[jen judkins]

@Carl Russell 6936 wrote:

Hey Jen, if you guys want to bring Peanut up to visit K & B for a weekend this summer, I can give you all the wood you want to skid.

Carl

Sounds like fun! Lets plan on it! Thanks.

[jen judkins]

I just recieved this email from NOFA-NH

From the PA association of sustainable Ag…

things may not be as bad as it seems.

Forwarded message:
PASA members,

The following information about a bill now before Congress, HR 875, was developed by our friends at Food and Water Watch, and forwarded to us by the National Sustainable Ag Coalition (NSAC), of which PASA is a member. This Myth/Fact sheet was developed to help answer some of the rumors that are fairly rampant on the Internet right now. We will keep a close eye on the situation, and share further updates from NSAC as they become available.

Myths and Facts
H.R. 875 – The Food Safety Modernization Act

· MYTH: H.R. 875 “makes it illegal to grow your own garden” and would result in the “criminalization of the backyard gardner.”
FACT: There is no language in the bill that would regulate, penalize, or shut down backyard gardens. This bill is focused on ensuring the safety of foods sold in supermarkets.

· MYTH: H.R. 875 would mean a “goodbye to farmers markets” because the bill would “require such a burdensome complexity of rules, inspections, licensing, fees, and penalties for each farmer who wishes to sell locally – a fruit stand, at a farmers market.”
FACT: There is no language in the bill that would result in farmers markets being regulated, penalized any fines, or shut down. Farmers markets would be able to continue to flourish under the bill. In fact, the bill would insist that imported foods meet strict safety standards to ensure that unsafe imported foods are not competing with locally-grown foods.

· MYTH: H.R. 875 would result in the “death of organic farming.”
FACT: There is no language in the bill that would stop organic farming. The National Organic Program (NOP) is under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Food Safety Modernization Act only addresses food safety issues under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

· MYTH: The bill would implement a national animal ID system.
FACT: There is no language in the bill that would implement a national animal ID system. Animal identification issues are under the jurisdiction of the USDA. The Food Safety Modernization Act addresses issues under the jurisdiction of the FDA.

· MYTH: The bill is supported by the large agribusiness industry.
FACT: No large agribusiness companies have expressed support for this bill. This bill is being supported by several Members of Congress who have strong progressive records on issues involving farmers markets, organic farming, and locally-grown foods. Also, H.R. 875 is the only food safety legislation that has been supported by all the major consumer and food safety groups, including:
— Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention
— Center for Science in the Public Interest
— Consumer Federation of America
— Consumers Union
— Food & Water Watch
— The Pew Charitable Trusts
— Safe Tables Our Priority
— Trust for America’s Health

· MYTH: The bill will pass the Congress next week without amendments or debate.
FACT: Food safety legislation has yet to be considered by any Congressional committee.

[jen judkins]

Jean, I looked at your video as well. Kruiser is a nice looking and moving horse. He also looks like he is willing to please. You have some nice things working with him.

I give you alot of credit (and you have my admiration) for putting your video ‘out there’ for critique. I have done this before… and although it made me uncomfortable, I can’t say I regretted it…as it always led to very big breakthroughs for me. So, I believe your willingness to accept feedback is evidence of your commitment to your horse and your horsemanship.

I noticed two ‘behaviors’ in your video that caught my attention. Let me say first, that when it comes to round pen exercises, for me, it comes to having a place where you and your horse learn to communicate. Two way…he reads you, you read him. However, it falls on us as the human (the ???more evolved species) to learn the horses language. I think the round pen (or simple lunging) is an excellent vehicle for this process.

First, In the beginning of your tape, you are backing away from Kruiser (I believe triiing to set him up for a cue to send him out on the circle…correct me if I am wrong). If you watch horses play with each other, you will see that no one moves their feet until the game is over. Horses stand their ground until its clear to them that they are not dominate (or my new favorite term, indominable), then they move away (usually backwards) and the game then resets. The horse that moves away loses, so to speak. It would be to your benefit (from a leadership standpoint) to figure our how to set Kruiser up to leave on the circle without giving up your space. Set it up so he gives way to you…not the reverse.

Second, and this relates to Donn’s points, your energy is constant…if I may say so. Look at a herd of horses and how they interact. An alpha horse, when they want a horse to give way, will first pin their ears or swish their tail (frequently very subtly), then if they are ignored will lash out with teeth or feet quickly, then rapidly (as the other horse retreats) go back to business as usual. The point being that they give a subtle warning (cue) expecting a response. If they don’t get a response, they dish out something EFFECTIVE, then go back to neutral. People, myself included, have trouble with this. Its hard to be effective without getting mad first. Then if you get mad, its hard to let go of the anger and go back to neutral.

So think about how subtle you could be in asking Kruiser to respond to what you want, but be ready to make an impression, if you need to….without emotion or frustration, then go back to neutral. Neutral is your horse’s release or indication that he is doing the right thing. You need that to look different from your ‘asking’ body habitus, for it to have the desired effect on him.

Again, video is an awesome tool to assess your progress. Look at the video again and see it from your horse’s perspective. Nice job, Jean!

[jen judkins]

I’m so relieved;). It makes sense to me to switch them around. There are habits that help us train, but there are also habits that can work against us in the long run.

Jean…have you bought a forecart for your minis yet? I’m still looking at them.

