Archive for the ‘Agriculture’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Montana Mobile Poultry Unit & Slaughtering Guide

Friday, June 4th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

Listen up if are looking for a way to process poultry:

MT Mobile Poultry Unit (MPU): Processing Training

This is required training for poultry producers who want to use the MPU to prepare poultry for sale in the retail market.

Class is free and open to the public.

There is a $15.00 fee for the manual, OR  download it at:

Mobile Processing Unit: Training and Use Manual.

The June 2010 class is behind us; but contact Mark Rehder of Farms for Families at 406-222-7585 to arrange to use the MPU, or one of the sponsors, to find out about training opportunities.

See also Montana Poultry Growers Cooperative: Mobile Processing Unit for updates.

Sponsors include: AERO, Lake County Community Development Corporation(LCCDC), Farms for Families, Montana Poultry Growers Cooperative

Slaughtering Guides:

The manual for this class can be downloaded at: Mobile Processing Unit: Training and Use Manual.

See also the article that led to the creation of the MPU: Mobile Processing: Appropriate Technology for Pastured Poultry Producers (www.growmontana.ncat.org/docs/sstokesfinal.pdf), written by UM graduate student S.D. Stokes.

Posted in Agriculture, Livestock | Comments Closed

The Third Generation & Health

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

In my post The Diet of Traditional Peoples: the Work of Weston Price & Frances Pottenger (May 21, 2009), I made a point about Dr. Pottenger’s 1930s research: he found that by the third generation on the wrong kind of diet, his cats had serious problems with their health including infertility and skeletal deformities. While it can be dangerous to extrapolate from cats to humans, Dr. Pottenger’s conclusions were born out by Dr. Price’s study of humans consuming a traditional (non-modern) diet vs those on a modern diet.

Now researchers in Russia have found that GM (Genetically Modified) soy products (grown from Monsanto’s seeds) also produce health issues in third generation hamsters fed a GMO diet. These health issues include sterility and infant mortality. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health, GMO, Health | Comments Closed

Shelli’s Sprouts: Round Two

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

Please refer to my earlier post: It’s a Small World – Hydroponic Sprouts (Apr 27, 2010)

Shelli sent the following May 5 update on her sprouting experience, as feed for her dairy goats:

“Round two of sprouting.  I had to throw the first one out due to fermentation. [It tasted] a little like beer.  It also was a bit foamy and just had a funky smell all together.  I threw it into the compost pile. We have a few renegade chickens and they LOVED it.

I got a hold of [my Lakeside contact] to ask a few more questions just to clear things up.

I’m on day three and my sprouts have doubled in size.  I rinse daily and move into another bucket putting the bottom sprouts on top and top on bottom.

I had a little spill on the floor during this process and collected them and offered them to the goats.  Lola wasn’t impressed, but my Pork Chop gobbled them up.

[For the second batch] I used the same mixture, this time only with more barley and less oats and same amount of sunflower seeds.”

Posted in Agriculture, Community, Food-Nutrition-Health, Landscaping, Livestock | Comments Closed

Gathering Summary: Oil + Water Film, April 28, 2010

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

by Catherine Haug

This was a different kind of event for ESP, in that we showed a film (not one we’d made ourselves): Oil + Water, a documentary of two young men and their road trip from Alaska to the southern tip of South America.

For more information about the film:

This summary includes a synopsis of the film, and the discussion that followed. For a printable copy of this summary, see Gathering Summary: Oil + Water (the Film), April 28, 2010. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Ecology, Energy, Gathering Summaries, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

It’s a Small World – Hydroponic Sprouts

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

Updated May 5: See also “Shelli’s Sprouts: Round Two.”

Sometimes we at ESP wonder if anyone can find our EssentiaList website via Google, even though we don’t allow advertising on our site. This funny little story provides the answer.

This post also includes a discussion of hydroponic sprouts as livestock feed. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Community, Food-Nutrition-Health, Livestock | 1 Comment »

GMO Invades the Produce Section

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

I think it’s safe to say that most people in our ESP community do not want to consume genetically modified/engineered foods. We turned away from rGBH milk products; we wrote letters of protest against GMO alfalfa and sugar beets; we seek out Organically raised soy, wheat and corn to avoid GMO versions.

But now we have even more reason to be wary of GMO foods: they have invaded the produce section of our local grocery stores. For example, zucchini and crookneck squash, and papaya from Hawaii may contain GMO protein for virus resistance.

Check out the GMO-Compass website for more information about GMO trials and approvals for cultivation and/or foodstuffs in the US, Canada and the EU. You can use their GMO Database to search by food.

Know Your Farmer

The best way to assure yourself and your family that your meals are GMO-free, is to raise your own, or buy from a grower you trust. Then cook your own foods from scratch using only raw ingredients (no processed ingredients).

Topics in this post:

  • Foods that are GMO or contain GMO ingredients
  • What’s Safe from GMO?
  • Resources (Links for more information)

(more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health | Comments Closed

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »