I am excited to see the newest Red Poll journal included in mu post vacation stack of mail! Good times ahead reading all of the articles. I will try to pass on tidbits as I learn them.
We are still researching and building our foundation herd, so gathering as much information as we can is vital. The National Red Poll meeting appears to be slated for Louisville, Kentucky this year. I think the date is set for sometime in November.
Until next time!
Filed under Beef, Cattle, Farming, grass fed beef, Grassfed, Red Poll Cattle, Uncategorized
DarkRedKidney (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sesame seeds (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Recent blood work revealed that I have a mild anemia. My doctor made some reçommendations for improving my intake of iron. Being the curious person that I am, I am now researching these foods on my own. I would like to avoid taking a multivitamin. I would like to improve my iron intake with only natural sources. So here is what I have found so far.
Red Meat. I actually am glad to jear that I need to eat more red meat. I now need to find a source of grass fed beef, but we do still have some conventional beef in the freezer. I will work through that. The iron content of red meat is listed below. It appears that liver (yuck) and kidney (who eats that?) are excellent sources of iron.
Green Leafy Vegetables, Red Meat, Beans, some seeds and some types of nuts are good sources of iron.
Garbanzo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I got the following information from an eHow article:
Excellent sources of heme iron (3.5 mg or more per serving) include: liver, which has approximately 11 mg per serving depending on the type of liver; kidney, which has 7 to 11 mg, depending on the type; and shellfish, such as clams and oysters.
Excellent sources of non-heme (plant) iron include: cooked beans, including white beans, soybeans, lentils and chickpeas; breakfast cereals (the ones enriched with iron); and lima beans, red kidney beans and split peas.
Good sources of heme iron (2.1 mg or more per serving) include beef, poultry (the darker the meat, the more iron it contains) and blood pudding.
Good sources of non-heme iron include: enriched egg noodles, or any other enriched, cooked noodles; dried apricots and other stone fruit; spinach; peppers (canned/fresh) and tomatoes
Foods containing 0.7 mg or more of heme iron include chicken, ham (and other lean pork meat), lamb, veal, seafood (be careful to avoid mercury poisoning by consulting the mercury levels in your seafood) and eggs
And, finally, foods containing 0.7 mg or more of non-heme iron include: nuts; seeds and legumes such as peanuts, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews and sunflower seeds; breads (enriched with iron); breakfast cereals like oatmeal and farina/cream of wheat; wheat germ; canned beets; dried seedless raisins and fresh stone fruit such as peaches, plums/prunes, dates, apricots and nectarines.
The juice of any of the fruits listed previously can make an excellent iron-rich drink, along with beverages such as milk or protein shakes that specify they are enriched with iron.
In general, iron absorbs poorly into the body. Iron supplements and non-heme iron do not absorb as well as heme iron, so to maximize absorption, be sure to eat and drink foods high in vitamin C to better absorb the iron.
Filed under Beef, Natural, Uncategorized, You Are What You Eat
Red Poll (Photo credit: Nick Saltmarsh)
Red Poll Cattle are one of many breeds that are known as Heritage Breeds. Heritage Breeds are typically breeds that are declining in number because they are not the main stream commercial cattle. Many of them have their own niche, such as grass fed beef. Many are also dual purpose animals. Their value is great, perhaps not measurable in dollar amounts, but more in their value for preserving genetic diversity.
Red Poll cattle are a cross between the Norfolk and Suffolk breeds of quality of its beef. They were small, red and white, hardy and horned breed of cattle. Suffolk cattle were a dairy breed that were Red, yellow, and brindle in color. They were a polled breed. Through genetic selection and cross breeding of the two breed, the Red Poll was developed. The traits of Red Poll cattle that make them excel are many of those of the above breeds. Perhaps obvious, but they are a smaller, red and polled breed of cattle.
According to the American Livestock Breed Conservancy, the breed was imported to North America in the 1800s. In 1883, the American Red Poll Association was founded. I am not certain of the numbers nor the membership, but I can state that my farm is registered herd #6500. My herd was registered earlier this year. (I have to laugh a bit to say herd, as we have three heifers that just calved within the past two months.)
The cross resulted in a nice dual purpose breed. Throughout the years, Red Poll cattle have fluctuated from a dairy focus to a beef focus several times. At one point, Red Polls were efficient and competitive dairy cows. This was very evident on farms that tracked total profits above and beyond the cost of feed only. This is likely due to their ability to convert forage into production. They are also known for longevity, often producing 10,000 pounds of milk per year into their teen years. An added benefit of this longevity is that they continue to produce calves into their later years as well.
English: Red Poll cow, Temple Newsam. Home Farm, Temple Newsam, is the largest Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) Approved Centre. Significant breeding groups of livestock from the RBST Watchlist are kept at Home Farm. This is one of a herd of Red Poll cattle, and there are 8 other breeds of cattle kept here. See http://www.leeds.gov.uk/templenewsam/farm/farm_live.html (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
One of the highlights of the breed are their reproductive traits. Red Poll bulls are very potent. Their traits are predictable and easily inherited. Red Poll females tend to be very fertile and are easy breeders. They are known for calving ease. Red Poll cattle produce a large amount of milk even on forage. This results in good calf growth. They are noted for good survivability of the calf. I saw one study where they were the top producing breed in terms of Rate of gain to day 200. This has to do with good rates of gain, great calving ease, and the survivability of the calf (calf vigor).
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Filed under Animal nutrition., animals, Beef, Cattle, Foraging, grass fed beef, Red Poll Cattle, Uncategorized
We just got to witness the first ever calf born to our farm. We have not gotten a chance to see if it is a bull or a heifer. We are very excited. He or she is standing after only 20 minutes. Hopefully he or she will nurse soon.
Filed under Beef, Cattle, grass fed beef, Grassfed, Heritage Breed, Red Poll Cattle, Uncategorized
Well let me start by stating that this is our first calving season, which will lead into our first breeding season.
We are evaluating which breeding program to go with. We know of several potential programs.
The first is simply pasture bull breeding. Due to the presence of young kids on the old homestead, we have not seriously considered this as an option.
The next method would be a timed breeding program , which would require hue use of prostaglandins and follicle stimulating hormones. Seeing that we are trying to go with a hormone free program, this is off the table as well. So what should we do?
The best breeding programs are reliant on heat detection. This can be noted through observation or left to the bull if one is around. The issue facing most farmers is that they are too busy to simply sit on the fence and watch for evidence of heat. These behaviors include increased walking activity, mounting behavior, and willingness to be mounted. Typically a cow that is willing to be mounted is ready to be bred, the cow doing the mounting is about 12 hours away.
I think that we are going to go with some kind of marker-type system. This can be a simple as tail chalking. This method uses chalk to mat the hair over the tailhead down. Once the animal is mounted, the hair stands up, so that it is evident that she is in heat. Another form of the marker system is called a Kamar pak. This is a dye pack that is fixed to the tailhead region. Once the animal is mounted, the dye pack is broken and changes color to alert you to the presence of a breedable heat.
After compiling the above from the vast knowledge contained within my head (Said with tongue in cheek sarcasm), I found the following website, which may be more helpful.
http://www.thebeefsite.com/articles/2362/estrus-detection-in-cattle
I found this to be a great resource. It is organized well and goes through the possible management systems that are available.
Filed under animals, Beef, Cattle, Farming, grass fed beef, Heritage Breed, Natural, Organic, Uncategorized
Red Poll cow, Temple Newsam. Home Farm, Temple Newsam, is the largest Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) Approved Centre. Significant breeding groups of livestock from the RBST Watchlist are kept at Home Farm. This is one of a herd of Red Poll cattle, and there are 8 other breeds of cattle kept here. See http://www.leeds.gov.uk/templenewsam/farm/farm_live.html (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I was talking to a local farmer today about our small herd. He asked if we were raising beef cattle or dairy. My response to this is usually that we are raising Red Poll cattle. The common retort from people is that we have Red Angus cattle with no horns. I explain that the breed is called Red Poll. That is the name of the breed and that my cattle are registered. They then begin to ask about them, so I explain that they are a heritage breed of cattle that are very good at foraging. They are known for good milk production and have been bred more for grass fed beef.
