Regenerative Grazing
Regenerative grazing is the raising of farm animals primarily on pasture, using the practice of regular field rotation. It aims to nurture the land while simultaneously feeding livestock.
E-mails from Brian
From #18
#32 Overall
September 5 2020 7:57 AM
It is a simple EROEI equation when it comes to vegans. They have to force their body to process more material and with a less variable energy density than that of an omnivore. Vegans only exist because of an emotional tie to animals that is entirely selfish in disposition, and/or bad computation data from climate (((scientists))). Almost always, there is some element of sadness equated into the reasoning in a vegan's head for being vegan. It's as if there is an emotional ploy driven by them to "not hurt animals," when in reality, they are saying kill off the animals we have now so their farts don't destroy the ozone. I am in the process of learning regenerative grazing right now. When you are a farmer, your job is to take care of the land. Without its health, there is no land. Before cattle farming fenced off tornado alley, hundreds of millions of animals were in the cattle's place. All shitting and farting methane. So what is the goal of being vegan in today's society, if that is the case? Anyways, the majority of the excrement goes to feeding dung beetles and other various shit eaters, who feed the smaller reptiles that aerate and permeate the soil. Regenerative grazing cattle takes care of all levels of the local ecosystem, and grows the healthiest form of protein on Earth currently. I suggest looking into a friend of mine, Weldon Warren's story for the direct scientific method founded research from a cattleman himself. It's as if vegans would like to destroy the cattle raising/ecosystem replacement from the decimation of bison... and replace it with plowed, genetically altered (because that's the only way to veganise the entirety of humanity), watered from an almost dried up reservoir, crops of monoculture waste that can be processed into heavy carbohydrate substances and pushed through a processing system that is entirely run on crude oil. Animal food is definitely necessary right now, and for a long time to come. Vegetarians and vegans were sold a bullshit story heavily drenched in emotional plights and dishonesty about motives. The land functioned fine when it was full of animals before humans inhabited it, and during... if the economic system in place was gone.
Humans, in the current form cannot survive entirely on manna. Man N/A... We can use it in the interim, but access has to be granted from humanity's maker first and foremost, then a massive complex of interconnected communities needs to replace the shit in society now, and we must all commit to being stewards of our biosphere, not pillagers on the fucking rampage trying to convert it into dollar bills... then maybe, a significant amout of people can start to experience these abilities, but before that can even occur, the communities must be built to sustain their population. The easiest way to do that is outlaw hair dye, makeup, plastic surgery, money, and any other forms of tricking men and women into breeding with external genetic bases. Sustaining an animal food farm is not difficult when scaled down. The relationships with the animals is close and caring. The problem is not animal consumption, the problem is unmitigated sexual exploitation at every level of society, which has created an ever growing population base that couldn't take care of themselves if their life depended on it... literally. The overpopulation is what is responsible for the mass production of food animals and a complete dissociation with where their food is raised. It causes a production line scenario where the emotion is removed. The cattlemen I know care deeply for their herds. It's insane to assume otherwise because their jobs would be very difficult if they didn't. The feed lots, and grain producers that feed the millions of worthless Satanic economy clogs are not necessarily being mean, but rather just filling a void brought on by a selfish attitude from the general populace. People in society that are just for beef, no questions asked, are wrong. Vegans are also wrong. The middle ground of sustainable equilibrium is everyone that eats meat plays a part in raising it. If veganism is what is craved, good luck finding nutrients for your crops when the ammonia nitrate sourced from the crude oil economy is gone and the nitrogen starts to be consumed without animal excrement replacing it. If vegans thought this situation all the way through, they would have to admit that killing all the animals is the only way to sustain that WANT... AND they would have to admit that a highly connected mass production line with all components fueled with crude oil is also necessary. That is the only viable way to sustain veganism human wide... especially when building an entire planet of pyramids is on the horizon. In other words it is not a sustainable method of human production.
This vegan thing gets to me for a variety of reasons. The biggest one being how vegans became vegans. The reasons behind why people choose these things, and the superiority complex fueled by an egotistical selfish disposition that accompanies those stories, is a perfect representation of emotion over logic. The entire system was not properly thought through. Vegans stopped at the slaughtering section, allowed their emotions to control the equation progress, and filled in the information that correlated to their ill conceived theories. In short, veganism is bad science. Which is ironic because so many vegans try to assume the posture as educated. Methane is bad, yes. But as I explained in my previous email, we can extract the source of that methane before consumption by the food animal takes place and greatly reduce the methane, without reducing nutrient uptake by the animal. It's called DDGS, and David Blume does a great job of explaining the science behind this process. Again, we can do this same thing on a cellulosic extraction level, and multiply the amount of ethanol usage tremendously. There is no logical reason to stop consuming food animals. There are however, many reasons why the process of raising animals should change drastically and immediately, but none of those reasons are emotionally derived, and none of them call for a reduction in animal food sources.
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There are some things in life that should be enjoyed, and food is one of them for now. Food is a stress reliever if prepared correctly. Cattle have a much different digestive system than a human. Most plant eating species do. We should utilize their digestive system microbes to produce the correct enzymes for cellulosic ethanol production, but we shouldn't design our diets based on what their diets are. Their digestive system is the perfect biomimicry platform for transforming cellulose into sugar for their body's fuel. We just need to replicate what their stomachs are doing and cellulosic ethanol production will be everywhere. It's not an easy process, but it is sustainable and keeps the methane producing substances in animal food to a minimum. There might be a few reasons to correlate our diets, but fermenting the sugar out of our food is a bit extreme and would not offer the same benefits. Cows are vegan and they function just fine. They have 4 stomachs and regurgitate their stomach contents back into their mouths to further breakdown the materials, though (chew the cud). Just a slight difference, heh.
"On a related note, what should be done with human feces? Is the current way of transporting it all to either a sewage system or septic tank the best for environment health? I'm inclined to think not, since pooping in water contaminates it, and I don't know that this poop ever decomposes properly."
I like the idea of microbe conversion, which is more or less how it is delt with now, however, the nutrient base should be diverted to usage with ethanol stocks that are built to withstand that nutrient punch. Same with runoff from animal excrement. Build many different wading type pools that graduate the nutrients downward to something like cattails. Again, David blume's book goes into depth with the various types of feedstocks for the different regions of farming. You're much further North than I am currently, so you could grow sugar beets and cattails. Both highly useful for cleaning water from human intrusion, and growing the methane induced ethanol before it becomes methane in easily accessible starch ethanol stocks. Then, if you've built your system to utilize cellulosic ethanol, the rest of the plant can be utilized for cellulosic production... or you could use the material in a gasifier. There are many biomass plants in the NE USA, I would guess. Same thing. Just learn the process and scale down. The great thing about cattails is the rhizomes. You don't have to replant after harvest. David Blume is much more elegant at explaining these things than I am, and researching cellulosic ethanol is difficult at best. It's just not talked about (((for some reason))). What most county, and state maintenance ordinances instruct to do now is chemically kill them. Not only do the taxes we pay for go to destroying a perfectly viable, abundant, naturally occurring plant that has massive potential to fuel especially rural areas, but we also poison the environment, and destroy natural cover for amphibians and other small animals. It would take a significant effort to dig the necessary wading pools but it would pay off twice. The water down stream would be a lot cleaner, and you would break into, and be able to utilize, a naturally occurring sustainable portion of the entire planet's carbon dioxide cycle loop. And nary a creature comfort was lost... Equilibrium with every portion accounted for in the carbon dioxide cycle loop, and no real loss of fuel... But definitely a drop in methane production. At least current methane production.
