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Want to eat well today and hedge for the apocolypse? Try a family milk cow!
I want to be clear on one point. I am not really a survivalist. I am a thrivalist. What is that? For me, being a thrivalist is a combination of several factors. First, I believe that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand...today...right now...here on Earth...not at some unknown post-apocalyptic point in the future. Second, philosophically and politically, I am very Libertarian with a strong Epicurean streak. For me, these two views are well summarized in the following quotes (and you will soon read why this is germane to the topic):
Life Is a Gift from God.
We hold from God the gift which includes all others. This
gift is life -- physical, intellectual, and moral life.
But life cannot maintain itself alone. The Creator of life has entrusted us with the responsibility of preserving, developing, and
perfecting it. In order that we may accomplish this, He has provided us with a
collection of marvelous faculties. And He has put us in the midst of a variety
of natural resources. By the application of our faculties to these natural
resources we convert them into products, and use them. This process is
necessary in order that life may run its appointed course.
Life, faculties, production--in other words, individuality, liberty, property -- this is man. And in spite of the cunning of artful political leaders, these three gifts from God
precede all human legislation, and are superior to it.
-Bastiat
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
-Epicurus
So, eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorow we may die fighting to defend our person, liberty, and property? Well...kinda, sorta, yes.
Personally, I am a self-made professional and an equestrian-by-marriage. Most important to this post, I am not a prepper focused on some unpredictable future event (thank you Nassim Taleb), but rather a man focused on living well today, and God willing tomorrow, with an eye to practicing disintermediation wherever and whenever possible.
So, where is this leading, and what does it have to do with cows? Well, yesterday, I was asked by Meat Hammer:
This was my response:
A clear mind, a fit body, a few people you trust, a quality blade, a rifle
you know, and a good mare, everything else is superfluous.
I am happy with that response, as those are truly the
ESSENTIAL Shit-Hits-The-Fan items for me.
I have posted a much longer and more detailed TEOTWAWKI article
on ZeroHedge before, with a much broader and more general audience in
mind. However, I think Meat Hammer is
looking for something less general, and a little more personal, specifically
dealing with what some people call homesteading, but I like to think of simply as
thriving. At the top of that list is a
small bit of pastureland proximate to one's home, then closely followed on my
list by the family milk cow, which is really the focus of this article.
Do have a cow, specifically a triple-purpose heritage-breed cow such as a
Milking Shorthorn! She provides milk,
meat, and when trained as an ox she can pull a load.
A cow is a proven way to convert sunlight, water, and
pasture into a usable surplus of protein, fat, calories, leather, and
horsepower. I believe that in many ways
having a family milk cow is both easier and more reliable than raising crops,
although it is pretty darn easy to grow potatoes or yams.
In The Princes of Ireland, one of Edward Rutherfurd's
historical-fiction novels set in Ireland, it is illustrated how cattle have
been the most significant store of wealth for centuries of Irish history, and
how political power and stealing said wealth (by cattle rustling) were often
intertwined. For me, as someone who has
enjoyed historical Wyoming from both horseback and an easy chair, The Johnson
County War came to mind. But I digress.
Let us get to what Meat Hammer really wants to read, which I believe is hedgeless_horseman's
list of things you will need for your SHTF family milk cow. Please understand that neither I, nor
mrs_horseman, were raised on a farm, nor did we study agriculture in school,
nor were we in FFA. However, we both
have had horses most of our lives, kept at a stable or a neighbor's when we
were young, and later at our home for our entire married life. After having a family milk cow for more than
five years, I will say that cattle are much easier, and infinitely more
productive than horses.
First, you need pasture-with some source of water. A spring-fed pond is best, but anything from
a garden hose and a metal tank to a windmill and stock tank will work. How much pasture is entirely dependent on
your local climate. In the South we can
keep a dairy cow and her calf year-round, without hay, on just a few
acres. In the West you need to have many
acres and/or feed hay. In the North you probably
also need a barn and hay storage, or a small silo, to get through the winters,
but we have no experience with this situation.
Your county Ag Extension office is a great resource for these
calculations, testing the soil, etc. If
you are in Wisconsin, ask a Cheese Head.
Second, you must have time, man-power, and passion 365 days
per year, often twice a day. On our
little farm, this comes primarily in the form of the dynamo known as
mrs_horseman, with assistance from the lil_horsemen, yours truly, and our
friend and neighbor, juan_caballero. It
is important to convey that being a female equestrian, mrs_horseman is blessed
with super-human endurance and strength, as well as a burning desire to spend
vast amounts of time in the barn...bordering on insanity...aka horse crazy. If it is not already obvious to you, animals
need to be attended to every morning and every evening. If a cow does not have a calf and needs to be
milked, and is not milked, it is very bad.
