#SUCCESS IN POULTRY FARMING

[sb-group-nepals]

SUCCESS IN POULTRY FARMING: MITIGATING RISKS AND NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS Introduction

Poultry farming is a rewarding venture that requires careful planning, management, and implementation of effective strategies. Farmers must mitigate risks and take necessary precautions to ensure success in this industry. This article provides valuable insights and practical tips to help poultry farmers navigate potential challenges and maximize their chances of success.

Poultry farming is a thriving industry that offers significant opportunities for farmers to generate income. However, it is crucial to comprehend the elements contributing to success and put suitable precautions in place to reduce dangers. You can enhance your methods for producing chicken and raise your chances of receiving profitable outcomes by placing the information in this article to use.

Selecting the Right Poultry Breeds

Choosing the appropriate poultry breeds is crucial for the success of your farm. Consider factors such as breed characteristics, adaptability to local conditions, market demand, and disease resistance. Popular poultry breeds include broilers for meat production, layers for egg production, and dual-purpose breeds.

Creating a Suitable Housing Environment

Proper housing plays a vital role in ensuring the health and productivity of your poultry. Design and construct a well-ventilated, spacious, and secure housing facility that protects adequately from predators and extreme weather conditions. Ensure proper insulation, lighting, and waste management within the housing unit.

Implementing Biosecurity Measures

It would help if you practised biosecurity to stop pathogens from entering and spreading across your farm. Implement strict biosecurity protocols such as controlled access to the farm, disinfection measures, quarantine procedures for new birds, and regular veterinary check-ups. This will protect your flock’s health and assist in keeping the environment free of sickness.

Ensuring Proper Nutrition

Proper nutrition is vital for your poultry’s growth, health, and productivity. Develop a balanced diet plan that meets the nutritional requirements of different age groups and poultry breeds.

Provide access to clean water and quality feed rich in essential nutrients.

Disease Prevention and Management

Diseases can significantly impact poultry farms, leading to economic losses and reduced productivity. Implement preventive measures like vaccination programs, regular health checks, and appropriate sanitation practices. In case of disease outbreaks, consult a veterinarian to determine the best treatment options and preventive strategies.

Maintaining Optimal Hygiene

Maintaining high levels of hygiene is crucial in poultry farming. Regularly clean and disinfect the housing unit, equipment, and feeding areas. Proper waste management, including the timely removal of manure, helps minimize the risk of diseases and ensures a healthy environment for your poultry.

Monitoring and Record-Keeping

Effective monitoring and record-keeping enable you to track your farm’s performance and identify improvement areas. Keep records of feed consumption, egg production, growth rates, vaccination schedules, and other relevant data. This information will assist in making informed decisions and optimizing your farming practices.

Managing Ventilation and Temperature

Proper ventilation and temperature management are crucial for your poultry’s welfare. Ensure adequate air circulation in the housing unit to minimize humidity, ammonia buildup, and respiratory issues. Install appropriate ventilation systems and monitor temperature levels to maintain optimal bird conditions.

Addressing Water Quality and Availability

For your poultry to stay healthy and hydrated, they must have access to clean, enough water. Regularly test the quality of water sources and always provide clean water.

Implement measures to prevent water contamination and ensure water availability throughout the day.

Effective Waste Management

Implementing efficient waste management practices is essential for maintaining a clean and disease-free farm. Develop a waste management plan that includes proper disposal of manure, regular cleaning of the housing unit, and recycling options if available. By doing this, you can stop the spread of diseases and lessen environmental degradation.

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[farmerstrend]

Why Mushroom Farming is the Next Big Thing: Lessons from Dennis Macharia’s Garden Mushrooms

“Discover how Dennis Macharia transformed his farming venture by pivoting from traditional crops to sustainable mushroom cultivation, overcoming challenges, and building a thriving agribusiness in Kenya.” “Learn how Dennis Macharia built a successful mushroom farm with limited capital, smart reinvestment, and innovative techniques, making gourmet mushrooms accessible to local markets.” “Explore…

[freakartack]

"...Hello? Ma! I told you not to call me today, I'm making a movie!" -Wario, Mario Power Tennis

The most important lesson from Ma that Wario took to heart was the endless pursuit of cold, hard cash. Unfortunately, the one lesson she could never teach him was the importance of hard work to get it.  It wasn't for lack of trying; Wario's Ma is the hardest worker this side of the Mushroom Kingdom.  Raising Baby Wario was a herculean enough task on its own, but ever the enterprising spirit, she had also set out to grow one of the most profitable crops: garlic.

Her backyard business quickly expanded into a veritable garlic empire. Wario's mother toiled away tirelessly each day from sunrise to sunset to grow and harvest as much garlic as she could possibly achieve.  Much of Wario's current strength and endurance can be attributed to helping his mom on the farm as a child, although the teeth-pulling task of getting him to actually work was almost as difficult as preventing him from eating all the garlic straight out of the ground.  Wario's nose for instant gratification has always been a thorn in his mother's side, but try as she might to instill a solid work ethic into the boy, her "get-rich-slow" schemes could never appeal to him.  Still, Wario enjoyed his surprisingly agrarian upbringing. Along with garlic, his mother also raised chickens for eggs, inspiring in Wario a lifelong soft spot for poultry.  (He also had a pet hamster named Fluffy, who sadly passed away in 1986.)

Today, Wario is still on good terms with his mother despite their physical distance, and frequent phone calls keep her updated on all of Wario's business successes.  Of course, being Wario, he heavily embellishes the amount of work he actually does at his company.  If she only knew...

[franki-lew-yo]

Chicken Run 2 things I did really like:

It's a fun and small nod to irl chicken farming, but I like that the pen the chickens are kept in in Funtime Farms is an indoor pen. That's how modern poultry gets by on the "free range" excuse.

Genuinely appreciate how much and how well this movie states Ginger's awesomeness through Rocky or other people. It's not too distracting and it's earned. She is the iron chicken and it's a good way to hype up the character without telling you rather than showing you. God. I love Ginger.

Nick and Fetcher needed more scenes with Molly because them being attached and joining in just to save their "niece" is adorable and a great expanse on their characters. Good.

Rocky was a great dad and way better written than the original but still very much Rocky. That's how you do a 'wrote a potentially problematic love interest 20 years ago now here's them updated for modern ''wokeness' standards,' PIXAR. I liked him being both a hinderence and an accessory to Ginger. Shows why and what I like about them as a couple. I especially like how, without even showing you, that Rocky was the one to tell Molly what she needed to know but did not expand on just how traumatized Ginger really is from her ordeal. That's both in character and a believable thing a parent would do when their kid is simply prodding about their past, rather than directly asking their parent. Also, given it's Rocky and he already didn't have a perfect sitch going on as a circus animal, he probably didn't hype it up as perfect but more or less leaned into how adventurous he and Ginger were.

