[Rod]

Boy that sounds great. I wish I had more pasture available and I would give it a try too.

[Rod]

Hi Kristin

We have paddocks like that with some woods included in them, they are nice and the cows certainly do enjoy the in the heat of the day. I have never noticed any significant nutrient transfer evidence in them and the cows keep these areas looking very neat as they eat the low branches and brush. I wish I could have parts of all my paddocks with a wooded portion in them.

[Rod]

The sense in which I meant the word Noble to be understood is:

1 a: possessing outstanding qualities :
2: a: possessing very high or excellent qualities or properties
b: very good or excellent
4: xxx
5: possessing, characterized by, or arising from superiority of mind or character or of ideals or morals

From Websters dictionary.

[Rod]

I have some questions which I sent by private e-mail but I don’t think it always works right. Can you e-mail me at rod@dayspringfarm.com so we can be in touch?

[Rod]

I think the same way but also am not oblivious to the “elephant in the room” which expression was brought to my attention in another post. And that is, providing the human part of the equation remains healthy and able to work.

Ultimately we have a very thin veil of security no matter what we do, or how hard we prepare and although it’s noble to try it’s also wise to be realistic. Life is chancy and sometimes the cards do not fall our way as they have not for many on our globe throughout history. I also embrace and hope in self sufficency but see community as an essential background to making it a little more resilient and able to withstand those unplanned for curves in the road.

[Rod]

Are your cattle black? That makes somewhat of a diffrence. Also remember Satalin is in Virgina and if I remember right you are in NY. I have black Angus cows and am in southern Vermont. My cows like shade if I happen to have it available but if not I have never seen them really stressed by the lack of it. The number of warm days we get in given year are not that many and not that hot.

As for nutrient transfer I again think it may be more of a problem in the hotter climates. Mine graze in the sun if they are hungry and bunch up more because of flys than anything else.

[Rod]

I have many books I like and a couple that really standout and have had a great effect on my approach to farming and health issues. These two are “The Albrich Papers II” and the book “Natural Cattle Care” by Pat Colby. Both deal with minerals and thier effect on animal and human health. The Albrich papers from a soil mineral aspect and the Colby book from a symptom and mineral relationship in cattle. Both these are available from Acres USA.

With respect to draft animals I like the little book by Ray Ludwig ” The Pride and Joy of Working Cattle” available from Tillers Int.

[Rod]

Sometimes I need my wife to help me find things ( she would say often) , I should have had her look before I wrote. Sorry and thanks for pointing it out to me, I’ll remember it from now on.

[Rod]

we shift our focus away from spending time to earn money to buy needs, to spending more time personally endeavoring to provide those needs. wrote:

One thing that I do when involved with meeting my needs by my own efforts instead of buying or spending to do the same is to try and remember that my efforts are tax free. This is money that I do not have to earn and be taxed on the earnings. If you are tempted to spend money to get something done because it’s seems cost effective, divide the amount of money you would spend by (1-your tax rate percentage )and you will get the true money value of your efforts. This assumes of course that the money you were going to spend was not a deductable expense and that you had the money in the first place. But it help me in keep perspective certain instances to do this excersize.
This does not take away from the point that Carl is making and which I fully agree with. There are intangable values that can far exceed the money value that we place on things or acitvities in our ” consumer society”. Incidently, How do you like being called a consumer? It is a sad place we have come to in many ways in our culture.

[Rod]

It took me 40 years till I could get to farming fulltime and only because I had a income all those years allowing me to pay for and build up the farm. Now I am retired and that also allows me to make it financially. During those years I experimented with honey bees, sheep, Christmas trees, stocker cattle, direct marketing, internet selling and now miniature cattle for beef and breeding stock trying to find a formula that would work. I am getting closer to being profitable but if I had jumped in years back I may not have made it, who knows.

I remember one of the prime reasons keeping me from jumping in earlier was the considerations for my family. We have 4 children, now grown and on thier own with families. My dream back in those days when the kids were small was a farm that would support the whole family, provide enough money for college for each child and serve as a base for future farming at least for our two boys. I was hoping for a situation where our children and thier famlies would settle on or around the farm as they grew up. But it diden’t happen that way. They all went off to college and now have good jobs but each are quite a distance away in other States which makes it very hard to share in thier lives as we would like.

Would I do it the same way again? I am not sure I would. Perhaps I would go for it earlier and figure out a way to make it work. I sure am enjoying what I do right now and if I were able to have my children and grandchildren close by to share it with would be the frosting on the cake.

[Rod]

It will sink in eventually.

Actually I love the steep part of the learning curve because of the regular, “oh ya” and “why diden’t I think of that” moments as information begins to come togeather and I can actually begin to see how things can work out. In the process I like dialogue as it adds to the information pile.

Thanks.

[Rod]

I appreciate all the responses. For a novice on the steep part of the learning curve some of these nuggets of information and shared experiences are invaluable.

I know an ox drover at a nearby dairy farm where we buy our milk and usually talk oxen when we go there to fill our bottles. He told me yesterday that I should always try to pull my logs in the direction away from the path back to the barn as the oxen will not pull as fast in that direction. Makes sence and something I intend to try next to try and slow them down. Thought I would pass it on.

[Rod]

More thoughts on driving oxen. I have the table top picture book ” In Praise of Oxen” which is mainly about Nova Scotia head yoke oxen. In that area apparently they drive primarly from the front of the animals which is evident from the many photos. This looks like it is being done by just walking in front with the oxen following behind. I think this method has some real advantages because it looks like the team just follows the teamster both in speed and direction. I also have a video taken in that same area which shows the same thing.
I wonder if anyone has any experience with this method of driving as compared to the New England side by side method.

[Rod]

I would like to see some pictures thanks.

[Rod]

One of my favorite books is ” The gift of Good Land” by Wendell Berry. Although it’s not an animal power book it self but a collection of short stories about living in the day when animal power in Kentucky on small farms was the normal way of life for many. I am a Wendell Berry fan and always enjoy his books and find inspiration in most of them for pursuit of the the small farm, close community, in rural town settings type of life . Lots of philosophical thoughts in his writings mostly about life in that earlier era and on small farms and homesteads in Kentucky.

[Author]

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