We've got kids!

Ruthie and Leona (above) give a big "Hello!" from the farm. They were born on Feb. 13 in the wee hours of the morning and are quite a pair! Leona, who has ears that go up, is an explorer and has figured out how to get out of her pen. She enjoys visiting the other kids and taking naps with them.

I just wanted to share with all of you out there who enjoy babies the most recent additions to our goat herd. With 14 new kids around things are a little more lively and exciting around here. I enjoy watching them play with each other, climb up on their moms, chase the chickens, snuggle together, and then, of course, holding them nice and snug in my arms.

During the first 24 hours or so the moms produce milk called colostrum. It is high in antibodies that help the kid fight disease. After kidding they are standing up within about 5-10 minutes and learning how to nurse from their mama. The kids nurse while standing with their heads tilted up (as you see Leona doing) and this helps their digestive system develop properly. Goats are ruminants, meaning they have 4 stomaches (like cows). They do an excellent job of digesting tough plant material which we, as humans, are unable to do. They are quite amazing!!

Saturday was great with the rain we got (a total of 1 inch from Fri-Sat... seemed like a whole lot more than that!!) but made for a chilly day for the kids. I ended up bedding some of them down in another pen that was a little more out of the weather. With the sun shining today they were having a blast! I hope you all enjoyed it too and took the opportunity to do some of your own romping around in the great outdoors!

We have already named them all, thanks to the great input of those on the farm, and started doing some disbudding. Disbudding is the term used for the process of searing around where the horn starts to grow. The buds feel like a little bumps on their head in between their ears. Keeping their horns from growing helps prevent injuries that could occur from fighting with each other or getting stuck in brush or fencing. So, the orange holes you see on their heads are from the disbudding iron and a little iodine to prevent any sort of infection. After the whole process I was amazed at how they immediately got back to playing around as though nothing had happened. As their main caretaker I am excited about watching them grow. Please feel free to stop by the farm and see them. They will brighten up even the most dull of days.

Why Your Hamburger is Increasingly Becoming a Moral Dilemma

This has been in the news for a couple of weeks but just in case you missed it here is a quick editorial from the NY Times that points to the light recently shined on the recent, and ongoing, happenings in the meat processing industry. Suffice it to say that if you have a weak stomach, a sympathetic bone in your body, any shred of decency, or the merest glimmer of a soul don't click on the video they provide. No, on second thought, if you have any of those things you should by all means click on that link, because as awful as the reality that these things are happening is it is AT LEAST equally shameful that we turn a blind eye to them and by our choices and lifestyles we passively (yet decidedly) both support and encourage them. We sell locally produced, grass-fed beef here at our farm and would love to sell you some as an alternative to purchasing beef that comes out of the soul-less conventional industrial meat processing complex but if you don't buy it from us, buy it somewhere and struggle with us all as we attempt to see beyond the bottom line and into the reality of the ethical dimensions that encompass something as mundane as a burger and fries.

If you want more info on what conventional meat production looks like this interview with Michael Pollan is a good place to start and you can check out our previous post here.

Update: Don't say we didn't warn you

Green Revolution, Redux?

Glad you stopped by - there are a lot of links in this one but hey, its supposed to be chilly and rainy this weekend so you've got nothing better to do. There have been a number of pieces floating around lately on the coming (or is it here already, hard to say) green revolution in Africa. To say this is a complex issue would be an understatement - we're not going to go into all of the pros, cons and minutiae of the green revolution here so be sure and check that out for yourself (suffice it to say that the relief and development world is no more free from Newton's third law than the rest of the universe). However, with President Bush heading off to visit a few countries in Africa this weekend it will probably be in the news some more so we thought we would point you in the direction of a few pieces to see for yourself what all the hubbub is about. You can get a quick audio overview with this piece from yesterday's Marketplace broadcast on NPR. There is also this good piece from The Wilson Quarterly. Now, for a decidedly pro-viewpoint you can peruse the aptly named African Green Revolution website and for the counter argument check out this piece from the Grain website. Lastly, I'll point you towards a favorite blog of mine by economist Chris Blattman and a post he did a while back focusing on the same topic but pushing aid and development workers to think not just subsistence, not just food in the belly, but long term development as well, food in the cupboard if you will.

Remember, the question here isn't whether or not its a good thing for hungry people to have access to more food, nobody is against that. But how do we get to that point, what sacrifices (if any) do we make along the way, who gets to make those decisions and finally, a question all development agencies ask themselves (or should at least) - how can we do the most "good" while doing the least "harm."


Ok, I just saw the forecast for tomorrow and there is a 90% chance of rain, so here is one more article that I was reminded of when typing that last sentence which is a good illustration of the dilemma. You know that picture is intriguing you . . . .