Happenings on the Ranch

I had planned on continuing the greenhouse saga today but something else has my blood boiling so I’ve decided to talk about it instead.

First, let me start by saying I will not even be posting the link to this video.  It’s very disturbing and I don’t think any purpose will be served by sending you to it.  If you really want to see it, just do a search for Conklin Dairy Farms.  You’ll find it.  Consider yourself warned.

Second, I don’t agree with the organization that did this “undercover investigation.”  Mercy For Animals pushes an agenda of total veganism because they say using animals for food causes them nothing but misery.  I obviously not only don’t subscribe to this idea but vehemently argue against it.  I have issues with the way Mercy For Animals conducts business, but I’ll save that rant for another day.

Thirdly, the “farm” I’m about to discuss is not a farm.  It’s not even a dairy operation.  It’s a livestock wholesaler specializing in dairy cattle.  Even though factory farming is disgusting to me on a whole, these people don’t fall into that category.  So to say this type of abuse is prevalant throughout the dairy industry is wholly incorrect and misleading.

Now, the video I’m referring to shows workers at this company violently punching calves in the face, body slamming them to the ground, pulling and throwing them by their ears, using pitchforks to stab cows in the face, legs and stomach, beating restrained cows in the face with crowbars, twisting cows’ tails until the bones snapped and bragging about stabbing, dragging, shooting and beating cows and calves to death.  The workers featured are malicious and sadistic.  There is no excuse for what they did, but there also isn’t any excuse for the amount of footage the “investigators” from Mercy For Animals taped before they decided to turn it in.  One day’s worth would have been enough, but they let this torture go on in order to bolster their cause.  That’s almost as criminal to me as what the workers themselves were doing.

Regarding Conklin, they should be immediately shut down.  There is no way the owners of this company (one of whom was shown beating a cow in the video) couldn’t have known this cruelty was happening and should be arrested right along side their employees.

But the bigger point is this: this is what happens when “farming” becomes industry.  These workers, regardless of whether this is a dairy operation or not, have grown to see these animals as just another cog in the machine of producing our food.  The cows and calves are no longer seen as deserving of any proper treatment or compassion for what they are doing for our food supply.  We’ve seen it time and again in other operations, whether beef, dairy, chicken, eggs, or pork.  It’s disgusting and is exactly why we do things the way we do on our own farm and in our lives.

The sensational journalism aside, I hope this video and the reports of what was happening there helps consumers to re-evaluate where and how they get their food.  There is no reason for someone to go vegan purely for these reasons.  It’s a personal choice and my choice is to raise animals with dignity and respect, be thankful to them for the food they provide and ensure they live as healthy and natural a life as possible in my care.  I also search out companies that do the same and buy only from them.  Believe me there are plenty of farms and large operations out there that treat their animals the right way, from start to finish.  You just have to seek them out and actively buy from them and them only.

This goes right back to the acronym I teach people when I do presentations about buying local and eating sustainably.  KURVE.

K – Know Your Source
U – Understand the Differences (between sustainable, organic, naturally raised, etc.)
R – Read About Their Practices
V – Visit the Farm (when possible)
E – Enjoy the Products

Bottom line is try to know where your food is coming from and make educated decisions.  And be thankful to these animals for what they are giving us.

So, after my Breyer’s temper tantrum I made the trip to Whole Foods on Monday.  I happily strode through the aisles checking off items on my list.  Mind you, I still checked the labels because what I consider “all natural” doesn’t really describe what most manufacturers think it means.

I started where the nuts and grains are.  I picked up some Bob’s Red Mill potato bread mix and read the label.  No funky additives.  Perfect.  Good thing about Red Mill is that they’re available all over the place.  I continued on and after adding some crackers, panko bread crumbs and a few other items I made my way to the dairy aisle.  I bought some milk from Shatto’s – no growth hormones and locally produced.  Not  to mention the glass bottles are really cool.  Then it was time to look at yogurt.

Yogurt has been a bit of a thorn in my side for quite a while when shopping in ‘regular’ groceries.  There have been very few times I would buy yogurt because it’s hard to find one that doesn’t have a whole bunch of gums or other odd additives.  In front of me were a plethora of yogurts, both natural and organic, and as I read the labels I was pretty pleasantly surprised by most.  A few did have guar gum as a stabilizer and I just put those right back on the shelf.  I saw some Brown Cow maple cream top yogurt, made with real maple syrup, on sale but wasn’t quite sure about the flavor.  I opted for a large tub of french vanilla cream top yogurt by Stonyfield Organics.  But I kept eyeing that maple.  While trying to make the decision a young woman walked into the dairy section, walked directly up to the maple yogurt, looked at nothing else, grabbed the tub and walked away.  That was all I needed; it made it’s way into my cart, too.

I continued to stroll the aisles looking at the labels and got a little bit more disenfranchised the further I went.  Being in the ag industry, so to speak, I know better than anyone the definitions of labels and claims by manufacturers and what is regulated and what is not.  I began to wonder if the common shopper really understood what can be classified as “all natural” and what can be included in “organic” foods.

