And Now For Something Entirely Dull

Oh but my last post was fun wasn't it? And so many of you just jumped right on that "follow me-follow you" bus did you not? The one who benefited most of course was me with seven new followers in just a couple days. So a great big Midlife Farmwife welcome to...oh you know who you are. Just THANKS for joining.

But life can't be a barrel full of junkies all the time can it? (I'm talking blog junkies, relax)
Some of us have to work for a living. Last night for example, at a farmers group meeting we belong to,  I worked myself into a real bind again by opening my mouth and volunteering (why can't I SHUT UP!!?!) to do a list explaining the difference between all the crazy meat labels floating around in the US.

So since I had to do it anyway I am sharing it with you . (Hmmm, I'm working myself right back down that follower number aren't I?)

Still here ? Good. Then after reading would love to know what's going on in your area/county/state/country as far as goofy labels seen on meat products in the store. In fact, maybe later I'll do my own interpretation of these labels. Could be a hoot.     Thanks so much.

Common Meat Label Jargon

Real vs. Hype

All Natural          Applies only to processing and indicates that no artificial or synthetic products have been added. The legal definition does not have anything to do with how the animal was raised. “Natural” feed may or may not have antibiotics or other additives.

Beyond Organic                              A fabricated term that is not substantiated by any certifying group. Farmers who use the term often state they meet the organic standards (as they perceive them) but are not currently certified organic. If used on meat labels may be subject to fine by the NOP (National Organic Program)

Cage Free            Term not substantiated by any certifying agency. Implies animals (often poultry) are raised outside of cages. Animals may or may not still be raised in very crowded indoor conditions just without individual cages.

Free-Range         Another term not substantiated by a certifying agency. Implies animal is outside but does not indicate in what conditions (pasture? Dirt lot?) or for what time frame each day.

Grass Fed            Currently a voluntary situation. Any farmer can call his meat” grass fed” Two agencies do certify grass fed farmers. USDA grass fed is least stringent, requires that beef animal is forage/grass/pasture raised its entire life, no grain but allows antibiotics, hormone and pesticide treatments. The American Grass Fed Association (AGA) is stricter. Same as USDA but in addition: PROHIBITS antibiotics, hormones and pesticides.

Heritage              Animal Considered being a rare and endangered livestock. A purebred animal. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) responsible for majority of Heritage Breed Registrations, Breed identifications and public education.

Humanely Raised             Third parties such as the Animal Welfare Association and Humane Farmed exist to audit or certify farms. The label wars against overcrowding, early weaning, and denying access to pasture to name a few.

Local                    No legal definition. Implies the farm or producer lives within 50 miles of the consumer. Some Chicago area restaurants consider Livingston County products as “local”

Natural                               See All Natural definition above.

No Hormones Added      Generally another marketing scheme as it is illegal to use hormones in the raising of poultry and hogs in the US anyway. Still allowed for beef production.

Non-Confined   Implies animals are not in a feed lot situation however some farmers feel as long as their animal is not in an individual cage they are “non-confined”

Organic                The most controversial and highly regulated agricultural term to date. Through the USDA, the National Organic Program (NOP)  regulates, inspects and certifies farms, businesses and their products. The organic standards number over 200 and must be met during annual inspections in order for a farmer or his meat to be labeled “organic” or “certified organic” Most well-known standards prohibit the use of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, herbicides or anthelmintics (worming agents). Instead, only approved organic treatments may be given to livestock.  All meat products must also be processed in an approved Certified Organic Locker in order to use the organic label. Uncertified farmers who label their products as organic are subject to fines and penalties.

Pasture-Raised                 Again, can be a nebulous term. Not regulated by a certifying agency. Implies the animal is raised outside on grass a large majority of its life. The organic standard for time on pasture is 120 days per year minimum.

Sustainable        Most widely used term in farming today. Not regulated by animal agency and therefore any farmer can use however the legal definition by the USDA for “Sustainable Agriculture” means

An integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will over the long-term:

• Satisfy human food and fiber needs.
• Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agriculture economy depends.
• Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls.
• Sustain the economic viability of farm operations.
• Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.

