From the Foreman's Desk - August Update

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September 12, 2023

Remi and the Cox kids have been busy taking care of all the poultry. This looks like filling feed buckets, moving the mobile range coops, and making sure all birds have access to food, grit, and constant water. Don't know what grit is? Check out this article!

But before all this can happen, the chicks must get moved from the brooder!

The chicks hang out in the cozy brooder until they're big enough to go out to pasture. If you want to learn more about our brooder you can check out this video!

We start early in the morning before it gets too hot. We load up chickens in the chicken crates and take them over to the Cox farm. We had lots of help this time which made it go like a breeze. Remi, Amber and the Cox kids, and some friends from church all jumped in. Many hands make light work, especially while catching fast little chickens 😂

It's crazy how fast these chickens grow! They go from little fuzz balls to chickens with feathers in weeks!

In the first picture, they are 3 days old. In the second photo, they are 5 weeks old!

Speaking of growing, someone else has been growing like a weed. Mr. Bo is 3 months old now! So crazy 💙

He's getting better about not complaining on the job. He still falls asleep on the job though 😂

He's a pretty happy guy. As long as he gets his milk and snuggles. He's been rolling over and he's been using his little a lot more. The other night he was trying to have a conversation with Remi. So precious to watch!

When I was younger my motto was I'll sleep when I'm dead. I would say this to excuse late night hangouts and early morning work shifts. Now I'm wishing my saying was I'll sleep while I don't have a baby 😂 Sleep seems to go out the window some nights.

It's crazy to think that Thanksgiving is coming, but it will be here before we know it! Thanksgiving turkeys are looking good. They are out on pasture and being moved with their shelter in electric netting.

Make sure to keep a lookout for when the turkeys go live on the website in late October. You don't want to miss out!

Come fall, we have our annual beef harvest. In order to make room in our freezers, we are having a Fall Beef Sale. There are some really great deals! The best deal at the moment is our Fall Beef Value Bundle.

This weekend Remi and I are going to Oklahoma for my uncle's 30th birthday party. This will be Bo's first road trip, and also the first time my mom's side of the family gets to meet him. We are looking forward to spending the weekend with family. Remi's brother Reeves is covering chores for us 👌 We are hoping to see a waterfall while there. I'll try to remember to take pictures!

I'd better get to packing now. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and don't forget to check out the Fall Beef Sale if you haven't already.

The Real Ranch Foreman,

Kaitlyn

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August

The Mud Spa: Why Pigs Love to Wallow

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The Farm Boy Who Didn't Eat Eggs (or Drink Milk!)

Once upon a time there was a farm boy who didn't eat eggs or drink milk. Everyone gave him a hard time, which is understandable considering the irony of not being able to enjoy the food you produce yourself. Yes, that boy was me.

Why I Choose Grass-Fed & Finished Beef (by Tracey Long, MPH, RDN)

Hey guys, Remi here! This is a post from Tracey Long's blog that she gave me permission to share here. She works in integrative and functional nutrition at Big Picture Health. Tracey has seen many people's lives changed through their bettered understanding of food, including her own. Enjoy this article, and feel free to reach out to her if you are looking for guidance in your healing journey. Pictured on left: Cows raised on pasture by the Bauman Family near Garnett, KS.Pictured on right: Cows started on grass, but finished on grain/soy at a feedlot. 1. I believe in supporting local food, small family farmers and the economy. The average miles our food travels to reach our dinner plates is about 1,500 miles1. When we eat local we conserve fuel, keep our food dollars local and can have a personal connection to the farmer and how our food is raised. I subscribe to the mantra, know your farmer, know your food. Know your farmer, know your food 2. Cows are biologically meant to eat grass and pasture, not grains like corn or legumes like soy. When you feed an animal the food that it is biologically set up for it will be healthier. Cows are four-legged ungulates best adapted to graze on forage. The digestive system of cows, the four stomachs they have that we learned about in basic biology, are meant to ferment forage. Grains like corn and legumes like soy are used as high energy-dense food alternative for cows to put weight on them quickly for faster processing. This diet that is not congruent with the cow’s biology does work to speed up the process from start to finish, but can actually compromise the animal’s health. A review article by Calloway et al2 found that cows fed a diet high in grain had higher levels of the food-borne pathogen E. coli. When the diet was changed back to forage the E. coli levels were lowered within five days. A research study by Khafipour et al3 found that cows fed a diet based on grain became acidotic, and had high levels of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) that triggered inflammation and health problems in the cattle such as liver disease. These are two scientific examples of how grain can be unhealthy for cows. 3. Grazing cattle from start to finish is better for the environment and planet. You may be interested in reading the book by Judith Schwartz, “Cows Save the Planet.”4 Judith discusses how raising cows on pasture returns moisture and nutrients to the soil and, therefore; our food. Cattle feedlots are also a significant source of environmental pollutants such as antibiotics that affect downstream aquatic life and hormones that end up in the drinking water supply as additional examples.5,6 Feedlots use antibiotics and hormones to encourage rapid and increased growth and require antibiotics to suppress illness due to the confined living space and large buildup of fecal matter. Pastured cows arguably have less negative impact and even reported positive impacts on the environment. 4. I believe in respecting and honoring the animals I eat. As humans we have the capacity to treat animals poorly for our benefit (food) or treat them in a thankful manner for the nourishment they provide us. Joel Salatin, a well-known sustainable farmer in Swope, Virginia, said in a magazine interview, “Our first responsibility is to try to figure out what kind of a habitat allows them (cows) to fully express their physiological distinctiveness. The cow doesn’t eat corn; she doesn’t eat dead cows; she doesn’t eat cow manure, which is what is currently being fed to cows in the industrial food system. We feed cows grass, and that honors and respects the cow-ness of the cow.7” Joel Salatin 5. Pasture raised and finished beef has a healthier fatty acid profile than conventional beef. The standard American diet is high in omega 6 fatty acids relative to omega 3 fatty acids. The problem is that omega 6 fatty acids, when out of balance with omega 3’s are highly inflammatory to the human body. Inflammation is now known to be the root of many chronic diseases. The good news is that the fatty acid composition of grass fed and finished beef is higher in the beneficial and anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids than grain-fed beef. A study by MacAfee et al found that people who ate grass-fed meat had higher levels of the anti-inflammatory omega 3’s when their blood was tested for this healthy fat.8 David (founder) and Reeves Kesten at the Brookside Farmers Market, 2017 Meet David and his [second] son Reeves, of David’s Pasture, from Concordia, MO. I am grateful for the opportunity to purchase quality meat, pork, poultry and eggs from a farming family like Dave’s. Dave’s cattle are raised on pasture and get to express their, “cow-ness,” as Joel Salatin would say. Dave shared with me that he even feeds his cattle organic apple cider vinegar to improve their gut health and does not use hormones or antibiotics. His cattle fertilize the land they forage on and he rotates their grazing to promote healthy soil. Yes, I pay more for the products I buy from Dave than I would pay at the local grocery store, but for the reasons I listed above I know the price is worth it!Original post by Tracey Long, MPH, RDN at Big Picture Health. Specializing in integrative and functional nutrition. Re-posted here by Remington Kesten, David's Pasture. Grass-fed & finished Beef delivered to your door.

From the Foreman's Desk - August Update

More from the blog

The Mud Spa: Why Pigs Love to Wallow

The Farm Boy Who Didn't Eat Eggs (or Drink Milk!)

Why I Choose Grass-Fed & Finished Beef (by Tracey Long, MPH, RDN)

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