Ya'll have been asking for recipes, and to be honest I haven't had time to do much noteworthy cooking lately! Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations, Big Tim's Primal journey, and Date Night Doin's have some great recipes using our meats and I am posting beautiful pictures on the MM Livestock Co Facebook page. They aren't all my products, some of them aren't even primal, but not all of you eat the way that I do! I think that everyone enjoys a great recipe no matter the source and I share what I like.(I do post the exchanges for paleo/primal on traditional dishes when possible)
I am a Southern Girl that really likes that style of food, and Creole, Low Country, and Cajun dishes give me the shivers! If it can go in a cast iron pot or over the open flame, I'm there! Smoking and good BBQ are in my blood, do you see where I'm going here?. I love to compete in cast iron competitions, believe that Chili has no beans, That a good steak stands alone, and that potatoes are over rated! I have to spend most of my time working stock and tending to farm matters so I'm going to leave the cooking posts to the experts (unless I come up with a stunner!) Okay, rant over and please pass the Howling Dog Hot sauce!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Critters!
Oh this is going to be fun! We were able to reserve a breeding set (boar and 2 sows) of Mule Foot hogs that will arrive in late March or early April. Mule foot hogs are unique because they have a solid hoof like a horse or mule. They are a rare or "Heritage" breed of pig and because they are a smaller breed we thought that they would be fun to have on the home place. We still have pastured Duroc and Berkshire Hogs on our sister farms and that isn't going to change.
Our Small herd of Belted Galloway Cattle are through calving and we will have 6 steers available for purchase next year.(they're yearlings now and doing great!) These are fun cattle that excel on grass. Easily grading Choice plus and occasionally Prime. They are a smaller, very docile breed and fun to have around. I enjoy Having a few examples of "Heritage" livestock so people can see where modern strains came from and feel it is beneficial to keep the old breeds around from a historical standpoint. THE AMERICAN LIVESTOCK BREEDS CONSERVANCY is a great source for learning about these breeds of livestock and the requirements for using the term "Heritage" in ones marketing. I also believe that the only way to honestly preserve these breeds for future generations is to raise them for meat production, and not blow the price through the roof just because it is a rare breed. Save those high dollar sales for the showmen and breeders. You slaughter what isn't good enough to go into your breeding program and that sure shouldn't cost people more money. What costs more is the production model, you're paying for the time we spend to get that animal ready to eat, and the know how to make sure it is a superior product.
The majority of our cattle are Registered Aberdeen Angus and Simangus. We sell the majority of our steers into the Certified Angus Beef and Gateway programs. Our herds are selected for efficiency on grass and a good rate of gain is crucial to any grass based operation. The steers we elect to hold back as part of the Grass Fed and Finished side of the operation need to be able to keep gaining on pasture, they stay there for almost a year longer than those that go into standard production.
I also have to giggle about the fascination with wild boar. Okay! I got tags and am going to Texas the end of the month to get as many as they'll let me! They're a real problem there and I will happily supply my members with meat and have a blast getting it! (pun intended) Keep it real! until next time, Meg
Our Small herd of Belted Galloway Cattle are through calving and we will have 6 steers available for purchase next year.(they're yearlings now and doing great!) These are fun cattle that excel on grass. Easily grading Choice plus and occasionally Prime. They are a smaller, very docile breed and fun to have around. I enjoy Having a few examples of "Heritage" livestock so people can see where modern strains came from and feel it is beneficial to keep the old breeds around from a historical standpoint. THE AMERICAN LIVESTOCK BREEDS CONSERVANCY is a great source for learning about these breeds of livestock and the requirements for using the term "Heritage" in ones marketing. I also believe that the only way to honestly preserve these breeds for future generations is to raise them for meat production, and not blow the price through the roof just because it is a rare breed. Save those high dollar sales for the showmen and breeders. You slaughter what isn't good enough to go into your breeding program and that sure shouldn't cost people more money. What costs more is the production model, you're paying for the time we spend to get that animal ready to eat, and the know how to make sure it is a superior product.