NOTE: This list was compiled for educational purposes only and should by no means be considered a complete or legally  accurate document. The individual farmer is responsible for contacting their county, state and federal  agencies for specific laws as they relate to the labeling of meat products. The author suggests starting with the USDA department of Agriculture     http://www.ams.usda.gov

                                                                                                         Donna O’Shaughnessy    4/12/12

                                                                                                         South Pork Ranch

                                                                                                         Chatsworth, Illinois

                                                                                                         Farmer Member Stewards of The Land

Goodbye Follower number 171

You try to protect yourself. You take out some low cost blog insurance, you cover yourself with a layer of bubble wrap for those days when follower comments hit you upside the head. You try only to blog when you are in the very best of spirits and you know your words of wisdom will be cherished and shared with others in need of your grand gifts.

But then it happens, and you realize all your preparations were for naught, because how can one really prepare for the loss of a follower.

Yes, it happened to me just three days ago. I wasn't ready to talk about it yet, it was too tender, too raw. One day I had 171 followers and the next day...just 170! Just like that. No note, no card, no opportunity for  a make up blog.  Gone. Just gone.

Was it something I said? (Obviously Sherlock, this isnt' a blog for mimes) Maybe something I didn't say. Something I should've said? Was it a picture I posted ? One I didn't ? A cause I supported ? A cause I didn't ? Perhaps it wasn't my fault at all. Maybe the follower realized they really weren't a follower and more of a leader and their own destiny was best spent being out in front of me instead of following along in my dust.

I know. I'm not making sense. I'm just so distressed. Do I try to contact them ? Or would I just be humiliating myself? Like the time in 1975 when I asked Mark Bernhard if he would go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me at Joliet East HS and he just mumbled "I don't go to those kind of things" turning away from me and burying himself in his locker. Really. I am just as distressed as I was then.

All the rejections are coming back to me, rushing through my brain. All the old wounds opening wide, I feel so vulnerable, so frightened, so...so..so...

HEY ! Looky there ! I just got a new follower. Back up to 171 again. Thanks so much to the NEW and IMPROVED follower number 171. She with the wonderful name of  Mary Ann. Welcome Mary Ann !

I never liked the old 171 that much anyway.

   

Saponification Sunday

Still working on making soaps with piping or frosting as per  Amy Warden's weekly soap challenge. In the meantime...

Made with powdered orange peel and charcoal.

Babasuu, olive, castor and sweet almond oils

Scented with lemongrass and eucalyptus essential oils.

Made with French Green Clay and Titanium Dioxide

Coconut, Olive, Red Wattle Lard and Sunflower oils

Scented with Pink Grapefruit, and Lemongrass Essential Oils

A very very special THANK YOU to Martha Witcher, a fellow blogger and beyond talented weaver who dropped by our farm a couple of days ago. Not only did she buy one of my soaps she GIFTED me this gorgeous hand towel. As you can see, a most perfect backdrop for my soaps. I was just gobsmaked to find this in our little farm store, beautifully wrapped and labeled. Sadly, I missed her that day but you can be sure I will think of her each time I run my hands over this piece of art. Please check out her other items in her Etsy Store.

Some Pig Farmers You Should Know

Three years ago I found Walter Jeffries. No, he wasn't lost but we sure were. We wanted to raise hogs outside (oh, the horrors) and we wanted to do it year round. We were, however, surrounded by confinement hog farms which were of little help to us.

So we took our search to the Internet and found Walter and his blog,  Sugar Mountain Farm. We read his blog voraciously. We started asking questions and he graciously, through response to comments we left on his blog as well as past and future blog posts, taught us pretty much all we needed to know.

He did all of this...for free.

A couple of years ago he and his family, faced with the loss of one of the butcher shops they relied on heavily to process their pasture raised hogs, took on a feat of unbelievable proportions. They decided to build their own USDA approved butcher shop, and they did 90% of the work THEMSELVES.

The "themselves"part is the most amazing. With three young children ( two now nearly grown teen boys) and one young daughter they took things in their own hands, things like saws, hammers, drills,  and began building from the ground up . To really grasp what it is they are doing you must go to  Walter's Blog to wrap your arms around the entire picture.

And now my request. Being small farmers ourselves we understand how frustrating it can be to identify projects necessary to our farms survival, yet not having the capital to do so. Two years ago  we had a similar dilemma on a smaller scale. In order for us to sell enough of our meat products to pay our bills we needed to build a small farm store.  Taking on more debt was not an option. One of our milk customers came to us, ASKING if they could invest in our farm, We said yes and all have benefited ever since. All because someone took a chance on a small farmer.