Having a hand like juan_caballero to fill in for us several times a
month is absolutely critical, and surprisingly easy to arrange, when one
realizes how valuable fresh-raw milk is in today's world. However, please understand, the time
commitment is a very good thing, as it teaches us real responsibility (especially
important for kids), which leads to huge amounts of self-esteem (important for
stay-at-home mothers), eventually gratitude (important for happiness), and periodically
when taking care of the animals we can even experience complete bliss. It goes right back to the Bastiat and Epicurus
quotes, above.
You will need to have fencing. If you have horses that share pasture, like
we do, then three-board rail fences work just fine, as long as you don't have a
bull on one side and a cow on the other.
You do not need barbed wire or hot wire.
Our cows have always been very domesticated, the never jump the fence,
and are not prone to damaging the fence, especially relative to horses.
You may need to feed hay.
Horse hay and cow hay are two different things. Horse hay needs to be kept dry. Cattle hay is found sitting out in the rain,
and is much cheaper. You can have a big
round bale loaded into the back of a pickup truck, and roll it out into the
pasture. Buy one of the roundbale hay feeders. You
lift it over the round bale to keep the cow from shitting, pissing, and
standing in her food, and this dramatically cuts your feed cost. We can pick up a round bale today for $65 and
it would last our cow about a month.
When you buy your family milk cow, get her just before she
calves, or just days after she calves.
It needs to be her first or second calf.
She and the calf will probably cost you as much as $2,000. At first, the calf keeps you from having too
much milk for your family, and you can separate them at night, and thus only
need to milk once in the morning. If you
have a dual-purpose breed of cow, and mate her to a beef bull, then when the
calf eventually goes off to freezer camp it will provide your family all the grass-fed
hormone-free beef it needs for a year.
About once a year you will need to either artificially
inseminate your cow, have someone AI her for you, or take her to visit a bull. NEWSFLASH: Cows only produce milk after they
give birth. The trick is determining
when she is in heat. If she is trying to
mount her calf, the dog, or you, then she is in heat. If she is mooing all night long, then she is
in heat. It is that simple.
You need a stainless steel bucket for milking, a plastic
bucket or a stool to sit on, and a place to tie her. It helps if you feed her a little treat at
milking time. Our cow gets the ends and
tops of vegetables, fruit rinds, banana peels, etc. Remember the lesson from Napoleon
Dynamite...no onions or garlic. Hamby
Dairy Supply has everything you need such as teat wipes, teat dip, strip cup,
stainless filter and paper filters, cleaning brushes, and soap.
You may eventually decide to build a stanchion for your milking parlor like I did...
Your hands will get stronger milking by hand, and it is faster because there iss less clean up. A Surge Bucket Milker with vacuum pump, like
the modern conveniences of a refrigerator and chest freezer, are not absolutely
necessary, but very convenient and very expensive. They do work incredibly well.
Order two dozen one-gallon glass jugs and metal lids at
Specialty Bottle's website. They can be
cleaned and sterilized with a normal cycle in your kitchen dishwasher.
When the milk sits in the refrigerator for a day the cream
will rise to the top. Use a stainless
ladle to skim it. Fresh, real, heavy
cream in a cup of french-press coffee is heavenly. Whipped it is absolutely sinful. This is more of that epicurean stuff.
For making butter you will need a butter churn like this one available at
Lehmans (we cheat and use our MagiMix), a wire-mesh wood-rim sieve, and a
wooden butter paddle. Ceramic butter
crocks and molds are nice to have, but you can also just wrap the butter in wax
paper and put it in the freezer.
For making cheese, it is important to use only stainless
steel pots and utensils. You will be
able to purchase all the recipe books, cheesecloth, rennet, molds, presses, wax,
etc. from Ricki at New England Cheese Making Supply.
If you want to do it all yourselves, butchering equipment
and supplies include a cold place to hang the carcass, gun, hoist, spreader,
hanging hooks, skinning knife, butcher knife, sharpening stone, steel hone, shovel
and garden for the offal, butcher saw, meat grinder, several large plastic
buckets, butcher paper, freezer tape, and a marking pen. Alternatively, load the heifer or steer in the
trailer and driver to the butchers. Your meat will be correctly aged, butchered, and ready in a few weeks.
If you have read this far, then you may also be interested
in my article on killing fascists by raising rabbits.
Happy New Year, and peace be with you!
»
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As Bob Dylan sang,
You're gonna have to serve somebody.
It might be the Devil,
Or it may be the Lord.
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.
28 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7 The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
8 The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. 11 The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.
12 The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy+28&version=NIV
Dairy farm life is hard.
Milking is done twice each day ... no breaks ... no sick days.
You plan your vacations around your cow "drying up time". Leave lots of hay and grain, and one of those drinking fountains that fills with water when pressed down. That from a 50 year old memory.
No Satellite dish??
Forget it.