From #20
#36 Overall
September 9 2020 1:46AM
The Earth can deal with animal waste in a variety of ways. In addition, the animals themselves can do the extra work when needed, or they can be dedicated to work full time. For a Vegan community that is strictly dependent on foot space to grow their entire sustenance from, any additional animal is a massive drag on that availability. On the flipside, where regenerative grazing techniques are being used, the land can sustain itself with a little engineering help from the animal husbandry expert. I've often wanted to call them that, farmers, ranchers, cattlemen, goat herders, chicken farmers. What if, and I stress what if... every time a cattleman or farmer got referenced by a proVegan syndicate they used that nomenclature? Just a thought, but I digress. It's much easier to form communities based on cattle production because the vegetable patches are patches, not fields. The cattle are not only a very good source of protein, they are literally the life support for the land. The entire animal can be used for a variety of things. I used to give the bones to my dog. He loved the marrow. The hides make convenient things... like SHOES. It's also very difficult to infiltrate a tight community and steal cows. They're big, have brands, know their owner and raise a fuss just on their own. There are millions of reasons to utilize animals for food, and many other things. Scale itself is the most obvious. There is no way at all to say that Veganism is a viable solution to the population problem maintaining sustainability.
From #22
#38 Overall
September 9 2020 6:43PM
"Does your regenerative grazing method reduce the amount of land needed to raise cattle?"
No. What it does it make diversifying the land over several different animal species. Shane is going to implement chickens to clean up the grasshopper problems. Personally, I'd devise a catching system rigged to a simple vacuum and use the bugs for food in an aquaponics system, but that's his plan. For the stuff that the cows, then chickens, wouldn't eat, goats would clean up the material. Imagine the entire field is like a pizza where the three individually pinned species were ever moving around the circle, and all three were fertilizing the land as they cleaned it up of brush and insects. In the middle is the water system. Shane can accomplish this right now, but the time dedication is too intense. That is the main reason why I want to start farming water there. To have it on demand when the sun is plentiful. He's connected to a well system right now. An underground river system from what I understand of it. Not enough to water the land, but enough to keep the cows watered. He does use hay, but the ground he gets it from grows wild. It's not perfect by any means, but is sustainable and efficient as all hell. His land looks wild because it is. Most cattlemen just turn them loose on the entire property. Their land is eaten down to the point of it looking like a lawn. That's a problem for the various other creatures native to the area that handle other problems. . Shane has badgers, coyotes, rabbits, snakes, horny toads, road runners, fox, all kinds of birds (a few he built houses for), deer and all kinds of insects. It's healthy. The cow poop doesn't even make it three or four days above ground there. The dung beetles have returned in huge numbers. Even I was astonished at how fast they work. The entire property could be vacated of farming right now and be designated wild territory. That is true stewardship. Complementing the land as it is naturally, and extracting the "profits." That is when you are doing BETTER... than equilibrium. If/when I am able to start working on my windmills, I'll be able to install some sort of air pressure system, then his entire farm energy can be off grid, sustainable, plentiful, and with a bad motherfucker protecting it. I feel very sorry for the man that tries to fuck with Shane after the collapse. It will not turn out well. I forgot to mention his fencing system (electric) is run on a solar panel. 1 small one connected to a battery. The pumps are also run by it, so his water is already off grid, technically.
I'm totally down with gardening. I love vegetables and eat them as often as possible. Just because I am in favor of cattle rearing doesn't mean I'm opposed to gardening. It's my opinion that the land should be used to mitigate our footprint in it as much as possible. Vegetable gardening with soil is the opposite of that, so the crops for it need to be dense. Potatoes are a very good option. When it comes to salad green, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc, the footprint should be extremely compact and based in the aquaponic variety. That system produces the largest yields, is the least impactful on the environment, and gives motive to stop fishing the oceans to extinction. The gardens I would like to grow go upwards or downwards, not outwards. For the soils that I do have to use for the more needy varieties of vegetables, I'd use pots. My base would be red wiggler worm castings. I'm very familiar with them, and they make food delicious. All natural, even the food I feed the worms is organic and natural. They made my lemon cucumbers explode, and my tomatoes were amazing. The scraps just get pureed and fed back to the worms. I haven't tried fertilizing potatoes with it, but I'm sure it would help. I have grown potatoes on a few occasions, but the area was too wet. It was never a good crop. My eventual idea is to turn all of the waste from making cellulosic ethanol into the worm's feed stocks. then fertilizing cattle land with it for fruit trees and grass. I've already done all of this on a small scale. I want more bugs. More fish food. I want the land to have everything it needs to produce these things on its own. The ethanol making cattail littered holding pools will also help with the worm feed and fertilizer. The actual gardening system I am seeing is different than the normal version now. I would start with Shane's model, then add to it underground, and above ground. There aren't many people that think like that in the agriculture world, because it's sustainable on its own. There aren't really any profits other than free energies scattered throughout your own little carbon dioxide cycle loop. Well... that is until you find research time and build your hydrogen stuff. That's a ways into the future, though. So basically, it doesn't produce more cattle, but the cattle it produces are enormously more healthy for you, and the diversity is present. There's a dynamic that is not seen, and that is the biodiversity. They all complement each other, and all pieces of the carbon dioxide cycle loop are accounted for, sustainable, and therefore neutral... even the cows. It's a complete environmental scope that is rarely accounted for completely with "profits." Maybe that better answers the question at hand.
By the way, this is not "my" methods coming to fruition at all. Weldon Warren was the man that taught me a significant portion of this methodology, although he is at a much larger scale and sells a lot of product. Shane is in a different state than Weldon, but I got them to talk on the phone once, and their goals are different. Weldon is taking 100% grassfed beef to a whole other level. I may or may not have prayed for them to get what they wanted... but that's beside the point. He really is the walking talking version of the scientific method in action. Grassfed beef fat cleans the blood system. Grainfed beef fat clogs it. It's really that simple. HE... as in Weldon Warren himself, is the proof. You really should read his story. It's quite spectacular, and I'm glad I can call him a friend. Shane has been teaching me a much more personal and scaled down method, and THAT is really what I am interested in. A few hundred of these types of setup surrounding a neighborhood of pyramids. All the pyramids farming water and spreading outward into the land. Weldon will probably make a lot of money in the near future, but his security may be at risk. The personal sustainable farmer who is part of a community of farmers all capable of producing their own food and energy while being able to protect it is the way of the future... if the future is going to happen. I wouldn't want to fuck with Weldon either. These are men I am talking about. Hard working, extremely intelligent, and deadly accurate with a variety of weapons. I'm just saying his operation is large and hard to manage alone. Shane could do everything himself, but he has to keep working. Anyways, they are the experts, I'm below a novice level, heh. I just sound well informed because I read a lot. Although... I have been called a cowboy by a real Oklahoma cattleman and a rodeo bull rider, so... lol. I always brag about that in a talking shit about myself way to all these folks out here. Most of them are really fun people to be around. A couple of them I'd call family. Before this experience, my growing adventures were fairly small scale. I WAS about to build a very large aquaponic greenhouse on my Oregon property, and had made it pretty far into the project, then I became a Christ. I really had put in significant work on that project. I talked about it in chapter 7 of The Way. What's going on out here is very different from my methods. I'd like to do both, everywhere. Extracting ethanol is a big piece of my system. Bees play a large role in consumable sugars, and their flowers must be diverse and plentiful. That cellulose also feeds the ethanol extraction. I had the entire system ready, I just didn't know how to farm cattle properly until I met Weldon and Shane. Just wanted to say that for posterity.
