tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32591699185277715342024-02-24T23:29:50.306-08:00White Thunder OrganicsCertified Organic Humane Grassfed Beef & Certified Organic Free-Range PorkTrista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-12162166756042708832012-01-07T09:55:00.000-08:002012-01-07T09:59:43.672-08:00BEEFSD Group Tours Conservation Ranch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjXyLqZIW1iHfgsVd_GaUrXoen4hf-mi9yokoBDav0tYbTUACPxP7PqlRTngXdkzu-wFingZlLIf7SDrDMBDoR7flnqDKy8ItgeNNTNyXOzm7jQSpey-7-DKI-wouO1c2AhhZeHASVOkqh/s1600/beefsd2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjXyLqZIW1iHfgsVd_GaUrXoen4hf-mi9yokoBDav0tYbTUACPxP7PqlRTngXdkzu-wFingZlLIf7SDrDMBDoR7flnqDKy8ItgeNNTNyXOzm7jQSpey-7-DKI-wouO1c2AhhZeHASVOkqh/s400/beefsd2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
WRITEN BY: LEALAND SCHOON, DISTRICT CONSERVATIONIST, WHITE RIVER<br />
Participants of the BEEFSD class arrived in Northeastern Mellette County to tour an organic/grassfed beef ranch. BEEFSD was developed to assist beginning farmers and ranchers establish successful production and management strategies for the beef industry.<br />
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There are five components to the BEEFSD program: 1. Instructional Workshops; 2. Post-Weaning Calf Performance Evaluation; 3. Mentoring; 4. Web-Based Interaction; 5. Travel Studies.<br />
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Touring White Thunder Organics ranch met the “Mentoring” objective, while learning more about alternative means of marketing and raising livestock. The NRCS was asked to participate with the tour to showcase the close partnership between the producer and the field office. The Harmons have worked extensively with the NRCS staff and partners to implement and enhance conservation on their ranch. Discussed were conservation practice opportunities through NRCS Conservation Technical Assistance and Farm Bill Programs.<br />
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Since 2004, rangeland management on the White Thunder Organics Ranch has moved from a one large pasture system, to a seven-pasture rotation, and recently to a 12-pasture grazing rotation, increasing soil health and forage production in excess of 65 percent from when they started and 40 percent over the historic climax community documented within the USDA technical guides.<br />
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The SD Cooperative Extension Service in partnership with the SD Farm Bureau received a $748,892 grant to assist beginning range-based beef cow-calf ranchers. The investment from the USDA and Extension will equate to a scholarship of about $30,000 for each beginning rancher.<br />
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded the grant, and the funding will help individuals and families new to ranching to become economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable beef producers.<br />
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The USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, or BFRDP, is an education, training, technical assistance, and outreach program designed to help U.S. farmers and ranchers. The program was established through the 2008 Farm Bill.<br />
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Ref: http://start2farm.gov/programs/beefsd-beginning-entrepreneurs-expanding-future-south-dakota<br />
Back toTrista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-56623017068115328602011-11-22T13:19:00.000-08:002011-11-22T18:51:12.962-08:00Quotes to Farm by.<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's something about getting up at 5 a.m., feeding the stock and chickens, and milking a couple of cows before breakfast that gives you a lifelong respect for the price of butter and eggs."<br />
~Bill Vaughan </span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br />
"There's nothing like sitting back and talking to your cows."<br />
~Russell Crowe<br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Never kick a cow chip on a hot day."<br />
~Proverb </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
"Opie, you haven't finished your milk. We can't put it back in the cow, you know."<br />
~From </span></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Andy Griffith Show</span> </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">"As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists."<br />
~Joan Gussow</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> "All the really good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow."<br />
~Grant Wood</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> "Pigs have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated. Even more so than dogs and certainly [more so than] three-year-olds. They have the ability to express friendships, use vocalizations and body language, and are particularly fond of playing games with one another."<br />
~Dr. Donald, Cambridge University professor and former scientific advisor to the Council of Europe </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
"I am a member of an endangered species. I am an American Farmer. We farmers represent less than one percent of this nation’s population, yet our numbers continue to dwindle each year as agri-business giants like Monsanto, Cargill, and ADM devour us. I don’t understand why banks are too big to fail, but nothing is done to stem the alarming loss of healthy small farms, almost always family enterprises. Banks can fail; agriculture cannot. We do not eat or drink money."<br />
~Eric Herm (Auther of Son of A Farmer, Child of the Earth)</span> <br />
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"<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Don't you find it odd that people will put more work into choosing their mechanic or house contractor than they will into choosing the </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">person who grows their food?" <br />
~Joel Salatin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
"This is the sort of farm machinery I like: never needs its oil changed, appreciates ov</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">er time, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and when you're done with it you eat it." <br />
~Joel Salatin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
"Most of the time pests and disease are just nature's way of telling the farmer he's doing </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">something wrong." <br />
<strong>~</strong>Joel Salatin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <br />
“All of these farms all over this county used to supply Staunton with home-cured bacon and ham. That </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">was the backbone of the rural economy 50 years ago, and nobody got sick.” <br />
~Joel Salatin<br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
"I'm just the orchestra conductor, making sure everybody's in the right place at the right </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">time." <br />
~Joel Salatin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <br />
“If you want government food, go to the supermarket and buy government food. But for those who want to have a relationship with their food, and the accountability that inherently comes with voluntarily and informatively opting out of the </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">supermarket to go ask around, smell around, sniff around, look around and opt out of the government food system, they ought to have that right.” <br />
~Joel Salatin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
"You, as a food buyer, have the distinct privilege of proactively participating in shaping the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">world your children will inherit." <br />
~Joel Salatin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br />
"A farm includes the passion of the farmer's heart, the interest of the farm's customers, the biological activity in the soil, the pleasantness of the air about the farm -- it's everything touching, emanating from, and supplying that piece of landscape. A farm is virtually a living organism. The tragedy of our time is that cultural philosophies and market realities are squeezing life's vitality out of </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">most farms. And that is why the average farmer is now 60 years old. Serfdom just doesn't attract the best and brightest."<br />
~</span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> Joel Salatin<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
"How do you make a small fortune with horses? You start with a large fortune!"<br />
~Uncle Jeff Claypool</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wtGzc9qhiAWNFlIwX7s6uGsi8aAl5rqRuLGpz9cefzB9C1-xr7PPX6boDcGykOTHVNNkTYhufCveKDtFnoL8dpDs9YYyrfz6MZeGLpevQelb18KVOInDwaAQjr0U7Btck5HFOhK4xJpQ/s1600/theyarehappybecausetheyeatlard.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wtGzc9qhiAWNFlIwX7s6uGsi8aAl5rqRuLGpz9cefzB9C1-xr7PPX6boDcGykOTHVNNkTYhufCveKDtFnoL8dpDs9YYyrfz6MZeGLpevQelb18KVOInDwaAQjr0U7Btck5HFOhK4xJpQ/s320/theyarehappybecausetheyeatlard.bmp" width="179" /></a></div>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-58123417955953900992011-11-22T09:02:00.000-08:002011-11-22T09:20:45.680-08:00Catch the buzz<div style="text-align: left;"><u><strong>Here's the buzz about White Thunder Organics:</strong></u><br />
"The owners of White Thunder Organics respect and appreciate their animals. They sell extremely high quality, healthy meat. And it tastes amazing! It was the best beef and pork I have ever tasted. For the highest quality organic grass-fed Angus beef and organic Berkshire pork, check out White Thunder Organics!"<br />
~Organic Lifestyle Magazine.com<br />
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"I just ate the most delicious steak I have ever eaten! Delicious beef and fantastic people to work with. You can't go wrong in ordering from White Thunder Organics - they have an outstanding product and I will certainly order from them again...soon, I hope. I should have taken a picture of the steak so everyone could see the quality."<br />
~Collinsgifted (Etsy Customer)<br />
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"Wonderful to deal with! I bought this as a gift for my sister/bro-in-law...they've already eaten some and say that it is absolutely delicious!"<br />
~ Katie and Marsha "EdensWake" (Etsy Customer)<br />
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<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">"Every new product we try from you, we LOVE! Today we tried the German Sausage Link for breakfast. It was so good that I'm still in ecstasy. In fact, I wish I had another one thawed so I could fry it up and eat some more right now! Thank you for the responsible, sensible and loving way in which you raise your animals. It truly reflects in the product you sell."<br />
~Hannah Elizabeth <br />
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"White Thunder Organics! Organic, healthy, delicious!"<br />
~Joshua Lee Penrod<br />
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"<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">Thank you awesome people creating beautiful happy food for all of us :-)"<br />
~<span style="color: black;">Centauria Web Development <br />
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<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">"If you're into Organics, please check out White Thunder Organics, I've personally tried their stuff and it was amazing! A close personal friend of mine has actually visited their farm and can testify to how honestly it is run! Organic through and through! :-)"<br />
~ Jewels of Eden Company<br />
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<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">"I was thrilled when I received my order from White Thunder Organics! For our first culinary treat, I made plain hamburgers so we could really taste the meat - OMGosh, it was the best hamburger we've ever eaten! I can't wait until tomorrow night so we try something else! The quality and taste far out weigh the cost. I'm already planning my next order!"<br />
~Hannah Elizabeth<br />
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</span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"> "<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">We loved the beef that at we got from you! Thanks for all that you do!"</span>~Laura Davis Prunty<br />
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</span>"<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">Dont panic it's Organic!"<br />
~ Jared Reynolds<br />
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"Anne gave us some of your pork chops to try and OMG, these are the best tender, juicy, pork chops we have ever eaten! She just gave us your contact information and I will be calling in a few hrs. to place our order!"<br />
~Donna Douglas <br />
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<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">"The quality of this beef is outstanding! I could have cut the steak with a butter knife, and the flavor was excellent! They have a quality product and I look forward to my next order!"<br />
~Bev Collins<br />
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</span></span>"<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">Thank you for having integrity and love for the animals and land. We need more farmers like you!"<br />
~Haruka Oatis<br />
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<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">"I was so happy when I received my product from White Thunder Organics. It is worth the cost for the value that you will receive. I would have to say that it is the best meat that I have eaten. Can't wait for my next order."<br />