I'd rather not live in a world devoid of 'Downton Abbey', "The View", with Whoopi Goldberg, and Rosie O'Donnell, and Babawawa.
Headless;
I really appreciate any man or woman that lays out how to do something productive, make products, sustain ourselves, work a farm, build a house.
Thanks very much. Very well written to me. I have a sense of your voice all through the piece.
I'm not a high skill person in regard to ranching, farming, living in the hills or off the land. I have pulled articles about aquafarming and animal husbandry and even organic rings of plants. I was considering getting some property in South America with a Brick and cement Wall around the house and central area with pig pens. Pigs pollute, so I was more interested in Guinea Pigs, Rabbits, Chickens, Goats, ... I didn't get far with the idea except at high altitude the litter sizes and crop yields are smaller.
I notices some ranches for sale in Tennessee and Kentucky I think.
I'm looking at Quitting Drinking Alcohol for New years. I think this will make me much stronger and able to make decisions like these. Also a sleeping disorder has really plagued my life. Sleep, Exercise, Work, Nutrition, Discipline, Brotherhood... each is very important.
As you point out in your many posts.
First steps is what you are pointing out. Education.
Quitting alcohol will pay more dividends than you can imagine right now. I quit 3.5 yrs ago after years of "trying". It's not easy if you got the drinkin gene but well worth it. Your priorities sound right if that's at the top of your list. Best of luck to you!
Thanks. I think with a sleep disorder the chances of serious brain, heart, kidney damage is high. I heard a doctor on the radio who has eye damage from his sleep disorder.
HH, unfortunately, where I live, prep-wise I'll be stuck with Mountain House freeze dried. Raisng horses, cows and cattle in a desert is precarious at best. I'm long on #10 cans, .308 and solar pumping.
Yeah out west there is lots of land with no water. It is cheap land.
Mountains often have small springs, but not sure you could buy the land you wold need. I remember hiking in the Rocky Mountains and coming across an indian who used government land for grazing his cows. I'm thinking that is not Viable these days.
Rabbit & Guinea Pig Cages could be great.
Most of the people who raise animals here all have to buy their feed. A few raise alfalfa but it's still not enough to sustain animal production without buying more. Even chickens and rabbits wouldn't have enough to eat without purchasing feed, based on the thin quail and jackrabbit populations.
Yeah, I would never try anything bigger than a rabbit or guinea pig in AZ, West Texas, NM, CO, Utah, NV, WY, unless I had money for feed. Most likely I would just have a home on land out that way with other uses for the land or just land buffer.
Where I am now I see Possums, Cotton Tails, Squirrels, Canadian Geese, Ducks, Raccoons, Deer, Muskrat... but I don't have land outside the town limits. I guess you can take some harvest of animals in the yard, but not more than a few squirrels which are in abundance as long as you aren't obvious.
I have a couple of ideas of where to trap local, but have to get away from the main river which is questionable quality/toxicity. Problem is I live in Farm Country, so only few park lands within 20 miles.
Using gubbment land for grazing cattle is what the whole Bundy ranch debacle was over. There was another similar case in northern NV where the rancher used water rights as his argument as opposed to the 10th amendment argument that Bundy used, and the guy won. Posthumously. The court found that members of the forest service and the BLM had conspired to kick that rancher off of the land in order to get one of their buddy's cattle onto the land. When corruption isn't coming into play, if you can get grazing and water rights, government land is still a very viable option. How much corruption there is is going to depend on which forest service office or which particular BLM office you are dealing with. Some are worse than others.
Yes, I guess having an easement or water rights on your land is very solid.
A family cow would be milked 300 days/year as it would get 2 months off to prepare for the next calf's birth. They ideally calve yearly to kep the milk flowing. In my experience, a cow would need as good if not better hay than a horse, especially if the goal is to get quality milk/beef from that animal.
An older milk cow, past her useful life, would only be suitable for ground beef. Most beef animals are raised 18-36 months of age.
I've got 50+ organic dairy cows, that one could buy for a family cow, if so desired. 2500. if you choose, 1500. if I choose...
I'm late for milking them now...
Cows can eat moldy hay. Moldy hay is bad juju for horses.
"In my experience, a cow would need as good if not better hay than a horse, especially if the goal is to get quality milk/beef from that animal."
Not necessarily so, samhell. The high production animals typically found on a dairy farm do require a better feed with higher protein, for instance, alfalfa vs. grass hay. That is mostly for their bodies to maintain/ replace what is being demanded of them, sometimes as much as several gallons a day. The breed referred to as his own by HH, or the Dexter breed, can thrive on a grass hay, are hardy animals, good foragers (both browse and graze), and as in the case of Dexters, can provide between 3/4-1 gal milk each a.m., a much lower demand.