[jen judkins]

Ha!:eek:

I was just wondering the same thing! Thanks for starting the thread. I have two mini’s I’m gonna team up (got an adorable mini forecart picked out for them), but triing to decide who should be on what side.

[jen judkins]

Matt, I have a local guy here in Springfield, NH…Ed Abair 603-763-9105. Nice guy and he does a nice job with his pigs.

[jen judkins]

I’ve had friends and aquaintances ask me ‘Whats the big deal with NAIS…isn’t it about food safety?’

This artical was passed around from NOFA today and I thought is worth sharing as it describes what’s happening in a very simple way. A good one to pass around to those who may not be invested in farming…or don’t know what they stand to lose.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Goodbye-farmers-markets-C-by-Linn-Cohen-Cole-090303-287.html

[jen judkins]

I’ve had friends and aquaintances ask me ‘Whats the big deal with NAIS…isn’t it about food safety?’

This artical was passed around from NOFA today and I thought is worth sharing as it describes what’s happening in a very simple way. A good one to pass around to those who may not be invested in farming…or don’t know what they stand to lose.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Goodbye-farmers-markets-C-by-Linn-Cohen-Cole-090303-287.html

[jen judkins]

Been promising some of you an update on Andre’s gelding Reno…

I just finished a piece on my blog… http://restingheartfarm.blogspot.com/

He’s doing great…finally. It was touch and go there for awhile, but we are on the downhill side of the mountain now, I think.

[jen judkins]

Jean, I took Peanut out today too. I havn’t worked him all winter…he had a hind leg injury (fight with a fence line) and then it snowed…blah, blah blah.

Anyway, I hitched him up today and for the first 10 minutes he was full of himself. But he came right back to where we were last fall in no time. I was very pleased. I drove him on the snaffle…no leverage. I took him down the road and on the way back we trotted a long hill and at the top I got a nice ‘whoa’…the kind where he is seriously considering not moving. He was breathing moderately hard. I know this is a benefit I will not be able to take advantage of later when he is fitter.:rolleyes:

I noticed on the down hill that he crow hopped abit and then I realized that the breaching was way up on his butt. He has obviously grown abit since the fall. So I let the breaching out 2 holes! WoW…thats alot of expansion in a few months.

Anyway, it was a good day for a drive!

[jen judkins]

Carl, I owned and moderated a large forum some years ago and nearly closed it down due to all the inappropriate posts. I just got so frustrated by it all. When I threatened to pull the plug, several very reasonable people stepped up to take over the moderating. There has been little if no problem since. I think there is strength and objectiveness in numbers. When I did it alone, I was always susceptible to taking sides or at least that was the perception by some in the forum. With the group moderators that perception was less obvious and the forum became a pretty nice place to visit.

I think this forum is a really good quality place to seek opinion and learn. I admit, I enjoy a good debate, as do others here and its hard sometimes to keep the topic free of sarcasm or other inappropriate emotions:rolleyes: but as a community, there does need to be someone to answer to if you step over the line. You may feel comfortable in that role, but I think you will enjoy your role better with some friendly support.

BTW, I think you do an awesome job with this forum and appreciate your hard work. I know there is alot of behind the scenes stuff that can widdle away your time. So thank you.

[jen judkins]

Bret wrote: “Well, just remember this site caters to “progressive thought” so views like these may not be popular.”
And
“Plainly spoken, there are a lot of Liberal Democrat types here. “

Pardon me, Bret, but I find some serious flaws in your ‘judgement’. First of all, this is a very heterogenous group….by that (in case its too big a word)I mean we come from all different backgrounds and belief systems. It is, what I believe, what makes this forum interesting and compelling. Just because one does not step up and stand with you in your beliefs, does not mean there aren’t some amoung us who believe what you do…simply with more temperance.

I, for instance, though registered as an agnostic…no wait…an independant, consider myself rebublican. I don’t favor more government. I don’t favor more beauracracy. I did not vote for Barack Obama. But I have not given up HOPE that things will change. Hope is never a bad thing…for anyone…in any situation. In fact, it is hope that keeps people from tipping over the edge, I fear you are approaching.

Your prose is offensive in style, so it is no surprise that you are only seeing responses from those who oppose you outright. If you truly wanted to have a conversation, you would tone it down a tad, so those of us willing to agree…could.

I have no interest in discussing guns…it is a pathetic topic, IMHO. If you want to whine about regulations that protect people from getting shot accidentally, so beit, but don’t make it a topic of politics.

[jen judkins]

OK, I found a good example of people who are hopeless with animals. As you will see they love animals, but just don’t seem to ‘get’ them…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWd_r2sOPhs

[jen judkins]

I got an email today, urging folks to weigh in on the NAIS proposal at :

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=3DDocketDetail&d=3DAPHIS-2007-0096

I guess comments will be allowed till 3/16. Just put the docket number APHIS-2007-0096 in the search box. You can read other comments and add your own.

Time to step up folks and make our voices heard. Jennifer.

BTW, the Farm Bureau News recently published an article about the NAIS program and it was surprisingly sugar-coated, which makes me alittle nervous about their stand on the issue. http://www.fb.org/newsroom/fbn/current_issue.pdf

[jen judkins]

Carl, I was triing to make a point without ‘alerting the media’:p

and that is, that at some point the competition of pulling becomes the end-point and not representative of the process for getting work done. I think that is unfortunate, is all…especially for a gifted teamster. There’s only so much time in the day though:rolleyes:

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