~Tim Henderson </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08C6n0yLaBCE4QwIW9oxHzIDMVREBleJsXZ6EsgOHdqMU-nkPJenrd56YP9vPv5nzZqD_-KxmUOdAenNC3cVYrOhvPvTrsHnvji-64WMYVcfSRoF93ZoeI8-GoYCCEXHTEm_6jg4L6bVL/s1600/timsorder.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08C6n0yLaBCE4QwIW9oxHzIDMVREBleJsXZ6EsgOHdqMU-nkPJenrd56YP9vPv5nzZqD_-KxmUOdAenNC3cVYrOhvPvTrsHnvji-64WMYVcfSRoF93ZoeI8-GoYCCEXHTEm_6jg4L6bVL/s1600/timsorder.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Picture of Tim Henderson's Freezer fully stocked with White Thunder Organics Beef and Pork Products.</span>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-45219702423204739052011-11-14T10:52:00.000-08:002011-11-14T11:00:47.741-08:00Excited for Koi's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxwSgFUWMRQtGLrnnZibTQcNKyv2H-uHslgiWdR-myCWdjzW3CKCn4CNur-RAXHB1juIX2PZc9JyPzZINVioQRejJStgaLrL8fAJnm7qZPgo70tgDER5pz8QGg5nuuCf4aOJAWjRCA1YIY/s1600/koi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxwSgFUWMRQtGLrnnZibTQcNKyv2H-uHslgiWdR-myCWdjzW3CKCn4CNur-RAXHB1juIX2PZc9JyPzZINVioQRejJStgaLrL8fAJnm7qZPgo70tgDER5pz8QGg5nuuCf4aOJAWjRCA1YIY/s400/koi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="color: black;">What is more fun to watch than a pond full of colorful Koi's? <br />
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Many times I have been mesmerized by these almost mythical animals as they seem to have the personality of a puppy combined with such a wide array of color patterns that I would dare to say no two are the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So naturally when we realized we had finally accomplished our goal of re-habilitating one of our stock dams and could not colonize it with any fish of our choice, I fantasized with the idea of having my own Koi pond. So, being logical I decided to see if Koi could actually be a profitable endeavor for me to go into.<br />
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After researching the needs of a Koi I was ecstatic to see that our pond would be an ideal home to breed Koi’s in and we have a second pond that will be wonderful for growing the Koi in as an adult Koi will actually secrete anti-growth hormones to try and prevent other Koi’s from attaining the size s/he has already. And even more exciting is how both these ponds will be suitable for year round homes for the Koi’s! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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So here I am I have released the only 2 I could get my hands on ,Hippy and Humus, with a whole summer of watching for them and taking note of those whom supply Koi and those whom purchase and how the supply in SD does not nearly meet the demand.<br />
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Excited I am for spring when I will be releasing enough Koi’s to start my own little endeavor!!<br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Above is an image of the worlds largest Koi who at 4' weighs in at 90#!Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-3591798958992085372011-11-14T09:51:00.000-08:002011-11-14T10:21:24.974-08:00AND THE WINNER IS RAMBOUILLETS!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQQQG1nTRqqs_pxKecqoi8HKTMbrmWJffho2EAkxcyv2ew33o06_dJDapPLu9SDFXVAg1E7RnFEjyZSFhYAIb1hQCxNSKl54DQwZ6rPKDxQwdQexDGRfJ9o6ltNWDuyF2c6GeB1-j0mg-/s1600/20111113_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQQQG1nTRqqs_pxKecqoi8HKTMbrmWJffho2EAkxcyv2ew33o06_dJDapPLu9SDFXVAg1E7RnFEjyZSFhYAIb1hQCxNSKl54DQwZ6rPKDxQwdQexDGRfJ9o6ltNWDuyF2c6GeB1-j0mg-/s400/20111113_2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">After spending much time searching the web, making phone calls and emailing organizations I came to the unfair realization that the breeds of sheep I desire in the quantities we require to make the sheep operation self-sustaining, just was not possible. In all the breeds I desired a herd of 30 was considered a good sized herd and I was disappointed to find that our ranch would be forced to follow the norm and bring in the stereotypical Rambouillet sheep breed.<br />
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</span>Now there are different ways to view this over population of Rambouillet’s on sheep farms across the US, you can view it the way my spouse does with the opinion that if most large scale sheep farms are Rambouillet genetics it must be the best genetics for the job. But, the way I view this is with my knowledge of the cattle industry, just because most beef genetics you find are Angus it does not always mean Angus is the best cow for the job or even that another breed couldn’t complete the feed to meat conversion faster, after all one must keep in mind other reasons <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>affect a producers final choice like the simple yet extremely clever marketing gimmicking<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that most consumer’s buy into, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“100% Angus Beef” and that most people will purchase what’s readily available without much searching for the genetics they desire. <br />
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At any rate we will see if these Rambouillet’s will make the cut here at White Thunder Organic,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>while in the mean time I am hoping to purchasing a small flock of 3 of the breeds I desired (Tunis, Scottish Blackface, and North Cheviots) to run with the flock and see who really performs the best. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYcI6eRvFLWxsUVm98yMMuj8K7erp7DRd0BKrENNYEO25VcSIrr_613pnHzP5fhyphenhyphenJZ7AZfE0IpsBekzjk5tZaooKBtlfxH4ZaGaj5wlz0K3r7RgFU6tlIF35mDq8MZlPb800DnDdA0UdK/s1600/20111114_6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYcI6eRvFLWxsUVm98yMMuj8K7erp7DRd0BKrENNYEO25VcSIrr_613pnHzP5fhyphenhyphenJZ7AZfE0IpsBekzjk5tZaooKBtlfxH4ZaGaj5wlz0K3r7RgFU6tlIF35mDq8MZlPb800DnDdA0UdK/s400/20111114_6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div></div><div>Here is what my favorite Breed Identification site had to say about the Rambouillet’s:</div><div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">The history of the Rambouillet sheep is a fascinating one that began more than two centuries ago. The Rambouillet breed originated with </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Spain</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Arial;">'s famed <span style="color: black;">merino </span>flocks, which were known from the earliest times as producers of the world's finest wool. The Spanish government was so protective of their merino flocks that any exportation was forbidden. <o:p></o:p></span></em></div><div style="text-align: left;"><em></em></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">This policy changed in 1786, however, when the King of Spain granted a request from the government of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">France</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Arial;"> and sent 359 carefully selected rams and ewes to help improve the native French stock. The sheep were sent to the Rambouillet farm near </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial;"> where, according to government records, they have been bred since 1801. <o:p></o:p></span></em></div><div style="text-align: left;"><em></em></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>Other merinio </em><em>sheep were introduced into </em></span><em><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Germany</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Arial;"> during the last quarter of the 18th century, and German breeders made extensive use of Rambouillet sires as the sheep's fame spread throughout </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Europe</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">. That is why many present day American Rambouillets can trace their ancestry back to either German von Homeyer flocks or the flocks of </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial;">Rambouillet</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial;">, </span><st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Arial;">France</span></st1:country-region></st1:place></em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>.<br />
<o:p></o:p></em></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><em>Mature Rambouillet rams weigh between 250 and 300 pounds (113-135 kg), ewes range from 150 to 200 pounds (68-90 kg). Mature ewes will have a fleece weigh of 8 to 18 pounds (3.6-8.1 kg) with a yield of 35 to 55 percent. The fleece staple length will vary from two to four inches (5-10 cm) and range in fiber diameter from 18.5 to 24.5 microns or 60 to 80 for the numerical count.</em></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjD7fHMP4Kxd0LD1eOo2MgOhHifcZmH8zSpx_SFfG0PIXsCyvJkftMHte70BWBl56C0Bk2hQCCdALPOsRrzCtZp8ZwGdvGfTVEV-6KwqNZs-opoojXFFiS_s-GRnkgLNn3d_RwUMIPfxa1/s1600/20111114_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjD7fHMP4Kxd0LD1eOo2MgOhHifcZmH8zSpx_SFfG0PIXsCyvJkftMHte70BWBl56C0Bk2hQCCdALPOsRrzCtZp8ZwGdvGfTVEV-6KwqNZs-opoojXFFiS_s-GRnkgLNn3d_RwUMIPfxa1/s400/20111114_3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Notice how the sheep are missing half their left ear? This was the prior sheep keepers way of identifying the sheep as his, <u>this is not something we here at White Thunder Organics promote or practice. </u> </span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTu4aEIuYJsamE2Hk6tFfKttR76jV2Xqic0OkntUQ3TaS_WrygeiPqnPdrNCzofV6vfflWtMf1Dr1mvuQSJRDIMCdAuTOhrOr4Jeyp8QFx-tweq1D6vwj9jPnW-cnInedDSdJ27pM0TC_/s1600/20111114_13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTu4aEIuYJsamE2Hk6tFfKttR76jV2Xqic0OkntUQ3TaS_WrygeiPqnPdrNCzofV6vfflWtMf1Dr1mvuQSJRDIMCdAuTOhrOr4Jeyp8QFx-tweq1D6vwj9jPnW-cnInedDSdJ27pM0TC_/s640/20111114_13.JPG" width="480" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Here is an image of the fenceline constructed around one of our alfalfa fields that we will be wintering the sheep in once they get settled into a flock.</div>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-86175976851068463742011-10-04T12:01:00.000-07:002011-10-14T11:24:15.562-07:00White Thunder Organics Meatloaf<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQEw25KWztlJ7G9f4C-5iP3VVvVVxxFkiPvzYOLnoK9OuSX5PbsMgfGwQ3NqiEl_DyhAnPtNNXGKwmLeake4nf8Jy-SVIbNmkl3FLYJ1vg2TLLZzoWgKbA2fmceMy7PrFtIHfIKun6MbRG/s1600/meatloaf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQEw25KWztlJ7G9f4C-5iP3VVvVVxxFkiPvzYOLnoK9OuSX5PbsMgfGwQ3NqiEl_DyhAnPtNNXGKwmLeake4nf8Jy-SVIbNmkl3FLYJ1vg2TLLZzoWgKbA2fmceMy7PrFtIHfIKun6MbRG/s320/meatloaf" width="320" /></a></div><em><br />
I find this meat loaf to not only be quick and easy but ohh so tastey!</em><br />
<br />
1# of White Thunder Organics Ground Beef<br />
1# of White Thunder Organics Ground Pork<br />
1 cup of Rolled Oats<br />
1 cup of Ketchup<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 Package of Simply Organic French Onion Seasoning <br />
Salt and Pepper<br />
Topping:<br />
1 cup of Ketchup<br />
1/4 cup Muscavado Sugar<br />
2 tps Liquid Smoke<br />
1 tps Spicy Prepared Mustard<br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 350.<br />
Mix, shape into loaf, bake until done.<br />
Coat with topping and bake a little longer.Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-70117767817672635102011-10-04T07:27:00.000-07:002011-10-04T07:33:59.651-07:00Fluffy Moist 100% Whole Wheat Biscuits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhafWKYStlZ4ZgSfM3OpyIXoK3Y-qyY0wh48ZmU6r7yHEfx1C0QAHX-n5ja_u0OezOsD_8VcV5eS9_O-xqT-jPq4apymNZxwOaO2rjKqC5doAmQ3u9HcLMNOvmSxL5pK6IW75YQvFo-LXnH/s1600/20111004_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhafWKYStlZ4ZgSfM3OpyIXoK3Y-qyY0wh48ZmU6r7yHEfx1C0QAHX-n5ja_u0OezOsD_8VcV5eS9_O-xqT-jPq4apymNZxwOaO2rjKqC5doAmQ3u9HcLMNOvmSxL5pK6IW75YQvFo-LXnH/s400/20111004_1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><em>It takes years of experimentation to perfect that art of fluffy when useing 100% whole wheat recipies, I found and tested this recipie out from Bob's Red Mill and have been more than pleased with the results. <a href="http://www.bobsredmill.com/">http://www.bobsredmill.com/</a><br />
.</em><br />
<em>.</em><br />
¼ Cup of Butter<br />
2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour<br />
1 Tbs Sugar<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">3 Tsp Baking Powder<br />
1 tsp Salt<br />
¾ Cup Milk<br />
<br />
Preheat Oven to 450<br />
<br />
Mix all ingredients and knead for a minute.<br />
<br />
Roll into ½’ thick and cut to size – I like to use large mouth mason jar rings.<br />
<br />
Place on cookie sheet with sides touching.<br />
<br />
Allow to sit for a couple minutes.<br />
<br />
Bake till done, approx 10-12 minutes.</span>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-65937184712490500942011-09-30T09:07:00.000-07:002011-09-30T09:08:38.218-07:00Keystone XL Hearing Draws A Crowd In Pierre<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAdSvCsEzUgiHqmkBmUA66zq6IvXTLHVZC_E69mpHwZ-AMsWxZkgz9uwvZmyiVpwLmleeo0Gv11t1R3lAQYL5SF8sv48NDPrPHJDvtz7mgcExuCmsOXDHIIdW8AQ_9J7B_0dXm99mvaNN/s1600/keystone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAdSvCsEzUgiHqmkBmUA66zq6IvXTLHVZC_E69mpHwZ-AMsWxZkgz9uwvZmyiVpwLmleeo0Gv11t1R3lAQYL5SF8sv48NDPrPHJDvtz7mgcExuCmsOXDHIIdW8AQ_9J7B_0dXm99mvaNN/s1600/keystone.jpg" /></a></div><strong><span class="date b"><span style="color: #535353;"><br />
By </span><span class="author"><span style="color: #535353;"> </span><a href="mailto:bdunsmoor@keloland.com"><span style="color: #ae1719;">Ben Dunsmoor</span></a></span><br />
<span style="color: #535353;"> Published: September 29, 2011, 9:55 PM</span></span></strong><br />
