MM Livestock Co

We had 2 calves born overnite both to first time heifers. I like to have the first timers in close just in case there are any problems. Both girls did fine and the calves were up and nursing really quickly. I can only recall having to help on one or two occasions but better safe than sorry. We breed for ease of calving and good mothering in addition to grass conversion and I am ruthless when it comes to culling inferior animals or those with genetic markers for trouble. It never ceases to amaze me that there are people out there that think any beef cow can produce superior grass finished beef. "Corn cows" will never finish out properly on grass. They don't have the genetics. What you end up with in that case is beef with no finish that won't grade. "Grass Cattle" will finish well in either production system. I'm proud of the fact that my beef grades Choice or better with a yield of 1-2. That's how grass finished beef should finish. Add in dry aging and artisanal butchering techniques and you have a product that is what people should expect from properly raised sustainable grass fed beef. I will be posting new pictures on the website http://www.mmlivestockco.com in a week or so and you'll be able to see the new calves. Meg

Last nite Jason came running up to tell me a lamb was missing, I asked if he had counted noses and was assured that he had. So off we went on a lamb hunt. Out to the pasture, through the barn, in the sheds. No lamb. Hmmmm. Then I notice Emma wasn't with the flock. I knew just where to look! Sure enough she was in the tack room! She was snuggled up with her lamb in the horse blankets! Emma came off a show string and has a definite sense of entitlement. I ran them both over to the barn and put them back in the jugs for a couple of more days. All of the puppies are doing great! Lil gave us a scare though, eclampsia, so it was a nite of IV's and worry. Today she is much better but I'm having to feed her pups 4 times a day. They took right to eating food so that's good! Gracie's pups are going out to the pasture to "watch" sheep every couple of days and Mouse keeps everyone entertained. That's one gritty little girl. She now rides in a snuggly on the ATV and tries t help her mom work. I'm glad she is going to a home where she will have a job to do. She already thinks she's a big dog and at a pound it is funny to watch her try to be bossy! The rest of the pups are taking an interest but Mouse is definitely the one with the most instinct. Come see all the new babies there are more practically every day. Meg 951-259-2072 http://www.mmlivestockco.com

Last week GMO Alfalfa was approved for planting this spring. This my friends could spell the end of organic production as we know it. Why? Because Alfalfa is pollinated by bees, and the pollen can be transferred for miles, contaminating every crop it comes in contact with. Alfalfa is THE main livestock feed source for beef and dairy cattle and if GM Alfalfa isn't blocked there could be no such thing as organic meat or dairy products in the very near future. As a grass based producer I didn't worry too much about GMO's because we don't feed the things that are modified. We do plant our finishing pastures with alfalfa. The thought of over 100 years of selective breeding potentially becoming worthless gives me the cold shivers! Every one of us needs to write the USDA and tell them to pull the plug on GMO alfalfa, the potential dangers to the food supply far outweigh any benefits. There has been no research done to study the effect that GM alfalfa will have on livestock, nor have there been any studies to determine what dangers GM alfalfa poses to native systems. This one, in my opinion IS the ticking time bomb that we DO have reason to fear. Meg http://www.mmlivestockco.com

4 more lambs in the last 2 days! We have been selectively breeding for conformation and yield on a total grass diet for several years and are getting some great lambs! Here at the home place I'm getting an interesting color variant that seems to be breeding true. It will take three more generations to be sure and then we can establish a new breed. In addition to these lambs reaching market weight at about 7 months with no grain they are averaging a 4.5 to 5 in. loin eye and a hanging weight of 55lb avg. Not bad at all! The fun thing is the F3 crosses are white faced with black ear tips, black around the eyes, and black lips. They look like they are wearing makeup. I will try to figure out how to upload pictures. Until then you'll just have to come see them. All of the puppies are doing great. Lil's litter got moved outside today. They are a week younger than Gracie's pups and twice as big! They are the Akbash cross pups. Much quieter and more laid back than the Cowboy Curs! My favorite one from this litter is iris, She is white like her mom with blue points and a black spot right in the middle of her back. She and Mouse will get to meet each other in a couple of days and it ill be interesting to see just how different the temperaments are. See you soon. Meg http://www.mmlivestockco.com

Many of you are aware of the vicious attacks we have been enduring over the last few months, both directly and via the internet. There has been an interesting side effect from all of this. People who read the nasty posts don't believe them and come by to see what all the fuss is about. The Lord does work in mysterious ways! We have gained friends and supporters we never would have had and I have even been approached to be part of a documentary because of all this. Wild huh? We still report every incident because it is after all a crime to harass and impersonate people. Thank you so much to all of our new friends and members. We value your support more than words can say! Meg 951-259-2072 http://www.mmlivestockco.com  

