Christmas Hams! Feral Hog Bacon and Sausage.

Boy Howdy do we have some treats for you this year! After a VERY successful Texas Feral Hog hunt we have Wild Hams and bacon available in limited Supply, as well as a variety of Wild Sausages. I kept back a few tenderloins for special friends but everything else got ground, cured, or smoked. In some cases all of the above! Ian will have the sausage list ready in a few days and yes Fabian there will be Lanjaiger! Boerwaars are drying and lots of other porky goodness! We also have plenty of Duroc and Berkshire hogs available for your pleasure. And let's not forget the dry cured hams! In fact with everyone wanting bacon, Chops, ribs, roasts, steaks and cushion are in abundance. Beef shares are available for early January and we have plenty under inspection for those of you looking for just a roast or a few steaks, The ground beef sale is still on through the New Year and we have Gift certificates available for farm members and inspected products both. Our partial move is under way and we should be working the Hill Ranch by late January, Give us a call and plan a visit! Lambs and Goat Kids have arrived at the Home Place, Calves are on on Pasture and our PBS spot will air in February or March, Giving you a first hand look at what we do, how we do it, and why. 
Anyone wanting Hides for the next year needs to reserve one now, and the Muley(polled Cattle) skulls are spoken for through May.  I took Jane's advice and got Ol' Marcel's head mounted, he was such a beautiful example of the Aberdeen Angus that I felt he needed to "Hang Around" for folks to see. He will go in the office at Hill Ranch right next to Cal Poly Special. Remind me to tell you his story some day. We will only have 4 bison to go this spring so reserve early or you may miss out! Beefalo will be ready to process then as well.
December lambs are nearly sold out and the next crop won't be ready until late spring.
Ken is going to take over the poultry operation and we will have a larger variety of birds next year.(Lord knows that I wasn't going to do it! You all know how I feel about birds!)
I've been asked to do a post on production and transparency so stay tuned, My opinions tend to rub some folks the wrong way but hey, I gotta be me! Until then, take care and may the Lord keep you well.

Occupy What?

I think that the Occupy movement has lost its message and devolved into nothing more than an excuse to do nothing and demand everything. You want to impress me? Do something besides sit on your backsides whining. Plant some veggies in a garden or window box to help lower your food bills, Get involved in a community garden project to offset hunger in your neighborhood. Get together with friends, form a buying pool and get your meats from a local rancher or if you live in the city find one that delivers. You can raise a couple of hens in an apartment, yes I said an Apartment. If they allow birds you can have hens!  If you really want to impress the masses BE the Change that you want to see. Stop whining and get busy! No one owes you a living.

Holiday Goodies!

Whew! It's getting busy around here! Steers to the processor, Turkeys to be picked up, Hogs to be harvested, add to that fall lambing and a partial move and I think I need to be 3 people! We've made a few changes in our schedule so orders get out more quickly and thanks to Dr. Bacon a more streamlined ordering process is being designed.
Turkey and Beef share pick up is next Saturday unless prior arrangements are made. I would also like to ask that when you stop by the pastures please do not feed the animals, Most of the mother cows are friendly but there are a couple of old bossies out there that will HURT YOU if you try to get too close to their calves.
Sean is here visiting and has taken on the oversight of the sheep flocks while he is here. (Good Job for a Scottish Hill Shepherd on vacation!) I am having a great time relearning my all too rusty Gaelic! He takes the young dogs with him in groups of 3 so that by the time he heads back over the pond I will definitely know for sure if my instincts are correct on who to keep for working. He agrees with my choices on replacement Rams so far (He refers to them as Tups as they are all young Rams) and likes the breeding program that we have in place. YAY ME! ( I even got a compliment out of him on the quality of the lambs, and a compliment from a Scot is Hard to come by!) Remember to get your orders in for December Lambs, Commercial Crosses and Dorpers this round.
All of the bred cows have been ultrasounded and we have a 90 percent conception rate! Whoo HOO! 2 sets of twins were detected so we know to keep a closer eye on those ladies as calving time approaches. (yes I am praying for no Freemartens this next year) The remaining girls will go in with the bull next week to see if we can get them covered, any that don't take for the second year will rotate out of the breeding herds. All in all it has been a fairly good year with only a few OMG Call the Vet nights. The Truck problems fouled us up for a bit but we are back on track and grateful for your understanding and support. I thank God every day for the life that I am able to lead, the amazing people that I meet along the way, and the good friends that have come into my life. Thank you for being part of our farming and ranching family and have a wonderful Holiday Season. (Oh, Please tell Santa that I would LOVE a Camera for Christmas so I can add pictures to my blog posts! (The one on my cell phone is less than great)I promise that I will act surprised!) Until next time...
Dia, cairde maithe, beostoic sla'intiu'il, agus madra maith, coinni'onn du'inn cad iad. (God, good friends, healthy livestock, and a good dog, are what keep us)

Expansion under way!

I apologize for being lax in my blogging lately but we are expanding our operation and have been busy getting ready for the changes!
Our home place will still be here for members and friends to visit but we are moving back on to the Hill ranch as well. More room for the critters, bigger home pastures, and a complete renovation have given us a unique opportunity to focus on hands on experiences for members and friends. Those of you that remember Christmas Parties in the barn and long nights in the birthing stalls will be glad to know that we are planning to pick up the pace there and bring in the Small herd of Belties, the breeding flocks of Registered Dorper, karakul, and Khatadin Sheep, as well as a few surprises! The horses will go up to The Hill as well. Our Commercial crosses will stay on the leases but the move will give folks a better perspective of life on a working ranch, as well as a place for our members to stay when they come visit.
The Home place will still be home to the Grandma sheep, hogs, and veggie gardens.
Winter lambs will be ready to go in mid December so order early! 4 beeves went in on Monday and shares are going fast. Turkey's are almost sold out and there are only 2 pork shares available for next month. Thank you all so much for your loyalty and continued support! We wouldn't be here without you!

Recipes! and where to find the best ones!

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!

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

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.