<div class="rightcol"><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?app_id=118586214840806&href=http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail6162.cfm?id=121501&send=false&layout=standard&width=250&show_faces=false&action=recommend&colorscheme=light&font&height=35" style="border: currentColor; height: 28px; overflow: hidden; width: 6px;"></iframe> <script type="text/javascript">
var addthis_pub="keloland";
</script> <script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/200/addthis_widget.js" type="text/javascript">
</script> </div><div class="story">PIERRE, SD - It's a $7 billion project that would cut through western South Dakota. <br />
<br />
Transcanada is trying to get a federal permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline that would bring oil from northern Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries. But before the U.S. State Department grants the permit, they are holding public hearings along the proposed route, including in South Dakota. <br />
<br />
Transcanada is already pumping oil underneath South Dakota soil from Canada to Texas. Thursday at the Ramkota Hotel in Pierre, dozens of people were piping up to give their opinions on Transcanada's second proposed project, the Keystone XL. <br />
<br />
"The proposed Keystone XL pipeline is a 1,700 mile long fuse to the largest carbon bomb in North America," Pat Spears with the International Council on Utility Policy said. <br />
<br />
"We feel this will be the safest pipeline in the world and it's needed," Harding County landowner Jim Doolittle said. <br />
<br />
More than 400 people, including union workers, landowners and environmentalists, showed up to tell officials with the U.S. State Department where they stand on the project. Supporters say the pipeline will provide much needed jobs and a friendly-source of oil. <br />
<br />
"I would rather import heavy-crude from Canada than buy one more barrel of oil from Hugo Chavez," pipeline supporter Larry Mann said. <br />
<br />
"Why wouldn't we want to enhance an already good relationship by agreeing to build this pipeline and bringing the tar sand oils to our refineries. Those oils are going to go somewhere; it only makes sense for that place to be the USA," Harding County landowner Scott Besler said. <br />
<br />
But opponents point to the existing Keystone pipeline that runs through South Dakota, saying it's already leaked more than a dozen times and they expect the Keystone XL to do the same thing. <br />
<br />
"Fourteen leaks on Keystone One in just over a year, a new gas pipeline in Wyoming explodes and you ask, 'Trust me?' I think not," Tripp County landowner John Harter said. <br />
<br />
<strong>"A rupture in the Keystone XL pipeline could cause a BP oil spill in America's heartland over the source of fresh drinking water for two million people," Mellette County rancher Trista Olsen said. <br />
</strong><br />
The pipeline leaking is a major concern of pipeline opponents here in South Dakota and beyond. <br />
<br />
In Nebraska, there are worries a leak would poison the Oglalla aquifer, which supplies water to most of the state. <br />
<br />
Here is the link to watch this News Report: <a href="http://www.keloland.com/videoarchive/index.cfm?VideoFile=110929transcanada">http://www.keloland.com/videoarchive/index.cfm?VideoFile=110929transcanada</a></div>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-74395803319247757762011-09-30T07:33:00.000-07:002011-09-30T09:26:24.036-07:00Keystone XL Public Hearing -Pierre SD 29SEP11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJMeUnf6dEY_4BGYmfjU2bFKqdhZqI47PJyMNq8urLCz4pBw3Xdw33NVPVbr_MyqphyphenhyphenmoY_IXXMSsRkzirv_CpGGwCd_O2Wh3wd2pmINGwWJd6WoxZ80j4IlqcZt4DrQ0hQ_cSK8apUFBL/s1600/20110930_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJMeUnf6dEY_4BGYmfjU2bFKqdhZqI47PJyMNq8urLCz4pBw3Xdw33NVPVbr_MyqphyphenhyphenmoY_IXXMSsRkzirv_CpGGwCd_O2Wh3wd2pmINGwWJd6WoxZ80j4IlqcZt4DrQ0hQ_cSK8apUFBL/s400/20110930_2.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
<br />
When I first arrived early at the Ramkota Hotel in Pierre SD for this important public hearing on the Keystone XL Pipeline I will admit, I was extremely intimidated. There was a HUGE line of middle aged men with a just few ladies and younger people sprinkled in all donning bright shirts sharing their approval of the pipelines construction. <br />
I did not recognize a single soul, wondering where all these people came from I took a look through the parking lot and noticed bus after bus lined up, these people where not from the area, not even from the state, they where trucked in. <br />
<br />
After waiting inline to register –standing alone, I noticed a couple men walk past with stickers of hope—stickers that said “Oil or Water?” and “Keystone XL” with a circle and slash through it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I forfeited my place in line to join them in relief of not being alone, and soon many more wonderful beings arrived many of which donning mellow blue shirts stating “No Tar sands Oil”-I was no longer alone, WE where no longer alone! <br />
<br />
Upon entering the Hotel doors I had my bag removed and searched, the men who where with me had to take their brief cases back to their cars because <em>“Only ladies purses are aloud to pass.”</em> I approached the speaker registration table in apprehension, wanting to believe that all these blue shirted guardians would make all the points needed so I would not have to speak in front of all these people! But, I decided to register, just </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">incase, after all I could always shrink down in my chair when my name was called. <br />
<br />
After hours of testimonials presented I came to the conclusion that many of the people there where vastly misinformed on what exactly the Keystone XL Pipeline was intending to do. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Speaker after Speaker stood up to state that they needed those jobs </span><st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">NOW</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">, and that they needed that CHEAP </span><st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">OIL</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span><st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">NOW</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">! Seemingly completely blind sighted to the facts that companies are companies and profits are always on the mind. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided I had no choice but to speak my mind.<br />
<br />
<strong>The following was my speech:</strong><br />
My name is Trista Olsen; I am here today not only as a Mellette county ranch and business owner but as a mother of 3.<br />
<br />
I have been sitting here today hearing a lot of assumptions but not many facts, so I would to take the time to present the facts to you today.<br />
<br />
Keystone XL will not decrease gas prices, but will actually INCREASE gas prices for Americans –Especially small farming families in the mid-west like mine, by draining Midwestern refineries of cheap Canadian crude into the export-oriented refineries in the <st1:place><st1:placetype>Gulf</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype>Coast</st1:placetype></st1:place> via the Keystone XL pipeline. <br />
<br />
TransCanada’s 2008 Permit Application states: <br />
<br />
<em> “Existing markets for Canadian heavy crude, principally PADD II [U.S. Midwest], are currently oversupplied, resulting in price discounting for Canadian heavy crude oil. Access to the USGC [U.S. Gulf Coast] via the Keystone XL Pipeline is expected to strengthen Canadian crude oil pricing in [the <st1:place>Midwest</st1:place>] by removing this oversupply. This is expected to increase the price of heavy crude to the equivalent cost of imported crude. The resulting increase in the price of heavy crude is estimated to provide an increase in annual revenue to the Canadian producing industry in 2013 of previous US $2 billion to a US $3.9 billion.”</em> <br />
<br />
Independent analysis of these figures found this would increase per gallon prices by 20/cents per gallon in the <st1:place>Midwest</st1:place>. According to another independent analysis of this statement U.S Midwest farmers, who spent $12.4 billion on fuel in 2009 could see expenses rise to $15 billion or higher in 2013 if the pipeline goes through. That would mean that at least $500 million of the added expenses in farm fuel would come direct from the Canadian Market Manipulation.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">TransCanada’s job projections are vastly inflated! In 2008, TransCanada’s Presidential Permit application for the Keystone XL to the State Departments indicated</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><em> “a PEAK workforce of approximately 3,500 to 4,000 construction personnel”</em> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">to build the pipeline for a 3 year construction span. The high job estimates tossing around here today come from a 2001 report COMMISSIONED by TransCanada that estimated 20,000 “PERSON-YEARS” of employment based on a non-public forecast model using undisclosed inputs PROVIDED by TransCanda. According to TransCanda’s OWN data, ONLY 11% of the construction jobs on the Keystone I pipeline in South Dakota were filled by South Dakotans- most of them for temporary, low-paying manual labor.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">Amalgamated Transit Union (<st1:stockticker>ATU</st1:stockticker>) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) BOTH OPPOSE the pipeline, their August 2011 statement: </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><em>“We need jobs, but not ones based on increasing our reliance on Tar Sands Oil. There is no shortage of water and sewage pipelines that need to be fixed or replaced, bridges and tunnels that are in need of emergency repair, transportation infrastructure that needs to be renewed and developed. Many jobs could also be created in energy conservation, upgrading the grid, maintaining and expanding public transportation.” </em> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A rupture in the Keystone Xl pipeline could cause a BP style oil spill in <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s heartland over the Ogallala aquifer, <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s largest fresh water source supplying drinking water to over 2 million People. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The U.S Pipeline Safety Administration has not yet conducted an in depth analysis of the safety of diluted bitumen (raw tar sands) pipelines, despite unique safety concerns posed by it’s more acidic and MORE CORROSIVE properties. TransCanada predicted that the Keystone I pipeline would see one spill in 7years. But IN <st1:stockticker>FACT</st1:stockticker> there has already been over 12 spills in <st1:stockticker>ONE</st1:stockticker> YEAR! The company was then ordered to dig up 10 sections of pipe after government-ordered te3sts indicated that defective steel had been used, but guess what, the KeystoneXL will be constructed using the SAME steel from the same Indian manufacturer, NOT AMERICAN STEEL COMPANIES. Keystone XL will cross through <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s agricultural heartland, the <st1:state><st1:place>Missouri</st1:place></st1:state> and Niobrara Rivers, the Ogallala aquifer, sage grouse habitat, walleye fisheries and many more vital, precious areas. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Contrary to popular belief the Keystone XL will NOT LESSEN U.S dependence on foreign oil, but will transport Canadian oil to American refineries for EXPORT to overseas markets according to TransCanada’s OWN presentation to their investors! </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Gulf</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Coast</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> refiners plan to refine the cheap Canadian crude supplied by the pipeline into diesel and other products for export to </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Europe</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> and </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Latin America</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">. Proceeds from these exports are in fact EARNED TAX-</span><st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">FREE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost All the crude oil refined from the pipeline’s heavy crude oil WILL NEVER REACH U.S DRIVER’S Tanks. <br />
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So now I ask you to think about this decision, as I ask:<br />
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Why not build their own refinery next to the Tar Sands instead of piping this corrosive, acidic, cancer causing oil all the way across </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">’s heartland to the gulf of Mexico? <br clear="all" style="mso-column-break-before: always; mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <br />
<strong>End of my speech.<br />
