt much like I do when I get up and go out on the deck and have a cup of coffee on a bright sunny morning. You start remarking how nice of a day it's going to be and get motivated to "get something done". Another reason my wife was convinced I should keep them!

They are a much whiter light than the yellow light bulbs we were using. Even though the evidence I experienced was anecdotal, I didn't need anymore convincing that there was something to this full spectrum lighting.

Some other benefits that are cited by proponents of full spectrum lighting is:

• Improved mood
  
  
• Enhanced mental awareness, concentration and productivity ...
  
  
• Superior visual clarity and color perception ...
  
  
• Better sleep ...
  
  
• Super-charged immune system ...
  
  
• More energy ...
  
  
• Reduced eye strain and fatigue with a glare-free and comfortable reading environment ...
  
  
• Greater learning ability and intelligence ...
  

Whether or not it actually has all these benefits, I'll leave up to you to decide.

My pigs haven't told me they're in a good mood or feel like they have less eye strain, but I can tell you this, it's another weapon in my arsenal to keep our new piglets healthy and growing when they are born in the dead of winter or when the days are getting short.

Full spectrum lighting is also a good way to keep milk production up with our goats. This is an area where you need to be careful. If you introduce full spectrum lighting too early in the Fall as days get shorter, you're goats may not breed. The shorter day for seasonal breeding goats is what triggers reproduction.

I wait until I'm sure they are bred and then use the lights.

Something else I've learned is full spectrum lighting in the hen house will definitely keep our laying hens going strong when they would typically stop laying eggs.

Years ago the farmer's wife would mix up hot mash to help keep the hens laying through the cold winter. We now know that it's more the deprivation of light that slows or even stops egg production. Chickens need between 14 and 16 hours of light. I set mine on a timer so they get light earlier in the morning and then later at night. Light also effects the molting period of chickens. It's a natural function of chickens to molt so we allow our chickens to molt and egg production ceases at that time to allow the hens to recuperate.

So if your hens are getting sluggish put some full spectrum bulbs in the hen house and watch what happens.

If you or your spouse are in the winter doldrums put some in the house too! (that won't help the egg layers by the way)

So to sum this one up, try some full spectrum lighting where you think you need it most and see what happens for yourself!

Until next time....
 

If you've read many of my posts you know I love old books on farming and especially pigs. I have a pretty good collection dating back as far as 1883.

I've bid on books on some auction sites older than that but they end up being too rich for my blood!

This document is dated 1925 but is revised so it probably was from an earlier work. It is titled Swine Feeding.

It covers quite a bit of topics such as:

Corn
Rye
Barley
Oats
Middlings
Skim milk and buttermilk
Linseed oil meal
Soy bean oil meal
Field peas
Cull beans
Alfalfa
Good pasture

Self feeding

It even contains a table that shows several different types of pasture crops for pigs.

Enjoy!

In my last post I discussed why we don't use chemical wormers. In case you missed it, you can read it here.

So naturally the question arises so what do you use to combat parasite loads in your livestock?

For us at Spring Hill Farms it is a three pronged approach.

1. We use several natural wormers.
2. We practice rotational grazing.
3. We breed for parasite resistance.

Let's talk about breeding for parasite resistance. In my opinion much of the livestock in America has been genetically developed for many traits but few of them have anything to do with sustainable farming.

For instance a major trait in pork production has been to reduce the fat content and a campaign was started to market pork as "the other white meat."

The show circuit for pigs focuses on fitting them to please the latest whims of the judges. The same for goats, dairy cows, beef cows etc.

The sustainable farmer has an entirely different set of goals. We look for several traits in our stock that are necessary for a profitable operation. One of them being all around low maintenance. Or as I like to say 'we breed tough animals.'

That doesn't mean we abuse them, it means we look for stock that has a lot of good old fashion instincts that animals should have.

Breeding for resistance to parasites means keeping a close eye on your stock and employing every method you know to use to keep them healthy without resorting to chemical wormers.

When you find animals that can't cut it you cull them. Or alternatively, you assist them as little as possible with chemical inputs with the goal of weaning them off.

Pigs are much easier than other types of livestock because of the amount of animals you can work with. Ten or so pigs in a litter and two litters per year can give you a lot animals to work with.

As one fellow says breed the best and eat the rest. The goal is to produce offspring that need less help and doing this each generation will eventually get you some tough parasite resistant animals.

It's took us about five years before we really saw good positive results with pigs. I think with goats unless you have a large herd it will take much longer.

My experience with dairy goats are they can be fragile animals. Which I think is in some part their nature, and in some part breeders who have never really bred for traits that the low input, sustainable, natural farmer finds important.

We went with Purebred Oberhasli because I felt they fit our farm model. Now can we breed the traits we want? Time will tell.

