March 12, 2010 by BucolicAmbition
Have GMO Mega Corporations finally pushed the envelope too far for even our greed riddled government to ignore?
Rapid Rise in Seed Prices Draws U.S. Scrutiny
New York Times – March 11, 2010 by William Neuman
After the dramatic increases in seed prices from 2008 to 2009 (24% for soybean & 32% for corn) the
“Justice Department began an antitrust investigation of the seed industry last year, with an apparent focus on Monsanto, which controls much of the market for the expensive bioengineered traits that make crops resistant to insect pests and herbicides.”
According to the article – in the last 9 years (from 2001 through 2009) prices for soybean seed have gone up 108% and seed corn 135%. This rise in price far outpaced the CPI (Consumer Price Index) for that same period.
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February 18, 2010 by BucolicAmbition
We’ve been feeding our girls extra minerals, alfalfa pellets, and Nutrina goat feed. They’ve been getting plenty of hay and warm fresh water twice a day. Their bellies are big and their udders are filling up. Early average kidding dates start a week from today and according to my calendar we should be prepared to move Magil to her own stall on Saturday.
The weak kid tube feeders & O.B. leg snare arrived moments ago from Jeffers, we’ve got Pritchard nipples for emergencies, we’ve got clean recycled burlap to lay down over the pine shavings for deliveries, and I think we’ve got all the bases covered with other supplies. My nails are trimmed & I’ve got a case of coffee to keep me going and molasses to give the girls a boost after their hard work. My nails are trimmed short and the long gloves & lube are ready in case of trouble.
I am so excited and SO nervous! I can hardly sleep.
I promise to have fresh batteries in the camera and will post a flood of cute baby photos.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged babies, delivery, goat, goats, Jeffers, kidding, kids, photos, preparation | Leave a Comment »
February 11, 2010 by BucolicAmbition
Do you love goats? Are you considering raising a few goats of your own? Perhaps you are looking for a good information resource to have on hand for your caprine friends! This may be your month… As the freebie for this shortest month of the year I am offering How to Raise Goats by Carol A. Amundson.
This month’s giveaway for my readers is a used soft cover copy of the book How to Raise Goats. It contains information on many breeds of goats – dairy, meat, fiber and rare breeds. You’ll find advice on many helpful topics from selecting and purchasing the perfect goat for your needs or desires, to breeding & kidding, to milking dairy goats and proper feeding of meat breeds. You’ll also be pleased to discover handy lists of medications and other items to have on hand for emergencies & a great contact list for breed clubs and organizations.
February Freebie - How to Raise Goats
Click the title link (below) for the reviews on Amazon.com & a peek inside the book – but if you want a chance to win the free book click the contact us link to the right of the page or in the tab above the header on this page. There you can send your email without fearing spammers and my children will hold a random drawing on the 1st day of March. I will notify the winner via email & ship the book for free via media mail.
Please note: this link is NOT to the free book, this is just a link to Amazon for those wanting to read a bit about the book & see the reviews of other readers. If you wish to enter the drawing for the free book you’ll need to click the “Contact us” link and send your email so we can contact you if you win. How to Raise Goats 
Posted in goats, livestock, pets | Tagged animal health, animal husbandry, book, free, freebie, goats, livestock | Leave a Comment »
December 10, 2009 by BucolicAmbition
Large egg at top to the right: Australorps, Ameraucana, Duck, Cuckoo Maran, Buff Orpington
Posted in chickens, eggs | Leave a Comment »
April 29, 2009 by BucolicAmbition
This coming week will bring our chicks & we are awaiting them with great anticipation. The ducklings are now fully feathered and wandering freely among the chickens and goats. Now – if only the buck we’ve borrowed would starting doing the job we need him to do! Obviously, if he is successful, we’ll be having late summer/early autumn kids – but that’s alright, they are to be freezer bound anyway. If he is unsuccessful or if any of the girls don’t take we’ll be rebreeding in October.