These are the ideal animals for the small landholder of ~3-10 acres due to their being among the smallest of the large breeds, and lower costs (alfalfa $5/ bale, grass hay $2.5 / bale), ease of management, etc.
You are right. If your goal is 1gallon/day, you could feed her a bale of weeds and get that. If I'm going to the barn daily to milk this girl, I would rather feed her a 4.00 bale of 14%protein grass hay and get 3to 4 gallons per day. That gives you ample milk for any dairy food projects and the extra milk goes to the pigs, turning milk into meat.
Absolutely, you are correct. Increased inputs = increased production. I have a heifer calf on her the rest of the time, with the intent of raising to sell. Her last calf I steered, and he now rests peacefully in my chest freezer.
Managing my small operations, I also have a dairy goat ready to kid soon, her second freshening, after which I expect to get about a gallon a day. Her kids will also be available for purchase locally. Her milk is a supplement to what the cow produces.
Between the two, I have enough milk to meet the needs of my Family of four. I am interested currently in learning best management practices with what I have in place. If ever I needed to, I should be able to expand my operations to a bit larger scale appropriate to the needs at that time.
I do, by the way, also have on hand two pigs nearing market weight. They will be ready for the processor in just a couple of weeks. If this spring I find myself with more milk on hand than I can use, the next two pigs will surely appreciate my efforts on their behalf, and enjoy fresh milk as well as all the household scraps. I often wonder, who is working for whom?
If you ever make it out my way (Appalachian Highlands) feel free to stop in. You'll get a kick out of these cows. You could just about keep one in your back pocket, unlike what you are probably used to.
As an owner/operator of an organic dairy farm, my efforts pale in comparison to your own. I am only about 4-5 years into my homestead, and still learning much.
Thanks for your reply.
Any where near upstate south Carolina?
Eastern KY
Cows can eat and digest lower quality feed, versus horses, because they are ruminants with multiple stomachs... they chew their cud.
Milk production is amazingly dependent on nutritional intake. It is pretty cool to observe first hand. Our situation is that we do not need to profit from our cow, financially, so we can minimize both. However, it is comforting to know that turning up production is as easy as adding a few more girls and pouring on the feed.
Where are you located, and what breeds(s) are you running?
Yes, nutrtional intake is very interesting to watch. Milk can fluctuate 100lbs daily from my 30 milkers, based on what field that days hay came from.
I milk mostly Jerseys, but have a few Shorthorns, Linebacks, Holsteins and Ayrshire as well. My farm is in upstate NY. 27degrees and windy...and time to spread shit.
HH,
Here in Eastern Ky, I have Dexters, and typically have three on hand. My personal thoughts on the matter, and local circumstances, dictate that I keep a bull, cow, and calf. About the time a calf is being readied for processing or sale, another is on its way. I finally have gotten the rotation close to where I want it.
Another thing you might consider is I have successfully raised weanling pigs to market weight a number of times now. My original intent was to shy away from pigs because of the smells, mud, and otherwise generally distasteful perceptions. However, one or two 8 week old weanling pigs can be raised to 250 lbs. in a 8x4 barn stall in about 7 months, without any of the mess but for all of the reward. I have determined pigs have the highest input to return ratio of all my animals, and provide my Family with about six months of hams, bacon, roasts, chops, sausage, etc. at less than $4 lb. for initial purchase, feed, and processing fees. When I take a hog to the processor, I am in the market to by its replacement. I finally have that rotation also figured out. With little additional cost or labor, it would be a nice addition to your operations, as well.
samhell, in hindsight, I realize HH was directing his last comment to you. Apologies, all.
I hate to say it, but some of you preppers are going about it all wrong. Some of you are storing up as much food and essentials as you can, thinking that you can store up what you will need to live for a certain amount of time. I have bought some extra stuff, so I am not against buying a little extra, but what of all your preparations if you have to leave town? All of the work, all the money, all the preparation, and in 5 minutes you may have to leave it all. Your focus is wrong. You need a strategy that will provide a good outcome in many scenarios, and I have one that is guaranteed to provide a tremendous outcome in ALL situations.
When you want to know how to use a complex device, it’s usually helpful to refer to the manual written by the company that made the device. It can tell you a lot of things you didn’t know, and you can learn how to handle many different situations with that device.
Now if you are determined to continue believing that this incredibly complex society, the amazing world, and the vast universe (vast beyond all imagination) all started with some great explosion (though you are not sure where the material or force for such an explosion even came from), then I can’t help you. But if you are willing to accept that there is a God, and that He will answer those that REALLY want to talk to Him, then we can make some progress.
So referring to our Owner’s manual, we can see what Jesus said about the topic of prepping. But first we need to establish Who He is, and what His credentials are. The Apostle John tells us:
John 1:1-4
(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(2) He was in the beginning with God.