Perhaps you might see it in your abilities to do the same for Walter Jeffries and his family. Through his involvement with the Kickstarter Project the Jeffries now have just $14,452 left to raise of their $25,000 goal set just a few days ago. This $25,000 is the amount they need to finish a project they have already funded through their own savings, pre-sales and hard work.

In today's world of individuals believeing  the government owes them food and shelter and clothing, where folks think work is a task to be avoided, where children insist it is their parents job to support them well into their 20's, 30's and 40's, I think what the Jeffries family is doing...is nothing short of amazing.

If you can't help financially (you get some really cool products if you can) then perhaps you could link to their project through your blog, your Facebook, your whatever.

I know Walter, Holly, Will, Ben, Hope in Northern Vermont would appreciate it very much.


And so would I.

Big Fat Mama's Boy

You might recall our Red Wattle Sow Sophie. A medium red, full blooded RW purchased from Kiss My Grass Farm in Indiana, we obtained her as a youngster. Coming from a plain background with folks of simple names like Homer and Gertrude we thought she needed something more beautiful in a calling; thus Sophie.

  Now, just 19 months old herself she has given us two litters. Sort of. The first litter she miscarried, about 1/2 way through her 4 month gestation period (Actually it is 3 months 3 weeks). Babies were well formed but came too early. After a rest period she was re bred and 6 weeks ago delivered what seemed to be 7 healthy babies.

The next am 6 were dead. No signs of fowl play. There were no feathers in the nest and our Turkeys had an ironclad alibi, they are terrified of the pigs. We suspect possible nutritional deficits and adjusted her feed. Maybe she needed a longer recovery time after her miscarried litter. The jury is still out.

We debated. Do we leave the last piglet with her? Do we take him inside? Do we leave him with her with only supervised visitation from  his mother? Do we hire a pig nanny?

We  had other things to do, so we left him with her and the roll of the dice came out well. Sophie has successfully raised one big fat mama's boy. Problem is...he is very spoiled. Sophie doesn't let him go far. Watches his every move. He can hardly run across the driveway to play with the donkey before she's calling him home.

He's not allowed to run with piglets of other litters no matter how often they come to his hutch to ask. Sophie insists they share all their meals together and she allows him to nurse. CONSTANTLY.

She makes him wear short pants and a bow tie.

I have yet to see him do a single chore, or even make up his own nest. I pity the sow who has to put up with him when he is breeding age, because she'll never compare to mama Sophie. The two of them have a very special language. Top secret grunts and groans and whispers.

They are always telling each other secrets. You know, the kind he would be better off sharing with other shoats instead of his mother. He does know how to make it laugh though.

Sure, he's cute but don't get too attached to him. He was sold at just a few days of age to a fine young RW breeder in another state. Soon Mama's Boy will go to his new home to grow big and spread the mighty RW gene.

                      If we can ever pull him off his mothers teat.

Good Grass

I know you can see it coming but I have to do it anyway. In MY DAY...talk about grass quality never involved a cow and often involved a glad bag and a boy in Mokena with a Blue Chevy Van. The amount of time we were "on grass" was debatable as no records were kept and the Will County Police Department was anything but computerized. Thanking God for big favors on that one.

So, irony as it is, here I am decades later trying to decide which grass regulation agency is best and does it mater ? Maybe. Probably. Depends.

Earlier today our organic certifier, MOSA, notified us that all our paperwork from last falls organic inspection had been approved as well as our USDA Grass Fed Certification. 2011 was the first year that producers like us could opt to be inspected on both the USDA Organic Standards and USDA Grass Fed Standards at the same time.

It made fantastic sense. Our government using ONE inspector to survey two sets of USDA standards. The whole process went very well and the info we had to submit for the Grass Fed Certification was minimal. Imagine, our government working hard to condense paperwork and costs of such. I was and still am, impressed.

But, of course, I am not satisfied. What did "USDA Grass Fed Certified" really mean ? And what about the American Grassfed Association ? They certify producers as well. I've seen both labels on beef packages in the store. Were the standards the same.?

They are not, although they do have a similar starting place. To date, it is VOLUNTARY to be certified as a Grass Fed  Beef Producer. This means there is no law to prevent you from calling your beef Grass Fed even if Miss Udder Delight is fed corn morning, noon and night,  This differs widely from the National Organic standards which make it ILLEGAL ( and punishable by fines) if you label your product as Organic when it has not been certified as such. Hmmmm. Wonder if my computer skills are such that I might insert a table into my blog?

