Colonel’s Blog, Earthdate 23 August 2024…
Hey Y’all!
Good evening and happy Fast-jet Friday from Air2Ground Farms! The fast jet today is the Mighty-Mighty F-15E Strike Eagle flying low in the mountains of Wales this week. The weather has been cool this week…in August! It was in the 50s this morning. It’s not going to last but has been a nice break from the heat. It hasn’t rained since the last blog, things are getting dusty, and the next chance of rain is a week from now. We’ve had a few changes on the farm this week! Tuesday evening, the ducks went to live at a friend’s house. They have a pond and they want to see if the ducks can help control some of the small plants that are growing on the surface. We took them over and the ducks took to the pond like ducks to water (LOL)! Things are amazingly quieter since they left. Not quite as stark as when the last of the guineas left but still very noticeable. The 5 piglets are still doing very well and you can see in the pic that they have figured out how to nurse while mom is eating. We spent the morning today working cows. My parents purchased 10 acres about a half hour away and it has historically been used as a hay field. After days of fence work, putting up new and repairing old, we finally got the hay field converted into a fenced pasture. Yesterday, I made the final add, a pen to unload the cows into to allow them to calm down after the ride. We put their water trough inside that pen and will use it to load them out of, when it’s time for them to leave that pasture. We moved 6 steers that will finish out on that amazing grass this year, 4 steers that will be for next year, and 2 heifers that need to be weaned (last year’s calves still nursing). The pics show the pasture and the holding pen. While Shelley and I were working cows, Makaylah (our 12 year old daughter) took care of the rest of the chores, to include milking! After we unloaded the second group, Shelley went to town to open the store and I came back to the farm. Makaylah and I proceeded to do all of the things to get the 15 feeder pigs into a new paddock. It was time to get them moving and we are picking up 6 additional pure Berkshire 9-week old feeder piglets on Sunday and we needed the training pen cleared for the new batch. When those 6 arrive, we will have 26 feeder pigs on farm with a guilt and a sow that are going to have piglets any day now. We’re makin’ bacon now!!
I want to take a moment of your time to address a growing concern that’s impacting families across the nation—non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD has become a silent epidemic, especially alarming in its rise among children. Once a condition mostly seen in adults, it's now becoming more common in kids, with some estimates showing that up to 10% of children in the U.S. are affected. This is more than just a statistic—it’s a sign of a deeper, more troubling issue in our modern diet. Before the 1970s, when high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was introduced, fructose made up just 1-3% of the average American’s daily caloric intake, primarily from natural sources like fruits. At that time, NAFLD was virtually unheard of in children and was rare among adults, with liver disease largely linked to alcohol consumption rather than diet. Fast forward to today, and the picture is starkly different. Fructose now accounts for approximately 8-10% of daily caloric intake, with much of it coming from HFCS found in sodas, sweets, and processed foods. This shift has been devastating to liver health. In children, NAFLD has risen to affect around 10% of the population, and in adults, the prevalence has skyrocketed to 25-30%. This isn’t just about statistics; it’s about real lives being affected by a modern diet that our bodies simply weren’t designed to handle. The liver is an incredible organ, handling everything from detoxification to nutrient processing. But when it comes to fructose—especially in the form of HFCS—the liver is the body’s primary, and perhaps only, line of defense. Unlike glucose, which every cell in the body can use for energy, fructose is processed almost entirely by the liver. This might not seem like a big deal, but in excess, fructose is transformed into fat, which can accumulate in the liver, leading to NAFLD. The introduction of HFCS into our diets has been a game-changer, and not in a good way. It’s no coincidence that as HFCS consumption has skyrocketed, so too have rates of NAFLD. The body simply wasn’t designed to handle the massive amounts of fructose that come from HFCS, and the result is that the liver becomes overloaded, leading to fat buildup, inflammation, and eventually, liver damage. Now, I want to be clear—this isn’t just about “fat kids.” NAFLD is not a disease of obesity alone. Even children who appear to be a healthy weight can be at risk if their diets are high in HFCS and other sugars. It’s not about body size; it’s about what’s happening inside their bodies, where it really counts. So, what can we do? The first step is awareness. Understanding that HFCS is a major culprit in the rise of NAFLD is crucial. The next step is action. I urge you, as parents, grandparents, and guardians, to take a hard look at the foods your children are consuming. Start by reducing or eliminating HFCS from their diets. It’s not easy—food companies have made sure of that by adding it to so many products—but it’s possible. The health of our children, and the future of their livers, depends on it.
Cheers!
Psycho & Shelley
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