I’m trying something new:  Once a month, I’m going to attempt to outline an entire day here at the ranch, no holds barred.  Here’s the last day in February at Wild Type Ranch:

We woke up to howling winds and a drop of 50 degrees from yesterday’s unusually warm temps of 85 degrees. The winds here blow with gusts to 25-40 mph, sometimes stronger, and if you spend a day out in them, your ears hurt for another day.  Today the wind blew the door past where it should comfortably go on the new tractor.  My wonderful husband, Ralph, spent an hour welding up a suitable repair, in the middle of too much other work.  [note to single women–if you are planning to live a rural life, I strongly recommend finding a husband who can weld AND cook].

My first chore (before coffee!) is to check for heat in our yearling heifers.  Nothing happening, but I note a case of pinkeye, so that changes the entire day’s priorities.

After a cup of tea and a discussion of the day’s battle plan, we begin to move cattle around.  We were planning to “synchronize” our heifers for breeding starting next week, but the pinkeye outbreak means we have to bring all the heifers up to the barn to check them out and treat the affected ones, so we move that plan ahead by a week.  In retrospect, it works out, as we were hoping to be able to go back to Illinois for my sister’s annual Christmas caroling party, and to do so, we need to avoid calving between Dec 18th and 28th, which means avoiding breeding between March 12 and 27th. We take duties as stewards of our animals’ welfare seriously, and check our cattle at least twice daily during calving season.  Consequently, vacations are planned a year in advance.

Before we can work with our heifers, we need to free up some space in one of our smaller paddocks.  We have had a few older cows out with our bull for 30 days.  These girls didn’t breed last spring, but were put in with a young bull, so it may not have been their fault.  Each one of our cows is an individual–it’s hard to make the decision to cull them, but we also have a responsibility as producers of registered stock to make sure that the genetics we are selling are sound in every way.  We decided to give them one more chance before we let them go, but if they aren’t bred now, they will have to go to the sale barn.

Next, we gather our heifers, weigh, check for pinkeye on each one and move them to the paddock outside our kitchen window, so we can detect estrus if they are ready to be bred.  To help us determine which heifers are ready for breeding, we put a patch on them so we can detect any “mounting” when they come into heat. The patches are kind of like scratch-off lottery tickets, with a silver coating over the brightly covered base.  One of my boys used to tell me “look Mom, that cow won” when he would notice a rubbed patch after a cow had come into heat.  We A.I.  (artificially inseminate) most of our cattle in order to get the best genetics into our beef and registered Angus and Red Angus herds.

Once the heifers are moved and patched, I water the 250 feet of potatoes we planted yesterday along with the rest of our spring garden (mostly greens, peas and carrots and the first rows of beans) while Ralph cooks up a quick lunch to get us through the afternoon.  Breakfast was a piece of toast with vegemite, so lunch is really welcome!

I’ll ‘fess up to taking a 20 minute nap on the couch after lunch.  After that necessary refresher, it’s time to sort off the cows that will be having embryos implanted on Monday and Tuesday.   We work closely with Dreamcatcher Ranch on embryo transfer and selling our bulls.  Ralph puts out big round bales to the various paddocks in advance of tonight’s expected freeze.  Cattle need full bellies to stay warm in windy or wet weather.

Once cattle work is done for the day, we start on the other end of the production chain: beef.  We picked up beef last week, but because the local farmer’s markets haven’t started for the year, our freezers are unusually full.  We’ve got a few orders and a quarter to fill, as well as inventorying what we have on hand before markets start April 1 (we sell at the Georgetown Farmer’s Markets all season).  That takes both of us the better part of 2 hours.  Ralph leaves as the sun goes down to cook us up a wondeful supper, while I finish reorganizing our portable freezer trailers for next week’s delivery points and orders.

I come in after dark, and am glad to find that Ralph has gathered the eggs (usually my job, if I am here) and has a glass of wine waiting for me.  18 eggs today! Spring is definitely on its way!  Supper, a much needed shower and e-mails back to family in other parts of the country and world finish out the day.

The Animal Ag Alliance just released an alarming report showing that extreme animal rights groups dramatically increased their attacks on the food chain in 2008.  Attacks on food retailers, such as Hardee’s, McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC increased by triple digits.

Extremist groups claimed responsibility for “liberating” thousands of animals during the year and causing millions of dollars worth of damage.

It’s important to understand that groups such as Animal Liberation Front, Earth Liberation Front and even PETA and HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) are ultimately about promoting the total elimination of the use or keeping of animals in any way, even as pets.  Masquerading behind “animal rights” they often use intimidation and destruction to advance their agenda.

Don’t get me wrong: I am a big advocate of humane animal handling;  “Respect for all life is the founding principle of our own Wild Type Ranch.  I support my local humane society and animal shelter.  (the local humane society is not at all the same entity as HSUS).  I take issue with groups that act in an inhumane manner, using terrorist techniques, under the guise of promoting “welfare”.

If you’ve been thinking about jumping on the local bandwagon, the latest Local Harvest newsletter had some good pointers:

• Start small and easy.   Don’t think of “going local” as all-or-nothing, or it will seem impossible.   Face it, local coffee just isn’t going to happen for most people!
• Switch to more whole foods and less processed.  Whole foods are easier to get locally.  The more processed, the more likely the ingredients are broadly sourced.
• Find and shop your local farmer’s markets.  You may find this to become one of your favorite parts of the week (and when was the last time you felt that way about going to the super?).  My market days do more to renew my faith in humanity and hope for our future than almost anything I do.
• Utilize web resources to find farmers, markets and vendors.  Two good places to start are LocalHarvest.org and EatWild.com.
• Be prepared to pay more for some items.  Your total food bill doesn’t have to be higher, however.  Eating at home, eating whole foods and concentrating on in-season items usually lowers the total cost of food to balance out the higher per-item cost.
• Consider growing your own.  Start small, with a few herbs, perhaps.  I use peppers and lettuce in my flower beds as edible ornamentals.

