You know the big brother system of tracking every animal in the universe for the purposes of "disease tracing?" Well the public comment period is ending. Like the program or not, check out the No NAIS blog and then go here and let them know what you think. Like I said, for it or against it, I think you should be heard.
NAIS TRIVIA: did you know that you would (as it stands now) need to file papers with the USDA to move show animals from your home/farm to a show and then again to move them back? Sweet.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
A page form the Big Book of "Duh!"
So a study was released that shows there is not any significant nutritional difference between Organic and non-organic foods. What's funny about many of the news sites is that they are reporting that Organic food is not more "Healthy" while the study looks at nutritional content, not over all health benefits. You know, like the benefits of not eating pesticides, 2-4-D, Glyphosphate or all those extra antibiotics. Assuming your producer is not lying about their status
Well, duh. I would venture the nutritional content is no different. I didn't need 50 years of studies to confirm it. And I don't think any of the Organic-foods-whackadoodles I've met ever contended you get more vitamins and minerals from Organic foods. Though, probably some of them do. Some probably tell you Organic foods will make your hair grow back, fix your car and save the world. I don't know about any of that, but Organic food will certainly empty your checking account :)
I have my own issues with the Organic label system (mostly because the motivation to use the label and not bother to comply with regulations is HUGE), but this study was just stupid. I hope some tax payer didn't pay for it.
Well, duh. I would venture the nutritional content is no different. I didn't need 50 years of studies to confirm it. And I don't think any of the Organic-foods-whackadoodles I've met ever contended you get more vitamins and minerals from Organic foods. Though, probably some of them do. Some probably tell you Organic foods will make your hair grow back, fix your car and save the world. I don't know about any of that, but Organic food will certainly empty your checking account :)
I have my own issues with the Organic label system (mostly because the motivation to use the label and not bother to comply with regulations is HUGE), but this study was just stupid. I hope some tax payer didn't pay for it.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Update for Hog buyers
While Farrowing is still a ways off, I wanted to let everyone know...
1. I will get back to your e-mail. I know it's poor form to be so slow, but I've been travelling and cutting hay. Please forgive me :)
2. I will be posting pictures and information (pedigree) concerning this falls Sires/Dams. I do not own one of the sires, so I will only be able to post pedigree information. As noted before, I should be able to provide breeding pairs with reasonable inbreeding. Turns out one of my Dams was bred to her brother, and not half brother, so her littler will have a higher CI. I'll analyze the pedigree of the other litters closely, but there is a chance that none of the most line bred piglets will be sold for breeding stock. Good news for those looking to find feeders.
In the spring, there will be a boar shuffle and CI should be manageable for all litters. Should be more feeder pigs available as well.
Dave,
1. I will get back to your e-mail. I know it's poor form to be so slow, but I've been travelling and cutting hay. Please forgive me :)
2. I will be posting pictures and information (pedigree) concerning this falls Sires/Dams. I do not own one of the sires, so I will only be able to post pedigree information. As noted before, I should be able to provide breeding pairs with reasonable inbreeding. Turns out one of my Dams was bred to her brother, and not half brother, so her littler will have a higher CI. I'll analyze the pedigree of the other litters closely, but there is a chance that none of the most line bred piglets will be sold for breeding stock. Good news for those looking to find feeders.
In the spring, there will be a boar shuffle and CI should be manageable for all litters. Should be more feeder pigs available as well.
Dave,
Monday, July 27, 2009
So what about the pigs?
Here is big momma and some of the children. Everyone fears big momma.
Not. She's sweet as candy.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Grown up, wrap up
OK, being on the road in the middle of nowhere was not real conducive to real time blogging. I'm a technological Philistine (no mobile Internet) and only use my cell phone to make calls :)
So here is a recap of the last few days....
From Ogden (after viewing the cool art horses) we headed over to Kearney. Got in late...REAL late (as Alandra noted below). Then off to Springfield MO. Wednesday morning, we went to the Wolfe's and grabbed Bog Mama, Matilda and Samuel. OK. I know these are "Large" Black Pigs, but OH MY WORD. Big momma is in the neighbor hood of 500+ pounds and 6 feet long. And she is 3 years old. Funny thing, she has the exact same birthday as our youngest daughter!! Isabel says she is going to give Big Momma some cake on her birthday. I'm sure she'll love it.