#108
March 21 2021 11:59PM
The spent grains and extracts that get used for animal feed and/or fertilizer are defined as DDGS (dried distiller grains and solubles). There's a huge market for it. So much so that it's traded on the stock market. David Blume has a patent that directly contradicts Monsanto's fertilisation strategy that uses DDGS specifically. The interesting aspect about the feed being so beneficial to animal stocks is all you're really removing from the plant matter is sugar. The nutrients remain, which is why it's so beneficial to the fertilization process. I've always thought that was very interesting, especially since learning about regenerative grazing strategies. When implementing cellulosic ethanol production into the equation, imagine how beneficial those DDGS-esque nutrient rich food stuffs would be to beef cattle. And... how methane-less the waste from those animals would be. Methane is the byproduct from a sugar rich diet. All one would have to do is remove the fuel from the food stuffs before consumption, then the nutrients uptake significantly faster, and the would be methane can be distilled for fuel usage (preferably to heat the water in a nitinol cavitation water heater system)... and everyone wins/forms an equilibrium.
From #117
April 1 2021 11:19PM
Between the quarry and peak, the dirt will be excavated and moved to the farming area to sculpt it with regenerative grazing as the focus. Depending how deep excavation goes, more granite will be quarried. That area is where the lake will go. It's the highest area on the plot, so a dam and micro hydro system will be installed. This is also the water supply for the humans, animals and crops, along with the supply for the aquaponics systems at the base of the Pyramids. The land naturally sits to make all of these systems function with the least amount of effort employed from the start.
From #184
June 5 2021 7:58PM
Cattle. Meat is good. It's one aspect of a cow. Milk is good. Bones are good. Grazing ability is good, even the shit is a good thing. All of these aspects are a good things if left to their separate jobs in relation to the environment's function as a whole, and a human or predator's ability to utilize those parts. The grass is integral to the process. The shit and eventual bones fertilize and replenish the grass' ability to reproduce itself, and grazing that grass stimulates the most efficient form of natural selection. Mixing grazing with shit and rotting carcasses causes problems, though. Diseases are spread in this way. That doesn't mean that the shit is bad, it just means that grazing where shit and bones are is bad. Milk... same thing. Shit in milk is no good. Vise versa, milk in grass is detrimental. Milk is very acidic and can poison the grass over time. Without having to go through all the different interactions of the various parts of a cow, maybe you can see where I'm going with this. The individual parts are extremely useful. All of them, for different reasons respectively. When these parts start to mix with each other, all kinds of bad stuff starts happening for not only the cow, but the environment and humans/predators as well. Keeping every section functional is essential to the health of everyone and everything involved. So... being so you're human, which aspect of a cow is the most beneficial and sustainable over the cow's life? I'd lean towards milk, not only for the nutritional value, but also the insinuation that a cow producing milk, implies that the cow had to first produce another cow. This gives the impression that the meat can also be consumed when the calf has grown to the point of reproduction itself. However, I'm not controlling anyone. If you feel that the shit production is the most valuable aspect of a cow, okay. In my view it's a simple cost and benefit analysis, but I'm viewing it as the most beneficial for the least cost. Some people don't do that, and what's worse is they add pride into the equation. Basically hurting themselves to try proving a point that ultimately leads to their demise. The most simplistic way of cost and benefit analysis is to use every possible section of the cow, while trying to maximize "profits" to the benefit of the whole. ...All mixed up, the specialization becomes muddied, and the whole suffers as a result. Imagine being forced to eat/drink a milk, meat, grass, leather, shit and piss smoothie... Sounds like hell, no?
#284
September 14 2021 10:41PM
I think you and him would do yourselves a world of good learning about beer, especially when it comes to cows. Sounds strange doesn't it? Just keeping you on your toes. But seriously though, beer making deals with grains in its most simplified version. Grains, hops, and water. That's beer. We'll leave hops out for this discussion because I'll focus on the relationship between cows and beer, and why learning about beer can drastically improve your understanding about cattle feed. This is important for cooler climates. I see that he mentioned that, and you are also in a cooler climate so this fits for your current situation. And now for the big reveal: malting.
Malting is everything to beer. It's what gives beer variation, color, embodiment, flavor and complexity. Varying yeasts also does this, but that's not important right now. There's two predominant forms of grains used to make beer: wheat and barley. I lean towards wheat, but I'm Germanic. It's in my blood. Barley is where the real variation is, and there's millions of ways to malt barley. The same thing can be used to make wheat beer (hefeweizen). Different drying procedures, different drying procedures, and different roasting procedures and a wide variety of timing strategies of those procedures, is exactly how the different forms of malt, dry malt extract, or DME (all the same thing) are created. Personally, I try to stick to pilsner/pale or light DME. Otherwise I just go straight up wheat DME in my beers, then create complexity from varying hops or different strains of yeast. Maybe too much too fast, so I'll start from the beginning...
Wheat and barley grow as seeds atop grasses. Generally speaking, there's two harvests of these grains yearly. Winter wheat which is planted in the fall and grows through the winter, and spring wheat which grows through the summer (confusing names, but that's what I've always been told they're called. Where they're grown and what water they're grown with is what makes them distinct. It's a subtle difference, but with enough experience it becomes easier to discern. Anyways, the crops of wheat and/or barley grow until they turn brown and essentially die. While growing, there's a +50% moisture content. Waiting until they brown and die allows the grains/seeds to be roughly 10-20% moisture content which makes harvesting and storage immensely easier. Less mold, less damaged pods, less bruising, and separation from the husk is literally a snap.
After harvest, the pods can be processed in a variety of ways. Almost all cereals, bread, etc is made by taking these grains. For beer though, and NUTRITIOUS cattle feed, malting is required. In most cases, these grains are fed straight to the cattle after harvest, which is a very bad thing... as we've discussed before. What you do with malting, is soak the seeds for around 12-24 hours completely submerged in water. About a tablespoon of bleach can be added per gallon of water, if the climate is going to produce mold. There's other ways around this, but using a very diluted form of bleach water can be very useful to a cooler climate. Otherwise, just pure water is all you really need. After soaking, the moisture content will be anywhere from 50-75% generally speaking. This is the first step to germination; the first procedure to malting. Next, after dumping the water and rinsing the grains, you lay them on a flat surface spread out. Over the next 5(ish) days, you will stir them and lightly mist them to ensure they don't dry out, and the moisture content remains uniform throughout the entire batch. It's good practice to do this every 6-8 hours. Stir, mist, spread out... every 6-8 hours. The best temperature (if you're able to control this) is 60 degrees farenheit, and the humidity should be as close to 100% as possible. As you might be able to tell, that's the perfect environment for mold, which is no good. Hence the stirring. Sometimes temperatures are not steady, and humidity fluctuates. It all depends on your setup and climate. Some people use tumblers similar to a ball mill which stirs constantly at very low speeds to combat mold. Some people use very large rooms and hand wrake the grain over the entire floor surface. Like I said, there's millions of ways to do this. In a cooler climate, I'd recommend using tumblers in a room buried at least 8 feet underground to take advantage of geothermal in the winter and summer. Whatever works best for your situation.