One of the positives we have found Hoeggers goat supply has an all natural wormer that is working well.

From Hoegger website: The original, all natural, herbal wormer is compounded especially for goats. This wormer contains no artificial chemicals and is non-toxic and non-sickening. Safe for kids & pregnant does. No milk dumping or withdrawal time for slaughter. 200 doses in every pound of wormer.

Dosage for mature goats is 1-1/2 tsp. weekly.

Ingredients: Worm Wood, Gentian, Fennel, Psyllium, & Quassia

Another area we focus heavily on is rotating pasture. We try to keep pigs on a pasture no longer than three weeks and two and a half is better. Once we move them off we run pastured poultry across the field and then let it rest for five to six weeks.

Sunshine and time is the best way to break parasite cycles on your farm. If you are constantly exposing your stock to parasites it will be tough to keep them from becoming over loaded and in need of treatment.

For goats that means keep them from grazing off the ground. Have plenty of high weeds and browse for them to eat up and away from parasites. Never feed hay on the ground or use feed bowls that sit on the ground.

A product we have used with great success is Perma Guard, which is a brand name for Diatomaceous Earth. While there are those who swear by Diatomaceous Earth  and those who say it's total bunk, we have found it a good piece of the puzzle in our fight against parasites.

The key is to use it constantly. We mix it in our feed for pigs and a couple table spoons a day in the goat's feed when they are on the milk stand.

Another product we use on pigs is garlic. Besides being a natural wormer, garlic is also a good broad base anti-viral. This something we will use on breeding stock rather than growing pigs.

There is a product on the market that is called garlic barrier which is for sheep and possibly goats but I wonder about off tasting milk in dairy animals.

Crystal Creek also sells a wormer we have used for pigs with good results. Another I have not tried but have heard some good comments is Verm-X.

The bottom line is we have many choices other than conventional chemical wormers.

Folks have said they think that some of these natural products are too expensive. I say looking for the cheapest way to raise livestock is one reason agriculture is in it's current state.. You can't shortcut quality.

As with all forms of natural or organic farming, it takes more management than inputs to keep the farm healthy, happy, and profitable.

Till next time...

 

 

A couple of days ago I was out delivering holiday hams to customers. Little did I know that someone was watching me [more]

I have long been a collector of old agriculture books, pamphlets and documents. You can find so many good ideas that were used in days gone by.

Many of the experiments that were done at agricultural test stations across the United States are still around with tons of valuable information for the sustainable farmer.

This particular document was published in 1922 and is a study on fattening hogs for market using Alfalfa as a forage.

Something to realize about these old documents is when they talk about corn being used it was open pollinated corn which typically had a higher percentage of crude protein than today's modern hybrids.

They didn't know nearly what we know about swine nutrition today, but all in all you can glean some pretty valuable insight into old methods of feeding and raising swine.

The Tamworth is one of the great ‘dual purpose’ pigs producing stunningly good pork as well as equally tremendous bacon. In the mid 1990’s the Tamworth came top in a taste test carried out by Bristol University using both commercial and rare breed pigs in a scientifically controlled experiment. It was later suggested that further investigation should take place to establish just what it was that gave the Tamworth meat such a distinctive taste putting it way above all the other breeds.

Along with the fact that I'm convinced raw goats milk is an excellent health food for my family, I'm also using the goat's milk to supplement the pigs diet.

Ruminant animals are excellent converters of grass into healthy meat and milk. According to Paris Reidhead in an article titled CLA's and Omega 3's: Pastured Health Benefits Passed Transferred to Humans.


Milk from grass-fed cows has hidden benefits
Until recently, all of the experiments demonstrating the cancer-fighting properties of CLA have used synthetic CLA. To see whether the CLA that occurs naturally in cow’s milk has similar cancer-fighting properties, researchers recently compared the two. They fed one group of rats butter that was high in CLA and fed another group of rats an equivalent amount of synthetic CLA. As one would expect, the natural CLA proved to be just as effective in blocking tumor growth as the man-made variety. (In both cases, cancer yield was reduced by about 50 percent.)

However, the rats eating the butter accumulated even more CLA in their tissues than the rats fed an equivalent amount of synthetic CLA. Researchers believe that the rats were converting another “good” fat found in the butter, trans-vaccenic acid or TVA, into CLA, providing a second helping of this cancer- fighting fat.

So along with raising our pigs on pasture we also are giving them raw, grass fed goats milk which is rich in CLA's and Omega 3's.

Pork raised in this way stands alone from most other pork on the market in terms of nutritional value.

My goal is to build up the goat herd enough that we can practically eliminate all grain from our pigs diet by feeding only pasture and raw goats milk. 

Some of the tastiest, healthy pork you can get comes from Spring Hill Farms...