Why You Should Choose Grass Fed Beef

A year ago, we started buying our beef from a local farm/dealer, Grassfed Greensboro, that we could buy direct from. Over the last year, we have been very pleased with our switch to grass fed beef. We typically order 1/16 of a cow for $150 about every other month and have found out for our family of four (and sometimes 5) that works nicely. We are unable to place orders through the winter months because the cows are too lean so our last order before the cold weather set in we purchased 1/8 of a cow.

Each farm/dealer will quote the sizes and prices differently. Some will quote a price per pound based on the hanging weight. This is the weight before processing. Our dealer quotes the price per portion of cow (1/16, 1/8, 1/4, etc) based on the weight after processing. This makes it much easier to gauge how many pounds you’ll actually get. Typically a grass fed cow will also weigh less than a grain fed cow because the grain in a cow’s diet will “fatten” them. Therefore, 1/16 of a grass fed cow will typically render less pounds of meat than a 1/16 of a grain fed cow.

25 Pounds of Grassfed Beef
1/16 of  Grass Fed Cow (After Processing) 25 Pounds

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Growing Raspberries Year 2

How wonderful it is to see everything coming alive in the spring. Last year in February we planted 4 bare root raspberry canes. Along the trellis you can see how much our 4 raspberry canes have grown.

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Clearing Land the Hard Way

Back in January our son rented us a bulldozer to clear an area of the land. As exciting as it was to finally feel like we were making some progress we quickly realized this job was bigger than we had anticipated and we had already anticipated it to be quite difficult. After seeing just how many trees we had to clear after they were dozed over we had decided to try to get someone to come and chip it for us.

One of Four Large Piles of Trees
One of Four Large Piles of Trees

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Re-homing Our Chickens

I know we have been a little MIA with only the random post lately. We’ve just been so busy trying to get several good size projects done amid all of our normal everyday responsibilities. Neither of us seemed to have enough time, energy, nor inspiration to write much. One of those projects was Jon building a new bigger chicken coop so that we would have enough space for our current flock of 6 as well as 6 more that we got at Tractor Supply almost 7 weeks ago.
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How to Make Deviled Eggs Southern Style

I have always loved deviled eggs. It is one those items I expect to be at every family holiday or church covered dish meal. If you are are raising your own chickens now, you may find yourself with an over abundance of farm fresh eggs. What a blessing that is. So, why not make some deviled eggs? There are several different ways to make deviled eggs much of which is due to preference. This is how I like my deviled eggs.

Deviled Eggs
Deviled Eggs

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Homestead Cooking with Carol: Bountiful Make-ahead Meals – Book Review

Although, for the last few years Jon and I have been working toward being more self-sufficient, prepared, and just living a simpler life, we are still far from experienced homesteaders. I must admit that we have spent hours picking, preparing, and canning our homegrown veggies to turn around and have frozen pizza for supper because we were too tired and didn’t have time for real food. Sadly, more than once we have taken note of this. Not only is it counterproductive, if we are not careful we could let such setbacks discourage us. So, when we had the opportunity to read and review Carol’s new eBook, “Homestead Cooking with Carol: Bountiful Make-ahead Meals”, we were ecstatic.

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Food, Inc Documentary

Yesterday evening Jon and I watched the Food, Inc documentary on Netflix.

Food, Inc. Documentary
Food, Inc. Documentary

We were already aware of much of the horror unveiled in the film, yet still were shocked at times. This kind of thing is one of the major reasons we started growing our own food. We still have a long way to go before we are self-sufficient, but we do sleep better at night knowing that we are doing something.

View the Food, Inc Documentary Trailer

http://video.pbs.org/viralplayer/1402965302

Synopsis from PBS

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that’s been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli — the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

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Smoke Detector Maintenance at Daylight Savings Time

As we spring our clocks forward this weekend for Daylight Savings Time, take a few minutes to check your home smoke detectors to ensure that they are working properly. Using Daylight Savings Time is a great way to remember to perform your routine smoke detector maintenance.

In the US, 2450 deaths and 13,900 injuries resulted from residential building fires in 2011.

US Residential Building Fire Statistics (2007-2011)
US Residential Building Fire Statistics (2007-2011) – US Fire Administration

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Easter Egger and Production Red 2 Weeks Old Chicks

Here it is the first week in March and I am listening to the sleet as it hits the windows…sigh. I refuse to dwell on winter things any longer. So, we will think on happy thoughts….like baby chicks! The chicks are two weeks old now and their feathers are starting to fill in.

Flappy - 2 Week Old Production Red Pullet
Flappy – 2 Week Old Production Red Pullet

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How to Hem Pants By Hand

About the only sewing I do these days is mending, but I actually do know how to sew. I made several of my maternity clothes with my first child and many a Halloween costume when they were little. However, it is more expensive to sew your own clothing these days most of the time. The price of patterns and material is outrageous. I have a pair of dress pants that I recently bought that the hem came out of. It seems that nothing is made very well any more. I needed to repair the hem and thought I’d do a little tutorial.

Hemming slacks is something that I do by hand rather than on the sewing machine. Hems on a sewing machine will be very visible as the stitching will show up as a continuous line. Typically the hem of dress pants are not very visible. Thus, the need to sew by hand.

Because this is a mending job, you can clearly see by the creases where the hem should be turned up to. If you are hemming a brand new garment or the crease is not obvious be sure to measure for the proper length by trying them on, turn up, and tack with a pin.

Visible Crease of Hem
Visible Crease of Hem

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