Ginger and Molly and their whole plot of not understanding each other was fine. Ginger being an overprotective parent who never wants to leave the island now and is enforcing her flock never to leave works better here than in contrived direct to video movies like Lion King 2 or Little Mermaid 2. The annoying thing about these kinds of stories is, simply put, the audience is screaming at the parent to just better communicate with their kids, especially when it's not like Ginger is too haunted to talk about the farm to other characters. What was needed, I think, was real establishment that Molly knows her mom escaped from a farm but doesn't truly know what a farm is and what would happen to her on one. Maybe also have it clear that Ginger is so set on being a "free chicken" she refuses to even talk about her past with Molly- somehow thinking that her old life before was beneath what she is now, even though she was the one who escaped from it and was always worth the lifestyle she deserves. Would be a great call forward to Ginger's slight (understandable) apathy for chickens outside her flock that would come full circle to her being the character she always is and is best at. Over all I liked her, Rocky and Molly a lot. I just wished I could have heard Julia Sawahla instead.

Pacing actually moved decently for once for a modern animated kids film. That's impressive, especially for a sequel.

Mrs. Tweedy saying she "gave Ginger everything a hen could ask for" was really illuminating for her character. Really, much as I wish this wasn't the same character, I love Mrs. Tweedy wanting revenge on Ginger. On a chicken. Her dialogue revealing that she thought the life she gave the chickens on her old farm was "good" for them tells you so much about her and how she sees herself as a good farmer only if she's a successful farmer.

Haha the ending shot is perfect.

Okay one thing about this movie- this may be actually be a bad thing depending on your diet choices -this movie makes me actually really hungry for chicken and chicken nuggets. This whole franchise isn't inherently vegetarian or trying to be anti meat, granted, but that is the take away from the character's perspective given that they are the chickens. To put this a different way: the first movie makes eating chicken really unappetizing from the beginning with the "roll call" scene and the pies the chickens would potentially turn into, over the top as it is, also unpleasant. You definitely don't get anything close to the "roll call" scene in this film. A chicken does die but it's all so offscreen it has no impact, so when she's cartoonishly instantly turned into nuggets that Mrs. Tweedy eats, you don't feel anything...you kind of wanna eat the nuggets. Apologies to any chickens reading that. Here, have some happy chickens to counteract the pain:

[gothhabiba]

Israel has long been accused of  "pinkwashing"  – the practice of whitewashing or obscuring the abuse and maltreatment of the Palestinian people behind an often embellished version of its record on LGBTQ+ rights.

It presents itself as a forward-thinking, liberal democracy – the only state in the Middle East which respects its LGBTQ+ citizens. This gives the impression that it simply isn't in Israel's nature to violate Palestinian human rights or national sovereignty.Palestine and Palestinians are then cast, without nuance or exception, as the polar opposites of Israel and Israelis – backwards, illiberal, undemocratic, homophobic. Who then are the international community and well-intentioned private citizens to believe and support?

Ahmad Safi is the co-founder of the Palestinian Animal League (PAL). PAL is a collective of animal rights activists operating throughout the West Bank. They are also ardent advocates of Palestinian self-determination. [...]

For Safi, the successful propagation of the Israeli pinkwashing narrative has spawned what he terms "veganwashing." "The Israelis are using veganism and animal rights to clean up their image around the world," Safi told The New Arab. This time, an animal-loving depiction of Israel is juxtaposed with a view of Palestine as a haven for animal abuse. And just as with pinkwashing, Israel's track record on animal rights is not quite as rosy as one might be led to believe.

In fact, according to an OECD report published earlier this year, Israel is the sixth biggest per capita consumer of meat and the number one per capita consumer of poultry.

Moreover, The Guardianhas documented the horrific treatment experienced by farm animals subjected to live export from Australia and Europe to Israel. The squalid, unsanitary conditions aboard the boats and trucks which bring these animals to their final destinations are torturous. Those who have perished or will soon perish are unceremoniously dumped and left to decompose throughout the desert.

Palestinian national emancipation and intersectionality

It is here that Palestinian national emancipation enters the debate. Safi remarks that PAL is keen to dispel Israeli veganwashing propaganda. In demonstrating that "it is not just Israelis and Europeans who are leading this fight," but Palestinians too, PAL advances the Palestinian national cause. The example provided by their activism shatters the illusion that they and their fellow citizens are inherently regressive in comparison to the Israelis.

But animal rights are not merely a vehicle for achieving national emancipation – they are part and parcel of the same struggle. In the words of PAL's Executive Director, Ahlam Tarayra, "It's not enough to raise the Palestinian flag. If you want to liberate your land, you need to work on building a strong society that cares for all who inhabit it. Palestine is the people, the animals, the plants, everything." [...]

Perhaps the clearest-cut evidence for PAL's intersectional position comes in the form of the so-called Separation Wall, which PAL refers to as the 'Apartheid Wall.' The Apartheid Wall does not discriminate between species: Palestinian farmers are cut off from their land, while other mammals are prevented from observing their natural migratory patterns. Furthermore, just as Palestinian human families are ripped apart, so too are the red fox and the gazelle separated from their mates.

Moreover, just as with the Apartheid Wall, it is not just Palestinian humans who find themselves victimised by the IDF. Safi reports witnessing many occasions where Israeli soldiers have shot and killed stray dogs who attempted to play with their military dogs while on their way to conduct raids in his refugee camp. [...] Safi and Tarayra both separately recounted a story in which a woman repeatedly pleaded with them to collaborate with a vegan IDF soldier to bring three puppies to an animal shelter. Tarayra in particular was shocked at the idea that this soldier could properly be described as a vegan. "Does he have a vegan machine gun, with vegan bullets?" she enquired.

– Nick McAlpin, "How Israel uses animal rights to 'veganwash' the occupation," The New Arab (2019).

[cladriteradio]

Here are 10 things you should know about Irene Rich, born 133 years ago today. She enjoyed success in vaudeville, on Broadway, in pictures, radio and … poultry farming.

[tastesoftamriel]

You’ve probably gone over this before but tumblr’s search engine sucks butt. So, what would each culture’s staple crops and livestock (for both meat and byproducts) be? How much would globalization come into play, like how irl potatoes are originally from South America but have become one of the most important staple foods across the world?

Staple crops and livestock vary throughout the Provinces due to climate and geography, though trade over the centuries has meant that ingredients like saltrice from Morrowind and honey from Skyrim are in constant circulation around the continent. Nonetheless, here are some uniquely local ingredients you'll find across Tamriel.

Altmer

Summerset's temperate climate makes it the ideal place to grow all sorts of exotic fruit, especially stone fruit. From peaches to lychees, nectarines to cherries, Summerset produces the largest quantities of these fruits (with the trade embargo around the Great War and Dragon Crisis making them an extremely sought-after prize). And don't forget the wine! Summerset is also famed for its gorgeous vineyards and even more gorgeous wines. However, juicy and flavourful grapes are beloved by almost anybody, making them a valuable staple crop too.

Livestock in Summerset is nothing particularly exciting. Merino sheep are farmed for their wool, which is a luxury export beloved by northern Provinces, while meat comes in the form of cattle and chickens. However, High Elves particularly love their wild-caught fish and herons, which are populous on their home island.

Argonians

Once again, fruit is a major export from Black Marsh, but the fertile (if hostile) region is home to some of Tamriel's best agricultural soil. From cocoa and coffee beans, saltrice and coconuts, to padan and banana leaves and more, you'll find all sorts of wonderful plant-based ingredients in Black Marsh. However, something that has gained in popularity following the Argonian diaspora has been palm wine, a potent alcoholic beverage.

As for livestock, you'll find bantam guar, guar lizards, various poultry, goats, and even farmed frogs and lizards to be popular. Sheep and cattle are far less popular due to the upkeep required for them to stay healthy in the swampy environment, making beef and mutton less popular and more expensive than in other Provinces.

