The two guys at the base of my skull where the neck meets up on either side have been swollen. I have been eating normal food at restaurants with my boss. I think it's the cooking oil they used. Not sure though, I got the same thing, rather painful (not painful or only very slightly this year) last spring as well. Could it be MSG? Could it be spring herbicide spraying? Or could it be pollen allergies (which I doubt because I have no other symptoms). It seems to flair up when my boss comes up after we go out to eat.

Curious. Kind of makes me worry. Thoughts?

Is the lamb 100% grass fed? I forgot to ask that. My lamb will be and this breed is the best for grass fed so will have plenty of vim and vinegar.

Very unlikely that it was a different species. Pretty much have to go to another country to get that though you might get lucky. However there is the whole a1, a2 thing and also different breeds have larger or smaller fat globules. I think the most likely thing is that you have gotten used to drinking raw milk, you have repaired your gut and your gut flora and you can now handle cows milk. I had been drinking raw goats milk for 2 years before I ever even tried raw cows milk and when I got into Jersey milk, I prefer the Jersey milk to goats milk, but it could be that I wouldn't have handled it well without the goats milk first. Common knowledge around that goats milk is the food of choice for people with upset digestive systems.

http://centralmich.craigslist.org/grd/3795599207.html

I want to get all of those lambs and perhaps some of the older ewes.

If you want in, for 300 you can get a full lamb, 150 a half lamb. If you get the full lamb you can even have the pelt which is a steal. I believe they will end up with 40-50 pound carcasses in the fall, though I need to do more research, but I think we are talking 35-40 pounds of meat, perhaps 50. I might have to charge a bit more if it's 50.

Icelandic sheep are awesome. They were brought to iceland 1000 years ago by Vikings. They are not related to any modern sheep breeds. They are the most primitive commercial sheep breed, the best for grass fed (no grain in iceland, icelandic sheep have larger rumens). They have the best flavored meat of any breed, perhaps of any commonly eaten species of animal, they really are up on top. They are triple purpose, have two kinds of wool, very valuable pelts and wool that is great for felting, milk and meat. They don't require the inhumane practice of tail docking which most breeds supposedly require. Beautiful animals.



If you are interested let me know!

Forested of course! The county is 80% forested and I'm pretty sure there is 2 miles at least to the closest corn field. The land is 2250 an acre, there are some worthwhile improvements to make it worth that.

Hay, minerals, kelp, vitamins and salt. However I can be a "neglectful" farmer and make my cows eat through snow quite a ways into winter. Also I have recently found out about a way to preserve forages to maintain omega three levels and near fresh forage quality and am hoping to get into that ASAP, though probably not this year. However my herd is seasonal so they won't be making milk then anyways.

Just posted this add on Rodale and Permies

Looking for partner or partners to start cattle company/ecovillage pirate farmer community.

Hey! Tired of dreaming of a tomorrow that may never come? I was. I went out into the wilderness in a cabin in southeast Indiana and bought goats, 5 years ago. I have moved from place to place since then, picked up some jersey cows, hopped around a bit more and I finally found a great place! I have a backer, 100 acres for at least the next 3 years, with the opportunity to buy, land that has never been farmed or had chemicals applied, a good foot of black sandy topsoil goes over most of the property. We got some of the best water in the country from a 150 foot well, a big bulldozer, 10 cows, 30 goats, acres of fields and woods and wetlands who knows what's next!
I am as about as radical as radical can be without being criminally insane! Organically and nutritionally radical! I have been organic farming 7 years and have studied the works of Sir Arthur Howard, Charles Walters, Masanobu Fukuoka, Bill Mollison, Sepp Holzer, the Nordells, Joel Salatin, Pat Colby and more. Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and We Want To Live by Aajonus Vonderplanitz are my favorite non-farming books. I was pretty into End Game by Derrick Jensen but honestly couldn't make myself read it.
What I am looking for is people to join forces to start an organic farming community of sorts. Right now I'm in Northern Michigan, but it might not be forever, however, I would like to buy this property as well as likely others in other places or of course lease other properties. There would be obvious advantages to having land closer to urban centers but also different regions have vast advantages in different crops and farming techniques. Wouldn't it be great to travel and visit and be at home wherever you go?
I want to push the boundaries and looking for others with the same agenda. I have seen with dismay the ecological food movement being taken over by "fake it til you make it types" but also people with the best of intentions, who really don't know much about organic farming. Sub par produce that is often more expensive and labor intensive to produce is passing the grade. I think the competition is weak. Growing a superior product than 98% of what's out there comes natural to those who delve into this movement with true passion, openness and honesty.
Life is too short to be spent stooped over pulling weeds by hand in barren sun scorched fields. I don't care to hear about all the cattle farmer's "cow problems". I'm not going to force feed my animals crap that kills earthworms, but sadly most of the local foods movement farmers I talk to are not above this. I'm not trying to insult anyone, I know everybody is trying their best. But I want to raise the bar.
I am looking for people interested in dynamic healing, of our own bodies and of our surroundings. We must leave the land we use in better shape for the next generation. We must sacrifice so that others will not suffer the hardship we grew up in. Are you with me? In the words of uncle Joel, "don't wait, do it NOW". For those who want clean wholesome food NOW, who want a healthier ecosystem NOW, who want to live in a better community NOW, let's start it NOW! I'm not looking for nor yet prepared to accept interns. I am looking for experienced or committed individuals who want to start their farming careers NOW, who want to make money for the good of the planet. Money is not the source of all evil, greed is. Let us be paradigm changing entrepreneurs who are remembered for creating a bright future for the children of tomorrow.
Requirements for applicants... youthful enthusiasm! It would help if you have done farm work, have a good work ethic, have skills in some of these categories... veterinary, mechanical, engineering, carpentry, gardening, stockmanship, nutrition, wildcraft, traditional skills, hunting/fishing or even biology. But mostly youthful enthusiasm. Wouldn't hurt if your a rock and roller at heart like me, but remember, we will be the neo hippies, we don't want to get f'ed up, we want to get un-f'ed up! HEALING!
If that wasn't too confusing or if it was interesting to you, go ahead and give me a ring! 9 eight 9-2 five 5-3325