(3) All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
(4) In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
And continuing a little farther on…
John 1:14-18
(14) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
(15) John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.' "
(16) And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
(17) For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(18) No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
So there you have it… everything you see around you (in its original form) was made by Him. So He is a pretty important Man! If you need something, just ask Him. He is the One to go to. Nothing gets by Him, and EVERYONE will have to answer to Him one day. So if we operate according to His instructions, everything will be just fine, because nobody can sneak anything by Him and He covers EVERY scenario with His instructions.
Concerning prepping…
Matthew 6:25-34
(25) "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
(26) Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
(27) Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
(28) "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
(29) and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
(30) Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
(31) "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
(32) For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
(33) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
(34) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
If you want to buy a cow, then buy a cow. And if God tells you to prepare in a certain way, then do it. But what bothers me is that from the comments I read it sounds like some of you are planning to defend your little stockpile with a firearm. So let’s walk through a likely scenario… Everything hits the proverbial fan and you start digging into your stockpile, but you have a neighbor that has not prepped so well. In fact, he has just moved in and has not had time to buy any extra supplies. Are you going to eat well and let him go hungry? Suppose you give him something, but not his neighbor. Where will you draw the line? Who will you let starve while you have plenty to eat?
Back to the Owner’s manual:
Matthew 16:25-27
(25) For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
(26) For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
(27) For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
So having your focus on trying to preserve your own life here on Earth is a big mistake. You ought rather to focus on doing what God wants you to do, and then He can take care of you in a supernatural manner. I have bought a little extra stuff, and when things “hit the fan” I plan to contact my neighbors and tell them I have some extra if they need some. Once that runs out, we will have to depend on God, and if He wants me alive here on Earth, He will provide what is needed.
Actually God has a lot of experience with taking care of people. If you read in the Old Testament starting in Exodus, you can see that God sustained about a million people in the desert for a long time. There were no gas stations, convenience stores, or Wal-Marts. They even undertook the huge project of building an elaborate tabernacle that included silver and gold in its construction. And not one of them was week or sickly.
(Psalms 105:37) He also brought them out with silver and gold, And there was none feeble among His tribes.
As a matter of fact, they had everything they needed…
(Deuteronomy 2:7) "For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing." '
So am I for real, or am I just blowing smoke??? In fact I have already learned to do some miracles (by asking God to do them). I prayed for a girl in Holland, and her pain disappeared instantly. You can see it in this short video.
Pain disappears after prayer in Jesus' name (4 min.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEzkRRdCxTs&feature=youtu.be
But it’s not only me that can do this. Jesus said it’s for all His disciples. All those who believe can lay hands on the sick and they will recover.
Mark 16:15-18
(15) And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
(16) He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
(17) And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
(18) they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
If you want to learn how to do it yourself, I recommend attending the free Pioneer School at www.thelastreformation.com.
Dude Mark 16:15-18 He was speaking to the 11 remaining disciples. Not to every yahoo that comes along and thinks he has a direct phone line to God.
Works and Miracles still exist today.
Furthermore the Apostle Paul was not one of the remaining disciples and yet, when shipwrecked and bit by a venomous snake he survived it. He had the gift of the Holy Spirit as well as the 5000 saved at the Day of Pentecost in Acts.
Those signs of prophecy, healings, and other supernatural acts are well chronicled in the Acts of the Apostles. It continues to this very day.
It is far too easy to take one idea from scripture, out of the entire context of the Bible, and dismiss it as, "it was meant just to the audience present at the time the words were spoken".
At times the direct audience matters. At other times it does not.
Have you read the book, the Acts of the Apostles? In most English texts it follows right after the Gospel of John.
"The Gospel of Luke" and "Acts" were separated into two distinct books when they were actually one manuscript.
Have you read Acts? Rather how many times have you sat down and read the entire book of Acts, from beginning to end, in total?
If you want to learn how to do it yourself, I recommend attending the free Pioneer School at www.thelastreformation.com.
Right. It is all about you and yourself.
You are deceived.
You blaspheme the Comforter? The Holy Spirit works through Jesus' followers, His Disciples, the church, the called out. You take the credit for what the Holy Spirit has done? There is NO FORGIVENESS FOR THAT.
His Disciples are not the ones doing the healings and the casting out of the demons. The signs manifest, yes, I will agree. But the GLORY BELONGS TO GOD ALMIGHTY.
If God sees it fit to bestow any of the Spiritual Gifts upon anybody then HE WILL. You cannot choose it. I cannot choose it. Only God can choose it. YOU ARE NOT GOD. The GLORY BELONGS TO GOD. The choice is His and His alone.
Haven't you read Acts 8:9-24? Is this what you are promoting? "If you want to learn to do it [for] yourself"
If you are doing it for yourself then you are NOT doing it for God.