Bosmer

The Bosmer are famed for their meat and animal byproducts, particularly from timber mammoths and sugar mammoths. Whether it's meat, pelts, or milk, these beasts are much beloved by the Wood Elves who take great care in rearing them.

Other popular exports from Valenwood include alcoholic beverages like rotmeth and jagga, as well as kopi luwak- a luxurious type of coffee made from beans found in civet cat excrement, thus making them Green Pact-friendly. And of course, Valenwood produces some of Tamriel's finest cocoa beans, mostly used for export. However, have you truly lived until you've tried salted sugar mammoth caramelised milk chocolate from Woodhearth?

Bretons

In High Rock, sheep and cattle are the most popular livestock to farm due to their versatility, with a constant demand for their meat, horns, skins, and milk. While it's nothing exciting, the animals in the region are usually grass-fed and free range, spanning acres of farmland (which can sometimes result in cultists and the like infringing upon the livelihood of livestock). Chickens, geese, turkeys, and ducks are also popular for their meat, down, and eggs, with High Rock producing some of Tamriel's best duck meat.

With regards to staple crops, wheat is a major export and features heavily in Breton cuisine, especially in bread.

Dunmer

The volcanic ash of Morrowind is key to its success in growing all manner of weird and wonderful crops. Market stalls across Vvardenfell and Blacklight bustle with sellers touting mushrooms of all kinds, saltrice, comberry, marshmerrow, hackle-lo, canis root, and much more, all of which are consumed locally as well as across Tamriel.

Regarding livestock, it should come as no surprise that the big money is in bug farming. Kwama mines produce cuttle, scuttle, scrib jelly, and kwama eggs, making them the backbone of Morrowind's mages and chefs alike. Nix-hounds and guar are raised both by town Dunmer and Ashlanders, while wild nix-ox is also popular for those who can afford it.

Imperials

Cyrodiil spans terrain from the snowy Jerall Mountains to the swamps of Blackwood. As a result, the Province is relatively self-sufficient in that it produces the bulk of its own consumption, from livestock to greens. Speaking of greens, battaglir, a type of weed, is a staple in the Imperial diet, making wild-foraged and farmed battaglir a key crop in the region. Like Summerset, Cyrodiil is also famed for itswines, and is proud of its unique grapes of every size, flavour, and colour (including ones that taste like cotton candy).

Livestock in Cyrodiil is about as generic as can be: cows, sheep, goats, poultry, and horses. While meat is a staple part of the Imperial diet, milk is also important as it is used to make the cream and cheeses so prized by the Province.

Khajiit

What don't the Khajiit grow or rear? From Southern Elsweyr's rich moon sugar and rice paddies to the North's edible cacti and tea, the Province is full of exotic and scrumptious delights that are highly prized across Tamriel. Ingredients are valuable both raw and processed, and form the backbone of the Khajiiti economy. Samar Pekoe tea, for example, is wild-harvested from caves and is beloved by tea aficionados across the continent, and fetches a hefty price for its rarity. Pellitine cacao and coffee beans are also a staple in any self-respecting chef's kitchen.

In terms of livestock, you'll find guar, poultry, beef, and goat to be popular, as well as wild game like jerboas, terror birds, antelope, and addaxes. Game meat can often be purchased from Bandaari nomads, who hunt the animals themselves. Whether fresh or dried into jerky, who doesn't want some moon sugar-cured addax jerky for the road?

Nords

Foreigners in Skyrim are often shocked by the range of produce we're capable of producing in our cold and often inhospitable lands. Fish and horker are consumed in great amounts locally, as well as being one of the Province's major exports. Goat from the Reach, cattle from Whiterun, and honey from the Rift are always in high demand.

Apples and jazbay grapes are probably the most valuable crops in Skyrim, followed by wheat and other fruits and vegetables. The former two are used in cider and wine, both of which are valued across the Provinces.

Orcs

Wrothgarian Orcs differ from Betnikh Orcs who differ from Wood Orcs and so on... so in this case, it really varies. For Wrothgarian Orsimer, echatere is the main source of meat and milk, while in Betnikh it's fish, and in Valenwood, timber mammoth. All these groups also enjoy game, from rabbit and wolf to pheasant and venison, which features heavily in regional Orcish cuisine. Wild honey from Betnikh is also another notable animal product that bears mention here.

In terms of crops, there aren't many of note aside from valuable herbs and spices. Frost mirriam, which is also loved by alchemists, and wrathberries, known for their violently bitter taste unless prepared correctly, are two of the most important plants you'll find for sale at any stronghold.

Redguards

I've said it before and I'll say it again: goat, goat, and more goat. Unless you're a coastal Redguard with access to seafood, it's likely that your main source of meat and milk will come from goats. Whether it's feta or kebabs, it's almost always goat meat, as they wander all through Hammerfell like they own the place. However, Redguards are also renowned for breeding horses, and the uh... faulty ones are generally turned into food. Spiced horse blood sausage and spreadable horse 'nduja are a staple in households across Hammerfell.

With staple crops, you'll find that corn, coconuts, palm fruit and oil, bananas, coffee, cinnamon and other spices, and cocoa are plentiful. These are all consumed in great amounts within the Province, but are also highly prized across Tamriel.

[enelea]

Wanda is one of 4 siblings who inherited a horse ranch, but they ultimately decided that her older brother Wilhelm should take the reigns. He has a wife, called Lizelle and they have a sweet little toddler called William. Lizelle loves the ranch and enjoys spending time with the horses, since her parents and brother specialise in tomato farming and didn't keep that many farm animals when she grew up.

Her blond haired older brother is about to get married to Bev Fox who runs a pet store with her two brothers. Charles decided to move away from horse ranching and try his hand at poultry instead. He is excited about this new venture and hopes that Bev will help him on their new farm. She does still hold on to her dream of becoming a marine biologist one day.

Wanda's younger sister married one of the Fox brothers who run the pet store ( 😁yes Bev who will marry Charles is their sister). Wilma and Monteque Fox is expecting their first baby and while they are a bit preoccupied right now, Monteque's brother, Lewis takes over the majority of the pet sales and care. Lewis is actually a rather talented veterinarian, so he is mostly successful - except for the one red parrot who randomly died😔...

So that is the Allermann and Swarts families of Bluewaterview. I will share some background on some of the other residents too... Just to show what I have been up to.

[thebeckster]

May 2024 Casual Prompt Fill

Didn't think I was going to have anything for the prompts this month over at @love-bokumono-fics, nothing really struck a note of inspiration this month. But I was looking at the choices again tonight and suddenly had an idea. So I spent 30 minutes putting this down on paper.

It's an alternate prompt, using Livestock rather than the winning choice of Rarepairs. I've been itching over the last couple days to start up a new file on a farm sim just to have the fun experience of starting anew. I might have to boot up another FoMT file tomorrow, because writing this fic did not scratch that itch entirely lol

You can read the fic on AO3, but since it's pretty short, the whole thing is here too. Enjoy!

A New Friend

Pete had been waiting for this day all his life. Or it felt like it. Really just in the last couple weeks had the idle daydream had a chance of becoming reality.

Today he was going to buy a chicken!

Most people wouldn’t see such an occasion as something so monumental, but for a fledgling farmer it was a significant milestone. Ever since moving onto the farm, he’s scrimped and saved every spare penny into an old pickle jar which he’d labeled confidently as his “Livestock Fund.” And he had just enough saved up for a chicken and some feed.

He’d put blood, sweat, and tears into repairing the ramshackle chicken coop on the property, sealing up the walls to keep his future hens safe and snug, salvaging and repairing the nesting boxes and feed silo, he’s even built a fenced in little yard for them to scratch around in and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine on nice days.

Rick had been by yesterday to inspect Pete’s work on the coop, and it had passed his inspection. So as soon as the Poultry Shop opened, Pete was going to walk in and ask Lilia for their finest hen.

Pete looked around his farm, still rather raggedy looking, clearing out all of the weeds and debris after so many neglected years was a harder job than he anticipated, but he could see its potential so clearly in his mind’s eye. Acres of lush crops, wide pastures with a variety of livestock happily grazing, the contended cluck of chickens scratching for bugs to eat.

A farm just wasn’t a farm without animals.

Sure Pete had his dog, the happy little puppy he’d adopted when he moved in was going to grow to be a fine farm dog. But he needed more than a pet companion. If his farm was going to be successful, he needed livestock. Cows and sheep seemed pretty complicated for a brand new farmer, but a chicken seemed to be perfectly on his level. He’d read every book on chickens the library had. He was so ready for this!

The morning seemed to crawl by as Pete did his chores, watering the plots of crops he had planted, clearing out the few weeds that were stubbornly trying to grow back in the tilled soil, picking what forage he could from the mountain. Every penny mattered, and while he knew the chicken was going to help him make more money, he also knew he was taking on another mouth to feed.

Finally the time came for the store to open and Pete hurried, though he tried not to run, to the neighboring farm. Brimming with excitement, he strode through the doors, slammed his money on the counter and proclaimed, “Lillia, your finest hen please!”

The shopkeeper laughed kindly at the display and pulled a small cage out from behind the counter. “Popuri picked her out just for you. She said the two of you would be a perfect match.”

Pete beamed at the bird, she was beautiful. Snowy white feathers, little red face, bright black eyes, yellow beak and feet. She seemed mildly disgruntled, ruffling her feathers at the cage and glaring suspiciously at Pete. When he peered closer she shook herself and made a few low, disapproving clucks.

“She’s perfect! Has she got a name?”

“You have the honor of naming her. She’s just gotten old enough to begin laying, but it might take her a few days to settle in. Once she’s happy and comfortable in her new home she should be a wonderful addition to your farm. Her mother is a prodigious layer, so you’ll have plenty of eggs to sell and eat soon enough.”

“Then I’ll have to think up a good name for her. Something that suits her.”

Still smiling, Lillia began counting Pete’s money. “Take your time and let her personality come out. She’s just been called ‘hey chicken’ while she’s been with us. We usually wait til they’re grown before naming them. Saves us from having a chicken named Sweetpea with the personality of an angry demon. Now you’ll be wanting some feed too? I’ll send Rick over with it later.” She closed the till and wrote out a receipt for Pete and a small pouch of feed. “Now you take your new friend home and get her settled, having a snack will help her feel at home in the new coop. And don’t forget, if you have any questions or concerns, we’re here for all your poultry needs!”

With a cheerful wave, she sent Pete out the door. As he walked, he held the cage close to his chest, looking down at his new chicken more than the road in front of him. She continued clucking softly, as if commenting on the scenery or conversing with Pete all the way back.

“You are chatty,” Pete laughed as he stepped onto his farm. “Maybe Cathy? Hmm… no. Well, we’re here. Take a look around at your new home.” And he held the cage out for the chicken to see. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but I have plans for it, and you’re going to help me make them come true.”

He carried the chicken to the coop and opened the cage for her. He waited excitedly for her to step out on her own and begin looking around. She was slow and hesitant at first, taking cautious steps around the coop, she flinched every time Pete moved, fluttering away with an alarmed squawk, but she became braver when he tipped some of the feed out for her to eat. When she ate what he’d given her she looked at him expectantly. With a laugh, he tipped some of the feed into his palm.

The hen didn’t waste much time approaching him and inspecting the food in his hand, and when she decided he was safe she happily ate.

When she had finished her snack, Pete opened the door which led to the fenced in enclosure he’d built. She was quite happy to have the sunshine and fresh air available to her and moved quickly into the yard. Pete watched her inspect every corner and scratch around, and when he was content that she couldn’t break through the fence, he let her be and returned to his work.

He worked in the fields closest to the coop, so he could keep half an eye on his new chicken while he cleared out more debris. His dog came over to investigate the new addition and Pete had a very serious talk with the puppy that the chicken here was a friend, not food. It was his dog’s job to protect their friends, not scare them. And the puppy seemed to understand, or perhaps he just had gained a healthy respect for the chicken already. She had squawked and pecked at his nose when he came sniffing around her fence.

All the while Pete worked the chicken chattered. Maybe she just missed the noise of the other chickens at the poultry farm, or maybe she just liked hearing herself talk. Pete entertained himself with the idea that the chicken was commenting on his work, complimenting his technique with the scythe, criticizing him for not giving her the worms he uncovered when he moved a rock. Once, he was certain she actually laughed at him when he’d misjudged how robust an old stump was and ended up getting his axe stuck in the wood. He’d managed to get it unstuck with no small amount of effort, and all the while he struggled the chicken clucked and clucked.

“You never stop talking, do you?” Pete panted, sitting on the ground next to the fence and wiping sweat from his brow. “Got a lot to say. Like my very own peanut gallery. Hey!” He perked up. “That’s a good name for you, Peanut. What do you think? Cluck once for yes and twice for no.”

The chicken stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowed in thought. Then she jerked her head in what almost looked like a nod and clucked once.

“Peanut is it.” He reached through the fence and brushed a couple fingers over Peanut’s feathered head. “Welcome to the farm, Peanut old girl. You and me are going to be good friends. I can tell.”

Peanut pecked at his fingers in annoyance, and stalked out of reach ruffling her feathers.

Pete chuckled and flopped back into the grass. “Start of a beautiful friendship.”

[riddles-n-games]

Hawthorne Poultry: The Specialties

Welcome to part four aka part two of part three of the poultry headcanon! Once again, thank you to the lovely @hathorneheiress for sharing her expertise on chickens in her posts of this headcanon series and her contributions to this collaboration. It's been lovely working with you and tossing ideas back and forth.

Nash: Given that he's a bit of an old fashioned guy, this man really just opted for turkeys. He used to raise Bourbon Red but then turned his efforts to the Royal Palm breed. Some are still around in a small flock, his old show birds, but it was getting to the point the workload was too much and he didn't want to be in that anymore. However, because he is still most comfortable with chickens, he has been experimenting with raising the ancestral species they come from; the Red Junglefowl. Nash wanted to give them more of the natural habitat they'd be used to so he set up an area of the greenhouse where they could in a humid environment with plants and food that they would normally encounter. So far, they have been doing well and he's been a successful breeder with every generation further along. One time, when he was ten, in a rare, once-in-a-lifetime moment in the documented history of the Hawthorne family did the old man and him have a genuine bonding time when his grandfather planned a surprise for Nan and Zara by unveiling a new section in the garden from his annual additions to the estate with a gorgeous pond with aquatic plants and light up fountains. He wanted to add some nice birds and to help with that, Nash suggested swans and so Tobias bought a pair of Mute Swans. Zara and Nan were delighted. The swans regularly have cygnets that can be seen on the property roaming during spring and summer. In recent times, now that Nash got engaged to Libby, he wanted to get something special for her and Avery told him that she loves birds, peacocks being near and dear to her. So, some new additions to the estate include Green Peafowl, Spalding (Indian x Green Peafowl), and Congo Peafowl. With their beautiful plumage, they're quite the sight to see when strolling in the gardens and are great companions when one has ice cream in hand. Libby loves them and Nash got her peachicks to raise herself as well.

Grayson: He prefers pheasants and raises three species; the Ring-Necked, Golden, and Lady Amhurst's. That is, until he fell in love with Silver Pheasants which are just as majestic. Gray always loved their colorful feathers as a child, collecting them and making feather crowns. He'd run around and play King of the Forest with Jameson and Xander sometimes. The Lady Amhurst's Pheasant is his favorite and at times, when he needed a distraction or a time out from everything, he would take one of the birds and just pet them. Somehow, he never had strugglers, they always liked sitting on his lap and would peck at him if he stopped petting them so of course he would have to start again.

Jameson: His biggest investment and love of birds lies with ducks. His grandfather got him his first set of Indian Runners when he was a kid and the ducklings loved following him around. Eventually, his collection of ducks grew when Nash found an old Muscovy female with a bad leg abandoned at a rundown poultry farm. Strangely enough since Xander was the one who usually connected with the rescues most, it was rather odd when it was Jameson instead that became attached to the duck. She loved him too and would happily vocalize whenever she heard his voice or saw him coming. He named her Martha but he likes to call her Smarties or Marty. Dramatic Xan likes calling her Martine in a ridiculous French accent or Martini. After that, their grandfather got a few additional ones to stay on the property. To this day, she’s still around with the Muscovy Bunch as the brothers call them and Avery loves her, too. Jameson also shares a Chinese goose pair with his younger brother that are the first attempt at Hawthorne guard geese. He owns the male that he named Boris and though the male goose didn’t respond to his mate at first because he was a bit shy, he soon became really protective of her and their goslings. One of Jameson’s newer projects, inspired by Nash, is owning Ocellated Turkeys, very brightly colored birds. He and Avery are teaming up to explore this uncommon choice of poultry for raising alternatives to see if there are any advantages and unexplored benefits compared to the industry's current standards. It is one of their newest exploits in the agriculture expanse of research they're funding under Avery. He also personally owns a few emus as pets. When he was a toddler, one of his favorite shows was Elmo's World so when he got his first and his aunt tried to get him to say emu, he said Elmo instead. Elmo is his oldest male in the flock and still running the joint. Also, he loves Australia and so after one visit there, he wanted a part of it to always be with him because he couldn't live there since everybody forbade him (he and Max are basically besties because they have no self preservation since who the heck wants to live in one of the SCARIEST places on Earth where there are literally some of most venomous species of spiders and snakes, the largest crocs, and sharks???????????????; they probably went on vacay together at one point and Avery and Xander were praying for them every other moment they were there). He also hates ostriches with a passion. Probably from that one time where he got chased as a kid and one singled him out constantly.

Xander: He has the best of them all; an ostrich! There's one female that he accidentally imprinted on when she was hatching and of course, he was given the very hard task of being a single father at the very young, unfortunate age of five. Day one, he came back to his room sweating and fell asleep on the floor with a very happy ostrich chick running around him. It was a great day in memories for the photo albums. Xan named her Shea Butter because, of course, five-year-olds think everything is a great name. She is now a third time parent but even though she is still a part of the bigger flock belonging to his grandfather, Shea is considered a pet. She acts like a very big dog that sometimes has to be reprimanded (the Cowpalooza of 2010 is a testament to that but more on that later). Xander decided that one ostrich is already enough work but enjoys their smaller distant cousins known as rheas. He has a trio and yes, they all are named after Pokémon counterparts (it wasn't just a phase, he said, and still stands by them); Dodrio, Doduo, and Staraptor (that last one is debatable). Two are females and one is a male. They are also pets but Xander does love a good rhea egg salad (surprising, I know) occasionally. As said before, he and Jameson share a goose pair and he has ownership of the female who he calls Honkette (not his best naming according to Jamie). She is the fiercer of the two and scares away anything and anyone (even Xander at times if she accidentally mistakes him for another; he cries in his room after these great betrayals). The only person she does trust around the babies is Xan, though. Now, Xander is the pigeon expert in the family and the only one that tolerates the cooing buggers (Nash and Jameson both have... grudges to say the least; that trip to Venice was not a good one). Grayson is the only one that has expressed interest in breeding them and he loves the ones with feathered legs (Xander is surprised it took him so long but it finally happened). He breeds Indian Fantails-they were his introductory birds to fancy pigeon breeding-Oriental and Parlor Rollers, and his absolute favorite; Homing Pigeons! He mostly got into these guys because he loves the history surrounding them: espionage, mail and wartime message carriers, and their cool ability of being able to find home with a magnetic component in their beaks that gives them this capability. He has been trying to use them here and there to spy on his brothers from the outside; his brothers sometimes have said they felt eyes on them from somewhere outside and a curious cooing of a pigeon.

[thebarbaricyawp]

Recent events, including the National Peanut Festival Poultry Show have given me some joy. I love going to look at these fancy chickens. I cry every year because I love them so much. From afar. I’m ridiculous.

I had some luck with my holiday catering, making sides and desserts for people. I think I doubled customers and profits from last year, and I’ve gotten some rave reviews of the food. People seem to recognize that I’ve put a lot of love and work into these recipes, many of which have been passed down from my granny and great grandmother.

We had thanksgiving lunch with my family on Thursday and then Friendsgiving with some chosen family last night. We fried a turkey and had 3 kinds of potatoes, 4 if you count the rolls.

Gavin has been so driven and dedicated over the past couple of weeks. We’ve had a lot to do, and he totally came through. Last weekend, we loaded a truck of his music gear, his shop gear, and some Chewbacchus sculpture leftovers in NOLA and brought them back here. (We also attended a Chewbacchus event in town, saw our nerdy Krewe, and felt socially recharged.) We spent two days unloading the truck and then rolled right into 15 hours of Thanksgiving cooking. I just feel recovered today!

It was wonderful to see people I know and meet new folks who ordered food. Some of the highlights were: my 8th grade teacher who ordered a squash casserole and tipped me $5 in cash for “being such a good student;” seeing three branches of one family who ordered, all friends of my dad; meeting a college buddy of my dad’s who started a very successful food review FB group; taking pies to my dad’s junior prom date who is the current chair of the Democratic Party in our county; visiting with my nursery school buddy Amber and joining her for some bar trivia that night; and riding around with Gavin to make it all happen.

In our farming family, Thanksgiving is a harvest celebration. A time to gather and feast and rest. And we did.

Like a dummy, I took no photos of my catering. Next time!

[farmerstrend]

Understanding Layer Farming: Key Factors for Optimal Egg Production

As a layer farmer, it is essential to comprehend the various factors that can influence egg production. Discover essential tips for layer farming in Kenya, focusing on breed selection, flock management, nutrition, and housing to optimize egg production and support sustainable farming practices. Learn how Kenyan layer farmers can enhance egg production through effective management strategies,…

[grandmaster-anne]

LIFE AT GATCOMBE PARK: Country Life was granted an extraordinary behind-the-scenes look into Princess Anne’s life at her Gloucestershire home.

Country Life | Published 29 July 2020

Guest-Edited by HRH The Princess Royal

The Princess says: ‘There are so many different parts of Gatcombe and that’s the best thing about it. It’s a proper mixed farm—not that we were looking to farm, in the beginning!’

GATCOMBE PARK is inhabited by curious Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs that like to watch dressage, elegant, sooty-nosed White Park cattle, a matronly Suffolk filly, bustling Buff Orpington hens and their feisty cockerel and venerable grazing Wiltshire Horn sheep that resemble the inhabitants of a pastoral scene from a Thomas Hardy novel. Britain’s endlessly diverse, entertaining and genetically crucial native farm animals have long owed a great deal to the agricultural interests of the Royal Family.

The idea of improving livestock dates back centuries, but it was during Queen Victoria’s reign that enthusiasm for breed societies, official studbooks and competing at agricultural shows really took off and, ever since, British livestock breeds have benefited from knowledgeable, close royal interest and loyalty.

The Queen Mother presided over the North Country Cheviot Sheep Society and, with George VI, the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society —she kept and bred both breeds at her Castle of Mey farm in Caithness. The Queen, who succeeded her mother as president of the Highland Cattle Society, bestows royal patronage on, among others, the Ayrshire and Jersey cattle societies. The Prince of Wales is president of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) and patron of The Poultry Club of Great Britain.

Some 30 of The Princess Royal’s 200-plus charitable patronages relate to animals and her 500-acre estate in Gloucestershire, which was formerly a dairy farm and has only a small nucleus of modest agricultural buildings, showcases an eclectic collection of sometimes neglected breeds, all organically reared and grass fed.

Their presence is a necessity: although the valley pastureland looks the rural, bucolic idyll, Cotswold brash does not make for rich arable soil and, as The Princess points out, turning organic with hardy livestock breeds, the meat from which is chiefly sold locally, was the only economically viable option. She also observes that cattle farming here isn’t easy, due to a local abundance of badgers.

‘Organic has become a more difficult market over the years,’ she discerns. ‘I think perhaps the emphasis now is more on buying local and in looking after your soil. We have to keep finding more imaginative uses for land.’

Part of the estate is farmed under the Government’s Higher Level Stewardship scheme, through which farmers receive payments for delivering conservation benefits, such as wildflower margins—these schemes terminate at the end of the Brexit transition period in 2022.

About half is woodland—a glorious mix of broadleaf species with plenty of beech—managed by Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence (My Week, page 78). There is a modest pheasant shoot and a partridge shoot overseen by The Princess’s son, Peter Phillips. He is also the director of the annual Festival of British Eventing, which should have been taking place here next week, but, as have most sporting events this summer, has sadly had to be cancelled.

The crowds of picnicking cross-country spectators are, more than anyone, familiar with the pleasingly shaped ashlar limestone house that forms a graceful backdrop to the horse trials at the head of the valley, overseeing the thrills and spills in the water fences around the ponds below.

A successful clothier, Edward Sheppard, signalled his prosperity by having the house built on the old manors of Avening and Minchinhampton between 1771 and 1774 by Francis Franklin of Chalford. The familiar conservatory—as well as the polygonal stables and coach house—was added by George Basevi in the early 19th century, when the property was acquired by the wealthy MP and influential political economist David Ricardo, in whose family it remained until 1937. Gatcombe has been the home of The Princess Royal since 1976.

The pigs

TRADITIONALLY, horses are not fans of pigs and, at horse-trials time, there are requests for the Gloucestershire Old Spots (GOS) to be kept away from the dressage arenas—although, as The Princess points out, it’s good for horses to learn to behave and riders to manage them. One day, a porcine group managed to make its way towards the action, grunting curiously: ‘Then, suddenly, something startled them and they scattered in all directions,’ recalls The Princess. ‘It was hysterical. They’re very chatty.’

Owners of highly strung horses need not worry too much, however. The cheerful pigs mainly live in woodland, where it’s shady in summer and there are enough holes and dips in the ground to shelter them from winter winds whistling overhead. The GOS also has a distinctive layer of back fat, which not only lends succulence and flavour to the meat, but keeps out the chill.

As with the cattle, the difficulty is in maintaining bloodlines—there are only four GOS boar lines in the country. ‘The original idea was to do weaners, but there weren’t enough around and we had to go back to breeding our own,’ notes farm manager Sam Stevens. ‘We found ourselves going as far as Cheshire for a pedigree boar.’

The GOS originated not far from Gatcombe in the cider and perry orchards of the Berkeley Vale and also has been dubbed the orchard pig—the spots were said to be bruises from falling apples—as well as the cottager’s pig. It was the first animal to have its meat awarded Traditional Speciality Guaranteed status by the EU, yet the breed is classified by the RBST as ‘at risk’, with fewer than 500 breeding sows in the country. The Princess is patron of the breed club.

The chickens

A TINY corner of the estate is given over to a flock of Buff Orpington hens and an imperious cockerel. ‘My grandmother kept them,’ explains The Princess. ‘They’re not overly prolific layers, but when they do, they produce big eggs.’

The majestic Buff Orpington, its golden plumage not far from the honey shade of some Cotswold stone, is a popular country-house chicken for its ornamental good looks, pleasingly solid shape and friendly, biddable nature.

The Orpington was greeted with great acclaim from poultry fanciers when first revealed, in 1886, by William Cook, a coachman from the eponymous Kent town. Poultry showing and fancy fowl, the more exotic the better, were big interests at the time, but the trend was also moving towards practicality and the Orpington bridged the gap between ornament and egg producer.

The cattle

A FEW Highland cattle inhabit Gatcombe Park—these endearingly shaggy-fringed beasts are now frequently seen south of the Scottish border, thanks to their rising usefulness as conservation grazers—but The Princess has long been a champion of the White Park. Classified ‘minority’ on the RBST watchlist (there are some 950 breeding females in the country), the White Park is thought to be Britain’s most ancient native cattle, with records dating back at least to the 10th century. Little surprise, therefore, that the RBST chose the breed as its logo.

These magnificent animals with their appealing black ‘points’ once adorned many parklands of the nobility, but, when such places declined in the 19th century, so did the cattle. Only four of these ancient herds survive, one of which is at Dinefwr in Carmarthenshire; the National Trust recently launched an appeal to raise £36,000 to buy another bull to keep the bloodline alive.

White Parks are tough, thrifty—able to flourish on coarse forage—and they produce quality, marbled beef. ‘We originally thought about having Shorthorns, but White Parks are more distinctive,’ comments The Princess, who acquired some of hers from a herd running free on Salisbury Plain.

‘I’m trying to improve them, but it’s a case of how to keep the colour.’ Because they are in possession of the black gene, the cattle can breed out with mottled black markings all over the body or even in solid black, as evinced by some of the striking beasts here; the points can come in red, too.

