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StanSherman

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Posts posted by StanSherman

  1. The bee problem in Central California dates several years before 2008. I've know beekeepers and nut growers who were worried years ahead of that. As far as I know GMO alfalfa's "advantage" is that it is "Round-up Ready". After emergence Glyphosate will not kill the plant but will eliminate broad leaf weeds. There is no incecticide.

    I'm not pushing GMO seed or Organic. It's informative to get widespread input. On of the biggest problems I see is the lack of knowledge of the general public. They are pushed by advertising/marketing schemes IMHO are less than ethical.

    "I just want to KNOW what is in my food. And I like to know if a farm is using "sustainable" farming methods. I support organic farmers, local, when possible."

    We can more of our own stuff than the local Amish. I know whats in it. How do you determine what is "sustainable"? I'm surrounded with 5th and 6th generation farmers and they will universally agree that for true sustainability they need to keep their financial ass afloat.

  2. Free range, typically as applied to chickens. Yes they are not kept in slums as industrial chickens are but an advertisement here on television portrays them as gambolling merrily through the fields, playing with each other. We had chickens when I was growing up and their behaviour is nothing like this misty-eyed advertising conceptualisation of free range. It is more than enough to bring out the cynic in me and wonder how they are really kept (mobile chicken coop driven around a paddock is much more likely).

    Free range is typically used with meat birds. In the US that is 99.99% some form of a Cornish Cross breed. They eat, drink and crap all within about 6 feet of their food. It doesn't matter how they are housed. "Free range" simply means they have access to the outdoors. That means there is a door that is open. Most chicken houses have 60,000 birds and a few may get lost and wander outside.

    If you want chickens that are housed outdoors typically they are in mobile cages. The correct term for that system is pastured.

  3. I've tried to grasp the GMO honey bee issue for a while. The most recent reports point to neonicotinioids in corn and soy, but the farmers around here tell me they have stopped using them for a couple of years. They find other types of fungcide application more cost effective and environmentally friendly. We don't seem to have the problem here, but we don't have the super huge wide-open fields that some areas of the state have. The CRP and hunting lands add lots of habitat.

    I'd add "farm fresh" to the anoying list.

  4. My only issue with Breville is their construction teniques. They don't make the units user repairable. Or toaster went out afet a couple of years and it's virtually impossible to fix it. The cost to send it in and have it done is virtually the same a buying a new one. IMO it's one of the few items where an extended warranty should be figured into the cost of the purchase.

  5. Because of the children I had always assumed organic milk prices would hold their own, but they got hammered over the past few years. It makes it hard to convince farmers to go organic when they end up taking a higher risk for a lower profit.

    The discussion is difficult because most regions have different problems and both organic and non-organic regulators try and make a one size fits all solution.

  6. I took a chance on one after reading through this topic last year. No issues so far but let me know if you have any specific questions.

    This fella was figuring that all the "bio-available" nutrients would pass through the body via the blood after he returned home with a $500 blender. A few bruises over a $250 blender may be acceptable.

  7. We grew "Ringmaster" onions last season. They were bred for onion rings and as far as we are concerned they produce the best onion rings we've ever tasted.

  8. I got a new small pressure cooker for Christmas and tried garbanzo beans today. The bag is three years old. 35 minutes under pressure and they are great.

    The following article got me thinking of you:

    http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/chris_rickert/chris-rickert-put-deer-geese-on-the-local-food-menu/article_b692194c-3cc3-11e1-8404-0019bb2963f4.html

    You could go retro. An old buddy used to cook Thursday night dinners for the Grateful Dead road crew. Critter Du Jour. The favorite was usually venison Stroganoff. Great way to use up that sour cream.

  9. Two people. Three refrigerator/freezers, one solo freezer and a RV with refrigerator/freezer. We have a limestone basement that doesn't fluctuate more than a couple of degrees. 400-500 quarts, 300-400 pints, 50 1/2 gallons of preserved home grown produce. This weeks project is taking the popcorn harvest and putting it into jars. (12) 1/2 gallons so far.

    I sure hope the end of the world comes soon, cause I'm starting to get a little self-conscious with the Amish laughing at me.

  10. Aluminum may tend to warp a little. I'd choose steel because it would not radiate as much heat to the outside and it's less expensive. Tempered glass is not a suitable substitute. I've blown one out like you and found a similar used oven for less than the factory replacement glass.

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