</strong><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">When I finished I was surprised to hear an uproar of applauses and hoots, but I had only one thing on my mind…get back to my chair and sink down into it so I could tame my now racing heart. On my way back to my chair I was shocked to have people already stopping me to shake my hand and commend me, but after all they where wearing those blue shirts. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After sitting down for a while I still could not tame my heart so I decided to go back to the truck and run my errands and see if getting away from this high energy area would help me to regain control over myself. Walking out I was stopped several times but with the hearing still in session I was able to get out fairly fast. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon returning to the hearing, I was even more amazed at the amount of pipeline supporters that stopped me to tell me that they greatly appreciated my speech and that it actually got them thinking and in some cases second guessing their stance on the issue! I was floored, honored and blushing all at once and happy that I faced my fear and stood up to defend what I believe in, for in all honestly I believe I actually made a difference this time! <br />
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<br />
</span>[ The following is a link to watch the news repost on this event, with a quick clip of my speech included: <a href="http://www.keloland.com/videoarchive/index.cfm?VideoFile=110929transcanada">http://www.keloland.com/videoarchive/index.cfm?VideoFile=110929transcanada</a> ]<br />
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Just watching this video, got my heart raceing again! Whew!</span></div>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-37201948234172743452011-09-21T10:28:00.000-07:002011-09-21T10:28:21.408-07:00Mellette County Rangeland vististed by Mitchell Tech students<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Wednesday, August 1, 2007<br />
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Myron Sonne, Agricultural Instructor at Mitchell Technical Institute, department of agricultural technology instructs an “Understanding South Dakota Grasses classes.<br />
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He requested the assistance from the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), District Conservationist, Leland Schoon to host the class and speak on the area of determining how much grass is present and how long cattle might be able to graze. <br />
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“It is always exciting to host colligate students interested in rangeland science;, notes Schoon. “</span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Mellette</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">County</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> has some of the best rangeland in the state, Then to sharpen peoples interest of good rangeland practices is rewarding.”<br />
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This year, Schoon asked Dominic Harmon and Trista Olsen at White Thunder Organics to host the location for the tour. White Thunder Organics have implemented a seven pasture rotational grazing system on a traditionally grazed one pasture system. <br />
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The students were shown how production and plant vigor have increased due to the improved grazing management and how the calculate carry capacity through clipping vegetation. <br />
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The Mitchell Tech Students stopped in White River for lunch before traveling west continuing their tour through privately owned ranches, the cottonwood research Station, Custer State Park and the National Grassland Visitors Center, in Wall. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> </span>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-73117546509287223282011-09-21T09:07:00.000-07:002011-09-21T09:16:45.857-07:00White Thunder Organics recives grazeing award<div style="text-align: right;">WEDNESDAY, October 3rd, 2007</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvP-meDSHDTt0aLZbK0IkcEl6nJ9Klj3n7C6W2nxSr6Ndn3aoZ4UxiWuSftWILBUNcUr47iLLxGE8x2gS2UXhR4xwPbZHWd9G_jPCy2U2AGeCGdv6ECeYMqRl0j2FIRoWmNhXy3zP0zhNn/s1600/plaque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvP-meDSHDTt0aLZbK0IkcEl6nJ9Klj3n7C6W2nxSr6Ndn3aoZ4UxiWuSftWILBUNcUr47iLLxGE8x2gS2UXhR4xwPbZHWd9G_jPCy2U2AGeCGdv6ECeYMqRl0j2FIRoWmNhXy3zP0zhNn/s320/plaque.jpg" width="246" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;">Written by: Lealand Schoon</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
White Thunder Organics, owned and operated by Dominic Harmon and Trista Olsen of rural northeast, </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Mellette</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">County</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">, was awarded the Area </span><st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">III</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">, South Dakota Section of Society for Range Management, Excellence in Range Management Award. The Mellette Country Conservation District sponsored their nomination in late Jul, 2007.<br />
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Their ranch management strategies, which have enabled them to survive the ongoing drought, while increasing grass production, has been credited to their intensive rotational grazing system. Conservation practices implemented since year 2004 have been drilling an artesian well, which has piped water throughout the ranch, providing water to stock water tanks in nine pasture paddocks. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twenty-eight acres of a native grass planting was completed with an additional eighty acres planned in the future. <br />
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The cropland has been established to productive alfalfa which is rebuilding organic matter and soil quality. Manure is composted within the corrals from the two month time period that their organic beef calves are weaned, prior to being direct marketed off the ranch. Wildlife, pest control and diversified ranch animal enterprises are part of their holistic approach. <br />
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However, it is the implementation of excellent grazing management practices, which has allowed them to maintain stocking rates, increase native rangeland production and restore native warm season grasses to what was once bare over utilized areas. <br />
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White Thunder Organics will be hosting a tour of their ranch sometime during the 2008 growing season. The white River Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) is proud to be working partners with White Thunder Organics. </span>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-73809538671984524862011-09-21T08:20:00.000-07:002011-09-21T08:47:10.737-07:00A visit to the Bad Nation Indian Colony<div style="text-align: right;">SOUTH DAKOTA, FRIDAY, AUG 18, 1939</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxriIH8Ekcuztr9AyEhVVaw2KmEg5-O11siuWBqi7BDZ3Ru15BIZzYleZyleczH7Up-xGSdipANX_GfCfRHESWDnwH3nHk5Exvj_n2bjRyqi66KIHsxCxI-Jg0IapsJ9YGVXz1Qj_UMOX/s1600/badnation.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxriIH8Ekcuztr9AyEhVVaw2KmEg5-O11siuWBqi7BDZ3Ru15BIZzYleZyleczH7Up-xGSdipANX_GfCfRHESWDnwH3nHk5Exvj_n2bjRyqi66KIHsxCxI-Jg0IapsJ9YGVXz1Qj_UMOX/s400/badnation.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Last Saturday morning we accepted an invitation extended us by Boss Farmer Lindbloom, and went out to visit the Bad Nation colony, located on Big White river, about 22 miles northeast of Wood. This is a comparatively new project, and is just getting under way this year, although a little work was done on the project last year. It is most ideally located on perhaps 200 acres of nice level river bottom land. A fine set of buildings has been erected for the accommodation of the colony and more are yet to be built. <br />
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A fine new school building has been erected there with all modern conveniences. The building is 30x80 feet in size, and in it are also quarters for the superintendent of the school, James D. Wallace and wife, who have just recently moved in. The building is modern in every sense of the word and has electric light, and when fully completed will have running water, as both hot tub and shower baths have been installed. The floors are of hardwood, and it is certainly a modern plant, and the living quarters are equipped with a bottled gas range. There is also a two –car garage; then there are these nice cottages on the location for the accommodation of Indian families. The material is on the ground for the erection of a canning plant, and this building will soon be taking form. <br />
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The colony has about 20 acres under cultivation this year with a good part of the garden under irrigation, Water is supplied by a centrifugal pump that throws a six-inch stream from the river at the rate of about 1205 gallons per minute. When we were there Saturday we saw beets, rutabaga, turnips, potatoes, sweet corn, watermelons, cantaloupes, squashes, pumpkins and cucumbers, all looking mighty promising, not withstanding that they had a hard battle with grasshoppers<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and beetles – they are going to gather a good crop. Last Saturday they were busy canning beets and drying sweet corn. They dry sweet corn by the old fashioned sun-drying method, but good dried sweet corn does make mighty good eating in the winter time. They are also salting down barrels of cucumber pickles for winter use.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">This is one of the newer colonies that are being established all over this country by the Indian department for their charges, and we were much impressed with the ideal location of this colony for future development and beautification. <br />
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We could visualize a real show place there within a few years by proper handling, when all the available bottom land in the plot could be put under irrigation and intensive cultivation. With perhaps a fine field of alfalfa to provide feed for the milking cows, with eight or ten acres in orchard, and the balance of the land in garden truck to be harvested and processed right on the ground it would be a source of winter food supply for the red man that would certainly be a boon, and perhaps the red man, under proper tutelage, could yet point the way to his white brother how to build happy homes in this country and let the soil produce all of the luxuries that grace the table of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the most opulent citizens.<br />
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Mr. Lindbloom has about four such colonies under his supervision, and he informed us that they are making strides and should be a means of making the Indians more self-supporting and self-reliant in the future. We are going to make it a point to watch this development, which has the possibilities of making examples that might well be followed by the white man, not as a colony but through individual effort, with perhaps cooperative processing plants to take care of any surplus production.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> <em>When we purchased the land and moved down to South Dakota in 2004, not one of the building remained standing. There does remain some foundations scattered around the land. Image is not one that was included in the artice, I took a picture and photoshoped it to what the 1939 photo's looked like to give you an idea of the times.</em> </span>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-3232697287798357782011-09-20T13:55:00.000-07:002011-11-14T09:55:02.071-08:00Sheep, Sheep and MORE SHEEP!Dominic and I decided we want to add sheep to our ranch, Dominic and I both have absolutely no experience with sheep of any breed or any kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Picking the breed of cattle, hogs, and chickens was an easy no brainier for us, picking the breed of bees was a little harder but still do-able, SHEEP on the other hand are causing me to pull out all my wool..er I mean hair. <br />
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When we decided we wanted to get into running sheep along with our cattle I was thinking I would have maybe 5 different types of sheep to choose from (Yes, I knew that little about the cute little wooly things.) now I have come to the startling realization that there are more breeds of sheep than breeds of any other livestock species, did you know that there are more than 1,000 distinct different sheep breeds worldwide! <br />
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Not only do I have to make myself familiar with the different available breeds that would be suited to grass-finishing on our native prairie with extreme heat in the summer and extreme cold in the winter, but I also have to figure out what one is a true duel purpose animal that will fatten on the grass and still produce a good fur in the spring.<br />
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Wool that has been sheered but not processed in any way is called Grease Wool (just learned that yesterday) the breed, color, hair density, hair shape, and oil content all affect the value of the wool, so it’s not as easy as simply saying…I’ll take that meaty little fur-ball! <br />
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Here are the breeds I am TRYING to decide between, feel free to comment and give pointers- even if you don’t know anything about sheep…cause in all honesty…neither do we!<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlsqJvKp4gT7DSlwAUuaAlov8E0zHjA80D4RotNCvcBKlyfDpBQ_q47um-GCsqQScksk7Z9xv7N-CQH8RIXvxe4a2pot8zigxOeKz0daR2QmwBo7Ln1baHDoDUOu9_iBrkaVASzuEiR2i/s1600/northcountrycheviot-web-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlsqJvKp4gT7DSlwAUuaAlov8E0zHjA80D4RotNCvcBKlyfDpBQ_q47um-GCsqQScksk7Z9xv7N-CQH8RIXvxe4a2pot8zigxOeKz0daR2QmwBo7Ln1baHDoDUOu9_iBrkaVASzuEiR2i/s320/northcountrycheviot-web-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7l7uueGjMmPGXM9pT5AH2kwTOH2S63dnTO6zHYB2BH41Ok0EhST9IdckFG-ERrM36e1RtytaJVBIpb-vBU6CgcJyx0OnSUIx3Eoly8hYvhswNhcK_do7u5DUT-8hEuU_qc9FQIOnaQIO/s1600/northcountrycheviot-web-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7l7uueGjMmPGXM9pT5AH2kwTOH2S63dnTO6zHYB2BH41Ok0EhST9IdckFG-ERrM36e1RtytaJVBIpb-vBU6CgcJyx0OnSUIx3Eoly8hYvhswNhcK_do7u5DUT-8hEuU_qc9FQIOnaQIO/s200/northcountrycheviot-web-2.jpg" width="200" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><u><br />