The horses

THERE has been a new arrival—a little chestnut Thoroughbred colt foal, Reel Fashion, by jumping sire Schiaparelli out of Gatcombe mare Fiddle Faddle. The Princess’s equestrian career is forever synonymous with eventing—she won the European title in 1971, a clutch of medals and was a member of the British team at the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976—but she also rode winners on the Flat and over jumps as an amateur jockey and her horse-breeding interests centre around the National Hunt world. ‘They have to do something useful,’ she remarks.

There are plenty of event horses around, too: The Princess’s daughter, Zara Tindall, herself a former European champion and a world and Olympic medallist, has hers at nearby Aston Farm and Tom McEwen, who, if things were normal, might reasonably have expected to be at the Tokyo Olympics right now, is the latest in a long line of fine horsemen to make Gatcombe their eventing base.

Amid a field of bay Thoroughbred fillies, Winnie, the Suffolk mare, cuts an imposing, solid presence. She’s also friendly—and curious, enthusiastically nibbling the windscreen wipers. ‘I bought her grandmother from the Hollesley Bay Colony Stud in Suffolk when they sold up,’ explains The Princess, who is patron of the Suffolk Horse Society, founded in 1877.

These striking heavy horses, with their rich chestnut coats and paler, flaxen or silver manes and tails, were bred to work the clay soil of East Anglia, but the difficulty of finding a role for them outside ploughing and timber hauling means that they are classified as ‘critical’ on the RBST watchlist. One potential outlet is as steady, careful mounts for Riding for the Disabled, another of The Princess’s long-time patronages. ‘Lockdown has been very hard on families with disabled children,’ she points out. ‘The number of parents who say their children’s behaviour has improved thanks to riding is striking.’

The sheep

SOME 230 Wiltshire Horn ewes graze the farm. Again, this is a hardy breed, which for centuries inhabited the treeless Wiltshire Downs, where there’s neither shade nor shelter. Wiltshire Horns lamb outside and, conveniently, are the original wool-shedding (no shearing) sheep, their fleece naturally shedding in spring and growing again in autumn.

The impressive horns come in useful, too: ‘You don’t really want horns inside, as that’s when your shins get mangled, but, outside, you’ve got handles to grab them with,’ observes Mr Stevens. ‘And,’ he adds, ‘they produce fantastic meat. Even the hogget meat isn’t overly fatty.’

Wiltshire Horn numbers dwindled alarmingly in the 19th century, a time when wool was a far more important currency than it is now, but, in 1923, a group of owners, determined to preserve genetic purity, formed the breed society. Competition from other wool-rich breeds caused further decline and the Wiltshire Horn came under the wing of the RBST in the 1970s, but new recognition of its low-maintenance qualities means that it’s now off the watchlist.

[thefandomjournalist]

What the ongoing egg crisis really means for Las Vegas locals

Vegas citizens are struggling to acess eggs, a staple food for families across the city

A half empty dairy and egg isle at Target Credit: Dulce Pixabaj

Bird flu, shipping problems, inflation, the pandemic, all of these are excuses given for the recent egg crisis. But what is really happening? What does it say about how Las Vegas treats its businesses over the people? 

The last few months in Las Vegas regular citizens have reported having a difficult time finding eggs. When they do, they are grossly overpriced. 

Once reliable local grocers; Walmart, Target, Smiths, La Bonita and others can’t seem to keep eggs in stock. Bird flu and inflation have been cited as the main causes for the crisis, but some doubt that as the truth. 

Bird flu, or avian influenza is a disease that primarily affects birds but can also infect humans. 

The disease spreads from their bodily fluids and can infect humans if they make enough unprotected contact. In poultry the symptoms can range from minimal to deadly and it can spread to an entire flock in 24 hours. It was this that caused it to spread quickly across farms in the US, killing over 50 million birds, cutting short the supply of eggs. 

This shortage in turn caused the inflation in the price of eggs. Inflation is when goods and services in an economy vastly increase in price over a short period. CNBC says the price of eggs has increased over 70% in the last year. What was once three dollars is now seven.

In reality what this recent situation has revealed to the people of Vegas is special treatment given to the major businesses and a lack of care for local citizens. 

“This crisis will go on for a while. I don’t think it’s going to get better. Businesses will abuse this excuse to charge high prices for eggs. I’m going to buy them anyway, because I need them” said Bertha Perez, a single mother of six living in Las Vegas. 

Her economic situation has varied greatly, from enough to buy her own home to living on food stamps. As such she knows a lot about how the treatment given to everyday citizens from the city actually affects them. 

Perez has lost a lot to the pandemic. Having lost her husband to COVID-19 a year prior her world turned upside down, she’s learned how to do what she has to to survive. Doing that and taking care of her children starts with eggs. 

She has had to go to several stores regularly just to find eggs like Walmart, Savers, Costco, Smart and Final, and La Bonita. Though she notes she has not yet tried Business Costco. 

 With her kids and all their different breakfast schedules, she relies heavily on them for a quick and easy meal. It is a staple of everything she cooks. For bigger families, it’s easier to buy in bulk. 

That’s become harder and harder to do. That is because Vegas doesn’t care about its people. It cares about businesses, they get major preference. 

On average they spend more money than regular people, having to buy in bulk and stay well supplied at all times. They give these businesses that rely on eggs many ways to keep bread on the table. 

The back wall of local restaurant EGGcellent, with a large logo just beyond the breakfast wall Credit: Dulce Pixabaj

This is supported by Carlos Benitez, son of the owners of local breakfast restaurant Eggscellent. “Businesses are definitely getting preference. The city has provided options for us and been very favorable." He would know better than anyone, with his family running a successful egg based business. 

Eggs are the foundation of everything they are at Eggscellent. He says “It comes down to how manufacturers make money. They make more money off of businesses, not people." 

The citizens of Vegas may not like to admit it, but this is the truth. It is a common sentiment expressed by many, including Perez. “Business Costcos are more important. They buy more, so they pay less." She assumes the city treats business retailers better than grocery stores like Walmart. The amount they buy makes a difference. 

“We buy in bulk, so it’s been hard to notice the egg shortage,” said Benitiz. “Business got better after the pandemic” because fewer restaurants were open. These closures and shortages actually benefit many businesses. 

An example of the food served at EGGscellent, a breakfast themed restaurant. It includes eggs benedict and potato hash Credit: Dulce Pixabaj

According to an article on Squareup.com called ‘Direct to Consumer v. Wholesale: Pros, Cons, and How to Balance Both’ it depends more on the kind of business whether customers or wholesale buyers matter more to them. Regardless, there can be many cons to both. 

We don’t know for sure how Costco, or Walmart, or any other bigger business in Vegas really feels about the egg crisis. They like to make money, and this crisis gives them a good way to do that. 

These businesses can charge as much as they like for eggs with the excuse of a shortage and spreading bird flu. Even when supply begins to return to normal, which it has already begun to do, they were given a reason to have high prices, and why would any profitable business want to change that? 

That is a fact. So why wouldn’t they care more about businesses in a shortage of supply? This benefits them. To the point that rumors are spreading the crisis was artificially created to charge higher prices for eggs. 

Perez claims she’s seen videos saying the government has provided a kind of food that changes egg production. 

She and some others, like many videos across TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are saying that it is the government’s fault for manufacturing the shortage. Sources CBS, USAToday, and Politifact say otherwise. 

Though there is some real conversation around the idea that it is not a government conspiracy, but simply the improper conditions that can be found in many egg farms around the US. The most frequent example for this given by users across the internet is insufficient and low quality chicken feed provided by the government. 

