Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

Do you want to know what my definition of insane is? Letting the NCBA maintain control of the database for the proposed Herd Identification System in the US. Letting the NCBA control the database will be tantamount to giving the database to the big meat packers, who control the NCBA, who will then use it to solidify their control of the beef industry by only slaughtering cattle of producers that agree with them and shutting out cattle from producers who bad mouth them.

Is letting the database be managed by the government the answer? NO!!!!! It will be open to public inspection and the big meat packers will still get a hold of the information to squelch detractors. The question of who controls this all important database is one of those really sticky things about the Herd Identification System that is being developed.

I know, with the title of the post you are thinking I am insane for thinking the big meat packers have such power. You may think that way if you want. I watched them overthrow the NCBA many years ago and start their reign of terror which has led to the formation of the R-Calf organization to represent us dissident members of the cattle industry who will not be lead around by the meat packers. Time and time again R-Calf has stood up to the Meat Packers and USDA and through court orders made them stop trying to hurt the American cattle producers and the American public at large.

I might be that lone, insane voice in the wilderness to you on this issue but just because it sounds insane doesn't make it wrong, I may just be seeing the light sooner than other people. Something to think about.

I bring you a warning. Every one of you listening to my voice. Tell the world. Tell this to everybody wherever they are: Watch the skies. Everywhere. Keep looking. Keep watching the skies. Charles Lederer

The other day I talked about the drought in Australia and it's consequences to the cattle industry there. I run across another story about the drought Down Under that is just sickening.

Australian outback cattle abandoned, 500 die of thirst

3000 head of cattle were abandoned in heat of about 50C (122 F for us Yankees) with only 2 of 13 water pumps working. UNBELIEVABLE! There is no excuse for not taking care of your critters. If you can't support them all, sell some of them till you can support them, this isn't rocket science. How the owners can financially support the wanton killing of their animals and investment is beyond me.

This is the kind of stuff that really irritates me. While the law may catch up and punish those responsible that will never relive them of the stain on their soul of such abuse. This is not the way we were told to care for these animals that inhabit the earth with us and the sin of such abuse is unpardanoble.

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds. Proverbs 27:23

My darling Wife took some pictures yesterday and I thought I would share. As you can see to the right i have the obligitory calf picture at this time of year. She really likes all the little babies and takes quite a few pictures of them. I have to admit they are cute and I like them too.

In other pictures I have one of the heifers sunning themselves in the late afternoon sun. Their bellies are full and just standing contendely around. We just added some more to the heavy pen, which you're looking at, so a few are still a little wild but they are calming down good. Continue reading "Sharing" »

There's this thing around called Friday Cat Blogging so I thought I would join in with some pictures of the cats on the place.












Cats are the ultimate narcissists. You can tell this because of all the time they spend on personal grooming. Dogs aren't like this. A dog's idea of personal grooming is to roll in a dead fish. Dogs spend their time thinking about doing good deeds for their masters, or sleeping. James Gorman

I really had to laugh at this one. It reminded me of the proverbial ostrich that by hiding its head, can't see the danger coming. According to a panel studying the situation, wolves will never find a home in Colorado. Now I don't know what they base this information on but they would do well to remember last year a female wolf trekked down to Colorado from Yellostone Park and managed to get herself killed. If one wolf can make the journey I am sure more can and I am sure their is habitat that isn't overcrowded that they can fill.

Planning ahead is fine but to hide from the situation and not plan for it is silly. I all ready have figured out how I expect to see wolves to come into my area, which I figure will be through the Big Horn mountains in Wyoming, and think about what I am going to do. Hiding is not an option but if that what they feel works for them more power to them.

The future is inevitable and precise, but it may not occur. God lurks in the gaps. Jorge Luis Borges

Call it fate, destiny, kismet, or divine intervention, this guy got his just deserts. He goes to throw a lit cigarette out the window of his SUV, a Ford Expedition no less the monster of SUV's, when it comes back in the vehicle, lands in the backseat, and burns the vehicle to a cinder. Sometimes you get what you deserve.

Fate then is that necessity by which a certain result will surely be brought to pass according to the natural course of events however we may vary the particular circumstances which precede the event. Charles Sanders Peirce

Just another example of your Government "protecting" you from possible danger, they don't. It takes the industry itself fo police the government in this matter through a federal lawsuit. Really a sad stament on the efficacy of your Government.

The danger of crippling thought, the danger of obstructing the formation of the public mind by specially suppressing ... representations is far greater than any real danger that there is from such representations. George Bernard Shaw

When a Japanese official states that he expects Japan will end it's ban on US beef and that, more importantly, Japanese consumers are looking forward to it I have to be optimistic. I don't particularly believe him but I have to be optimistic.

I have read quite a few stories in the past that state Japanese consumers are afraid of US beef since the BSE outbreak in Canada but now that this story has come up I can't track any of them down. Karma or more reason for optimism? I did find this opinion piece from a Japanese paper that states;

That U.S. beef is popular was evident by the way bowls of gyudon, rice topped with beef, sold like hot cakes when the dish was featured on the menu of Yoshinoya D&C Co. outlets for a single day last Friday. Even outgoing U.S. Ambassador Howard Baker remarked that ``the Japanese consumer enjoys and still wants to eat U.S. beef.'' Clearly, the U.S. government is eager to resume beef exports to Japan.