Claire one of the Suffolk ewes lambed this morning. Huge single ewe lamb. 9lbs! She will get to stay here at the home place as a replacement ewe for our club lamb operation. She is off a Harms Johnson ram and should be really nice! Mother and daughter are in the barn doing well. I keep some purebred Suffolks for show lambs but I have to say that I much prefer the Dorper crosses. They almost never need help and you don't have to strip their udders when they lamb. The Suffolks that I have come from show lines and just don't seem as tough. They sure have pretty babies though! Mouse has decided that she is coming along everywhere I go. She is so tiny that she can squeeze through the wire on the dog yard! I have to go get some chicken wire and put it along the bottom of the fence or it will be 4 dogs in the truck instead of 3. I am looking forward to her going to her forever home in a month because I could really get attached to that little one! Oh I almost forgot! Our website is up again finally thanks to our resident computer maven. Check it out. www.mmlivestockco.com. Meg 951-805-7341

Gracie's pups are 4 weeks old today so I set up a portable pen and took them out to meet the sheep. Their pen keeps them safe from the sheep but let's them see them and the big dogs working All of the pups were curious but after a few minutes thought that their lunch pan was more interesting. Except for Mouse. She is the runt of the litter and about half the size of her brothers and sisters. She stood at the fence watching sheep! One of the ewes came up to give her a sniff and that little Mouse started trying to move her! She stared at that ewe and then started moving side to side like she was hunting for her sweet spot! I know its too early for them to be showing real instinct but I swear Mouse was trying to work! I had to laugh at a tiny pup trying to make that big old ewe notice her! It was hysterical! You could almost see the ewe saying, "you aren't as big as my lamb who do think you are?" If Mouse is any indication of the potential these dogs have I know some Cowboys that are going to be VERY happy. Travis, thanks for talking me in to breeding Grace this way. I thought you were nuts! Glad I was wrong! Come visit and see the pups, and make sure you say hi to Mouse, she's the one with her nose at the fence watching her sheep! Meg 951-259-2072

Those of you that have been here know my gelding Parkers Skip n Slide aka Big Red. Well, he has a mission. His Mission, to keep my best friend happy during her fight with stage 4 cancer. He is a kind horse and it was love at first sight for both of them. Jason took her into the turn out to meet him and he actually kept the mares away, it was as if he knows she is fragile and needs him. He stood stock still and let her pick up his feet, brush and handle him all over. When Cookie walked up and bit him he back up and drove her off rather than jump forward, all without a halter on. She said that she really wanted a horse around again to give her a reason to go outside and do things. Ok! Red is up for the job! The doctors give her 2-6 months but I think that a will to live and alternative therapies can beat cancer. Red can stay with her as long as she is with us and I pray that is a very long time. Meg

With all the weirdness I have had to deal with lately it was suggested that I get my citrus, pomegranates and eggs certified with the ag dept. So I called and did just that. The inspector came out, checked my trees, bushes and birds and that was that! He will come back out when the garden is high enough and our produce will be good to go too! Meats are not certified by the dept of ag as I said in an earlier post but by certifying my crops and eggs I have more things that I can legally take to markets. Pretty cool if you ask me. The Lord will provide and as they say everycloud has a silver lining. This cloud was Golden! Come see us and the new babies! Meg 951-259-2072

When visiting a Certified Farmers Market consumers need to realize that the only items capable of being certified by county and or state officials are Produce, tree crops, and eggs. I think honey is covered too but I'm not sure, Meats, Bread, popcorn, sauce, salsa etc. are overseen by the health dept. and fall under a different permit than that which covers crops. Every Farmers market manager is supposed to visually inspect every purveyor at the market they are in charge of, happily most do just that. Originally farmers markets only sold produce. Now many things can be found at farmers markets including meat and seafood. We for example have an N-pin number that corresponds with what we raise, both individually and cooperatively. We can't sell anything we don't raise ourselves unless we can verifiably prove a cooperative or partnership alliance. This documentation must be available to officials on request. Additionally everything we sell at markets must bear the stamp of USDA inspection where required since California has no state inspection program for meat production or processing. When visiting a farmers market talk to the farmers and producers. If you don't like the answers you are given, don't buy the product. Learn a little about the rules and your day at the market will be a happy one. Meg

Today my friend and I are going to get the beef shares for our members. We keep our beef flash frozen after dry aging, cutting and wrapping to ensure freshness. And the heath department wants it frozen for the farmers markets as well. We use 3 different commissary locations just to keep everyone happy. Our customers are happy with the flash freezing and it let's us harvest as the animals are ready rather than adhere to an artificial production schedule. Lambs will be ready for pick up the middle of next week, and the chickens are harvested on fridays. I am so grateful for the great group of abbatoirs we work with, both USDA and custom. These folks really know what they are doing and are just as important to the quality of the products we offer as the actual raising of the livestock. Thanks guys! Meg