Remember, the main idea behind eating locally is making the most of your region’s agricultural strengths.  Be conscious and do what you can, but don’t worry about being fanatic.

We’ve had chickens at our ranch going on three years now.  I think I’m only beginning to appreciate their value to us. We got them initially to help control the grasshoppers and flies around our ranch cabin.  We thought we’d get a few “yard eggs” and maybe have some extra to sell.  Now, we’re planning to expand our flock by 100 hens, and have chickens follow our herd as we rotate them through the fields.  The main economic benefit is still likely to be from the pest control, but egg demand is sky-rocketing, too.

At the moment, I only live at the ranch on weekends and school holidays, so I’m stuck in a suburban neighborhood during the week.  I miss my chickens when I’m in town. Every time I throw food into the garbage or even put it into the compost barrel, I think about them.  Our chickens eat virtually everything we don’t.  Between the dog and the chickens, not much goes to waste at the ranch.

The chickens have become my boys’ main chore out at the ranch.  They take pride in gathering the eggs each day, feeding them and helping keep the nest boxes freshly stocked with hay.  Our latest batch of hens are Ameraucaunas, which tend to like to lay their eggs in places other than their nest boxes. So every day is like an Easter Egg hunt,  especially since this breed lays green-blue eggs of varying hues.

And the taste of the eggs is out of this world!  The deep golden yolks have a better nutritional profile as well.

The hens have also become an integral part of our gardening.  Besides keeping insects down, we have learned that if we turn the soil a few weeks before we plant, the chickens will do a great job nipping all the little weeds that sprout and our garden is much more weed-free.  They love the grubs we turn over too.  I’ve got one black hen that comes running every time I head to the garden, in the hope she’ll get grubs or discarded greens.  The flip side is that we’ve established a running battle with the flock to keep then out of the garden once it’s planted, but I’ve gotten pretty handy with a roll of chicken wire and some pliers.

NPR’s Morning Edition this morning reported the economy has more people looking to raising a few backyard chickens and more cities passing ordinances allowing small urban flocks.

If you’re interested in getting started, you can find plenty of help on the internet: Backyard Chickens.com is a great place to start.  Mother Earth News printed a good series a few years ago, too.

In case you haven’t heard, the new Secretary of Agriculture has struck a blow for bringing production back to the people.  On the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birthday, Vilsak literally broke ground at the USDA’s headquarters, declaring a patch of pavement to be returned back to green. 

It is essential for the federal government to lead the way in enhancing and conserving our land and water resources,” said Vilsack. “President Obama has expressed his commitment to responsible stewardship of our land, water and other natural resources, and one way of restoring the land to its natural condition is what we are doing here today - “breaking pavement” for The People’s Garden.”

This is the first in what Vilsak plans to be a community garden at each USDA facility worldwide.  Hooray!  Nice to see the government leading by example, for a change.

One of the advantages of having a “foreign” husband (mine if from Australia) is that through him, I see a lot more of the news from the rest of the world’s perspective.

The Times (a British newspaper) posted their list of the 50 Greatest Food Blogs.  I am already a follower of Serious Eats, but there were some other interesting ones, too.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks is a new favorite for me. “Plowing through life in the country one calf nut at a time”, this home-schooling, homesteading gourmet brings a sense of humor to her food and commentary.  Warning to those with low-speed internet (like we homesteaders tend to have); lots of pictures make this a slow-loading website.

Some other ones I likes were the Homesick Texan and Becks n Posh.  More of the blogs listed originated from the US than anywhere, but the entire world is represented.

But no list is complete.  Here’s a few of my persoal favorites that didn’t make the Times’ list

Organic To Be:  Great recipes, good wholesome food (and it doesn’t have to be organic)

The Nourished Kitchen: Real food, real healthy, real frugal

and Kitchen Gardener’s International:  A food blog in that is deals with growing it as local as it gets–yourself.

What are your favorites?

The more I blog, the more I find myself philosophically aligned with concepts such as local, unprocessed, eco-friendly and small producer/small business.

At the same time, when I spend significant time researching the science behind the sticky issues we address, I often come down defending “big ag”, “corporate” and “government” based on my findings.

Sometimes, the same person that decries the lack of scientific data behind cloning, irradiation and other FDA rulings will take herbal supplements with many ingredients which have not been studied in a scientific manner.  I know producers who grow GMO crops, yet only buy non-rBST milk and talk of the “hormones and antibiotics” in our milk supply.

I know people who want more labels on our food to identify how it is produced, yet they are opposed to the USDA imposing mandatory animal identification, which would be required to implement such labels for meat, milk and poultry products.

I’ve seen cases where both sides of an issue cite the same study to support their own viewpoint.  When that happens, how do you know what to believe?

Here’s how I balance my brain and my gut when I’m evaluating media on an issue:

• Is there fear involved?
• Are both viewpoints represented?
• Is the author or group’s passion so great that everything seems black and white?
• What is the level of defensiveness and aggression in the piece?

The fact of the matter is, science is expensive.  Non-corporate sponsorship (government and private) is a small component of total research dollars, so much research has at least somne corporate money behind it.  When one delves deeply into peer-reviewed research, the data can usually be trusted.  Sometimes, even when the science is sound, the conclusions drawn are biased.  Unfortunately, research into alternative, non-mainstream and low-tech production practices tends not to get funded, so the research projects are often small, poorly designed or not adequately controlled to draw good conclusions.

The bottom line is that most issues are NOT clear-cut, and we all have to make the best, most informed decisions we can.