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North Country Cheviot’s:<br />
</u></strong>This is hardy sheep that is said to thrive whether the conditions are adverse or ideal,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and are a "hill breed”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of necessity, hill sheep thrive untended by man, searching for browse on wild unimproved herbage. They usually lamb alone and the newborn lambs are able to survive by their near miraculous ability to get up, nurse and run just minutes after birth. They are intelligent, self-reliant, and resourceful and among the healthiest and most long lived breeds. Truly, they are the product of two hundred years of selection by survival of the fittest! <br />
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.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLw9u4J6GmBzWD_3qN-CRYPnWDxjoXde7K9YDwFqeTqWONVDjVL1uOM6UJmsnzFHO4TaFVGWE_4pDnBAA6NYnqdFeD4Ze0ZFXT6fMeyhrrN6xZQEoTRyffbqr4CTzRaGtzOfrn9RHS5opK/s1600/scottishblackface-web-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLw9u4J6GmBzWD_3qN-CRYPnWDxjoXde7K9YDwFqeTqWONVDjVL1uOM6UJmsnzFHO4TaFVGWE_4pDnBAA6NYnqdFeD4Ze0ZFXT6fMeyhrrN6xZQEoTRyffbqr4CTzRaGtzOfrn9RHS5opK/s1600/scottishblackface-web-1.jpg" /></a></div><strong><u>Scottish Blackface’s:<br />
<br />
</u></strong> These sheep are a hardy and have really old origins, showing up in Monastery records in the Twelfth Century being utilized for both food and clothing matterial for the monks.<br />
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> </v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype><span style="color: black;">Blackface ewes are excellent mothers and will defend their offspring against any perceived threat. They are good milkers and are able to yield a lamb crop and a wool clip even when on marginal pastures. </span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;">Scottish Blackface are excellent on brushy hillsides and can be useful for improving pastures. They are very adept at regaining condition after lambing or a hard winter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">There has never been a case of natural occurring Scrapie in these sheep, scrapie is an invariably fatal disease of sheep that is in South Dakota and a real problem (from what I read) in the US.<br />
</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2SDHtfepS-QCUZ7lRaYQPZHYTzciv25AWi3WIXSxstTAznC5ta2Ps4eqBk_MtG48YeHm0E-fpkVz6PlM9KlxsRUFfilAGrWwsnL8fXuEpxsi0MMqFEJh8XR2nrNDAIR0hFQesyKKiTKa4/s1600/whitedorper2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2SDHtfepS-QCUZ7lRaYQPZHYTzciv25AWi3WIXSxstTAznC5ta2Ps4eqBk_MtG48YeHm0E-fpkVz6PlM9KlxsRUFfilAGrWwsnL8fXuEpxsi0MMqFEJh8XR2nrNDAIR0hFQesyKKiTKa4/s1600/whitedorper2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><v:shape alt="" id="_x0000_s1028" o:allowoverlap="f" style="height: 210pt; left: 0px; margin-left: 185pt; margin-top: 0px; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: right; mso-position-vertical-relative: line; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 0; mso-wrap-distance-right: 0; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; position: absolute; text-align: left; width: 225pt; z-index: 3;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="whitedorper2" src="file:///C:\Users\TRISTA~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.jpg"> <w:wrap type="square"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape><strong><u>Dorper’s:<br />
</u></strong>Lamb grows rapidly and attains a high weaning this is associated with the inherent growth potential of the Dorper lamb and its ability to graze at an early age.Being of African decent the Dorper is hardy and can thrive under range conditions where other breeds can barely exist both hot and cold and the ewe can raise a lamb of reasonable quality under fairly severe conditions. As a strong and non-selective grazer the Dorper can advantageously be incorporated into a well planned range management system.<o:p></o:p></div><br />
The Dorper is an easy care breed which requires a minimum of labor. Its skin covering which is a mixture of hair and wool, will drop off if not shorn to keep it tidy. The Dorper has a thick skin which is highly prized and protects the sheep under harsh climatic conditions. The Dorper skin is the most sought after sheepskin in the world and is marketed under the name of <st1:place><st1:placetype>Cape</st1:placetype> <st1:placename>Glovers</st1:placename></st1:place>. The skin comprises a high percentage of the income (20%) of the total carcass value.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVRv9Le1ujeGmrNDy_8eOjVIYGWp5i0_-9zmOY4CkotKG73lygdwq9RmH74nZXemn3LiyJqLnbqzabmzUMOlYgcT4wJRj8631373aVYTOYB2_abk4pMqQ0KcZ79YO7FGgUQGcZ_PFsauFC/s1600/red.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVRv9Le1ujeGmrNDy_8eOjVIYGWp5i0_-9zmOY4CkotKG73lygdwq9RmH74nZXemn3LiyJqLnbqzabmzUMOlYgcT4wJRj8631373aVYTOYB2_abk4pMqQ0KcZ79YO7FGgUQGcZ_PFsauFC/s320/red.jpg" width="231" /></a> </div><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong><u>Tunis</u></strong></span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong><u>’s:</u></strong> <br />
<br />
</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ewes are heavy milkers—heavy enough that some are used in sheep dairies. Twins are more common than not. Tunis also are known for disease resistance and the ability to tolerate both warm and cold climates. The meat from the Tunis sheep is tender and flavorful without having a strong mutton taste. These sheep are a lovley red-brown color and are highly prized by their handlers. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <br />
So now you have it.... how do I decide? <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> </span>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-91654026175489890172011-09-19T12:59:00.000-07:002011-11-22T14:08:46.909-08:00I don't know anything about Bees- Except I like them!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDL1zAu9n9-4Vxb0nTPXJbNeelhwuL8JuXToCAdYC_auVwdGjhwGbpPoVUu0PF1m4Pi50bNqP7ig-XlQgTa1X0qTlUQfY-rbSJfK4eHL-tUzHiAa0Ys1oYm8V34sBBJMdGRwKpUCy4IYe/s1600/20110504_12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDL1zAu9n9-4Vxb0nTPXJbNeelhwuL8JuXToCAdYC_auVwdGjhwGbpPoVUu0PF1m4Pi50bNqP7ig-XlQgTa1X0qTlUQfY-rbSJfK4eHL-tUzHiAa0Ys1oYm8V34sBBJMdGRwKpUCy4IYe/s1600/20110504_12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDL1zAu9n9-4Vxb0nTPXJbNeelhwuL8JuXToCAdYC_auVwdGjhwGbpPoVUu0PF1m4Pi50bNqP7ig-XlQgTa1X0qTlUQfY-rbSJfK4eHL-tUzHiAa0Ys1oYm8V34sBBJMdGRwKpUCy4IYe/s200/20110504_12.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">When I was young my good friends father had a hive of bees not far from their house, I can remember walking out with him to work the bee’s one day and received my first lesson in bee handling. My friends father worked his bees without the use of any protection or smoke, I was shocked when he opened that hive up and started poking around in the hive all the while teaching me a lesson I never will forget:<br />
“The bee’s will warn you when they get mad, you see they bump themselves against you to warn you before they sting.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not long after saying this we noticed the bees started bumping his bare arms. “Now, you just pause and give them time to relax.” A few moments later the bees went a back to business and so did the Beek (a fun term meaning bee keeper). I walked away from that experience in love with bees, lovely little things that they are busying themselves with pollinating all our food for us, providing us with ever so sweet and healthy honey while also wonderful wax! I decided then and there that I wanted to be a bee keeper some day and work the bees just like my friends father.<br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRgZek_yXjN3jRpByizST246CGieC4Q6FlwwFWfwgNhrqnzPDdjUmwfyQDf37mJEvR1G66B5hfWCDlhY5SE3pG5_wel3G4YHUxFm_V1hze2AKfZ47eibsLiLf_U6LzoOrhbGKnkIXIH-IC/s1600/20110504_19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRgZek_yXjN3jRpByizST246CGieC4Q6FlwwFWfwgNhrqnzPDdjUmwfyQDf37mJEvR1G66B5hfWCDlhY5SE3pG5_wel3G4YHUxFm_V1hze2AKfZ47eibsLiLf_U6LzoOrhbGKnkIXIH-IC/s320/20110504_19.JPG" width="320" /></a>YEARS later in 2011 my Uncle happened to get a job working for a Bee Supply Manufacture in <st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Minnesota</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> that allowed him to take home all the defected hive pieces. After a while my Uncle had collected enough pieces to piece together 3 whole hives and he sent them on home with me –LUCKY ME!! With the encouragement of my supportive family back home in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Minnesota</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> I dove right into bee keeping and purchase 3 swarms of Carniolan<strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></strong>bees from an experienced SD bee keeper who had ordered them out of </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">California</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">. <br />
<br />
Now is the end of my first year of learning how to tend a hive while learning EVERYTHING as I go. I am walking away with only 5 stings, includeing one on the face, and I am following my dream of working them with no protection and with-out the use of any smoke, SO FAR, but I have yet to collect on the “gold” and sadley will not actually be collecting this year, I have been told its because the first year the bees have to build the wax to put the honey in as there is no pre-made comb, so next year I will harvest sweet rewards!!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEcw2twpt7drtTPG_i3rTk-D1oWEmevcV4zPjQz3ZLlYgk2BMrD07ZEr4Ld-32nRGQtQTjSH2PWB-043uRlGjTc1JvCEOzOyVy2-Q8XXjV3eJkGdMn3NwUiltq-JzWh-eOeBuFRgBvLeNA/s1600/20110524_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEcw2twpt7drtTPG_i3rTk-D1oWEmevcV4zPjQz3ZLlYgk2BMrD07ZEr4Ld-32nRGQtQTjSH2PWB-043uRlGjTc1JvCEOzOyVy2-Q8XXjV3eJkGdMn3NwUiltq-JzWh-eOeBuFRgBvLeNA/s640/20110524_2.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-49615973372934978272011-09-16T21:50:00.000-07:002011-09-17T11:11:51.294-07:00Label Lingo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdTeaR4_bE-RWDVwkyVbYaiXi4unM5ngiLQzfNAWKphme4KnLYmVHRBAMFxlwDqZeglhSEOoR5pSbXjTkUeYMbQETFiP5uLHfXOGS1CLPn2NITeLUmJnJDeh_vZaC3r8qvZjEAmKyWpk1/s1600/header-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdTeaR4_bE-RWDVwkyVbYaiXi4unM5ngiLQzfNAWKphme4KnLYmVHRBAMFxlwDqZeglhSEOoR5pSbXjTkUeYMbQETFiP5uLHfXOGS1CLPn2NITeLUmJnJDeh_vZaC3r8qvZjEAmKyWpk1/s1600/header-logo.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><u>Step 4 GAP Certified Humane</u><br />
Global Animal Partnership</strong>, a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 2008, brings together farmers, scientists, ranchers, retailers, and animal advocates—a diverse group with the common goal of wanting to improve the welfare of animals in agriculture. Our signature program, the 5- step Animal Welfare rating standards, recognizes and rewards producers for their welfare practices, promotes and facilitates continuous improvement, and better informs consumers about the production systems they <br />
choose to support. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://3.gvt0.com/vi/4_f-O9YTdo8/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4_f-O9YTdo8&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4_f-O9YTdo8&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>.<br />
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.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRaw21TyOcTKS7Yus4qrY6x1NFCfiupXbAEztTtQ2Xyka6te1J16bjj-JEVJXFjENE0fb7ceQE-DUq7R0tPvajrO2tDTecYsdeX2hA8t5RQpXcHRZhESEQ6N78dfSYtfPXlRztlCKq28OM/s1600/index_clip_image003.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRaw21TyOcTKS7Yus4qrY6x1NFCfiupXbAEztTtQ2Xyka6te1J16bjj-JEVJXFjENE0fb7ceQE-DUq7R0tPvajrO2tDTecYsdeX2hA8t5RQpXcHRZhESEQ6N78dfSYtfPXlRztlCKq28OM/s1600/index_clip_image003.gif" /></a></div><strong><u>Certified Organic</u></strong> <br />
Simply stated, organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><u>100% Grassfed<br />
</u></strong>The definition of <i>Grass fed beef</i> generally means beef from cattle that have eaten only grass or forage throughout their lives, however some producers do call their beef grass fed but then actually finish the animals on grain for the last 90 to 160 days before slaughter, so make sure your real specific when looking for a grassfed producer.<br />
<strong><u> <br />
<br />