So go ahead and DENY the Truth that the word, "for", was not meant to be understood in your sentence. Condemn yourself to another lie. Celebrate lies, yes. Hell most people are doing just that on the wide path to DESTRUCTION.
Or you can read about Simon the Sorcerer...Acts 8:9-24
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
As Simon the Sorcerer your own heart is wicked.
REPENT blasphemer. REPENT Sorcerer. Read my other response to you which folows in this thread.
This is as much a recipe for personal and family disaster as the Jewish Mafia on Wall Street could hope for.
Ignore this post as it will surely be as deadly for you as Judas supposedly was for Jesus.
You are far better off using an alternate device.
Comte d'herblay would suggest that a top of the line Swiss Army Knife, with the magnifying glass, little pen, and straight pin as the best device to learn.
Excellent post. I'd make sure you have plenty of potable water first. I recently had a bee hive removed from a guest house.
The bee keeper was doing a "live" removal early in the morning, and accidentially hit the water pipes when he was cutting the wall.It was amazing! (3) 4-5 foot (2 meters) combs filled with honey.
Luckily, they were fairly docile. 50,000 bees at sun rise. I got stung a few times, while Mr. Bee Keeper was looking for the water main he accidentally cut.
Needlees to say, the honey is so tasty. I've just let drip gently from the bee's wax comb.
Mr. Bee keeper kept most of the (3) 5' combs and the queen to make a new home and provide food for the relocated colony.
This article is udder nonsense. Your 1 cow operation is nothing more than a hobby that is more work than it is worth, other than the satisfaction you get from caring from it and making shit like cheese and butter. In a SHTF moment, your cow would be ground beef, sirloin and chuck roasts within the week. I raised cattle for years and sold my herd of 100 brood cows in 2008. One cow, or a hundred, especially with milking, you are ball and chained to your home.
Althought I converted 200 acres of pasture to row crops, I still have facilities for cattle. My home is 4 miles from farmstead......if I did have a few cows, they'd be gone in a day unless there were an armed guard there round the clock.
The best friends to have are networks of people that are dairy or beef cattle folks, get to know them and when SHTF, you can help them guard their livestock in exchange for whatever meat and milk you need.
I have another suggestion. Find yourself a couple of hot 20 something fertile women . . . plenty of hot EBT types that would love a sugar daddy....get em pregnant, and you can nurse them along with the baby....two birds with one stone so to speak.
A pallet of dried milk powder beats the hell out of your 1 cow idea if your looking for survival food.
Well if it doesn't work for you, fine. Otherwise, STFU. Just because you can't manage your own operations well enough to keep it profitable, manageable, or otherwise worth your while, don't knock on somebody else's success.
You missed the point entirely.
I don't disagree with the dried milk powder in long term storage, which I have, but feel it has a supplemental role to the actual means of production for the real thing, which I also have.
And, OBTW, it all works just fine when well organized and not mismanaged.
Let's see your agricuture and bovine management resume and Financial Statement from your "operation".
Oh wait, you already provided it , AND i QUOTE "an owner/operator of an organic dairy farm, ONE COW AND A CALF FOR THE FREEZER Priceless. Oh...and a fucking bull.....are you including him in your "milking herd"? The purchase of one frigging bull to service ONE COW and then maintain him for one cow humping and you could have bought enough food and milk to last a year. Why not buy a straw of semen and have your ONE COW AI'd? Just trying to help you out here.
I think samhell was the self-described organic dairy man. The comma in the sentence after which the rest comes, which you maybe meant to reference, describes myself.
As for the the fucking bull... Yep, that is part of what generates a bit of return, the whole "fucking" part, as he is available for others to breed back to, for a small fee. Although smaller than an angus, a Dexter bull bred back to an Angus cow, will produce a calf that has faster weight gain and reaches a profitable market weight sooner than a full-blooded angus calf. With beef sales per pound being higher now than they have ever been, getting a beef animal to market quickly is a significant consideration.
He can be bred to a larger animal, but the other breeds local to me can't breed a smaller animal my cow's size. Since there is a bit of travel involved between Dexter owners, yes, I am willing to pay for the convenience of having one more mouth to feed in order to maintain a breeding schedule that suits me. Since I cut the bulk of hay from my own fields, and put up more than enough to get me through even the harshest winters here, I do prefer to own/control the means to production. It is a concept similar in nature to your own of maintaining a bevy of EBT vixens through which you will have your own steady source of milk.
I sincerely appreciate your efforts in helping me more successfully manage things here, though. Sounds like you yourself are really well-informed on all the various aspects of a small land holding, most likely from your keen attention to details, close study of what has been written about various topics, and your sober judgement in matters of practical application.
Ohhhh, you sold your cows in 2008 a bummer for you when you look at the prce of a cow in todays market ! So you leased out the land to your grain farmer buddy, collect a few dollar rent on the place and watched it get sprayed down with roundup, other poisons and now telling some one how super bright you are !
