Pork fat is healthier than kale

Uncategorized,

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180126-the-100-most-nutritious-foods

There are many ways to measure the relative healthfulness of foods, fat is calorie dense so it needs to be eaten in moderate quantities, but it is also filling enough to help you stop overeating.  Pork fat is rich in B vitamins and minerals.  The article also lauds it being less saturated than beef/lamb fat, but it also has more Omega 6 and less Omega 3, so which is right for you may vary by your personal health situation.

We’re not suggesting you need to drop the “less healthy” foods in this list, but don’t be afraid to make a bit of lard part of a healthy variety of foods in your diet.

Beef, Pork, and Lamb Available, February 2019

Products
A home cured ham
A ham lightly cured by the farmer. It’s easy to do with a fresh pork roast, a scale, and a salt cure mix.

This winter we will have beef, pork, and lamb available. Our butcher dates are 2/18 and 2/25, processing will be complete in late February, early March.  Deposits to reserve your share are first come first serve.   Continue reading Beef, Pork, and Lamb Available, February 2019 →

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence

Oxen, Sheep Doings

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but you’d be amazed how hard it can be to convince the animals of this.

The calves and the sheep have separate accommodations in the evening, but go out to graze together in the morning.

Yesterday I opened up a small field that had just finished a good rest and was flush with clover. The critters would have eventually found it on their own, but it’s just good practice for me to move them. The calves are learning commands, and I like to give the sheep good reasons to come when I call them.

The boys did not want to go. They only recently have been weaned off morning milk and oats in favor of me having time to move them to fresh pasture in the morning. They kept mooing at me and at the barn and trying to turn back around. Once we got where we were going though, they stopped dead in the gate, front feet on the good grass, back feet on the old grass, and started eating. Seems I’d been right after all about where the good eats were…

The sheep had been roaming far off and would be a long time in coming, so I went on with my other chores, which put me outside the corner of the fence. When the sheep finally came, they made a beeline for me, and got stuck in the corner. “No sheep, you just passed the gate, go back! See, that one’s gone in, follow her!” I had to go around, and get it all sorted out. They were quite happy tearing up great mouthfuls of clover when I left for church.

First Yoking

Oxen
Two calves in a red yoke facing their teamster.
First time yoked, they did pretty well.

Thanks to Vicki Solomon of Evergreen Oxen for loaning us the yoke and taking the picture, and to the folks of Western NY Oxen who encouraged me to put this little gathering together.  John Deer and Case did well, although I myself made some mistakes.  They’re well on their way to becoming useful members of the Eddy Ridge team.