I then explain that we are believers in grass fed beef and are trying to capture like-minded people within our niche market. To my surprise, this farmer began to tell me how his son is producing grass fed beef for a restaurant in Wisconsin, where he currently resides. They are looking for any and all grass fed beef. This immediately gave me some hope for our products. Though I do not necessarily want to sell the grass fed beef to a distant market, it is nice to know that one exists.
So this got me to thinking: is there an increasing demand fir grass fed beef, or do I simply perceive an increased demand because I am a recent covert? So I began to look into it. I did the common research technique known as ” Google it.” Here is what I found with some links:
http://www.denverpost.com/food/ci_17186593
This article highlighted the growing demand for natural or sustainable beef production. The author discusses that Walmart and McDonalds are even getting in on the movement. She mentions that grass fed beef is no longer just offered in high end restaraunts. In fact the trend has moved more and more mainstream. She also mentions several books about the subject matter such as: “Food, Inc.,” “Eating Animals,” “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” “Animal Factory” and “CAFO.” Those are some titles that perhaps we will read and do a review at some point.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/switching-to-grass-fed-beef/
This article. blog talks about the benefits of grassfed beef. These benefits include:
So in summary, there appears to be a greater awareness of the benefits of grass fed beef. These benefits are nutritional, as can be noted above. Other benefits that are linked to grass fed beef production include environmental benefits and humane benefits for the animals themselves. Those are both a discussion for another time and place.
I added some additional articles that are related below. One is one of our own posts, the others are from various authors. It appears that the first one has some concerns about the sustainability of the grass fed industry due to the increased cost per pound for the meat itself.
Cover via Amazon
Filed under Beef, Cattle, Farming, grass fed beef, Grassfed, Heritage Breed, Red Poll Cattle, Self-Sufficiency, Uncategorized
Why choose the Red Poll as a breed?
Red Poll cattle are a dual purpose breed. They are noted for easy calving and great mothering ability. A study done in the late 1980′s showed that the Red Poll breed performed the best in 200 day calf weight per live birth. This can be attributed to the ease of calving and the survivability of the calves. It is also a reflection on the fact that Red Poll mothers are very efficient at producing milk, supplying their calves with plenty of nutrition.
History of the Red Poll Breed
The Red Poll is a dual purpose breed developed in England. The breed was developed in the early 1800s as a cross between the Norfolk and Suffolk breeds. As the name implies, Red Poll are Red and color and do not have horns. They were imported to North America in the 1880s. Red Poll cattle have been traditionally utilized for milk production, at one time being a popular cow for this purpose. However, they were not quite able to keep up with the Holstein in terms of volume of milk produced. Some Red Poll lines have been bred for the purpose of being grass fed. The breed is highly beneficial when it comes to hybrid vigor, a condition that results when two purebred of different breeds are crossbred to one another. This resulting vigor often capitalizes on the best traits of each specific breed.
Red Poll cattle are a fine boned breed, which means that they tend to carry a little less weight than some other breeds. This also makes them very good at feed conversion, which is one reason why they have been selected as a grass fed breed.
Uses of Red Poll Cattle:
1) Beef production. As noted above, Red Poll have an excellent history of production, excelling at best weight at 200 days per live birth.
2) Milk Production. While not producing the total amount of a Holstein, the Red Poll breed is very capable of producing milk. They are good for a pasture based operation. (This may be an example of a niche market)
3) Hybrid Vigor. Due to their positive traits, they are an excellent choice for crossing to other breeds such as Angus, or Holstein.
4) Show Cattle. Red Poll are not the most common cow in the world (otherwise they would not be on ALBC’s threatened list), but they can produce excellent show cattle. They have placed well at world shows in the past. Red Poll also have their own show circuit.
5) Homesteading: Red Poll are a dual purpose breed, so fitting them into a homesteading lifestyle allows the homesteader to gain both milk production and beef production (through the rearing of young).
Heritage Breed Farms
Filed under Beef, Farming, Foraging, Heritage Breed, Uncategorized
Filed under animals, Beef, Cattle, Farming, grass fed beef, Heritage Breed, Uncategorized
Red Polls prove versatile and make economic sense | Features | Farmers Guardian.
Excerpt From the Article:
This is just an interesting article I found this evening about Red Poll Cattle. Yes, that is right, I am drinking the Red Poll Kool Aide!
Filed under Beef, Heritage Breed, Homesteading, Red Poll Cattle