Grass Fed Standard Comparisons

	USDA Grass Fed	American Grass Fed Association	National Organic Standards
Certification Requirements	Voluntary. Anyone can label their beef :Grass Fed”	Voluntary  Anyone can label their beef “Grass Fed”	Illegal to use “Organic” label unless you are certified*
Amount of time on grass	Access to grass and pasture during entire life. May be confined when growing season is over.	Lifetime Forage. No confinement at any time.	120 days per year must be on pasture
Nutrient Source	Majority to come from grass	All nutrients to come from forage or pasture	All feed must be certified organic
Anitibiotic Use	Allowed	Prohibited	Prohibited unless animals life in danger. After use animal must be removed from the farms organic herd
Hormone Use	Allowed	Prohibited	Prohibited
Pesticides	Allowed	Prohibited	Prohibited
Inspection or Audit Fee	None. Certification based on documentation only.	$250	Varies , Ave is $1000

Well, well, well, will wonders ever crease? Earlier today I finally learned how to substitute a single word for a whole stupid long link . For example, to read more about the American Grass Fed Standards you can go here. Cool huh?

And yet, can't seem to get the font back to original size, Criminy. Note to self. No more beer before blogging no matter how hot you get mowing.

Final thoughts (don't you wish) Seems the USDA standards for Grass Fed might look nice on your Porterhouse Steak but don't mean all that much. Your steak could still be filled with antibiotics. The Certified Organic Label is better but animals can still be confined large parts of the year. The AGF label seems to mean more, especially when COMBINED with the Organic label.

Bottom line. Labels are cute, can be meaningful,  but nothing beats a visit to the farm where your meat is raised.

         "Person-to-Person Certification" is always best

Saponification Sunday...Cow-a-Bunga Milk Soap

So week two of Amy Wardens Challenge to all us goofy soap makers was to make milk soap.
http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/  Now you would think that with 14 milking cows on the farm I would've made tons of milk soap but truth is I have only made a few.

They did not go well.

Impatience, once again, the culprit. I hurry in too many things in my life and thusly I miss out on the enjoyment of the process. After watching Amy's video about what went wrong with her soaps, I decided to take my time and really PLAN. Thank you Amy for showing us your not-so-perfects. Anyone can show the beautiful end results but it takes someone special to share their OOPS!

So, I froze some of our raw organic milk, meaning it has never been pasteurized or homogenized. Then I mushed it up and measured it into a plastic jug.

It was about this time that the girls got wind of what I was doing with their milk. They sent a representative to investigate

Then, brilliance hit. Why stick to the plan ? Plans are for mature soapers and I am still on the immature side. So I decided to go hog wild for this soap, making it farmtastic ! I added lard to my recipe from our Red Wattle hogs and then hit the chicken coop for a donation from the free range gang. After that back to the kitchen for some honey.

Not just any honey but Buckwheat honey, full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. So, I had all my farmy stuff.

Looking again at the honey I realized it was indeed thick. So added a little hot water. Then I mixed all my oils, and added just 1/3 of the water called for to my lye making it a thick gel. Then and only then did I add the lye gel to the slushy milk which was waiting in a ice bath.

You see, I do read all your other blogs !
It stayed cold and white. Happy this midlife farmwife was.

From there I added the lye /water/raw cows milk (total milk was 10 oz for a 2 pound soap bath). It stayed nice and creamy. Then came the mixed up egg.

Followed by the watered down Buckwheat honey. 2 full Tablespoons Soap did get a tad darker but not much.

It all came to trace quickly and I thusly poured quickly into my high tech diaper wipe mold.

Did you catch that? Yup, in my haste to go slow, I forgot to add any color or scent. Oh well. Fortunately I have a fair amount of soap customers who really LIKE unscented soaps. Of course I will tell them this soap was made just for them. Hear that MBJ ? This soap was made just for you. And it will coming your way soon!

So, thanks to all the great info from all the millions of soapers taking Amy's challenge, I was lucky with this bar. I had a great time using FOUR of our farms products. Raw Cows Milk, Free Range Egg, Pastured Red Wattle Lard and Raw Buckwheat Honey. Now I'm all ready for next weeks challenge. Bring it Amy!

P.S. My wonderful husband, Keith, seeing my little soap business grow and grow, made me a REAL soap mold out of leftover wood. Check out that heavy bottom. Perfect for slamming. I am one blessed wife.