I was not sure the trailer had enough room, or that it would survive the trip. Kind of did, kind of didn't. More on that later.
We had pigs, 55 gallon water tank sacks of hog chow and hay...time to head home.
The drive from Ozark, MO to Sioux Falls, SD was a bit of a blur. It was hot and we watered the pigs liberally. And as a result left nasty smelling brown puddles everywhere we went. But the pigs were cool and that's what mattered.
From here on out, from Sioux Falls. First off, if you ever visit Sioux Falls I recommend the Spring Hill Suites by Marriott. Check out the pictures here. Very cool "Neuvo-retro" feel. Great staff, right off the highway and free breakfast. ++ for a road trip weary crew.
From Sioux falls, we headed west on I-90 towards rapid city, Mount Rushmore, Devils tower (didn't make that one), Bozeman (spontaneous stop at the museum of the Rockies) and eventually Buffalo, WY. Along the highway, we started seeing signs for the Mitchell Corn Palace. Who could skip that? Well...not us. We stopped, sprayed some H20 on our little piggies....and went to the carb palace.
Very interesting retrospective on corn-based exterior decorating options. The stop was brief, as we needed to keep on keeping on.
Next we hit mount Rushmore. After an exciting drive from Rapid City (lots of hills...sorry piggies) we went into the park. And found that a cross member under the trailer had fallen off (broken welds) and was dragging behind us, held on only with the trailer wiring that had bee run through it. A few quick snips (no trailer lights now...) and inspection of the rest of the trailer undercarriage, and we were on our way to the parking area. Neat place, lots of stuff. Recommend it highly.
After leaving the mountain (I had tied a couple of 14,000# tie down straps across the bottom of the trailer as insurance) we headed to a local hardware store. I had to get a few tools and I managed to fix the wiring harness. All while "pig water" dribbled across my head. So I changed clothes (in the store parking lot...what a stink) and we were on our way.
So here is a recap of the last few days....
From Ogden (after viewing the cool art horses) we headed over to Kearney. Got in late...REAL late (as Alandra noted below). Then off to Springfield MO. Wednesday morning, we went to the Wolfe's and grabbed Bog Mama, Matilda and Samuel. OK. I know these are "Large" Black Pigs, but OH MY WORD. Big momma is in the neighbor hood of 500+ pounds and 6 feet long. And she is 3 years old. Funny thing, she has the exact same birthday as our youngest daughter!! Isabel says she is going to give Big Momma some cake on her birthday. I'm sure she'll love it.
I was not sure the trailer had enough room, or that it would survive the trip. Kind of did, kind of didn't. More on that later.
We had pigs, 55 gallon water tank sacks of hog chow and hay...time to head home.
The drive from Ozark, MO to Sioux Falls, SD was a bit of a blur. It was hot and we watered the pigs liberally. And as a result left nasty smelling brown puddles everywhere we went. But the pigs were cool and that's what mattered.
From here on out, from Sioux Falls. First off, if you ever visit Sioux Falls I recommend the Spring Hill Suites by Marriott. Check out the pictures here. Very cool "Neuvo-retro" feel. Great staff, right off the highway and free breakfast. ++ for a road trip weary crew.
From Sioux falls, we headed west on I-90 towards rapid city, Mount Rushmore, Devils tower (didn't make that one), Bozeman (spontaneous stop at the museum of the Rockies) and eventually Buffalo, WY. Along the highway, we started seeing signs for the Mitchell Corn Palace. Who could skip that? Well...not us. We stopped, sprayed some H20 on our little piggies....and went to the carb palace.
Very interesting retrospective on corn-based exterior decorating options. The stop was brief, as we needed to keep on keeping on.
Next we hit mount Rushmore. After an exciting drive from Rapid City (lots of hills...sorry piggies) we went into the park. And found that a cross member under the trailer had fallen off (broken welds) and was dragging behind us, held on only with the trailer wiring that had bee run through it. A few quick snips (no trailer lights now...) and inspection of the rest of the trailer undercarriage, and we were on our way to the parking area. Neat place, lots of stuff. Recommend it highly.
After leaving the mountain (I had tied a couple of 14,000# tie down straps across the bottom of the trailer as insurance) we headed to a local hardware store. I had to get a few tools and I managed to fix the wiring harness. All while "pig water" dribbled across my head. So I changed clothes (in the store parking lot...what a stink) and we were on our way.