The majority of our cattle are Registered Aberdeen Angus and Simangus. We sell the majority of our steers into the Certified Angus Beef and Gateway programs. Our herds are selected for efficiency on grass and a good rate of gain is crucial to any grass based operation. The steers we elect to hold back as part of the Grass Fed and Finished side of the operation need to be able to keep gaining on pasture, they stay there for almost a year longer than those that go into standard production.
I also have to giggle about the fascination with wild boar. Okay! I got tags and am going to Texas the end of the month to get as many as they'll let me! They're a real problem there and I will happily supply my members with meat and have a blast getting it! (pun intended) Keep it real! until next time, Meg
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
RAIN! Okay Sprinkles but I can hope!
We're getting a few sprinkles today. Thank you Lord! We need the moisture so much! We are on a well and can do some irrigating but rain is a Good Thing! The critters here at the home farm are as excited as I am. I Just seeded the front turn out to winter rye, Fescue, and Ladino and it was as if Heaven smiled down and said,"Here ya go, Just a little something to make you feel better" The back 5 is dry as a bone and I was going to wait a while to seed it but decided this morning to put it in early, this winter is supposed to be wet and mild according to the Almanac and it's usually right! Most of the farm flock will be home in another month and I hope to have live grass for them. Nice!
Manny lost his tail last week and Is growing like a little weed! I will post more pictures on fb this week. The piggies are getting big and after the fair two heifers will grace the front turn out. We're keeping these girls around so our farm members don't have to brave barbed wire and a hike to see cattle unless they want to. We'll be breeding them in the spring so the whole cycle will take place right here.
The steers are starting to put on that bloom at finishing time, Knee deep in irrigated pasture. Nothing is prettier that a Grass Finished steer. I still giggle when people say that you can't get good finish on grass, Have you seen those butter balls?
Grace got one heck of a test of her skills this week! One of the flocks is back down from the Northern range and we had to separate the bred ewes from the yearlings in preparation for fall lambing. Grace got Lots of shedding practice! Tweed is still THE MAN but getting up in years and not as quick as he sometimes needs to be anymore. Working them as a brace gives the young dog confidence and the old man doesn't have to work quite so hard. The pups are coming on too! I think I have 3 sheep dogs for sure! The other two are definitely Cow dogs! They just think Cattle are a lot more interesting. (Okay, Cricket and Monk are land sharks!) Lambing season will be under way before we know it so the Jugs are being set up and all the necessary equipment cleaned and ready to go. We'll be in Idyllwild this weekend giving a demo so come on up and say hello! Until next time.
Manny lost his tail last week and Is growing like a little weed! I will post more pictures on fb this week. The piggies are getting big and after the fair two heifers will grace the front turn out. We're keeping these girls around so our farm members don't have to brave barbed wire and a hike to see cattle unless they want to. We'll be breeding them in the spring so the whole cycle will take place right here.
The steers are starting to put on that bloom at finishing time, Knee deep in irrigated pasture. Nothing is prettier that a Grass Finished steer. I still giggle when people say that you can't get good finish on grass, Have you seen those butter balls?
Grace got one heck of a test of her skills this week! One of the flocks is back down from the Northern range and we had to separate the bred ewes from the yearlings in preparation for fall lambing. Grace got Lots of shedding practice! Tweed is still THE MAN but getting up in years and not as quick as he sometimes needs to be anymore. Working them as a brace gives the young dog confidence and the old man doesn't have to work quite so hard. The pups are coming on too! I think I have 3 sheep dogs for sure! The other two are definitely Cow dogs! They just think Cattle are a lot more interesting. (Okay, Cricket and Monk are land sharks!) Lambing season will be under way before we know it so the Jugs are being set up and all the necessary equipment cleaned and ready to go. We'll be in Idyllwild this weekend giving a demo so come on up and say hello! Until next time.
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