Good luck when the grain market crashes, and you have to put that 200 acres back to grass and restock on cows at triple the price.
I do agree with the pallet of dried milk powder, I doubt any of these long on talk short on action folks commenting in here could actually make it through milking a cow by hand just one time. I had that chore beginnng at age 8 yrs, have a grip and lower arm strength that has gotten me the monikor of "gorilla grip". It has come in real handy when you have to grab some big pain in the ass by the throat and squeezing back some asshole that thinks he has a grip.
Ya all might want to read J H Kunstler's "World Made by Hand" then one will have a little bit more prospective on the long time event aspect that you all seem to want to occur and think you are prepared for!
Also, for those of you that have never been to a war (I suspect most) it wont be gangs of ravaging youth but differnt army groups claiming there right to your stored food, your women and anything else of value they wish to take.
As for me, I am not going to take a life over a damn cow! I might scrare that person with a round through a engine block, but have had to deal with too many ghosts from my 19-20 year old tour of human behavior, have made peace with them, don;t need any more to deal with.
You are clueless. Cattle were high when I sold mine. Even the old cows brought $ 1800-2,200/head. I farm 1,100 acres...all paid for with no operating loans and own all equipment. Now, for the math lesson.
100 Brood Cows
Haying Equipment
Fuel for Haying
Hay Storage
Grain For feed
Fuel for feed grinding
Straw For Bedding
Veterinary Bills
Fertilizer for pasture and Hayground
labor to feed, calve, check cows daily, feed twice
Fence Maintenance
Death Loss from calving
92% live birthrate means 8 cows unproductive and consuming feed and resources
Liability Insurance
Sell 90 feeder calves for $ 75.00/head profit after aforementioned expense
200 acres corn production @ 22o/bu/acres x $ 7.00 = $ 308,000.00 less COP $ 385.00/acre ($ 84,700.00) = $ 223,800.00 In the seven years since I figure my sale of cows enabled nearly $ 1,500,000 in additional income. When SHTF, the last thing I'll be worrying about is milking a fucking cow.
Kuntler.... That stupid fucking commie lib will be one of the first to go down in his World Made by Hand. Another Academic without a clue. No charge for the math lesson on that "bummer" of a decision I made.
I downvoted myself to save you the trouble.
Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge, but we will be the judge of what our lifestyle and diet is worth.
By the way, how do you feel about HFCS? Are you a consumer as well as a producer?
High-fructose corn syrup is a common sweetener in sodas and fruit-flavored drinks. As use of high-fructose corn syrup has increased, so have levels of obesity and related health problems, leading some to wonder if there's a connection. Research has shown that high-fructose corn syrup is chemically similar to table sugar. Controversy exists, however, about whether or not the body handles high-fructose corn syrup differently than table sugar.
At this time, there's insufficient evidence to say that high-fructose corn syrup is any less healthy than other types of sweeteners. We do know, however, that too much added sugar — not just high-fructose corn syrup — can contribute unwanted calories that are linked to health problems, such as weight gain, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and high triglyceride levels. All of these boost your risk of heart disease.
My belief is that the obesity and health problems today are caused by gluttony, overindulgence in soft drinks and lack of physical exercise. I do not drink soda. Period. The diet additives are worse yet.
All of my corn is sold to Cargill Animal Nutrition and marketed as livestock and pet food. or ethanol plants where by-products DDG's are used in feed both here and overseas and marketed as livestock and pet food. Wheat to Siemer MIllinng for flour. Soybeans, (who knows where they end up) Probably in a diesel tank or on grocery store shelves.
I live in a small community in midwest, have plenty of livestock producing friends, a network of gardners etc., and an ample supply of ammunition. However, that being said...if we do go full TEOTWAWKI, I don't want to be a part of it. But that's just me. So just shoot me in the first wave and divide up my shit.
However, that being said...if we do go full TEOTWAWKI, I don't want to be a part of it. But that's just me. So just shoot me in the first wave and divide up my shit.
Really...Whom wants to inherit a World gone mad?
I ask myself that question each day? IS THIS WORTH IT?
But I am still here. I just do not care if I am or if I am not. There is no meaning to this if you you do not have kids.
It is just an experience of suffering before the final eternal damnation and suffering.
The problem with HFCS is that it is in EVERYTHING. It probably wouldn't be so bad if Americans didn't eat tons of the stuff. It is in breads and catchup. It is in sodas and candy. It is in many common canned goods. It is ubiquitous. I suspect that if you replaced HFCS with honey, and people ate just as much honey as they do HFCS, they'd still be landwhales.
