Saturday, October 27, 2012

On the Ranch

Gone are the days when people knew where their meat came from.  The practice of factory farming has disturbed me for a long time.  When we moved to Northern California I was pleased when I found I was able to buy meat from the grower.
We were invited to a party at Coffee Pot Ranch last weekend and jumped at the chance to see how he raised his animals.  The ewes were in the pasture, getting close to lambing.
In another pasture were the cattle.  No feed lot for them, they will graze and feed on grass hay until the end. Much healthier for them and for us.  (This beef is very lean!)
Week old chicks were in the brooder.  They will be put out to pasture next month.
No factory farming of hogs, no gestation crates for the sows.  All appeared happy and content though I do wish the rancher had pasture for them too.  He says he is trying but he will need a new hog barn to give all of them access to dirt.
It's not pleasant to think about the source of our meat and I realize that most of us do not have access to nor can afford to buy meat from small producers.  My solution has been to eat very little meat and know where it comes from.

Find more critters at Camera Critters

8 comments:

nonizamboni said...

Thank you, thank you for a non-feedlot view of farm animals! You live in a lovely part of the country, by the way.

Sylvia K said...

I eat very little meat and that is mostly chicken. I'm with Noni, thanks for a non-feed lot view of the farm animals!

VioletSky said...

you are fortunate to have found this place.
I also eat very little meat and find that most if it from the grocery store is rather tasteless in comparison to the fresh meat and poultry from farmers who care.

Gaelyn said...

Best beef I ever ate was the cow I raised.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

More and more people are concerned about what they eat, how it was raised, what it ate, and more. I think that is a healthy trend for a bunch of different reasons.

eileeninmd said...

Great shots of the critters, they are so cute! I believe it is a reason why some people are starting to homestead themselves. My neighbor has cows, chickens and now she is raising and selling turkeys.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

A good solution indeed and one we aim for, but can't always reach (it's easier here in Oregon). We definitely eat less meat (at least less than we used to).

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

PS: Oh and anyone who has traveled through parts of Colorado, eastern Oregon and down near the Salton Sea in your state(for three examples) and seen and smelled those giant horrible feedlots -- it is enough to turn anyone into a vegetarian.