So optimism is the word of the day in the beef industry, at least my little corner of it, and the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Happy Optimistic Day.

Perhaps I am still very much of an American. That is to say, naïve, optimistic, gullible.... In the eyes of a European, what am I but an American to the core, an American who exposes his Americanism like a sore. Like it or not, I am a product of this land of plenty, a believer in superabundance, a believer in miracles. Henry Miller

Now I am no lawyer, thank the Lord, but it sure seems like the Montana Legislature is passing a law that is not Constitutional.

The bill, SB 199, would ban the discrimination of people based on their sexual orientation when it comes to employment, public accommodations, housing, financial transactions, education, job referrals, licensing, training programs, government services, funding and public contracts.

In this list is government services and licensing. Don't you go to your local Court House for the government service that issues you a marriage license? Didn't the voters of Montana pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage last election? So the law they are passing is unconstitutional. So why are they wasting time working on this bill?

The Constitution all ready discriminates against this group so passing the law isn't going to help and the way I understand things the Constitution always trumps a law so the law will be unenforcable. This just gives a backdoor way to try to push in gay marriage in the state.

I am at peace with God. My conflict is with Man. Charlie Chaplin

I guess Montana's don't need jobs or the goods provided by the "big box stores." Tax them out of existence is the answer it appears. This will help us by keeping us poor, tired and hungry. We can all just go back to living in caves and eating only what we can catch after all the low cost stores leave the state. What a wonderful way of providing jobs, killing them. I guess it frees up employees to move to other states where there are jobs.

Like I said earlier, I'm tired. Tired of caring so much and nobody listening. I need more sleep, a break, or the Montana Legislature to be out of session, I don't know which.

Death can only be profitable: there's no need to eat, drink, pay taxes, offend people, and since a person lies in a grave for hundreds or thousands of years, if you count it up the profit turns out to be enormous. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Wisconsin meat processor Emmpak Foods Inc. voluntarily recalled 123,000 pounds of ground beef sent to retailers in 10 states because it may be contaminated with hydraulic oil, the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service said on Tuesday.

FSIS said the problem was discovered after it received a consumer complaint. Emmpak is based in Milwaukee.

How do you get motor oil in ground Beef? Our wonderful meat packers at their best.

Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied. Pearl S. Buck

They ought to kick this guy somewhere for damn sure. No excuse for this.

The best way to avoid punishment is to fear it. Chinese proverb

Last week the hired man asked when the heifers were really going to start calving. I told him Monday they were really going to takes off. Surprise, surprise, I was right. We've had calf after calf born on their own with minimal problems. Just the way I like calving. The faster it goes now the shorter time we will be at it. I can't complain about that.

What can I complain about? What else, the weather. I am even beginning to doubt whether this drought will ever end. Hay piles are getting smaller but I will have enough, assuming there is any grass grown come spring in this drought. I'm tired. Tired of worring about everything. It happens sometimes. I need to find some humor. It will help. Just an update to let you know how things are going. Hope everything is going fine your way.


Good news about someone never gets past the door, but bad news will travel a thousand leagues away. Chinese proverb

It seems like no matter where you go in the world some of the problems remain the same. I discovered these two stories from Australia.

First there is a story about a drought.

A lack of rain has forced one of Australia's biggest pastoral leaseholders to dramatically slash its cattle numbers.

Although there's still reasonable feed on three Queensland properties, S. Kidman and Co says the rest, particularly in South Australia, are desperate for rain.

Agricultural and livestock manager Will Abel-Smith says the company plans to either move or sell stock from SA over the next month, before they lose condition.

"We've got about 30 decks in Roma of store cows and some lighter steers, and we'll have another 24 decks moving next week, and Macumba's looking to move cattle as we speak.

Sounds familiar, I've had to do the same thing. I would really be curious to know what they mean by "30 decks" and "24 decks." I assume it's truckloads and "store cows" are ready for slaughter but it would be nice to know. Continue reading "Staying the Same" »

Just for everyones benefit I just posted the following as a comment to my Chocalate post. I wanted to share it whith everyone that is not following the comments on the post.

While I found the whole article about chocolate interesting I thought after the whole Flame, from certain people, yesterday about my Valentines day post, it would be humorous to post it and say that was the reason why I didn't buy chocolate for My Darling Wife.

Just to make sure it was understood I put in an obscure quote that I interept to mean that I was justifing what I did after the fact. Obviously my attempt at humor was missed by certain people and the attacks continue.

This just proves my point that some people are way to overly invested in this one meaning-less day. I do little things for my Darling Wife all year long so why should I do it on just this one day, AND NOT OTHERS, just because people are emotionally invested in to such a degree.

I will point out yet again, MY DARLING WIFE DID NOT WANT CHOCOLATE!! As for flowers I think buying flowers from a florist is a cop-out. If you really want to give somebody flowers you go pick them yourself and give them to your wife. Taking the time to pick and arrange your own means I am really thinking about you. Buying them means I have the money to buy you off and I don't have to think about it. As for perfume, jewelry, lingerie or any other item mentioned, MY DARLING WIFE IS NOT INTERESTED AND DOES NOT WANT IT!!!

I have been researching something to give my wife for weeks and after much consediration ordered it for her yesterday. It is something she wants and I would like to give her. Is it a Valentines present. NO!!!! It is a present because I love her and want to make her happy.

Find some humor in your life, which in the long run I meant both posts to be. You will be a lot happier.