After your 5(ish) days of tending the wheat or barley, you will see root sprouts form. This is what's considered malting. Within the grains, tightly bunched starches compact sugars necessary for sprouting a new plant. Malting converts those starches into sugar using inherent enzymes within the grains to give a new sprouting plant fuel to grow. The goal is to initiate that conversion from starch to sugar, then stop it to take advantage of the sugars for beer. So... after you've malted your grains, you dry them out to a moisture content less than what the grains were before soaking. There are mathematical formulas for figuring out these moisture levels, but unless you're planning on taking up a more scientific method of beer making as I did for many years, just try to get them as dry as possible. Very low heat, maybe 150 degrees Fahrenheit in an oven with the door open, or even just a day in the summer sun should dry your newly malted grains. Again, stir often until a uniform dry is achieved. Since the harvested grains start with had a moisture content of 10-20%, your malted grains should be 0-10% before drying is done. After drying is completed, you will shake your malted grains in a colander or over a screen and knock off any of the sprouts formed from the malting process. You now have malt/dry malt extract/DME in grain form. The starches that were present in the grains have converted to sugar. Next you powderize your malted grains in whatever way is best suited for you. Blender, grinder, masking stone mill, whatever. And that's how you get the base ingredient for beer. Any grain can be used for this purpose; corn, barley, wheat, even beans, legumes or weeds like crabgrass and dandelions. All the same process, but I don't recommend using EVERYTHING for human beer consumption. Stick to wheat and barley, heh... for now anyways. Just an FYI, whiskey is is nothing more than beer before distillation. So, malting is one of the more ubiquitous ways of making ethanol... but back to the subject at hand.
"But Brian, what the fuck does this have to do with cows, maaan?"
Fodder. Being from cooler climates means you have to plan your winters a bit differently. You might not necessarily have access to winter wheat crops. This is where fodder is important. As per my many conversations with Weldon Warren and the research I've done, any form of sugar for cattle is bad news, other than cellulose. Starches are the predominant form of sugar in any grain. The cow system does not have the capacity to deal with that sugar, so it packs it on as empty caloric fat stores. While this may seem like a blessing to a selfishly minded profiteer in an oil economy conundrum, the weight/fat that's being sold is not healthy fat. The sugars from the starch was not processed by the cow in the same way cellulose is. As a result, the grain to starch to fat maintains its structure in the human body, and retains as fat. Additionally, since this fat was not processed entirely by the cow, it retains a more sludgy texture and builds up throughout the human body in high blood flow areas. Namely, the heart. This is one of the primary reasons for heart disease; grain/starch fed cattle.
Cows are "designed" to fully process cellulose. Behaves entirely differently than starch in their system. What fodder does is transforms the starch into sugars, just like malting; same process. Except, instead of drying the malt after the enzymes have converted the starch to sugars, you continue to water the grains. This allows the sugars to build the plant, using up the sugars originally in the starch, and converting them into pure cellulose and protein. This allows the cow stomachs to fully process the cellulose, and gives the added bonus of protein. When growing fodder, the roots form a mat that entangles creating an almost solid block of healthy animal feed. The roots themselves are where the bulk of the protein is, so while on grazing only, the protein intake is fairly low. Supplemental fodder, especially in the winter for grass fed cows is quite a boost.
Fodder is grown in a hydroponic environment. A tray is laid out, you soak the grains for 12-24 hours, rinse them, drain them, then put them on the tray spread out. You do not stir fodder as you would with malt. Instead, every 6-8 hours you flood the tray with water then let it drain. You do this for 5-7(ish) days until the sprouts have grown to maximum potential with the sugars inherent to the seeds/grain. Then you simply pick up the mat and feed it to the cattle. Fodder is also a very healthy substitute for most food animals. Pigs, chickens, goats, sheep and even horses. Anything you want to be grass fed, should be supplemented with fodder, especially in cooler climates. The difference between starch and cellulose cannot be stressed enough. The grain fed meat industries ignore this most basic fundamental aspect to a ruminant stomach, or hide the facts from the general public. Ruminant stomachs are not designed to deal with sugar or starch, and not many burger eaters seem to know, understand, or care about this basic fact. The solution is quite simple as you can see. With foresight, seasonal planning, and that nasty little word labor, the entire meat industry could change for the better, and not just for the human. The cows will undoubtedly live a better life not dedicating their time to packing on as much worthless unhealthy fat as possible, just to feed a bunch of shitheads.
Now, supplemental dried Distiller grains and Solubles (DDGS), should make more sense to you now. The remnants of the grains have far less sugar than whole starch packed grains. As I've explained, this is much more beneficial to the cows. However, in the process of making malt, not ALL of the sugars are removed. If DDGS is supplemented, there will be some starch laden fat buildup, albeit far less than raw grains. That said, if you produce your own DDGS from beer, whiskey, or ethanol manufacturing, you have a much better chance to strip as much sugar as possible because you'll be focused on that aspect. Commercial grade DDGS is produced from commercial grade brewers... usually. They're playing a percentage game of profiteering. A brewer like Budweiser for example, will use their malted grains in an industrial setting. Meaning, they will malt as quickly as possible, extract what they can, then move on. They're not trying to make the best product in beer or DDGS. They're trying to incorporate the most profitable process, and generally speaking, that means a substantial amount of starch and sugars will remain in their DDGS. This is where your math skills will come into play. There are formulas for maximizing starch conversion rates in grains. They take into account moisture content and weight predominantly while malting. It may seem complicated and a bit overboard for making beer, but when the cow's health is at stake, you're forming a cradle to cradle system, and sustainability is the driving force, it's only laborious until the process becomes repetitive. Your grains, where they grow, your water, your harvest, your malting, your extraction and beer making will improve as time goes by. Making and incorporating DDGS into your food animals' diet provides fuel, "fun," and healthy sustenance to your entire life... if done correctly. And THAT... is how making beer has EVERYTHING to do with cattle farming. Neat.jpg
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Anyways, other than the more intricate feeding parameters, I could map out the design Shane and I discussed for rotating the cows on a grass fed farm, but other than that, animal husbandry is pretty much the same as now. The real difference is the absence of a feed lot structure. The animals are raised to maturity and harvested in the same place they're born into. You know the rest about never seeing each other die, farming water, purifying it with activated carbon, using goats for weeds because their stomachs destroy seeds, chickens for overabundance of insects, harvesting grasshoppers for fish food, aeration, etc.