Free-Range</u></strong>This label varies tremendously dependent on animal and producer. Here at White Thunder Organics when we say something is Free-Range it truely is that. Our Hogs are free-range 100% of their lifetimes here on the ranch, they are not contained in ANY fence of ANY kind. </div>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-81352475957086728142011-09-16T20:51:00.000-07:002011-10-14T11:44:37.325-07:00Fresh, Organic, SustainablePublished in Cattle Buisnesses 2011-2012 Herd Refference Guide<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">By: Maria Tussing</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIZrMOnskJl1Pt7bowl66ziINuqiYdeGbhXpShnXP_1xNuNhl3oe3Ac68C9xAZwC60UpfrgWIKHd83rnBVF_44uabg2L8DoEsCflirBAQ6BWvyo7ZRTHwdad7SsB6bZexEjAHOACBqBYN/s1600/Coverimages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIZrMOnskJl1Pt7bowl66ziINuqiYdeGbhXpShnXP_1xNuNhl3oe3Ac68C9xAZwC60UpfrgWIKHd83rnBVF_44uabg2L8DoEsCflirBAQ6BWvyo7ZRTHwdad7SsB6bZexEjAHOACBqBYN/s400/Coverimages.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">When Dominick and Trista Harmon bought some property near Wood, S.D., they weren’t entirely new to agriculture, but they approached it like they were. The two, originally from around Bemidji, Minn., bought the property near Wood because it was cheap. They moved here to get a start on a dream that Trista says was mostly Dominick’s in the beginning.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">“It was my husband’s dream for a long time to do this. It was different for me. I grew up in agriculture and didn’t want to be in it anymore. I just fell in love with it. We often say we are living in heaven already. We love every minute of this life,” Trista says. Trista and Dominick have two boys, Phoenix, 5 and Forest, 3, who “help” with the chickens and garden, Trista says.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Trista and Dominick are both environmentalists and organic consumers, so Trista says it just made sense to follow those values when they were establishing their business. That business is White Thunder Organics and consumers love it, Trista says. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">“When we first moved here the land was very barren and there wasn’t much wildlife. There were lots of bare spots, thistle, cheatgrass. We’ve been gradually turning it back into a lush, native prairie through rotational grazing. It’s unbelievable to see how much more life and biodiversity there is in just the few years we’ve had it. It’s very rewarding for us,” Trista says.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Before they bought the place in South Dakota, Trista says they did lots of research online. As a child she had raised Tarantaise cattle and really liked the temperament. After more research she discovered that the breed originated in Europe and thrived grazing the hills there, so Trista and Dominick thought they’d be a good fit for South Dakota. The cows had a naturally high butterfat content, which they knew would give the calves a good start. Harmons cross the Tarantaise with Angus and produce grass-finished, organic, certified humane beef. Their cattle don’t see any supplements or pesticides and Trista says they’ve never had a problem with the health in their herd. The cattle are grazed rotationally and supplemented when necessary with alfalfa hay. “We had the vet out to spay some heifers for the first time in years and he was blown away by how healthy are cattle were,” Trista says. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">The Harmons also raise Berkshire pigs, another breed that Trista had some exposure to growing up. The pigs are never confined, farrowing in open huts and cooling off in wallows when the weather gets hot. The pigs are free-range and organic. The Berkshires are noted for their flavor and Trista says some restaurants pay a hefty premium for Berkshire pork. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">While they are concerned with maintaining the health of their cattle and pigs, they know that neither is possible without healthy land. They worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to get many of their land improvement projects started. “We broke the land up into smaller pastures and put in a watering system. Our cows are only in each pasture for three or four days at a time, for an average of nine days per year. The average size of a pasture is about 60 acres,” Trista says.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">They have also improved the land by rotating crops through that put nutrients back in the soil and using insects to control invasive weeds biologically. They have put up bat houses and birdhouses to encourage insects’ natural predators to help control the flies and mosquitoes. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">The Harmons recognize the value of catering to a niche and think there’s plenty of room for expansion. “We’ve pretty much nearly every niche market you can have. We’re certified humane and organic. All the paperwork is kind of a pain, but it’s definitely worth the time it takes to do it,” Trista says. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Trista and Dominick caution anyone looking to pursue these avenues to do their homework first. “Gather knowledge. Don’t just jump into it. You have to know what you’re doing. Talk to people who have already done it. There are lots of books to read and seminars if you’re willing to take the time to go to them,” Trista says. She also emphasizes how important it is to make sure the breed of livestock is suited to the niche it is supposed to fill. “You can’t take a big-framed cow that’s been bred to be corn-finished and thrown them out on grass. They’ve got to be hardy enough for it. We’ve been able to finish our cows in 18 months on grass and hay. They never see any corn. We finish our pigs in about six to eight months. They forage and eat sprouted grains, but no corn. Eliminating the corn really cuts down on our cost and the animals we raise finish just fine without it,” Trista says.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Once the animals are finished, Harmons haul them to Sturigs Meats, which is a certified organic processor. After the processing is complete, the Harmons bring the meat back home and customers order directly from them. They also place some of their products in Whole Foods stores in Colorado, a grocery store in Pierre, and Star Family Restaurant in Murdo. “Starting out it was kind of hard. No one knew if we were any good or not. Once we found a good buyer who told everyone how good we were, the buyers came to us. Now we have a waiting list for our beef. People are asking for it constantly, begging us to expand and get more. Our pork is getting to the point where we have it all sold. I think there’s less awareness about where pork comes from than where beef comes from,” Trista says.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">“We enjoy the opportunity to build up a relationship with our customers. It’s wonderful to see who’s eating our product and have that relationship with them. They like to know where their food is coming from. They want to know that they’re producing something sustainable,” Trista says.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">To meet the demands of their customers, Harmons are planning to double the size of their cow herd in the near future. </div><pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Maria E. Tussing
Freelance Writer
P.O. Box 275
New Underwood, SD 57761
605-280-7184
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.writemet.com/" target="_blank">www.writemet.com</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.writemet.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">www.writemet.tumblr.com</a></pre>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-91404149431013842652011-09-16T16:35:00.000-07:002011-10-12T08:07:24.876-07:00Where to purchase our products<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><u>Here are 3 websites you can purchase our products online:</u></strong></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIvNx0fTCXbqGQM67jzK_8yI587USaFPui_P17G_FH76N6EfJl8M6NUbLb4lYFtwzkVNaC7zyu4zNwyWIb7CegVEKlPPvuEImsqJK0igKXqgJ3juAM_-5NQIK3JPHpVgmcXJOXV3MKVRO/s1600/white-thunder-organics-ad%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIvNx0fTCXbqGQM67jzK_8yI587USaFPui_P17G_FH76N6EfJl8M6NUbLb4lYFtwzkVNaC7zyu4zNwyWIb7CegVEKlPPvuEImsqJK0igKXqgJ3juAM_-5NQIK3JPHpVgmcXJOXV3MKVRO/s400/white-thunder-organics-ad%255B1%255D.jpg" width="306" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
Buy Direct from us:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">White Thunder Organics.com was recently hacked, we are sorry for any inconveniences this may have created for you; we are working to create a new Website where you can order individually marked items in the near future. In the mean time please call: 605-452-3233 to place orders via telephone or purchase items via Farmade.com or Etsy.com<o:p></o:p></div> (see links below)</div><div style="text-align: center;">.<br />
.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgog5q4KNoETNnDIe2MZu-OlHye1HyUcTh7SBvz9idkkxNN4Z1C7Os5s7huYJqgzJRGlYvHeHkqmD-lCrFfhudx6SAtI32j39_NS5H0AAJB_ykwO3_8qCeCjcJIu7jLSEJMBnoy2lk9pxaz/s1600/Big_Etsy_Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgog5q4KNoETNnDIe2MZu-OlHye1HyUcTh7SBvz9idkkxNN4Z1C7Os5s7huYJqgzJRGlYvHeHkqmD-lCrFfhudx6SAtI32j39_NS5H0AAJB_ykwO3_8qCeCjcJIu7jLSEJMBnoy2lk9pxaz/s320/Big_Etsy_Logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
Find us on Etsy:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/people/whitethunderorganics?ref=ls_profile">http://www.etsy.com/people/whitethunderorganics?ref=ls_profile</a><br />
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.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2F9yhyphenhyphenJHxsUn3tNCAi3J4yFUBMU5adNDK9iiplrWq8ir6mQenNa9ZnQt4DjX_j5jrAl91J9g2NS78txDlCY9X2Kgfz-bkPXA5b2_lvF5rM6I_CLoxRB2sxUK8cg3GxHMwJ1xPc3_VMsd/s1600/farmmadelogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2F9yhyphenhyphenJHxsUn3tNCAi3J4yFUBMU5adNDK9iiplrWq8ir6mQenNa9ZnQt4DjX_j5jrAl91J9g2NS78txDlCY9X2Kgfz-bkPXA5b2_lvF5rM6I_CLoxRB2sxUK8cg3GxHMwJ1xPc3_VMsd/s200/farmmadelogo.png" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
Find us on Farm Made:<br />
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<a href="http://farmmade.com/index.phpoption=com_ixxocart&Itemid=9&p=catalog&mode=vendor&vid=67">http://farmmade.com/index.phpoption=com_ixxocart&Itemid=9&p=catalog&mode=vendor&vid=67</a><br />
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<strong><u> <br />
Here are locations you can purchase our products in person:</u></strong></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 133px;"><tbody>
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 133px;"><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">540 S. Garfield Ave. Suite D</div></td></tr>
<><div style="text-align: right;"> </div></></tbody> </table>Pierre, SD 57501<br />
605-224-9909</div></td></tr>
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STORE HOURS</b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="40"><b> Mon</b></td><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="100">10am-6pm</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="40"><b> Tue</b></td><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="100">10am-6pm</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="40"><b> Wed</b></td><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="100">10am-6pm</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="40"><b> Thu</b></td><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="100">10am-6pm</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="40"><b> Fri</b></td><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="100">10am-6pm</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="40"><b> Sat</b></td><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="100">10am-5pm</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="40"><b> Sun</b></td><td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;" width="100">CLOSED</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchiwG8o8WUf9DW6zQ1fVgdIqpLJwk7-yvcmgFjdzH414SPyMluvg9-DPVtUdaXlrKZUtgvk1OB-fNanYgcBEfHIPVJUsXWlzV_jnZjRa70HnpEEBV96aEr7XAGSWc_axEUvg5HSrlQP-D/s1600/wholefoods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchiwG8o8WUf9DW6zQ1fVgdIqpLJwk7-yvcmgFjdzH414SPyMluvg9-DPVtUdaXlrKZUtgvk1OB-fNanYgcBEfHIPVJUsXWlzV_jnZjRa70HnpEEBV96aEr7XAGSWc_axEUvg5HSrlQP-D/s400/wholefoods.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">In any Colorado Whole Foods store you can find White Thunder Organics meats listed under the Panorama Grass-Fed Meat Labels.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhKhgEzd3l9Uuh6LXan6P78NkHWfXSR7je-fu8anUUi-mQAOTdGhtP_AITvNwmE1p3SHCjfGi7JhWintuvo119axgAekHx2_XNo_dhX-O2AmXf5iPCGnd-zNk8gIfXKMGOFNnuhVuPdNE/s1600/panoramameats.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhKhgEzd3l9Uuh6LXan6P78NkHWfXSR7je-fu8anUUi-mQAOTdGhtP_AITvNwmE1p3SHCjfGi7JhWintuvo119axgAekHx2_XNo_dhX-O2AmXf5iPCGnd-zNk8gIfXKMGOFNnuhVuPdNE/s200/panoramameats.gif" width="200" /></a></div>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-23972865597050099892011-09-16T16:29:00.000-07:002011-09-17T11:18:09.161-07:004th Generation West Texas farmer calls for change<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRG0xcNszB0p8hMCUFK5ETZJBXlveZpbvxi69aLYzYhvxj5xTts7BjEarbfbeq1o2gOMhe8iYwvrHxtez7B_QszXQxQFyHNYD-P4a_bqwqeEYB9MfArVsz9tG1xFUDY4Q9z_-y6Awi86wD/s1600/EricHerm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRG0xcNszB0p8hMCUFK5ETZJBXlveZpbvxi69aLYzYhvxj5xTts7BjEarbfbeq1o2gOMhe8iYwvrHxtez7B_QszXQxQFyHNYD-P4a_bqwqeEYB9MfArVsz9tG1xFUDY4Q9z_-y6Awi86wD/s1600/EricHerm.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Like many West Texas youth, Eric Herm left his family's Ackerly farm looking for a life away from duststorms, mesquite brush and empty horizons. After graduating from Abilene Christian University with a degree in broadcast journalism, Herm traveled and worked for 10 years before returning to his family farm with a new perspective..<br />
"This land has been in my family for 100 years," Herm said, noting his father, both grandfathers and four great-grandfathers farmed the land..<br />
Now seven years into running the farm where he lives with his wife and two sons, Herm is battling the effects of genetically modified seed and the impact of corporations that sell farmers the seed and the pesticides and herbicides to use along with it..<br />