Do you twitter? I do! http://twitter.com/thecountrymomma
Posted in chickens, children, ducks, goats, homestead, kids, livestock | Tagged animal husbandry, chickens, chicks, ducks, goats, twitter | Leave a Comment »
March 16, 2009 by BucolicAmbition
You are surely just as busy as we have been around here. The more frequent warm days bring an eager urgency to the chores, make hay while the sun shines takes on a whole new meaning. These days are filled with seed trays, brooder lamps, and special deliveries. Each day brings a new and marvelous sign of the mirth of a new growing season. Lambs, calves and kids are hitting the ground. Ducklings are growing fast, and the chick orders are going in this week. We have onion sets, bell and jalapeno peppers sprouting and eggplant and tomato seeds are next in line.
Now, as I mentioned, we are placing our chick order this week. You might ask yourself why I waited. Originally I planned to order direct from a hatchery. However when we visited our local farm store a couple weeks ago I decided to check on their prices and minimum orders. Turns out I could order the same breeds and in greater numbers and still save money! The individual prices are anywhere from a few pennies less to twenty cents or more. Plus, the bulk order placed by the farm store does not require me to pay shipping – another $8.75 saved.
As I chatted more with the cashier I told her I’d be having to place my order the next week and she mentioned that If I waited just a few days longer they would be having a sale on the orders. This is great – I can order a few extra chicks, of the breeds I want, have them delivered to my post office and save $10+. It is true that they may be arriving in May instead of early April, but hey, the days will be warmer and that can help reduce the time in the brooder.
Take time to check your local farm store or feed store. They can give you a good price and they may even be able to help you out if you are looking to buy from local producers. Take some time to get to know the folks at the counter.
Since I’m on the topic of poultry orders I’ll go ahead and tell you what we’re buying:
Buff Orpington (I want broody hens)
Dark Brahma & Partridge Cochin (son wants some feather footed girls or his rooster)
Ameraucana & Maran (daughter wants colorful eggs)
Meanwhile, my daughter chose to spend some of her birthday money on 5 ducklings – 2 Rouen and 3 Pekin. They are filling the gap between winter and the arrival of our chicks. Doing a great job of it I might add!
Thank you to all the folks who entered our February Freebie drawing. Rosalinde in NM will be receiving a free copy of the book: Storey’s Guide to Raising Rabbits. Check back for the next freebie announcement!
The Birthday Girl with her Rouen duckling "Water"
Posted in chickens, children, ducks, farming, gardening, self-sufficiency | Tagged Araucana, Brahma, chick orders, chicken, chickens, chicks, Cochin, ducklings, ducks, farm store, feed store, gardening, homesteading, Maran, Orpington, Pekin, Rouen, seeds, self-sufficiency, spring | 1 Comment »
February 12, 2009 by BucolicAmbition
Seed orders are complete! I have ordered from two companies which specialize in organic and heirloom vegetable varieties.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds- www.rareseeds.com
Fedco Co-Op Garden Supplies- www.fedco.com
Both companies have a great following among folks interested in seed saving, heirloom vegetables, and NOT supporting companies like Monsanto which are establishing monopolies on seeds through gene patents. If you are planning to get elbow deep in developing your own sustainable garden plot these are a couple of great places to start!
This year’s garden will consist of a greater variety of vegetables than I’ve planted before. I’m eager to try a few of the older varieties of corn, carrots and zucchini. Last year we let some onion go to seed and saved it to start indoors. We’ll see how well they do.
Next item on the list will be to gather a batch of eggs to incubate!
Posted in farming, food, gardening, homestead, homesteading, money, organic, poultry, self-sufficiency, skills, sustainable | Tagged carrots, chicken, chickens, corn, eggs, gardening, GM, heirloom, herbs, homestead, homesteading, Monsanto, organic, seed patents, seed saving, seeds, self-sufficiency, Self-sufficient, small farm, spring, vegetable seeds, vegetables, zucchini | Leave a Comment »
February 4, 2009 by BucolicAmbition
These days families are trying to stretch their food budget as far as they can and homemade biscuits are a wonderful way to make simple meals more filling. Recently on the Country Life and Homesteading email list a member asked for a good homemade biscuit recipe because she wanted to get away from buying them premade. Biscuits are so easy to make and so quick there is no reason to pay for the processed and frozen critters from the store. Anyone can do it from scratch!
I have two biscuit recipes, one for a breakfast biscuit and the other for a cheesy, savory supper time biscuit. I hope you enjoy them!