#287
September 15 2021 4:59PM
Malting wheat and barley might be the most diverse science in human history, no bullshit. I was just trying to convey that aspect. There's really no wrong way to do it... unless your methods grow mold. Every method provides a variation. Roasting the grain is where the real diversity is, though. Darker, coffee like beers have high heat and long duration. Pilsner, pale beers do not roast grains at all. The sky is the limit on variables between the two differences. Plus, the variables get mixed. Sometimes half dark DME, and half pilsner. In my "lord's brew" recipe I use a combination of steeping flaked wheat, wheat DME and pilsner barley DME. With American Hefeweizen yeast, fermented at 65 degrees Fahrenheit, there's a citrus floral note that can be enhanced by a slice of lemon. People tell me regularly that it's the best beer they've ever had. Full body, cloudy, fulfilling... almost like eating a meal. The combination of it with steak seasoned with Himalayan pink salt, malbeck cracked pepper and garlic powder, with a side of loaded fresh cut French fries and thin butter pan fried asparagus spears is my favorite meal. Even the cook on the steak is taken extremely seriously and I'm very precise. The beer recipe took the better part of 20 years to perfect. Tiny variations make large impacts. Fermenting at 70 degrees Fahrenheit for example drowns out the citrus notes and replaces them with a more clove kind of thing. Learning all of these things over many years of errors is sometimes frustrating and can get rather expensive. I don't give up, though. When I cook a steak or brew a beer, there's a lot of experience backing that up that's very difficult to replicate. Shane knew that and was always very appreciative of what I made him personally. Most Mangumians didn't have the appreciation he did, but oh well.
The point is that everyone has a varying level of experience, as well as a varying level of attention to detail, and a varying work ethic backing it all up. You can put in the absolute bare minimum when it comes to grain, and technically you will produce a beer. However, if you focus in on every single aspect of the process, even the growing and processing of the grains, you will produce a work of art. Then again, not everyone will appreciate it. That's up to whomever is brewing and cooking as to whether or not it's worth it to you. Again, I was usually very poor when I tried learning all of this stuff, so I tried more than most. I wanted to eat food I couldn't afford and make beer people would appreciate... so I did everything myself. As a result I made food considered fine dining and beer people pay 10 bucks a sixpack for... for pennies on the dollar. The point is to do what you want. All I'm really trying to do is give a viable starting point and remove some of the confusion soy faces add to a very simple process.
The bleach thing I should've clarified more. Again, that's just me trying to run through the information as quickly as I could think of it. Malting doesn't require bleach, really at all. Depends on how your process of sprouting goes. Some people don't stir the grains while malting at all. They'll just lay the grains out, put a damp towel over the tray to retain moisture, and let them sprout. That's the most lazy way to do it, and also is the most susceptible to mold.
Something to also consider is how the grains are grown. If it's normal field produced grains, they're in the environment unchecked. There will be wild yeast and mold spores on the grains. Impossible to stop. If the grain is grown in a controlled environment by greenhouse or hydroponics where the air is filtered, water is purified, etc, there's an almost zero chance of mold. Many factors play into the decision making on how you malt, but it starts with how they're grown. 90% of malting procedures do not require bleach. It's just an additional level of security. Keep in mind that everything beer making gets dried, then boiled to sanitize, though. The bleach would be long gone by fermentation. Just saying.
Fodder on the other hand doesn't get stirred, and almost always comes from field grains. If you're producing hydroponic grains for cattle fodder, that's a bit overboard. The bleach is only used during the initial soaking treatment for fodder. Its purpose is to try and kill the mold on the grain husks. That's it, then you use nothing but pure water to hydrate until sprouting is complete. Fodder also takes a few days longer to produce than malt, so mold is much more likely to get a foothold. Again, this will also depend on your environment. Most fodder grow rooms are pitch black or very little light. They also have steady airflow. The sophistication of the grow room will determine if bleach is necessary. Great airflow will all but eliminate the possibility of mold. If you're just planning on using a small computer fan in a huge basement with dozens of grow trays... I highly recommend bleach. If you're going to build a buried shipping container with racks that drain the water cycling and temperature control, it's not really necessary. See what I mean? When it comes to variables to sanitizing, I'm not sure how many there are. I'm sure most would work, but I pick on bleach because it's so cheap and readily available. It's up to the grower to decide what kind of research that will take. Trial and error...
#288
September 15 2021 5:17PM
By the way, I mentioned there that I use flaked wheat in my Hefeweizen. Flaking wheat is fairly simple. In a grain silo or smaller flask, steam is injected into the harvested wheat until the moisture content is +50%. Then the wheat is compressed significantly between two large rollers. It flattens the grain out and makes it look like a flake. This is also the process of making oatmeal and other kinds of cereals. After they're flaked, they're dried out again and packaged.
Steeping is the process of extracting flavors from the grains, in my recipe's case flaked wheat, before the DME is added and the boil starts. The water is held at exactly 150 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour. After that the flaked wheat is like a very mushy oatmeal. It makes the wort very cloudy and as I said adds body and substance. That's generally why Hefeweizen is cloudy; the wheat steeping.
#289
September 16 2021 6:43PM
Land raised food animals do not have these issues. They also sustain themselves and the land. The bulk of labor shifts to one specific issue: water. "Water farming" as I've described to Kim in many previous conversations deals with refrigeration and the collection of condensation from that refrigerant. I've delved into research on ammonium evaporation, water evaporation, chemical evaporation (R134a), and geothermal using ground and deep water recirculation pumps based on reciprocal systems (which I've referred to as mechanical rotational force to simplify). All of these systems are absent from electrical energy usage. They're also based on systems in environments that are lacking the ability to utilize a hydraulic ram pump from free flowing water sources. If rivers and streams are available, as is the case with Kim, hydraulic ram pumps are recommended. From that cavitation technology, and through the usage of a bell siphon or float valve (similar to a toilet's) mechanical energy can be recovered. That energy can then be used to run many different types of systems. I'm not familiar with northern Michigan, but I would assume stream and river access is much easier than water farming through refrigeration procedures.
The system in conception would have a deep pond in the middle of the community centered at the highest elevation. A series of 10 or so farms would extend outward from the pond. Imagine a pizza. Anyways, the farms would also resemble a pizza in shape with the watering pool at the center. The "pizza slices" would be sectioned to graze the animals at different intervals. Monthly, weekly, whatever works for the area. Ever rotating, always supplied by water from the pond. Any excessive water would then go to growing more grazing pastures, and resupplying the waterways of the area. This is a system that requires hundreds of people to function properly, but can be scaled down or up to fit the community. If this kind of system sounds familiar, you're not mistaken. This is a basic microcosm of how a galaxy with several solar systems functions. Instead of black holes and stars, though, water is the fuel element. Everything in my conceptions is essentially plagiarized from the creator of the third dimension. The goal is to function within the parameters of the environment, and do the best for elevating the environment's potential while being a conscious steward in the process. That's the real path to an equilibrium.
From #303
October 4 2021 3:24AM
Well, wouldn't you know it? This popped up on my suggestion list. I've seen this guy before. He's pretty funny and entertaining.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nCPjpS7gWjM
The dried DDGS from making this then distilling it would be phenomenal for dusting fodder to feed to animals. Then the cycle just repeats. Equilibrium achieved. Good to see this type of information is making it to the masses. Kinda bittersweet to see the context, though. Alcoholics do serve a purpose in a roundabout way I guess...
From #487
March 28 2022 7:52PM
About the Satanic structures, there's many options, as long as it doesn't interfere with zoning bullshit. That's really why it's important to know everything before you get started with a purchase. You might have some idea of what you want to do, but it could be impossible legally. A good no maintenance option for your type of machine shop is a storage container. They're secure, watertight, can be easily placed anywhere, and are very cheap. Plus they can be moved easily so if your plan changes there's no problem. There's also the option of an underground type of setup, maybe even in conjunction with a storage container. Maybe above it where the storage container (shipping container actually) is the entrance. This makes the footprint of structure basically nonexistent, so the land is capable of maximizing food production. You could even dig and put the container itself underground, then there'd be no structural footprint at all. If designed correctly on a hillside, aquaponics would be a breeze for drainage, and the land above would be 100% productive still. Just a few Solatubes at the surface for internal lighting and you're set. This would also make your distillery hidden from anyone looking. I talked to Shane about this exact thing. Burying his Zebo and using the roof as a mount for a wind turbine. Just an access ramp for the buggy, and not even the container would be taking up grazing space. Maximizing the land capability at the surface is the best option. High tunnels are a good idea, but you start to limit other aspects when you build like that. Don't be afraid to dig is all I'm saying. Those steel containers are perfect for the strength necessary for holding up that kind of weight. Morlocks for the win, lol.
