Dueling Shademobiles

Two shademobiles offer welcome reprieve, even on an overcast day.

Once temperatures approach 75 degrees (f), bovines head for the shade. They will stand there for six hours or so, depositing manure and urine in a highly concentrated area. Cows prefer the shade of trees to shademobiles, because of enhanced updraft, but manure deposited beneath trees doesn't improve fertility of pastures. The other problem with trees is they are stationary. Trampling and depositing occur in the same place day after day, which can lead to spreading of hoof-rot.

So, mobile shade structures seem like a prudent solution to an age-old problem. They are infinitely flexible in controlling where intensive trampling and depositing occur, they improve pastures by depositing fertility, and they reduce spreading of disease. They require some time to move and set up, which is labor, but benefits far outweigh costs. We only need them half the year, but those six months are when grass and animals are growing, rewarding effective management all the more. We probably need two more - one for our finishing group and one for ewes. 

Berkshire feeder pigs arrived last week. They are a most interesting animal to raise. Their intelligence and personality are very engaging. Their capacity to make a mess of grounds and equipment is a challenge, which we are gradually learning to manage. The meat they produce is outstanding. Yesterday, we turned this group into an adjacent lot several acres in size. After a month or so there, they will graduate to their own woodlot away from the bans.

We have a few announcements:

We are spreading our wings, in that Grassroots ground beef and lamb are now being carried at the Clifton Market, in Clifton on Ludlow Avenue, and at Pipkins Fruit & Vegetable Market, in Blue Ash on Cooper Rd.

We are also pleased to be trekking to Bexley, Ohio to participate in the Bexley Farmers Market, hoping to build relationships with discerning consumers of grassfed foods in Columbus. Bob will be assuming that journey, as he does with Blue Ash and Findlay Markets. Today is opening day. We look forward to this opportunity.

Last, we were notified yesterday that we are being cited as a source of grassfed nutrition, by Dr. Gary Huber, on a live Facebook event. Gary has been a supporter and champion of our products, and we are most grateful to him. But he is a man of high standards, who wants his meat wrapped in paper, which is an obsolete but worthy convention. We were able to pull that off for him, but it took some doing. He pushes us to ever higher levels of performance! Yesterday he sent the following:

Today at 3:00PM my dietitian and I are hosting a LIVE Facebook event and we will be detailing how to detoxify your kitchen.  One of the topics we will hit is eating grass fed beef and a shout out to Grassroots Farm as a resource for PAPER wrapped, not plastic wrapped, grass fed beef.  Just thought you might want to send this on to others who might be interested. 

Take care and keep up the wonderful work you do.  
Your fan
Dr. Gary Huber

We test a steak from each beef we harvest. If it does not pass the tenderness test, we have the steaks ground. This strip steak did pass the test, as most, but not all, do.

May we all enjoy being firmly parked beneath the shade.

Locust blooms make for abundant honey.