After extensive research, he published his first book about the burden commercialized agriculture has on the environment, the economy, the consumer and the farmer. "Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth: A Path to Agriculture's Higher Consciousness," was published in October 2010. Herm will be signing copies of the book from 4-6 p.m. Thursday at the Heritage Museum of Big Spring, 510 Scurry St..<br />
"This book is about welcoming nature back into our lives," Herm said..<br />
After a synopsis of Herm's personal journey back to his birthplace, the book begins with a history and explanation of the dramatic increase in the use of genetically modified seed.<br />
Genetically modified Roundup Ready seed is marketed to farmers as a way to save money because it requires less maintenance. While the product may be cost-effective in the short-term, Herm encourages farmers to consider the broader consequences of the product and the chemicals required to maintain it..<br />
Herm attributes issues such as soil erosion, food and ground water contamination, extermination of beneficial insects and a lack of nutritional elements in food to the use of genetically modified seed, herbicides and pesticides..<br />
"I think if farmers really knew what we were doing to everything that most of it would stop with the GMO seed with the excessive use of herbicides and pesticides, but we've been trained to look at everything through an economic lens," he said..<br />
"When we truly look at where our money is going and who we're supporting and what those products are doing to our food and our environment -- it's a lose-lose situation."<br />
Along with accounts of his personal experiences, Herm cites more than 200 sources in the book. And each problem is followed by suggestions and resources for a solution..<br />
His call for an agricultural revolution does not apply only to farmers. He writes about issues such as the use of genetically modified seed to consumers who are affected by the pesticides, growth hormones and other additives in food..<br />
"We don't all have to be farmers to grow food, just because you don't have 5 acres or 500 acres doesn't mean you can't grow your own food," he said..<br />
Herm encourages consumers to buy organically grown produce at local farmers' markets and to demand local grocery stores carry organic and local products..<br />
"We have responsibilities not just as farmers but as consumers," he said. "Your dollar speaks often louder than your vote.".<br />
Herm currently is working on his next book. Though he acknowledges his calls for change may be unwelcome by established farmers, he said he hopes each generation of farmers will incorporate their predecessors' knowledge and experience with the new information available..<br />
"To me, it's about simplifying things," he said. "This is an opportunity for us to transcend everything -- culture, religion -- because everybody eats and everybody drinks and without healthy food and water we're nothing."<br />
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For more information, visit <a href="http://www.facebook.com/notes/me/www.sonofafarmer.com"><span style="color: #3b5998;">www.sonofafarmer.com</span></a> or look for Eric Herm's page on Facebook.<br />
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Written By: Megan Lea Buck<br />
Megan Lea Buck can be reached at mbuck@mrt.com.<br />
<br />
[Infromation taken from:<a href="http://www.mywesttexas.com/life/article_f9a2ed03-526e-57a5-9ba5-7c0cb7d6d31f.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998;">http://www.mywesttexas.com/life/article_f9a2ed03-526e-57a5-9ba5-7c0cb7d6d31f.html</span></a>]Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-59281865026313936622011-09-16T16:27:00.000-07:002011-09-16T16:27:05.228-07:00Cases of Animals Avoiding GMO Crops<strong>Geese avoiding GM Soybeans</strong><br />
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A flock of geese visit an Illinois pond each year and feed on soybeans from a nearby 50-acre field. The year the farmer planted GM soybeans on half the field, he was shocked to discover that the geese ate only from the non-GM side. There was a line right down the middle of his field with the natural beans on one side and the genetically engineered beans, untouched by the geese, on the other. Agricultural write C. F. Marley reported, “I’ve never seen anything like it. What’s amazing is that the field with Roundup Ready beans had been planted with conventional beans the previous year, and the geese ate them. This year they won’t go near that field.” (Mark Newhall, “He Say’s Geese Don’t Like Roundup Ready Beans,” Farm Show 24.no 5-2000.)<br />
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<strong>Cattle avoiding GM Corn </strong><br />
In 1998, Iowa farmer Howard Vlieger filled one side of his sixteen-foot trough with the Bt corn and dumped non-GM corn on the other. When he let his cows into the pen, they all congregated on the side with the natural corn. When it was gone they nibbled a bit on the Bt, but quickly changed their minds and walked away. (Howard Vleiger, Personal communication with Jeffery M. Smith author, 2003)<br />
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Inspired by this story, several farmers in Northwest Iowa conducted their own tests. They let two or three cows into the feeding area at a time. The cows came to the first trough containing Bt corn, sniffed it and withdrew. They then walked over to the next trough and finished off the non-GM corn. Some would then go back for a sniff or taste of the Bt variety, but then walk away. This same scenario was repeated by both cows and pigs over and over again on six or seven farms in 1998 and again in 1999. (Bill Lashmett, personal communication with Jeffery M. Smith author, 2003)<br />
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After a 2000 campaign speech to farmers by Al Gorse, Vlieger told the presidential candidate about his cow’s preference for non-GM corn. Gore asked if other farmers noticed that their animals responded differently to GM food. About 12 to 15 hands went up. (Vliegers,pers.comm.)<br />
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Cattle even broke through a fence and walked through a field of Roundup Ready corn in order to consume the non-GM variety on the other side. (Steve Sprinkel, “When corn hits the Fan.”)<br />
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<strong>Squirrels avoiding GM corn</strong><br />
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</strong>A retired Iowa farmer fed squirrels through the winter months by placing corncobs on feeders. One year, he put non-GM corn in one feeder and Bt in another about 20 feet away. The squirrels ate all the corn off the natural cobs but didn’t tough the Bt. Each time the farmer refilled the feeder with natural corn, it was soon gone. The Bt remained untouched, Out of curiosity, he didn’t refill the natural corn. During the coldest days of winter, the Bt cob remained intact, After about 10 days, the squirrels ate about an inch off the tip of an ear, but that’s all. The farmer felt sorry for the squirrels and put natural corn back into the feeders, which the squirrels once again consumed. (Vlieger,pers.comm.)<br />
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<strong>Raccoons avoiding GM corn </strong><br />
Raccoons devoured organic corn, but didn’t touch the Bt variety growing down the road. (Sprinkel, “When Corn hits the Fan”)<br />
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<strong>Mice avoiding GM corn </strong><br />
Mice consumed a pile of non-GM corn in a barn in Holland, but left the GM pile nearby untouched.<br />
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A Dutch undergraduate student offered mice a choice between Gm and non-GM , mixture of corn and soy. Over a nine-week period, the mice consumed 61% non-Gm and 39% GM food. When forced half them mice to eat only GM and the other half to eat non-GM, the GM group ate more food, gained less weight, and “seemed less active wile in their cages.” When picked up to be weighed at the end of the experiment, he said that the GM-fed mice were “more distressed….Many were running round and round the basket, scrabbling desperately in the sawdust, and even frantically jumping up the sides, something I’ve never seen before.” ( Hinze Hogenfoorn, “Genetically Modified Corn (Zea mays) and Soya (Glycine soja or Their Natural Varieties-Do Muce Have a Preference?” <a href="http://www.facebook.com/notes/me/www.talk2000.nl/mice/talk-Exended.htm"><span style="color: #3b5998;">www.talk2000.nl/mice/talk-Exended.htm</span></a> )<strong> </strong><br />
<strong>Elk avoids GM corn </strong><br />
A couple in Minnesota reported, “A captive elk escaped and took up residence in our crops of organic corn and soy. It had total access to the neighboring fields of GM crops, but never went into them.” (Mexiani and Warwic, “Seeds of Doubt.”)<br />
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<strong>Rats avoiding GM Tomatoes</strong><br />
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<em>The Washington Post<strong> </strong></em>reported tat rodents, usually happy to munch on tomatoes, turned their noses up at the genetically modified FlavrSavr tomato that scientists were so anxious to test on them. Calgene CEO Roger Salquist said of his tomato, “I gotta tell you, you can be Chef Boyardee and…[they] are still not going to like them.” (Rick Weiss, “Biotech Food Raises a Crop of Questions,” <em>Washington</em><em> Post, </em>15AUG99: A1) These rates had to be force-fed the tomatoes through gastric tubes, several developed stomach lesions; 7 of 40 died within two weeks.<br />
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<br />
[This information taken from Genetic Roulette by: Jeffrey M. Smith page-59]<br />
Click this link to check out this book on Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Genetic-Roulette-Documented-Genetically-Engineered/dp/0972966528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316215355&sr=8-1">http://www.amazon.com/Genetic-Roulette-Documented-Genetically-Engineered/dp/0972966528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316215355&sr=8-1</a>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-22816455266312308432011-09-16T16:25:00.000-07:002011-09-16T16:25:14.914-07:00Farmers report pig and cow sterilities from GM CornIn the early spring of 2001, the conception rates of sows (female pigs) on Jerry Rosman’s Iowa farm dropped from 80% to 20%. Most animals had false pregnancies, some delivered bags of water and some stopped menstruating altogether. Rosman, an animal nutrition consultant, along with veterinarian and a nutritionist, did extensive testing. They ruled out common causes of reproductive problems. Rosman had fed his hogs GM corn since 1997. When he switched to Bt Liberty Link varieties from Garst Hybrids in 2000, the problem started. It persisted through most of 2001 with “several brief upswings in pregnancy rates” considering with the times when sows were fed the previous year’s (1999) corn..<br />
Four nearby farmers told Rosman they too were having hog conception problems and where using Garst Corn. Right after the <em>Farm Bureau Spokesman </em>ran a story on Rosman in 2002, other farmers called complaining of sterile pigs. As media coverage expanded, so did the calls. USDA microbiologist Mark Rasmussen said, “After Jerry’s incident was publicized, about a dozen farmers in the Midwest contacted me to discuss similar problems.” Rosman spoke with at least 20. He said many had consulted veterinarians and conducted tests and that sterility affected both male and females. Some noted that the problem went away when they switched corn varieties. Not all were using Garst, but all where using GM with similar genetic backgrounds (maturity, height, etc.).<br />
.<br />
Three Farmers reported similar issues with cows. In September 2005, Rosman fed some of the 2000 corn to three cows, just after they gave birth. He said they should have started menstruation after three months and been bred, Eight months later, however, they had still not started cycling and were sold. A semen check of the bull fed the same corn showed it was nearly infertile. Rosman also fed 11 heifers the corn after they weaned at eight months. Although they usually start menstruating at nine or ten months, his never started, they where sold at 13 months.<br />
.<br />
In the summer of 2001, Garst was given a sample of Rosman’s corn for analysis. About six weeks later, Rosman’s agronomist was told by Garst that the sample had been regrettably lost. When Rosman offered to furnish more the company did not return his calls. When the pig sterility hit the TV news the following year, however, the company announced that they had done an investigation and concluded that their corn was not at fault..<br />
Rosman’s corn was collateral for a USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan. The local office had granted a loan extension, but the local manager told Rosman that the national head of operations ordered that it be confiscated instead; a driver revealed that it was sent to a Cargill plant to be processed for human consumption..<br />
The FSA refused to provide Rosman with the records related to his corn. It took six separate Freedom of Information Act requests, two from Rosman, one from each of three nonprofit organizations and one from a US congressman, for the FDA to turn over part of his file. Several documents omitted important data..<br />
Rosman has declared bankruptcy and no further studies evaluated whether certain GMO corn varieties may create reproductive problems in livestock of humans.<br />
.<br />
[This information taken from Genetic Roulette by: Jeffrey M. Smith page-37].For more information on Jerry Rosman's case: <a href="http://www.cropchoice.com/leadstryb7be.html?recid=1661" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998;">http://www.cropchoice.com/leadstryb7be.html?recid=1661</span></a><br />