Regardless of who’s causing it, and who makes more money, it is affecting everyone in the city. It is hurting people and it’s just going to keep going. 

“This crisis is going to go on for a while. I don’t think it’s going to get better. Everything is going to increase” says Perez.

#economy #lasvegaslocals #foodshortage #eggcrisis #foodsecurity

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Matt Wuerker

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

November 2, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

NOV 3, 2023

In a speech yesterday in Northfield, Minnesota, President Joe Biden explained his economic vision to rural Americans. “Over the past 40 years or so, we’ve had a practice in America—an economic practice called trickle-down economics, and it hit rural America especially hard,” he said. “It hollowed out Main Street, telling farmers the only path to success was to get big or get out.” At the same time, he said, “[t]ax cuts for big corporations encouraged companies to grow bigger and bigger, move jobs and production overseas for cheaper labor, and undercut local small businesses. Meat-producing companies and the retail grocery chains consolidated, leaving farmers [and] ranchers with few choices about where to sell their products, reducing their bargaining power. Corporations that sell seed, fertilizer, and even farm equipment used their outsized market power to change farmers and charge them and ranchers unfair prices.”

Biden noted that the U.S. has lost more than 400,000 family farms in the past 40 years, an area of more than 140 million acres of farmland, equivalent to an area the size of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota combined. Family farms have failed, and as they did so, small businesses, hospitals, schools, and communities also suffered. 

Young people feel they have no choice but to leave home “in search of good-paying jobs and a chance at the American Dream.” 

Biden explained that his plan to invest in America would create new and better markets and new income streams to help rural areas thrive. He noted that $20 billion of the Inflation Reduction Act will go to helping farmers and ranchers adjust to climate change by changing cover crops and managing nutrients and grazing, while urging farmers to diversify from single crops and sell in local markets. 

Biden emphasized that the administration is promoting competition in agricultural markets, noting that currently just four big corporations control more than half the market in beef, pork, and poultry. If just one of their processing plants goes offline, it can cause massive supply chain disruptions (as the closing of a baby formula plant did in 2022). “[T]here’s something wrong,” he said, “when just 7% of the American farms get nearly 90% of the farm income.” 

In addition to the existing national investments in power grids and broadband that will help rural communities, Biden announced $1 billion to fix aging rural infrastructure systems like electricity, water, and waste water systems that haven’t been updated in decades; $2 billion to help farmers fight climate change; $145 million for clean energy technologies like solar panels that will help lower electric bills; and $274 million for rural high-speed internet expansion.

The administration’s vision for rural America appears to be part of a larger vision for restoring competition to the U.S. economy and thus is closely tied to the administration’s push to break up monopolies. In July 2021, Biden promised to interpret antitrust laws in the way they had been understood traditionally, not as the U.S. government began to interpret them in the 1980s. Then, following the argument advanced by the solicitor general of the United States at the time, Robert Bork, the government concluded that economic consolidation was fine so long as it promoted economic efficiencies that, at least in the short term, cut costs for consumers. 

Biden vowed to return to the traditional understanding of antitrust principles championed by presidents all the way back to Theodore Roosevelt at the turn of the last century, arguing that protecting economic competition protects workers, promotes innovation, and keeps consumer prices down. To that, the coronavirus pandemic added an awareness of the need to protect supply chains. 

“Bidenomics is just another way of saying ‘the American Dream,’” Biden said. “Forty years ago, trickle-down economics limited the dream to those at the top. But I believe every American willing to work hard should be able to get a job, no matter where they live—in the heartland, in small towns—to raise their kids on a good paycheck and keep their roots where they grew up.” 

In contrast to Biden’s outreach to farmers, House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is facing a dilemma over the nation’s next farm bill, which must be passed by the end of the year. According to Clark Merrefield of The Journalist’s Resource, Congress usually debates and renews the farm bill every five years, and the last one passed in 2018. 

Farm bills include price support for farm products, especially corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, peanuts, dairy, and sugar. It also includes crop insurance, conservation programs, and a wide variety of other agricultural programs, making the farm bill hugely popular in rural areas that focus on farming. 

Also included in the measure are nutritional programs for low-income Americans, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. SNAP serves 41 million low-income Americans, but as a member of the far-right Republican Study Committee, Johnson called for cutting SNAP benefits. Now his far-right colleagues are echoing his position, saying that the need to renew the farm bill is a great opportunity to make significant cuts to SNAP, especially since the farm bill is expected to bear a price tag of more than $1 trillion for the first time in our history. 

“I can’t imagine the Mike Johnson that we know would pass up the opportunity to secure as many conservative wins as possible in this farm bill,” a Republican aide told Meredith Lee Hill of Politico, “[a]nd that means serious SNAP reforms.” 

But even some Republicans—primarily those who hail from agricultural states—object to loading the farm bill up with the poison pill of SNAP cuts, knowing such a tactic would repel Democrats, whose votes will be necessary to pass the measure as far-right Republicans balk. 

It will take a deft hand to get the measure through Congress, and its failure at Johnson’s hands will infuriate hard-hit rural areas. It is one more thing to add to the new speaker’s to-do list, as the deadline for funding the government is looming. The continuing resolution funding the government at 2023 levels, the measure that cost Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) his speakership, expires in just over two weeks, on November 17.

Johnson’s willingness to load bills with poison pills that his conference likes showed today in the House’s passage of Republicans’ aid bill for Israel—Ukraine aid had been cut away—along with dramatic cuts to funding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a provision that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned would add to the deficit rather than reducing it. Knowing that the measure will not pass the Senate, a number of Democrats voted for it, likely to avoid attacks from conservative opponents. 

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says the Senate won’t even take up the House bill. Instead, the Senate continues to work on its own strongly bipartisan bill that ties together aid to Israel and Ukraine. 

As Kate Riga of Talking Points Memo put it, if the Senate continues to work in this bipartisan way, we will continue to see the same pattern we’ve seen throughout this Congress: “Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans and House Democrats all supporting more or less the same thing, with a chunk of House Republicans out on a branch alone.”

After an angry fight last night over Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) holds on military promotions, in which Republican senators joined Democrats in confronting him, the Senate today confirmed General David Allvin to be Air Force chief of staff and Admiral Lisa Franchetti as chief of naval operations, by votes of 95 to 1. Franchetti is the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Wednesday’s fight appears to have been prompted by the hospitalization of acting Marines Commandant General Eric Smith after an apparent heart attack. Smith was holding down two high-level positions at once owing to Tuberville’s holds, and he had warned his schedule was “not sustainable.” Although the Pentagon says Tuberville is endangering national security, Tuberville insists that his hold on almost 400 military promotions is not hurting the military. 

The new additions mean there are no vacancies on the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the first time since July. 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[sadgrrly02]

Any fun fortress collapse stories? Recent or not, either is fine.

This was when I was still in high school, but me and a friend were running a succession fort together, and I set up this system where I could seal off the fort via water in case of invasion. HOWEVER, there was no way to un-seal the fort once the lever releasing the water was pulled. I had taken measure to deal with this (setting up underground farms, getting a poultry industry going) but none of this was enough. A goblin siege arrived and the lever was pulled. Eventually the fort tantrum spiraled after one of my miners went berserk and set the rest of the stressed population off.