Photo by Jenn Kosar on Unsplash
You Are What You Eat
As the saying goes, "you are what you eat." This holds true for animals as well as human mammals. According to a recent post by Successful Farming Today, when you switch from hay (dried grass) to fresh grass the resulting flavor of beef fed fresh grass prior to processing is so much better than those who have been eating only hay. Penury Hill Angus eat hay over the winter months when fresh grass is not available. Then for their last two months they are fed fresh grass. Our customers taste the difference.
Penury Hill Angus Adds New Herd Sire
It was a cold winter day on Feb. 14 for the Mohnon 25th Anniversary Bull Sale. Fortunately, Jerry Roth was warm and comfortable in front of his computer as he won the bid for a Ten Speed son out of the Jilt cow family. Lots of good breeding behind him that will improve the Penury Hill pedigrees. Welcome Ten Speed!
Penury Hill Angus - Sharing a Family Tradition
One of the greatest gifts we received while living in Toulon, IL in the 1970s was the friendship of Caroline and Chris Mcmillen of Paradigm Farm. Although we haven't seen each other in decades, Caroline's Sugar Cookie recipe has been made several times a year for the past 38 years. They are truly the best sugar cookies - hard to not keep eating and eating these delicate, melt-in-your-mouth cookies. For Christmas 2018, I'm sharing this recipe so others can enjoy them and perhaps start their own family tradition.
Caroline’s Sugar Cookies
1 c. butter
3/4 c. vegetable oil
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cream of tarter
Blend butter, oil and sugar. Beat eggs and vanilla into creamed mixture.
Sift together dry ingredients and stir in until well blended.
Make 1-inch balls made from rounded teaspoons of dough. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Flatten balls with flat bottom glass dipped in sugar.
Bake at 375˚ approx. 8 minutes until golden brown. Cool on racks.
Penury Hill Angus - 100 percent registered!
A goal achieved before 2018. Penury Hill Angus is now a 100 percent registered herd. We have an outstanding group of registered females the majority of whom were bred AI last summer. We look forward to even better beef with the advancements we make to our breeding and feeding program. Our customers say, "I've never tasted better beef."
Our birdhouse is custom fabricated by Joe Fliegel with Handcrafted Metal Garden Art (visit them on Facebook for more info). The metal pumpkins and flowers in the picture were also made by Joe. Besides looking pretty, it serves to protect the hen and chickens plant that has grown so well after bringing it home from Oregon when I visited my friend Caroline.
In the 15 years since Penury Hill located between Cannon Falls and Red Wing, Jerry and Arlene have planted more than 50 trees. Trees help clean the air as well as provide beauty and shade. It's just one more way the Roths are moving toward greater sustainability in farming.
In Spring of 2015, Jerry and Arlene made the commitment to add electric solar panels to Penury Hill. They had previously been one of the early adaptors when they installed air solar panels at their dairy outside Albert Lea. No matter how right a decision is, complications can arise. Their current barn is not built to support the weight load of solar panels on its roof. That means the Roths are also adding a 45 x 36 ft. extension to their barn. The panels will generate electricity. The inside storage space will protect the hay they feed their Angus from the weather. The project
started in late September and was completed in late November!
We can go online to view our solar electricity production. Jerry even download the mobile app so he can view the data from his iPhone.
Neighbors, friends and people who learn where we live all comment on what nice looking cows we have. They see them in the pasture along County 51 and see what a quality herd of Angus we are raising.
Jerry analyzes potential herd sires to be sure of ease of calving and high rate-of-gain. Those traits promote long life for the mother cows and ensure that the feeder calves are finished and ready for market within 13-14 months. It's important to remember that all that is accomplished without the use of any growth hormones.
As we continue to breed and develop a fully registered Angus herd, we expect our beef to maintain its quality and deliver customer satisfaction.
Labeling of food is making headlines. The saying "you are what you eat" is important to everyone.
Let's look at Penury Hill Angus. According to Common Ground, a grassroots movement to start conversations about farming and food, here are some definitions for you to consider.
Organic Meat: comes from animals that are grown with no antibiotics or growth hormones.
Grassfed: are animals who receive a majority of their nutrients from grass throughout their lives. A pasture diet may be supplemented with grain.
This is how we raise all our angus beef. These are the guidelines we use everyday.
I encourage you to be patriotic buyers by selecting higher quality, USA Made garments. Statistics indicate if every American cared enough to buy just one USA Made garment per year, the impact would be nearly $9 billion. That creates an amazing amount of jobs for just one article of clothing per American!
Please patronize some of the companies listed below and thank you for supporting American Jobs.
The GOP continues to adhere to the theory of supply side economics, which is to give money to society’s top echelons – people and groups who have no urgent material needs. For 30 years, we have heard that reducing taxes on the rich will:
1. Result in direct investment of wealth in supply to produce goods, services and jobs
2. Stimulate so much new economic activity that even the lower tax rate will bring in enough revenue to pay for the tax cut
3. Eliminate government debt
The truth is that for the last 30 years absolutely every large-scale forecast made by promoters of supply side economics failed – without major exceptions.
On the other hand, the opposing theory, demand side economics, which is putting money in the hands of the middle class, proves to have a greater turnover of that money. Instead of the money adding wealth to the top one percent’s portfolio, the money will be spent, and re-spent and re-spent many times to truly stimulate the economy.
Effective legislators must understand that government should outspend its revenues in recessionary times, directing high-velocity stimulus toward the middle class. Then in good economic times, government should use adequate revenues to build up reserves. The Pharaoh of Egypt learned this lesson in the Biblical story of Joseph’s dream of the seven fat cows and the seven lean cows.
It is common sense. Supply side economics has failed after being tried repeatedly for the last three decades. Let’s use common sense and demand side economics to bring our economy back.
We have a heavy footprint already here in our country. But we can make individual decisions that will affect the footprint of the future.
Do you buy endangered wood products or insist on cultivated wood products that are raised sustainably? Do you hunt or fish for only what you will eat and practice catch and release? Do you buy at local farmers markets? Do you support American workers by buying made in the USA products?
It is your choice whether you work with the resources you have or deplete the resources meant for future generations.
Think locally to have an impact globally. Our eyes must be focused ahead...our mission must be to protect the environment and our lifestyle for tomorrow. It is your choice and your responsibility to take small actions that take root and grow.
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