External Resources
Articles
https://www.backwoodshome.com/bovine-basics-for-beginners/
https://rurallivingtoday.com/livestock/how-many-goats-per-acre/
https://rurallivingtoday.com/livestock/difference-between-sheep-and-goats/
https://rurallivingtoday.com/livestock/best-farm-animals/
https://rurallivingtoday.com/livestock/miniature-cattle-breeds-small-farm/
https://rurallivingtoday.com/livestock/how-many-sheep-per-acre/
https://horsegazette.com/ horse info
Note: The above articles primarily discuss farm animals: they are not necessarily specific to rotational or regenerative farming.
https://news.virginia.edu/content/farmer-joel-salatin-puts-natures-template-work “Farmer Joel Salatin Puts 'Nature's Template' To Work.”
-“In nature, he said, soil fertility is built up by a relationship of herbivores, perennials (grasses) and periodic disturbance. Think of wildebeest roaming the Serengeti in Africa, or bison on the American plains 1,000 years ago. Wildebeests and bison mob together in herds for protection from predation, always on the move and grazing as they go.”
- “Grasses, by their nature, always maintain a balance of biomass above and below the soil, so when the grass is cut down by grazing, the grass responds by sloughing off an equivalent amount of its root structure, injecting that biomass into the soil, which both builds fertility and sequesters carbon in the soil. The process, he explained, is called the "grass pulse."”
- “A herd of wildebeests or bison produces fertilizing manure, while the steady movement of the herd keeps it separated from the pathogens, parasites and insect larva in the manure. The insects growing in the manure and generally following the herd attract birds to feed on them.”
- “Salatin harnesses these relationships between grass, herbivores, birds and insects by moving his cows daily into new sections of pasture, and following that movement with mobile chicken pens. The chickens naturally peck through the insect-rich manure, better spreading out the manure and improving its fertilization of the field.”
- “The crowded and unhealthy conditions of factory farms cause such stress on cows that their immune systems must be propped up by antibiotics, vitamins and nutritional supplements. But the cows still collapse after just a couple of lactation cycles, often living less than five years, he noted, as the breeding of dairy cows exclusively for higher milk production has created cows that rob calcium from their own skeletons in order to produce more milk.”
- “In contrast, Salatin's cows don't have such skewed genetics, and are not given hormones, antibiotics or nutritional supplements. They remain healthy, going through at least 10 lactation cycles, on average.”
- “In his talk, sponsored by U.Va.'s Department of Environmental Sciences and Environmental Thought and Practice Program, Salatin took issue with those who portray cows as a contributor to global warming because of the methane they produce. The same amount of methane will be produced, no matter whether a given amount of herbage is mowed and decomposes on the ground, or rots in a swamp, or is digested by a cow, he said. While cows have led to a lot of ecological destruction, such as overgrazing land, "Don't blame the cow; blame the management of the cow," he said.”
- “The cow can be a most efficacious healing instrument for America's farms. Thanks to his careful fostering of the "grass pulse," Salatin's Polyface Farm fields have increased their organic matter from 1.5 percent to 8 percent of soil content over the past 50 years, sequestering carbon in the process.”
- “Salatin explained that conventional agriculture will be slow to change because it has become so emotionally and economically invested in capital-intensive (and petroleum-intensive) machines and infrastructure, and "monuments to man's stupidity" like towering grain silos ("bankruptcy tubes," he sneered) and mile-long Tyson chicken houses.”
Videos
(with notes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCPjpS7gWjM&list=PL66Mj_nOCHo-ZW2VK_mKxozU1YitcKkPq&index=112&t=1s “Blaand – Scottish Milk Wine + Another Giveaway Contest!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3SgJS_Ks8U “Joel Salatin – There's a Different Way to Farm”
-“Always ask, 'Does this heal?'”
-The netting used to enclose the paddocks: A stainless steel thread woven through the horizontal line of the netting carries the spark (of electricity). Joel states that the net excels at keeping almost all animals in/out (except perhaps for deer, due to the height), it is very lightweight, and setting it up and taking it down take just a few minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaQ3hXkXVjY “Joel Salatin's 3 Principles of Farming”
-The 3 principles of regenerative farming are 1. Mobile, 2. Modular, 3. Management Intensive.
-11:50: “We have traded capital-intensive, stationary infrastructure - concrete, fans, Tyson chicken houses - we have traded that capital- and energy-intensive infrastructure, and pharmaceutically-dependent infrastructure - we have traded that for what Wes Jackson calls 'Eyes to Acre ratio'". So our observational and managerial expertise displaces the pharmaceuticals and highly capitalized intensive stationary infrastructure of the industry, and I submit that that is a fair trade.”
-Regarding labor (the “Management Intensive” principle), Joel makes the point in another video that farmers who use continuous grazing have to take time every day to find and gather all of their livestock, whereas Joel can keep track of his animals easily, and virtually never loses any.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwG8MzUDPBw “How Joel Salatin Buys Land For $30 An Acre”
-The title is not literal: the point is that, through his farming methods, he quadruples the productivity of the land, at a cost of about $30 an acre. Note this does not include the cost of buying livestock.
-This video demonstrates how he moves the cattle's paddock each day. He explains the reasons for doing it, which mainly has to do with the cows eating grass that is at just the right stage of growth for them. He also explains how to know whether the area selected for the day was correct (i.e. the cows are neither overfed nor underfed).
-Joel shows his gravity-fed system of providing the cows with water. --What does the float ball valve do...
-He also shows the salt that he gives to the cows as a dietary supplement.
-Insects on the land become chicken feed.
-Near the end, he discusses how goats need to browse, not graze, in order to be healthy. If a property runs out of brush for the goats to browse, they should be moved elsewhere. Goats tend to develop diseases when they graze regularly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNRRGlvBTdk “Tour Joel Salatin's Ultimate Mobile Farm Structures”
-The chicken pens should be heavy enough to not blow away, but light enough to move.
-He built a custom dolly that moves the chicken structure. The dolly breaks the ground, but not enough for the chickens to get out. The chickens walk on the ground as the structure is moved forward above and around them.
-In these structures, the chickens are completely contained, keeping them safe from predators.
-The structures are made of wood, chicken wire, and corrugated aluminum. Aluminum is lighter than steel, and it absorbs less heat than steel does. Steel would pose a higher risk of overheating the chickens.
-75 chickens live in the structure. Typically, 70 make it to slaughter: the other five are lost to disease or injury. The birds spent five weeks in the shelter. In that time, 500 birds (spread across 7 or 8 structures) will cover one acre of land.
-11:35 shows the rabbits' pens. Instead of a dolly, they are moved by a handle that is attached to the pen. The roof is completely covered with corrugated aluminum (unlike the chicken pens), and there is a floor, comprised of slats of wood spaced at least 1 inch apart from each other.
-Joel estimates that 70% of the rabbits' diet comes from the land. The other 30% comes from feed.
-The rabbits spend 6 weeks in the pens. At 6 weeks of age, they are weened from their mothers and moved into the pens. At 12 weeks of age, they are removed from the pens.
-Each pen can accommodate 2-8 rabbits. It sounds like rabbits in the same pen usually come from the same litter. This helps to track each litter, so the farmer can determine whether they would like to breed this particular litter (genetic selection).
-18:00 shows a 48'x30' high tunnel structure, where both chickens and rabbits live. The floor consists of deep bedding: the material under the surface is decomposing. Joel refers to it as “gentle composting.” The chickens aerate the bedding, while the rabbits add moisture to the bedding when they urinate, which speeds up the decomposition of the bedding. The rabbits are kept in cages above ground. Joel insists that without the chickens, there would be a foul odor within one week.
-In late Fall, all the chickens and rabbits are moved to hoophouses, and pigs are brought into the high tunnel. The pigs can better tolerate the cooler temperature in the high tunnel. The pigs carry out the final turning of the compost. In Spring, the farmer cleans out the compost, and restarts the process by laying down new bedding.
-Joel explains that keeping the rabbits and some of the chickens at height actually enables him to raise more animals per square foot than factory farms do, and without the problems that factory farms have from overcrowding, such as disease.
-A point that Joel repeats in several videos is that a farm should not smell bad.
-Joel states that he could house up to 150 chickens and 40 breeding pairs of rabbits in the 1500 square foot sturcutre.
-Each female rabbit can have up to 4 litters per year.
-26:20 shows a structure for egg-laying chickens which resembles a metal roof on stilts, with a ramp for the chickens to enter. Specifically, it's a “scissor truss for an A-frame on skids.” All of the structural integrity is up off the ground: this means there is nothing that the chickens will get caught on when the structure is moved. This structure is moved every three days. A 6-acre field provides a 72-day cycle for 1000 chickens, which the chickens can revisit a total of 3 times per year.
-A special type of netting is used to enclose the paddock. (see first video)
-In a hoophouse, all the structural integrity is low, because there isn't any in the hoops. The way things are angled, it is easy to trip or for chickens to get caught on the structure. Hoophouses are also vulnerable in heavy winds.
-At 35:30 they start to show off the new book, Polyface Designs which includes plans for building each of the structures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHkIUcOB2vA&list=PL31733CE747E3C57A “Polyface Farm – Salad Bar Beef” video series.
-Part 1: This video discusses three principles: Moving, Mobbing, and Mowing. “Moving” refers to rotational grazing. “Mobbing” means the cows are “mobbed up,” or in close quarters with one another, which causes them to graze aggressively, which means they move across the field quickly and are less selective about what they eat. Cows which graze continuously (i.e. they have access to the entire farm's pasture land at one time) are more selective about what they eat, which results in less desirable plants getting left behind to grow and spread.
-Part 2: Mentions that electric fencing is used.
-Flocks of birds such as swallows tend to stay near the cows, because they eat the insects that the cows stir up by grazing.
-Regarding rotational grazing, think of the paddock as a “24-hour paddock.”
-On average, pasture land supports “80 cow-days per acre,” which means that 1 cow can live off that acre for 80 days, or 80 cows can live off it for one day. Joel claims that the average on his farm is 400 cow-days per acre. “And we have not planted a seed, we have not bought a bag of chemical fertilizer, we have no plow, no disc, and haven't planted a seed in 50 years.”
-Part 3: Joel discusses supplemental minerals. One box includes a food-grade soft-rock phosphate, seaweed, C90 full spectrum mineral salt from the ocean, and kelp (dehydrated seaweed). The other box has baking soda, which stimulates fermentation in the digestive systems of ruminant animals.
-Dairy cows stay on the farm as long as they give birth to a calf every year. Beef cattle stay on the farm for 20-30 months. One problem with this is that the law requires farmers to pay extra to slaughter a cow that is over 30 months old, due to a supposed heightened risk of mad cow disease. “And yet, this is the only animal guaranteed to not have mad cow!”
-Joel states that the paddock the cows currently are grazing on will be grazed a total of four times (i.e. four separate days) in the calendar year. How long a paddock is allowed to rest depends on circumstances, such as rainfall and where they want the cows to be at a given time. “It's very much an artform, this daily move.”
-A comment on the video: “When the cattle come back depends on when the pasture recovers. That depends on a lot of factors - how long that pasture has been under their management, or is it a new pasture on a farm that they leased? How badly was that soil damaged before they began to manage it? Rainfall, temperature, the mix of plants on that particular piece of ground, whether they have run broilers or turkeys over that ground, and when... There is even more variation from one piece of land to another, and pastures in different regions. As Joel said, it is an art.” “We call this mob-stocking, herbivorous, solar-conversion, lignified, carbon-sequestration fertilization (?).”
-Part 4: A network of gravity-fed water lines provides to all of the animals on the farm. At the water trough, there needs to be enough room to accommodate 2% of the herd at one time.
-Part 5: Mentions a book, Grass Productivity, by Andre Voisin. “Grass grows at a sigmoid curve. Down here, this little early part-- I call that, 'Diaper Grass.' ...Between my fingers here is what I call, 'The Juvenile Growth Sprurt.' ...Beyond out here, I call that, 'Nursing Home Grass.'” – While Salatin explains this, he holds the blade of grass in a Z-shape, showing that the “Diaper” and “Nursing Home” stages are the flat parts of the Z, while the diagonal part of the Z is the “Juvenile” stage. Note that the “Nursing Home” stage is the top of the blade of grass, which contains the seeds. “If we're really in the solar metabolic business to convert solar energy into decomposable biomass carbon to feed this carbon-oxygen transformation cycle... then obviously we want to keep that grass as much as possible between my fingers (the Juvenile stage) and not at the other ends.” Andre said that controlled grazing “'controls the meeting of cow and grass.' By controlling that meeting to always be right up in here (i.e. the top of the Juvenile stage), we're able to keep that grass in that fast, high-productive, high-metabolic capacity which then creates all this productivity per acre.”
-Part 6: After the cows are moved out of a paddock, chickens are moved in to eat insects.
-Part 7: -There are several stand-up tents in the pasture, to provide shade to the cows. Mentions a book, Arator, written by John Taylor of Caroline. Taylor wrote, regarding fertility problems, “What we really need is an ambulatory loafing shelter for cattle.” Salatin points out that neither he nor Taylor were the first to have these ideas: a crusader in the 1500s wrote home that the French countryside was “dotted with ambulatory chicken shelters.”
"Grass is a sigmoid curve." The diagonal section between Joel's fingers is the fast-growing "Juvenile stage" of grass. Joel times his field rotations so that the majority of the grass his cattle eat is at this stage of growth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qxhOIZIGJ4 “100s of Farm Animals and NO Vet Bills | Joel Salatin Explains”
-Salatin emphasizes the importance of preventive sanitation and hygiene.
- “Nature sanitizes either with rest and sunshine or with vibrant decompisition.”
-Rest and sunshine: Daily rotational grazing gives a paddock time to rest from grazing and receive sunshine which kills microbes left by the animals during grazing. This achieves ecological balance in regards to microbes. Rules of thumb: 1. Each paddock/section of land needs to be “21 days host free at least two times a year.” 2. Don't keep an animal in the same spot for more than 21 days. This includes dog kennels. Likewise, new stock should be quarantined from the rest of the herd for 21 days.