______________________________________________
Buttermilk Breakfast Biscuits
2 1/2 c. flour
3 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/3 c. butter, melted (I use unsalted)
1 c. buttermilk
1 – 1 1/2 T bacon drippings
additional melted butter to brush biscuit tops
Preheat oven to 450. Grease cookie sheet with bacon drippings. Sift
together dry ingredients. Pour in butter & buttermilk, mix to form
sticky dough. Turn out onto floured surface and knead briefly,
folding the dough onto itself. Pat out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut
with a 3 inch floured cutter (I use a drinking glass). Place on
cookie sheet, leaving space for the heat to circulate around each
biscuit. Bake 10-12 minutes. Brush with butter during last minute of
baking. Makes 8 big biscuits.
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Cheesy Biscuits
2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1/4 t. onion powder
1/4 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1 T. sugar
1/3 c. shortening
1/2 c. shredded Colby Jack cheese
1 c. milk
Preheat oven to 425. Grease cookie sheet. Sift together dry ingredients. Cut in shortening until lumps are pea-sized and well distributed. Stir in cheese then milk. Turn out onto floured surface and knead briefly,
folding the dough onto itself. Pat out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut
with a 3 inch floured cutter (I use a drinking glass). Place on
cookie sheet, leaving space for the heat to circulate around each
biscuit. Bake 13-15 minutes.
Posted in baking, cooking, food, groceries, recipes | Tagged bacon, baking, biscuits, breakfast, buttermilk, cheese, cooking, food, made from scratch, recipe, recipes | 1 Comment »
February 2, 2009 by BucolicAmbition
I’ve always been one to focus directly on the physical care of our animals in order to maintain their health and quality of life. However, when we took the step from small animals up to goats, my husband brought to my attention an important point that I had given little consideration to: Pasture management – the cornerstone of the sustainable homestead.
When raising hoofed livestock on a relatively small piece of land, you will find that time spent considering care of the ground is as necessary as that spent on preventative health care for the animals. Proper attention to the grazing load based on soil consistency and forage available must not be overlooked. Pastures may sustain long term to permanent damage from the hooves and grazing habits of livestock if too many animals are allowed access for too great a time. Maintaining a healthy grazing area for your livestock is important, not only to keep your forage growing at its best but also to minimize parasite infestation, help prevent hoof rot, and to keep your pasture from becoming a mud lot.
Some of the practices we employ at our little homestead include:
- Careful consideration of the size of our herd based on grazing intensity and taking into account temporary increases during kidding.
- Using electric fence – allowing us to easily rotate pasture area.
- Restricting access to pasture during wet periods and times of freeze/thaw when grasses are easily damaged by crushing. This helps to prevent those mud holes from developing in high traffic areas.
- Housing in the barn when the grass stops growing in the fall until it greens up in the spring.
- Planting clover, timothy & orchard grass in late winter to help prevent thin areas from developing.
Here are some helpful numbers for those wondering what a maximum sustainable flock or herd size may be (all numbers are for property consisting of good quality forage & grazing through the whole growing season):
- Goats – Standard size – 6 per acre, Dwarf and Pygmy – 10 per acre
- Cattle – Standard size – 1 per 2 acres, Miniatures – 1 to 2 per acre
- Sheep – 4 per acre (though I’ve read accounts of up to 10 Shetlands per acre)
These numbers are a rough guide. I highly suggest, if you are considering raising a herd or flock you spend a couple of weekends taking a drive around your local countryside. Watch for healthy looking pastures and get an idea of how many animals are grazing them. Watch out for those all too common mud lots as well, they can teach you just as much about what not to do.
Enjoy those sheep, goats, or cattle (or even all three), but remember that in addition to being a herdsman you are even more importantly a grass farmer. Take pride in it!
Posted in barn, cattle, farming, fencing, goats, grass farming, homestead, homesteading, livestock, self-sufficiency, sheep, sustainable | Tagged cattle, dairy cows, goats, grass farmer, healthy pastures, homesteading, pasture management, pasture rotation, rotational grazing, self-sufficiency, Self-sufficient, sheep, sustainable agriculture | Leave a Comment »
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. I just received the original book in the mail today! 
