Colonel’s Blog, Earthdate 28 June 2023…
Hey Y’all!
Good afternoon and happy Wednesday from Free Missouri! We didn’t get the rain we were hoping for but the morning did start cool and humid. That was short lived as the afternoon temps hit 97 degrees with a heat index of 106. It’s supposed to be 10 degrees hotter tomorrow and Friday. The humidity is low and the grass is crisping. We’re hoping for the rain forecast to be here this weekend. The animals are doing well, despite the heat. The first two pics in the gallery are of the pig's paddock showing the work they are doing clearing out the briars. The top pic is us on our way out for the big ruminant move. It took us about 5 hours to get everything done. We started by setting up the new paddock at the end of our largest bottom pasture. We put a water trough at the edge and ran a poly-wire from the west side to the east side, just past the water. We then set up a lane with step-in posts and poly-wire, the entire length of the pasture and across the creek, attaching to the fence that was holding the beef herd. We then took down the poly-wire holding the herd in the pasture and called them to follow us. Unlike yesterday, they eagerly joined us for the long walk to the end of the new pasture. By the way, they went into the pasture we tried to get them in yesterday, just on their own time. We walked them into the new paddock, the only issue being that the new calf didn’t join the herd. We went back and picked him up and drove him to join the herd. Just prior to getting there, and just after the pics, he pee’d all over me. Then he pooped on me as we were getting him to his mom. They were both happy to be reunited. Instead of starting the sheep move, we came back to the house so I could shower and change clothes. This wasn’t one that I could just ignore and keep working…I was soaked. Quick break for lunch and then back to it. We adjusted the poly-wire lane to meet the lane that the sheep would be traversing and went to get the sheep. We called them and they were happy to follow. It was a bit of start and stop as they hesitated each time they reached the shade. Once, they took a hard left into a patch of woods and that took us about 5 minutes of coercing to get them back on the move. By the time we made it to the end of the pasture, they were hot and panting. They were eager to have a drink and find the shade. TJ got a gold-star for hanging out with the sheep the entire time, Tank bailed as the sheep took their diversion in the woods. We had to walk him separately, as he returned to the paddock the sheep left. Everyone now in place, we cleaned up the old paddocks by picking up the step-ins and poly-wire and did the same to take up the temporary lane. We were soaked with sweat by the time we were finished and came back inside and showered again. Ultimately, the flerd is back together and the guardian dogs are in place. This evening we are making yogurt. We are also baking a cake and making ice cream to celebrate Rebekah’s birthday.
There is an Act in both houses of Congress called the Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption (PRIME) Act. This Act may sound familiar because it was first introduced in 2015 and then again in 2017. Then, after COVID, it was reintroduced in 2021, 2022, and again in 2023. The Prime Act amends the law governing the sale of meat processed at a “Custom” processing facility to allow that meat to be sold in the state in which it was processed. Currently, meat must be inspected in order to be sold, by state inspectors to be sold intrastate or by federal inspectors to be sold intrastate or interstate. If passed, the PRIME Act would allow States to determine if meat can be processed without inspection and then sold in that state. As it stands today, custom processed meat can be consumed by the owner of the livestock that had it processed and it can be served by that owner to others as long as there isn’t an exchange of money. If someone chose to sell custom meat, illegally, the seller can face penalty…but not the buyer, as it’s not illegal to buy it just to sell it. The PRIME Act would remove some of those ridiculous regulations. Currently, the Act has been introduced into both houses of Congress and each referred it to committee. The Senate sent it to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The House sent it to the Committee on Agriculture who referred it to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry. It has continuously failed to be passed and the House Sponsor, Rep Thomas Massie, described why in Jan 2022. He tweeted “So who opposes the PRIME Act and why hasn’t it passed? Big Agriculture lobbyists (posing as friends of small farmers) oppose this bill, and I’m sad to tell you they’ve bought off most members of the House Agriculture Committee.” For Air2Ground Farms, this Act wouldn’t change our business much, if at all. We have all of our beef, lamb, and pork federally inspected so that we can ship it out of state to our friends and family and sell it to local customers. That said, I fully support the PRIME Act as it claws back a tiny bit of freedom for folks to choose what they eat and from whom they purchase their food.
Local Farm Report for 27 June 2023:
Harvest:
25 Chicken eggs
0 Duck eggs
2 Goose eggs
6 Gallons of milk
Cheers!
Psycho & Shelley
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