Click this link to check this book out on Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Genetic-Roulette-Documented-Genetically-Engineered/dp/0972966528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316215355&sr=8-1">http://www.amazon.com/Genetic-Roulette-Documented-Genetically-Engineered/dp/0972966528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316215355&sr=8-1</a>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-54439710648734737862011-09-16T16:23:00.000-07:002011-09-17T11:14:27.501-07:00Inhaled Bt corn pollen may trigger disease in humans and animals.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdRKGN8dO6TNBR97UHwxT7sSp8fmPCmR317xI_PK8Gfn6b1_7xhhv3xuN2rxUaUUuUHnzqxDvIccf-wXJrWNx_qHEu50JAIbMl52Fa7Ln-geERYc63DCdmoDgSEUgpOjWHdFw2AI5k-Po/s1600/corn-gmo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdRKGN8dO6TNBR97UHwxT7sSp8fmPCmR317xI_PK8Gfn6b1_7xhhv3xuN2rxUaUUuUHnzqxDvIccf-wXJrWNx_qHEu50JAIbMl52Fa7Ln-geERYc63DCdmoDgSEUgpOjWHdFw2AI5k-Po/s400/corn-gmo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Virtually an entire Filipino village of about 100 people living adjacent to a large field of Bt corn were stricken by a disease. The symptoms, which appeared at the time the corn was producing pollen, included headaches, dizziness, extreme stomach pain, vomiting, chest pains, fever, and allergies, as well as respiratory, intestinal, and skin reactions.<br />
<br />
“There was this really pungent smell that got into our throats,” said resident Mary Jane Malayon. “It was like we were breathing in pesticides.” (Ibid) She and her extended family all became ill, and “within days, people living a little further away….where experiencing similar symptoms.” (Ibid)<br />
<br />
When her family moved out to stay with relatives, their symptoms abated within a week, but the person who rented their house became ill. At least three other families found that their symptoms disappeared when they moved away and appeared again upon returning. Such a response points to an environmental toxin or allergen, rather than an infectious disease.<br />
<br />
Mae-wan Ho, director of the Institute for Science in Society, interviews many of the Filipinos in 2006. She reports: “As part of an investigation to determine what made the villagers ill, one of the farmers was ‘volunteered’ to venture inside the Bt maize (corn) field in the presence of more than 10 witnesses, as he explained to me via an interpreter. ‘Within five minutes, I could not breathe and felt something extraordinary on my face,’ he recalled. The others could see that his face had swollen up and remarked that it was ‘very dangerous.’ In fact, the farmer is ill to this day. Every now and again, he feels weak in his limbs and numb in his hands and feet. He held up the back of his right hand to show me the index finger. A yellowish-brown discoloration and thickening of the fingernail had developed since he was exposed too the GM pollen…<br />
“Many if not all the villagers exposed to GM-maize pollen in 2003 have remained ill to this day. Furthermore, there have been five unexplained deaths in the village. In total, 96 people got sick. In addition, nine horsed, four water buffalos, and 37 chickens died soon after feeding on GM maize. (Mae-Wan Ho, “GM Ban long Overdue, Dozens Ill & Five deaths in Philippines,” ISIS Press Release, 02JUN06.)<br />
<br />
Terje Traavik, Director of the Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology, learned about the incident during the fall od 2003 and arranged for blood samples from 39 individuals to be taken in October. In all cases, IgA, IgG, and IgM antibodies were detected in response to Bt-toxin. The IgA and IgM reactions indicate recent exposure to Bt within the previous three months and are consistent with an interpretation that the disease might have been created by inhalation of the Bt-pollen from the field. <br />
<br />
<strong>Symptoms reappeared with the same corn</strong><br />
<strong> <br />
</strong>The corn was a hybrid between Mon 810, a BT crop from Monsanto, and the conventional Dekalb 818 variety. It was first introduced to the region in 2003. Although it was not replanted in the stricken village in 2004, other regions on the same island of Mindanao did use the corn variety. Similar reactions where reported in at least four villages, all occurring hen the corn was shedding pollen.<br />
<br />
<br />
In South Sepaka, 31 people said that they fell ill while the corn was pollinating, and in an elementary school in Magallon, approximately 20 children (aged 5-10 years) developed coughs, sneezing, asthma, and breathing difficulties. (Ibid) “Thirty-two people in Tunka,” according to Ho, “suffered from headache, stomach-ache, dizziness, diarrhea, vomiting and difficulty in breathing,”(Ibid) An advocacy officer for Mindanao, where the villagers were located, also reported that people experienced” when “the first case of alleged harmful effects of the flowering Bt corn was documented.” ( Allen V. Estabillo, “Farmer’s Group Urged Ban on Planting Bt Corn; Says It Could Be Causes of Illnesses,” Mindanews) Before they got sick most residents had not known that the planted corn was Bt.<br />
<br />
When Traavik’s team conducted blood tests in 2003, they also tested how much Bt_toxin (Cry2AB) was being produced by the corn. The study, which is not yet published, showed that the levels varied considerably in the kernels, even from the same plant. The levels ranged from 0,014 ug to 0.9 ug, with other kernels expressing levels of both above and below the limits of detection for the test. This raises questions about the stability of the transgene or its expression. It is possible that the particular corn variety had been altered in some whay only in that area, which may explain why similar results were not reported elsewhere.<br />
<br />
The potential dangers of breathing GM Pollen had been identified years earlier by the UK Joint Food Safety and Standards Group. In a letter to the US FDA in 1998, they had even warned that genes from inhaled pollen might transfer into the DNA of bacteria that reside in the respiratory system. (N. Tomlinson of UF MAFF’s Joint Food Safety and Standards Group 04DEC98 letter to the US FDA commenting on its draft document, “Guidance for Industry: Use of Antibiotic Resistance marker Genes in Transgenic Plants,” <a href="http://www.food/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998;">http://www.food</span></a>,gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/acnfp1998.pdf)<br />
<br />
When the reports surfaced about the sickness in the Philippines, advocates for GM crops were quick to dismiss them. There was not, however, been a thorough investigation and very little research has been done to follow-u[ on this significant red flag.<br />
<br />
This information taken from Genetic Roulette by: Jeffrey M. Smith page-35.<br />
Click this link to check out this book on Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Genetic-Roulette-Documented-Genetically-Engineered/dp/0972966528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316215355&sr=8-1">http://www.amazon.com/Genetic-Roulette-Documented-Genetically-Engineered/dp/0972966528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316215355&sr=8-1</a>Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-67769558215576044872011-09-16T16:18:00.001-07:002011-09-19T14:46:53.253-07:00Trista's Raw Ice Cream Recipie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2Coy9R7R6xt8tKNDMY64xHPlAh1JlBUPiKgQcTi5YPFKU4JnnyL-b5ahW0J90INXph6erubmJIM9LwT4wJCZc1mbPVmqP5wjWISPXL1bpKGVGeHFybU9I1oGpPG7PcQTCHl8coR7V1w3/s1600/ice-cream-on-cake1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2Coy9R7R6xt8tKNDMY64xHPlAh1JlBUPiKgQcTi5YPFKU4JnnyL-b5ahW0J90INXph6erubmJIM9LwT4wJCZc1mbPVmqP5wjWISPXL1bpKGVGeHFybU9I1oGpPG7PcQTCHl8coR7V1w3/s320/ice-cream-on-cake1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
You will need:<br />
6 fertilized egg yokes (only a fertilized yoke is safe to consume raw)<br />
1/2 cup pure raw organic sugar (or substitute)<br />
2 cups raw grass fed cream (only grass fed milk is safe to consume raw)<br />
1 cup raw grass fed milk<br />
2 tsp QUALITY vanilla <br />
(For chocolate add 6 tbs coco)<br />
<br />
Mix sugar and egg yokes till ribbonny (comes off in a stream not drip)<br />
<br />
Mix cream with vanilla and wip about 30 seconds<br />
<br />
Add milk to cream while mixing<br />
<br />
Add egg to cream while mixing<br />
<br />
Chill for better consestancy for just a little while (15 min) not a must, but is nice.<br />
<br />
Mix in ice cream maker until the cream is stuck to the beater and turns WITH it, approx 40-60 min.*<br />
<br />
Stir <br />
<br />
Heal with wholesome foods!Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-89158405803669377502011-09-16T16:17:00.001-07:002011-10-04T12:07:23.883-07:00White Thunder Organics Sausage Seasoning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTlzqLcb2OWLFf08ZqwtrBvUMdsHG1XPEuWsGDbjubYRJXloO4bhJf61seyhqvk1vw84q-Z6nHTaSnCI0-dgrSdv_WcYDFFiRbmgeO0OjqRhQ3tptttU3VLNNdYLhjh69hbbIZYgYEc2S/s1600/seasoning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTlzqLcb2OWLFf08ZqwtrBvUMdsHG1XPEuWsGDbjubYRJXloO4bhJf61seyhqvk1vw84q-Z6nHTaSnCI0-dgrSdv_WcYDFFiRbmgeO0OjqRhQ3tptttU3VLNNdYLhjh69hbbIZYgYEc2S/s320/seasoning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
5 tablespoons Salt<br />
2 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard<br />
5 teaspoons black pepper<br />
2 ½ teaspoons ground clove<br />
5 teaspoons ground red pepper<br />
6 ½ tablespoons ground sage<br />
<br />
<br />
Mix and store in a sealed container.<br />
<br />
Thaw ground pork and season with 1 tbs of seasoning per pound of White Thunder Organic's ground pork.Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-71565013574583402032011-09-16T16:15:00.001-07:002011-09-19T14:16:20.612-07:00Grandma's Easy Breezy Egg Noodles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXWRm-CUiQyf9XpO9_CXaJzmLrAvpGRjY5cXLshiSOhhCBxTIOnv1WfdKt_N4-ryaEhR_msC0DDZL8MHMhyphenhyphen_B_I0niUdmsqKDikhX_qDTQKBdI8CuXKLsO83WEzMtJEJrUNIaqmoba5ZE/s1600/noodles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXWRm-CUiQyf9XpO9_CXaJzmLrAvpGRjY5cXLshiSOhhCBxTIOnv1WfdKt_N4-ryaEhR_msC0DDZL8MHMhyphenhyphen_B_I0niUdmsqKDikhX_qDTQKBdI8CuXKLsO83WEzMtJEJrUNIaqmoba5ZE/s320/noodles.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I recived this recipe from my Grandmother, I had a different one I was using but this one is so easy and I love the noodles it produces, these noodles are thicker than the stereotypical egg noodles but are much tastier. <br />
<br />
Mix:<br />
1 egg<br />
1 tbs Milk<br />
<br />
Wip wip wip till white and frothy<br />
<br />
Mix:<br />
1 cup whole wheat flour<br />
1 tsp Redmond Salt<br />
<br />
Combine the flour and egg mixtures.<br />
<br />
Roll out and cut<br />
Allow to dry WELL!<br />
<br />
<br />
You can make them with spinach or any herb you like to give them a gourmet look and taste :)<br />
<br />
REMEMBER your thoughts and feeling affect the structure of water (Emoto Masaru's research) so it is vital that you bless your food, and think only loving thoughts when working it... I have noticed with my family that my husband always complains that something isn't right when I think about negative things as I prepare the food, though nothing is different.<br />
<br />
Grandma's secret ingredient that so much of us forget today is LOVE!Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259169918527771534.post-39098893633537543172011-09-16T16:14:00.000-07:002011-09-19T14:15:36.836-07:00Our Favorite Cranberry Sauce<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd38M_pb68ReKq0hkW_Nz4fnuqmW46pF2VUjuEzMg4BLTTKonoLND0tR_qGZDjQPa3ag5JTYnfCrQvOn3hTP3HBrK1UggMUy_cRczZf7JxxS9i8ED7iYyPeBhtNKx2w5ECJdPXsWlAuaFu/s1600/cranberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd38M_pb68ReKq0hkW_Nz4fnuqmW46pF2VUjuEzMg4BLTTKonoLND0tR_qGZDjQPa3ag5JTYnfCrQvOn3hTP3HBrK1UggMUy_cRczZf7JxxS9i8ED7iYyPeBhtNKx2w5ECJdPXsWlAuaFu/s320/cranberry.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I make my own cranberries every year and it is so easy to do I can't belive everyone does not make them, I cannot stand the taste of canned sauce but this homemade version is delish!<br />
<br />
This is the basic recipie I always triple it at least.<br />
<br />
<strong>4 cups fresh cranberries</strong><br />
<strong>1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup or agave nectar * </strong><br />
<strong>1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice</strong><br />
<strong>1 to 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel</strong><br />
<strong> </strong><br />
*though the recipie calls for maple or agave... I stick with the agave it gives the cranberries a really fresh taste that only those seasoned agave users can relate relate too ;) If this is your first time useing agave the ONLY company to go with is Wilderness Family out of Minnesota, they are the only truly raw ( I know others claim) agave out there... blue agave just means its over cooked (and thats BAD!), should be a light golden color.<br />
<br />
Place all ingredients into a medium-sized to large pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.<br />
<br />
Cook for about 10 minutes while using a spoon to mash the berries as they cook, mash to the consistany you prefer.<br />
<br />
The sauce will begin to thicken as the berries cook, cook to the consistancy you like, will thicken a bit more while cooling.<br />
<br />
Remove from heat after the sauce is thickened and the berries are mashed the way you like them.<br />
<br />
I like my sauce cold so I make this the day before thanksgiveing.... saves on my thanksgiveing day work load too!Trista Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06399998847192216112noreply@blogger.com0