So no Devi's tower. Not enough time. We did have just enough time to see a couple of buck antelope (we saw tons of them in WY but always to far away for a good picture). Off to bed in Buffalo WY.
The next day we managed to stop at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. It was not planned, but when I saw the signs on the side of the road, I thought that Chris would be tickled. And I wanted to go as well. Chris got more than he bargained for.
The next day we managed to stop at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. It was not planned, but when I saw the signs on the side of the road, I thought that Chris would be tickled. And I wanted to go as well. Chris got more than he bargained for.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
SleepTonight!
Whew! We had a long day yesterday! We finally reached our hotel in ?Kearney, NE, at 2:00am local time. Then left at 8:30. We are in Springfield, MO right now in our hotel. We got here before 8:30pm local time. That is our record for this trip. After a dinner at Wendy's, (by the way, Sweet and Spicy Asian Chicken is really good), and a good swim, I am now, well, blogging! So, we are picking up pigs tomorrow, then traveling to South Dakota. Day after that,... WE'RE SEEING MT. RUSHMORE!!!!!!! I'm Sooooo excited! I have never seen any of this before, but I can't wait to see Mt. Rushmore more than anything else on the whole trip. But, getting pigs is... about half as exciting as that. Hey, I'm not the Pigman! Although, I do quite like our pigs. Anyways, Time for some shut eye. Good Night!
Monday, July 20, 2009
This just in from UT
So here we are. Beginning of day 2 of the "Hogtrip 2009." We're in Ogden UT, having passed through WA, OR and ID yesterday. This trip we're taking it slower as we move across the country. For example, on "Hogtrip 2008" we went from Walla Walla to Ft. Collins Colorado the first day. Ogden was the lunch stop :)
This time it's more fun.
And maybe I should make this an annual thing. There is always interest from other folks in me grabbing a few extra hogs for other buyers, so maybe I should use that as an excuse for an annual road trip. I may be delivering defender boars next year if all goes well. Family vacations with hogs? Well see.
Now for Alandra...our designated road blogger.
Dave,
************************************************************************************
We are in Ogden, UT. Ogden is beautiful. There are a ton of historic buildings here.Besides that, our hotel is right next to a street with statues of horses lining every side. Now that may not seem interesting, but they are all painted with different things on them. For example, One of them is a black horse with flames on it. Another is white with flowers entwining it's body and legs. They are fascinating! My favorite though, is the horse with a Native American chief with some of his people around him. Anyway, moving on.
Yesterday, we went by the first bit of the Rockies. They were huge! But, they were only, per say, the foot hills. I got some really good photos. We also had Lunch in this really cute park in Idaho. And across the street, there was an old fashioned fire truck that was really cool. (I didn't get photos of the park,but got some good ones of the fire truck.) Last, night, we thought that we were going to have a big storm. Well, we did if you count 10 minutes of light rain. Yet, the weather forecast we are going to be following thunder storms for the rest of the trip! Noooooooooooo! But, oh well. Since we have to go, I suppose that we will have to wait for another day to write more of my horrible experience with my Father:)
This time it's more fun.
And maybe I should make this an annual thing. There is always interest from other folks in me grabbing a few extra hogs for other buyers, so maybe I should use that as an excuse for an annual road trip. I may be delivering defender boars next year if all goes well. Family vacations with hogs? Well see.
Now for Alandra...our designated road blogger.
Dave,
************************************************************************************
We are in Ogden, UT. Ogden is beautiful. There are a ton of historic buildings here.Besides that, our hotel is right next to a street with statues of horses lining every side. Now that may not seem interesting, but they are all painted with different things on them. For example, One of them is a black horse with flames on it. Another is white with flowers entwining it's body and legs. They are fascinating! My favorite though, is the horse with a Native American chief with some of his people around him. Anyway, moving on.
Yesterday, we went by the first bit of the Rockies. They were huge! But, they were only, per say, the foot hills. I got some really good photos. We also had Lunch in this really cute park in Idaho. And across the street, there was an old fashioned fire truck that was really cool. (I didn't get photos of the park,but got some good ones of the fire truck.) Last, night, we thought that we were going to have a big storm. Well, we did if you count 10 minutes of light rain. Yet, the weather forecast we are going to be following thunder storms for the rest of the trip! Noooooooooooo! But, oh well. Since we have to go, I suppose that we will have to wait for another day to write more of my horrible experience with my Father:)
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