Let me begin by saying banding and castrating lambs is not inhumane. If you have ever seen a case of fly strike you would know just how right I am. Wool sheep in this part of the country, especially range sheep can and do get very dirty. In the rainy season their tails would foul with brush, mud, debris, and feces, giving flies the perfect place to lay eggs. When those eggs hatch the larvae begin by eating the matter that has collected on the tail and moving on to the flesh of the animal. This is painful and potentially deadly. when docked properly lambs experience very little pain. They are back with mom within minutes and usually start nursing right away. We band our lambs between 3 and 7 days of age. Older lambs probably would experience more pain as would a lamb docked too short. We band at the caudal fold which is where the skin of the tail forms a V. This leaves the tail long enough to cover the"nether regions" but not so long as to collect debris. Hair sheep and crosses with naturally short tails don't require docking and that is one of the reasons we run Dorper crosses. Fewer lambs require docking and in another few generations we may not need to dock at all. Castrating is necessary to prevent lambs breeding too early, and young rams will fight and injure each other. Whethers do grow better in my opinion because their mind isn't focused on reproduction. In over 30 years I have never seen a lamb go into shock or die after being banded. I have seen undocked lambs go septic and die from fly strike and that is not a pretty sight. I would much rather band my lambs and have them grow up healthy and happy than not dock tails and have to treat infections with chemicals and antibiotics. Just because a lamb has been docked doesn't make the farmer inhumane, in fact its Just the opposite. Meg

Today we are working on the Co-op Pantry. We were supposed to be finished with it a month ago but permits always take longer than they say. We had to upgrade the plumbing and electrical and put down a new floor. Today we are starting work on the new doors and handicapped access. Gotta obey those regs! Even though its for members only we want to be sure we are totally in compliance. We were blessed with all new counter tops, cupboards, shelving, and sinks so that helped a lot! It is going to be great once everything is finished. A friend sent us the information we needed to know what to plant in the u-pick garden and that is now officially under way. The chickens re laying more eggs every day and the lambs and calves are just too cute. We have a couple of months yet before all of the babies arrive but that's part of the natural breeding process. Phil says the pigs are in fine form and our custom hogs are growing like weeds. Come by and say hi, but don't be surprized if you get handed a hammer or a shovel. Farm chores never end. Meg 951-259-2072

I actually got to spend most of the day at the home place today! After driving out to check cows, I came home and cleaned water tanks, moved the goats to their new digs and started converting their old area into future chicken pastures. You all know that chickens are not my favorite creatures but they deserve to be treated fairly so I got to work. I seeded the rest of their future digs with chicken salad, greens, beans, peas, etc. the weather should stay warm enough now for the forage to grow. I set poles and j gets to wire it all when the cement cures. We have to protect the chickens from predators here so they can't run loose. What they will have is their own mini rotational pasture system, secure from Hawks, crows, and owls. The area is 48' x 120' divided into 4 sections each section is planted with chicken feed stuffs and they will rotate through each area so they always have living food as well as corn and soy free supplemental feed. They still have access to their roosts and nest boxes but will be on pasture all day long. We figure this will keep the egg layers happy and healthy. Eusebio has the pastured meat birds down to a science and I leave that aspect of things up to him. The hens seem fascinated by what is going on and were thrilled with the grubs I turned up under the goat water tanks. I guess chickens aren't so bad after all. Meg

Today after morning chores were done it was time to tag and band the lambs. They get a Scrapie tag in one ear and a Farm Tag in the other. Our flocks are certified scrapie free so keeping accurate records is important. The scrapie tag has the US I.D # on it as well as the unique number assigned to each animal for traceability. The Farm Tags are pink or blue this year and numbered so we know when each lamb was born and who its mother is. We use Premier mini tags since they seem to work the best for us. Then we band tails. In our area fly strike can be a big problem so the long tailed lambs get banded and their tails fall off in about a week. The sheep with a higher percentage of Dorper. Influence have shorter tails that don't collect debris so we leave their tails alone. All the ram lambs get castrated as well. They just seem to grow better when whethered. We try to do this when the lambs are between 3 and 7 days old. It's less stressful on them to do it now rather than when they are older. They will staying the jugs for another day or two and then go back out with the flock. So far there have been no fatalities and everyone is healthy. Tomorrow I get the pleasure of helping Sammy castrate pigs and remove needle teeth. Not fun but necessary. Breeding season for the horses is just around the corner so Sir gets all his tests taken tomorrow as well. He's a heck of a nice young horse and after he finishes breeding the mares he has booked here he's going to Idaho to stand at stud for a couple of years as well as get some show miles on him. My filly "Pants" is going north with him to get some miles on her as well, she is a half sister to the colt that was murdered. That will just leave 5 head here until fall. Red is going to need some tuning up as it will be just him and Banker to do the cattle work this year. Well its time to feed the dogs and call this day a night. Remember farm pick up for members are Friday and Saturday. Call ahead so we know you're coming. Meg 951-805-7341