-Vibrant decomposition: When animals are placed in shelter, their manure needs to be directed to a functioning compost pile. A functioning compost pile needs to vibrantly decompose. This requires proper amounts of carbon, nitrogen, microbes, moisture, and oxygen. The ratio of Carbon:Nitrogen needs to be between 25:1 and 30:1. A foul smell, like poop, indicates too much nitrogen relative to the carbon content. To add carbon, don't use 100% woody material. Instead, leaves, old or wet hay, and lawn clippings are recommended. Keep these carbon sources dry. Woodchips are alright to add for absorbing urine (which is high in nitrogen)-- at least, if the compost pile is fairly shallow. A compost pile also needs volume (he refers to it as “mass.” Perhaps it is both volume and mass simultaneously...), roughly 3'x3'x3'. The deeper this bedding is, the most functional it is. Greater volume provides more room for microbial life to “live vibrantly and fulfill its function.” The deeper the bedding, the less carbon that needs to be added. The question then arises, What kind of structure can accommodate a floor with nothing rottable in the top 30-36 inches? Salatin uses pine poles that rot within 10 years.
-He makes the point that you should build a structure which you do not expect to have a long life. I would generally agree, and add that almost any structure should either be purposely built to have a short lifespan (i.e. 10 years or less), or should be built to last for milennia.
-Salatin recommends hav ing a small, enclosed, outdoor area near the animals' shelter. In wet conditions, it will get torn up. Once the animals are no longer kept in the shelter, Salatin uses this area as a garden, since the dirt is already torn up/tilled, and has been manured over the Winter.
-Multi-speciation is also important. Pathogens can spread more easily amongst populations of single species. Placing more than one species in the same shelter can stifle the spread of pathogens, since they can survive on the manure of one species, but not necessarily on the manure of the other species in the shelter.
-Mentions a book, The Complete Book of Composting, edited by J. Rodale. Discusses the Carbon:Nitrogen ratios of different types of compost.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOSOUT4gytw “Joel Salatin Solves My RAT Problem”
-The basic strategy is to disrupt a rat's situation in order to get rid of them. To prevent rats, a shelter must be unimpregnable. Either elevate the shelter, or use a concrete foundation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irtfnJ4QekQ “Joel Salatin | Broiler Processing Demo Homesteaders of America 2019.”
-The method of slaughter used in this video is to place the chicken in a metal cone (head down, at the smaller end of the cone) and cut the jugular vein with a knife. Joel states that he does not use “the old hatchet method,” nor electrocution, nor gassing. He states that black around the bones in a package of chicken is clotted blood, caused by a lack of bleeding at the time of death.
-One thing in this video I would recommend against is that the chickens are able to see their peers dead before they themselves are killed. This can incite fear in the animal, which releases adrenaline and taints the taste and quality of the meat. At 5:29, the second chicken selected for slaughter is noticeably more noisy and agitated than the first upon being picked up. The same happens with the third chicken at 6:12. This happens again at 14:30, with the second round of chickens.
-After slaughter, the chickens are placed in a rotary scalder at 145 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 seconds. The rotary scalder allows 100% of the chicken to be scalded equally. Note the feet need scalding the most, the breast needs it the least since the breast is the most tender part of the chicken.
-After scalding, the chickens are placed in a picker. This machine removes feathers by rotating the chickens around the inner circumference of the machine, while the machine operator sprays the chickens with a hose. The cold shock and high pressure of water from the hose helps to remove the feathers. The inner walls of the machine are lined with something resembling spikes or tapered dowel pins.
-After picking, the head is pulled off instead of cut off to ensure the neck breaks at a vertebrae. Then the feet are cut off. The cut needs to be made at a “valley” in the bone, instead of through bone directly. Joel mentions that the demand for chicken feet has increased dramatically in the last five years: in fact, he used to compost them instaed of selling them.
-Next, the oil sack of the tail is removed. (17:10)
-Joel cuts open the skin, via a valley in the breast, and shows the crop. He explains that he wants the birds to stop eating 18-24 hours before slaughter. This way, there will not be food in the digestive system during slaughter.
-It's important to not break any digestive juices into the carcass. (~20 minute mark)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmXcgQAwdrc&list=PL66Mj_nOCHo8YTDVHuVsjn4Kueisugj8v&index=51 “Sheep are our lowest labor requirement animal on the farm.”
-Greg Judy shows the kinds of vegetation that his sheep will eat. This starts at 10:35: the sheep are eating Buckbrush and grass. At 11:55, he shows that the sheep eat Ironweed leaves. The point here is that the sheep eat plants which people would normally dismiss as being mere weeds. Greg states that he does not kill any plants on the farm by spraying them.
-Rotationally grazing the sheep prevents the need to de-worm them. How suitable the breed of sheep is for the environment they're in is also a factor in whether they contract parasites. He raises St. Croix sheep in Kentucky. (He discusses this around the 6-minute mark, and again at 12:30.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvtG8FJ8yIY&list=PL66Mj_nOCHo8YTDVHuVsjn4Kueisugj8v&index=52 “Our sheep dig through snow for forage, no hay.”
-Farmer Greg Judy shows that his sheep will brush aside snow to reach forage.
-He also shows how he keeps his guard dogs from crawling under paddock fences: he attaches a rubber mat to their collar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzpvPMN7uCk&list=PL66Mj_nOCHo8YTDVHuVsjn4Kueisugj8v&index=4 “BORDER COLLIE THE WORLD'S SMARTEST DOGS.”
-This documentary interviews a rancher who breeds and trains border collies to work as herd dogs.
-One important point is that border collies which will be herd dogs should be bred from herd dogs-- not from pets nor show dogs. “You can't train what isn't bred well.”
-Border collies can be trained to herd sheep peacefully-- by staring at them and intimidating them thus, instead of barking or nipping at them.
-Border collies like to be active and challenged both physically and intellectually.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xnAVg_eP_k “Greg Judy's Grass-fed Sheep Operation | Extended Tour”
-1 hour 9 minutes of Greg Judy and his ranch.
Books
https://abundantpermaculture.lpages.co/polyface-designs/
https://shopjustinrhodes.com/products/polyface-designs-by-joel-salatin Joel Salatin's book, Polyface Designs, which contains instructions on how to build the structures used for rotational grazing on Polyface Farm.
https://shopjustinrhodes.com/products/salad-bar-beef-by-joel-salatin?pr_prod_strat=use_description&pr_rec_id=0c7c3ed81&pr_rec_pid=6595765370935&pr_ref_pid=6595765174327&pr_seq=uniform
Salatin's book on raising cattle, Salad Bar Beef.
https://www.amazon.com/Grass-Productivity-Conservation-Classics-Voisin/dp/0933280645 Grass Productivity by Andre Voisin.
-Related article: “Voisin's Four Laws of Rotational Grazing” https://crawford.extension.wisc.edu/voisins-four-laws-of-rational-grazing/
Other Links
https://holycowbeef.com/ This website tells the story of farmer Weldon Warren, who healed from clogged arteries by raising and eating grass-fed beef.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgdSyqqWdiw “Holy Cow Beef Quest for TX Best,” A video which tells the same story.
Related Pages
Aquaponics
Ethanol
Water farming