Sincerely thank you for your consideration, peace and love,


Emile.

Not really. In the United States, the average gallon of milk is of such low quality and is produced in such unsanitary conditions that to drink it without pasteurization creates a high risk of the consumer getting sick. Raw milk, on a large scale, needs to be illegal and most milk producers know this.

There are a few milk producers in the US who aren't satisfied with delivering low quality milk produced in unsanitary conditions, and these very few producers who could safely sell their milk unpasteurized are trying to find ways to do that. The challenge from a regulatory standpoint is to figure out how to create opportunities for safe raw milk to be sold by respectable producers while preventing unsafe raw milk from being sold by unscrupulous producers who want to cash in on the higher price per gallon that raw milk typically fetches.

I'm in no position to judge whether Vernon Hershberger was or was not offering high quality milk. He might have been, or he might not have been. Either way he attempted to skirt the law and got caught, and now he gets to face the consequences.

The only reasons for this is because of government regulations which support the production of dangerous dairy products. If the government would get out of agriculture then the food factories would collapse literally in less than a year.

Yes, "there is more at stake here than just a farmer and his few customers -- "

IMO, Herschberger is a small fish that got caught in a net intended for the big fish. Th US is a very large country, and most food transactions do not occur between "just a farmer and his few customers..." With a rural population of under 18%, "farmers and consumers [do not get to] to engage in peaceful, private, mutually consenting agreements for food, without additional oversight."

What the oversight means to me, in California's third largest city, is that some farmer cannot sell diseased product to the buyer at a grocery chain at a terrific price [wink, wink] and pass the savings on to me, lure me into their store, sicken me and my family. I like laws that protect me by creating transparency and oversight.

Breaking the law, or blatantly trying to sneak around it, weakens the natural farmer's position. By ignoring the law, he is declaring that he is putting his self-interest above the rest of the country. He is rubbing salt in the wound by claiming that he did it for the benefit of his customers.

Changing a law by legal means is a lengthy process, but it is possible. As far as I am concerned, farmers like Herschberger take one step backwards for all of us when they give the wholesome food movement a bad name.

You are so wrong. In this country we have the right of private contract. Period. That is the law in most states, but corporate tyrants try to overrule this law. This is supposed to be the land of the free, we are supposed to be able to put whatever we want into our own bodies.

Lower Northern Michigan in Montmorency County.

I am totally down with permaculture, just haven't had the time or my own place to experiment much with it. The most productive "farm" i have ever been to was a woods in southern Indiana. It was all maples, black walnuts, nettles, ground nuts and mushrooms everywhere. Totally a sea of nettles. Perfect natural food forest.

I'm glad things are going well. Keep us posted.

I thought this was we'uns keeping you'uns posted.

Anti livestock environmentalists, we'll chop you down like an old dead tree.

Gene's aren't all  that they have been cracked up to be. Cromosomes and environmental influences are a bigger part of the picture. You have to wonder how they were raised and even how their parents were raised and how their parents parents were raised.