Natural Foods.  There is no actual legal definition for natural foods, nor are there regulations in place (yet) for what can or can’t be included in foods that make the “all natural” claim.  Most companies use the label for foods that have ingredients from all natural sources and have been minimally processed without chemical components.  But there are a multitude of ingredients from natural sources that many consumers don’t want to ingest and these are often included in natural foods.  What’s worse is that some companies use this label in a very misleading way.

There is an organization out there that producers can join which does have standards.  Certified Naturally Grown is a non-profit organization that gives smaller farmers and ranchers an alternative to the USDA organic certification process.  NV Ranch is working toward our certification from CNG.  The standards are basically the same as the USDA National Organic Program but are less expensive and more easily attainable for smaller farms.  Of course, this certification really only helps consumers that shop local farmers but it’s a step in the right direction.

I always check the label on anything that claims to be natural.  It only takes a second to flip the package around and look at the ingredients list.  A quick scan will tell me if there’s anything I don’t want.  Of course, this means being educated on what those funky names for things mean.  But that’s another post.

USDA Organic.  The USDA’s National Organic Program regulates the standards for any farm or producer/handling operation and is intended to assure consumers that certified organic foods they buy are processed in accordance with those standards.  Using the Organic label means the product must contain at least 95% organically produced ingredients.  The remaining 5% can be non-agricultural ingredients on a list approved by the USDA.  Funny, “gums” can be organically produced.  Again not something I want to ingest but it’s allowable in organic products.  There are also 100% Organic items that are required to contain nothing that hasn’t been organically produced or processed.  Again, the “gum” clause applies.

So, even if something is labeled organic I still check the ingredients.  Our farm grows our produce in an organic way that exceeds the USDA regulations for organic farms.  I figure if I’m not willing to grow anything that doesn’t meet my high standards why should I settle for buying something that doesn’t?

Trying to eat things that are completely natural and don’t include any chemically processed ingredients can be difficult.  It definitely makes the shopping trip take a bit longer and may limit your diet a little bit.  But I think it’s well worth the effort.  Don’t trust what the front of the label tells you.  Turn it around, look at the ingredients list and then decide for yourself what you’re willing to eat and what you’re not.  Chances are someone else said the same thing along the way and started producing a product they, and you, are happy to eat.  It just might take a little searching to find it. 

And my ice cream search?  I managed to find an ice cream from Straus Family Creamery that didn’t have any extra junk in it (the way Breyer’s used to be made) and it’s awesome.  I even found an alternative for the one cookie I was guilty of eating that had all kinds of, um, “crap” in it.  My precious Vienna Fingers have now been replaced by Whole Foods 365 brand All Natural Vanilla Sandwich Cremes.  The cool thing is the cream inside tastes the way Vienna Fingers used to taste like.  Careful … they can be addicting.

Oh, and that maple yogurt?  I bought the 32oz tub on Monday afternoon and it’s gone as of this morning … and nobody else in the house got to eat any.  I’d say it was pretty good.

… but I’m finally making another entry.  It’s been over two months since I’ve had the chance to sit down and write – which tells you how busy we’ve been!

 As I sit here eating a big salad of mixed lettuce, spinach, diced green onions, chopped hard-boiled duck eggs, and bacon I can’t help but smile.  I’m smiling because everything in this satsifying spring meal came straight from our farm.  Not only is it fresh, but I know where it came from and how it was grown.  Yum!

Planting, weeding and now our first week of harvest have taken much of our days over the last weeks.  Managing our flocks have become a little tedious because of the continuous assault from the pair of fox in the area – obviously feeding pups.  Our chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys have all relegated themselves to staying in their yards for fear of being picked off.  The few that do venture out inevitably don’t come back.  Unfortunately, they’ve worn down their yards so we’re rotating yards to allow the greenery to grow back for them.  Thankfully they don’t seem to be unhappy but I hate that they don’t have the wide open freedom they usually do.  I’m hoping after Spring things will ease up a bit and they’ll be able to venture further again.

On a sad note, our goat herd queen Snow White (aka ‘Momma’) passed away last week.  She was our son Devon’s Nubian doe that gave birth to the two bucklings earlier this year.  She was battling a resperatory infection and then bloated.  Everything that could be done for her was done, but it just wasn’t enough.  Devon was devastated but comfortable knowing he had given her plenty of love and care.  It still sucks, though.  She was a real favorite around here. 

Other than that, everyone is well.  The cattle all seem to be pregnant and growing (out) by the day, the horses are itching to be ridden now that it’s warm, the pigs are getting fatter, the puppies are cute as ever (and need homes!) and the flocks are growing well.  Now all we need is the hens to be consistently laying and all will be well!

This week is the first harvest for CSA members.  Our first deliveries to our Grandview customers was tonight.  It was really nice getting to meet everyone finally after months of exchanging emails.  Everyone seemed very excited to get their first share and anticipate more to come.  Everything is growing well and each week the harvest will get heavier and more substantial.  Any and all additional harvest will be sold at each Farmer’s Market.  It’s starting out to be a good season (knock on wood).

Guess that’s all for now.  I’ll try to post more often (as time allows) and encourage you all to post a comment or shoot me an email – I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Spring,

Karin