As for the cow being a money pit, the economics of how food will be produced is going to change drastically in the future. Today, if you are not huge, either you are filling a niche market where there isn't very much room for competition, you are a guerrilla farmer/rancher who is selling meat/produce at a very high premium to people who don't trust the commercial ag industry, or you get put out of business by having to follow onerous regulations on top of all of the capital that is required just to raise your cows/crops. This is going to change out of necessity. Imagine what food prices would be without subsidies. The whole system is out of whack, and it would be good to know how to handle cattle or chickens or whatever BEFORE reality reasserts itself. One thing that having the cow for HH does is it ensures that he is in charge of quality control. The value that has is hard to price in FRNs, and only the person doing it can decide whether it is worth it or not. I know that the melons that I grew this year were better than anything from the store, I know that the tepary beans that I grew are better than pinto beans and I know that the hominy that I make from the corn that I grow kicks the hell out of the prepackaged and pre-nixtamalized stuff at the store.
Speaking of, it's time to shell some more corn and get to work with the wood ash here soon.
You are obviously biased because you make your living raising this gmo frankenfood to be consumed by the public. Do some research how fructose acts in the body. Cancers consume fructose, not glucose. Fructose must be processed in the liver whereas not true for glucose. Read about how fatty liver is epidemic in this country now even in people who are not significantly overweight. The digestion of corn in cattle produces massive amounts of flatulence because their digestive system is not meant to consume massive amounts of grain, especially corn. We have become a corn based society and the results of this is evidenced in our health and expanding waist lines. Omnivore's Dilemma is a good enlightening read.
Stop justifying yourself and face facts. I've had to do this myself. I work in healthcare and make my money trying to find drugs to combat infections in chronically ill people because they eat junk and sit on their asses. You make your money at the other end.
HFCS is liquid poison. High Fructose Corn Syrup – Research by the IATP in 2009 shows a significant level of mercury in products that contain HFCS. When making HFCS, caustic soda, among other things, is used, to separate corn starch from the corn kernel. For decades, HFCS has been made using mercury-grade caustic soda produced in industrial chlorine (chlor-alkali) plants. The use of mercury cells to produce caustic soda can contaminate caustic soda and ultimately HFCS with mercury. Currently, there is no way a consumer can tell where the HFCS (or any other ingredient) in their processed foods came from or how it was produced, so avoiding all products containing HFCS is the safest course of action.
Real sugar is not harmful if consumed in limited quantities. This was always the case in this country because it was so expensive, it was used as an occasional treat. I don't drink any soda either but I love a cold homemade ginger beer after a hot day working in the garden, certainly not in a Big Gulp size.
Miffed
Hedgeless...lmao. That was meant to be a little bit of humor and didn't realize the troops would get their panties wadded up. What you are doing is great...I love cows....but judging from your description of your financial condition and lifestyle, the cow aka moneypit, isn't really a part of a survival strategy. Some people on here like KunstlerGuy who dissed me will be heading to the countryside, buying one and finding out they'd best have stuck with the powdered milk. Just sayiing. Happy MOOYear! lol
interesting and informative post, but I could do without all the godder bullshit.
Guns and ammo; that can go a long way toward feeding a family... :^)
Seriously, the first two will be needed in abundance to defend whatever Thrivalist stores you have. Those that have relied on the System (gov largess) will have nothing, and will have no qualms taking your stuff (as they have indirectly for years).
Distance from population centers is always encouraged.
HH, I would love to tell y'all the awesome story someday of how many of the great Founding Fathers of Texas came from these old families within 25 miles of here. My close relatives played one hell of a role. "You would still be fighting off Comanche if not for them." I would tell the three steppers and militia men, and everyone else I met on my trips to Texas. Quanah Parker would be proud of you. Happy New Year.
HH, A great article and very evident that you are a self made man with reason and logic. Reason and logic lead to truth. Reason and logic lead to God and an understanding of our creator.
I have enjoyed reading your post and comments. My best to you and your family.
Long Hay Burners and Yard Birds for 2015.
Giga,
When the SHTF, you are likely to find like minded folk who band together for mutual protection and diversification of skills. This doesn't happen by accident; it requires a lot of planning and preparation which is not rocket science.
The military even manages to teach 19 year old kids the rudiments of setting up surveillance and providing enough range time to become a deadly force. Sure, a lot of work is involved, but having something eat while all others are starving is a great motivator to stay awake to watch "the cow," or goat, beans, etc.
There is also a cheaper version that's smaller and does the same thing and is easier to care for and gives richer milk. A goat. While at it don't forget a small chicken coop, those chickens hardly need any care at all. Nothing like dry chicken manure spread very thin and carefully on your lawn. You only need to do that every few years. After 50 years what I remember the most was the taste and tenderness of angus steak.
Didn't the oldtimers put silver coins at the bottom of their raw milk as a preservative? Raw goat milk, BTW, is goddamn tasty.
Keep stacking DEER.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0GDcA-gqY4