Martin Fisher

That seems very reasonable. I'm trained in cattle artificial insemination, I would have expected it to be more.

Yes, that is a very common practice.

She wouldn't give enough milk to make here a good dairy cow, but she'd make an excellent calf-rearing mother in terms of the amount of milk she'd give. She's worth most as a mother of a 3/4 Wagyu calf — it wouldn't make sense to send her for beef. If the F1 calf is a male, it's a different story — he'd likely be castrated, to become a steer, then raised for beef. I hope that answers some questions. Happy to answer more.

My paternal grandmother cooked/baked via one for decades. We had one at home, a Pittston — made in Pennsylvania. I had a small wood cookstove in my cabin.

I think very few are aware of this... "All SNAP retailers, including Farmers’ Markets, can sell seeds and plants to SNAP participants."

Gourmet! it's OVERUSED!

I don't consider sauerkraut stinky.

LOL My sister makes a sells a lot of radish pickles. Boy, do they stink, but they sure are tasty

I have hundreds that were collected by my Grandmother Brown during her almost 92 years.

The friend mentioned above is one of my ex-partners — so I'm tough on him! The problem is that he drinks Dr. Pepper and complains loudly that he's getting fat and he doesn't have enough food. I point out what a horrible choice it is and what a terrible money manager he is — tough love!!! LOL Truth is, if SNAP didn't cover the Dr. Pepper, he'd pay for it with his SSI funds.

Another way I save on SNAP is to almost never buy packaged drinks of any type. I drink water, coffee, and tea, 99.9% of the time. I installed a six-stage reverse osmosis water filtration system with a permeate pump (conserves water) in 2010 when I bought this place. It's been an excellent investment — $200 — I've recouped that MANY times. The water it produces is just like premium spring water. The filtered water goes to the cats too! 😺 A friend drinks mostly Dr. Pepper — one+ 2 liter bottle(s) every day. One of the reasons why his SNAP runs-out long before the end of the month!

Find a restaurant/institutional supplier that sells products "Cash & Carry". My local one has just a $50 minimum order.

Oats were our go-to for decades. Now I make tender and creamy risotto porridge. With whatever favorite accompaniments. ETA: It's real good dressed like rice pudding.

Here's our regional food bank https://www.foodbankst.org/ They distribute food to most of the area's community food banks. It's a BIG warehouse that was donated to them — it's about a 1/2 mile from my place.

To those who are poor (able-bodied) and think they can't cook or don't have the time, at least get a CrockPot!!! Taking advantage of the food bank here REQUIRES cooking! Dry pinto beans, dry great north beans, dry red beans, split peas, lentils, rice, pasta, meat, raw potatoes, etc. That stuff makes up at least 75%-80% of what's available at the food bank.

Me too!

My great friend Mary, who came here from England in 1957, has treated me very well. She has a sheep farm. Years ago when I was flat broke I'd go to Mary's and she'd find some work around the farm for me to do. She says "Being broke teaches you to be frugal." It's true! I've been broke enough to learn to be REAL frugal! LOL

Prior to the pandemic I was getting $145.00 — now I get the $204 I'm frugal, I can make money go a long way. I received $204 on the 4th. Current EBT balance, $657.59

We can purchase at farmer's markets too. The closest food bank is just a block away. It's at the United Methodist Church. Staff or patrons will help with transportation. This is a tight-knit community.

The air fryer is a MAGIC machine in that it got the housemate to do some REAL cooking!!! He made some chicken wings (from raw chicken) the other night that were quite good! And the smoke detector stayed quiet!!!

Some say they can't survive on SNAP, well it was never intended to cover all food costs — it's a SUPPLEMENT!!! (high income, low SNAP — low income, high SNAP) I've seen the challenges where folks whine about the limits of SNAP and try to live on just SNAP for a month. Well, I can go it! Even LOW-CARB quite easily because my income is low. For example, I can buy a 10 pound, bone in, pork shoulder for $1.99/lb. Cure it, smoke it, and have enough meat for 14-21 days — as low as 95 cents per DAY! Large eggs are, $1.45/18 Heavy Cream, $3.12/quart Whole chicken. 99 cents per pound Whole turkey, currently 68 cents per pound where I shop. Etc. Etc. Etc. My point is, some help should be going to those who don't get a supplement.

Wow! Some States have upped SNAP quite a bit in light of the pandemic! I'm not exactly sure why. If folks were spending a lot of money on restaurant, etc. food prior to the pandemic, that money and SNAP, as it was, would go a long way now, along with food bank grub — restaurant, etc. food is relatively expensive. Maybe I can make money go farther than other folks, I don't know. I haven't been to a food bank since the pandemic started (I only take what I'll use) but I understand that food banks have increased supplies when possible. Too bad EBT isn't more widely useable. It's VERY stupid. All it would take is a little paperwork. Full Disclosure: I'm poor, disabled (various reasons), receive SSI, and SNAP!

Here's the scenario that you want...https://www.meatsandsausages.com/fermenting-pickling/sauerkraut/fermentation

I do 66 degrees.

Nothing wrong with red. A fermentation temperature that's too high can promote the wrong type of bacteria early on leading to a mushing texture.