[near horse]

Sorry OldKat but the food “uhhm” safety bill isn’t a party line thing – it’s a who’s your daddy thing – here in ID it’s fully supported by both our senators and reps. (and our state animal is the GOP elephant). So show me the money!

As far as I can tell this smells as bad as the original HACCP proposal 10+ yrs ago (and approved). The original bill was going to allow/require outside inspections and accountability got revamped into a “self-monitoring and reporting program”. So how come we’re still getting tainted eggs, meat recalls etc?

[near horse]

Hey All,

After reading some of this AMs postings it seems we have more decisions than what I originally anticipated. So, keep talking.

In that regard, I’m still unsure/unclear how fiscal sponsorship works across state lines. Or is it a moot point in that the sponsoring group’s geographic location (and the regulations for that particular state) determines what the “sponsored group” is to abide by. Or, does it not really matter to a state govt since the sponsoring 501c3 group is responsible for us?

Sorry – I’m probably overcomplicating this but want to have a clear idea of who we would be accountable to.

Any idea?

[near horse]

Hi Andy,

I know I might be getting off your topic but I think you might appreciate this link from Paul Starkey’s book Animal-Drawn Wheeled Toolcarriers: Perfected yet Rejected

Hope it is inspirational.

http://www.greenstone.org/greenstone3/nzdl;jsessionid=CE7030B8992175A065180F224BF53CFC?a=d&d=HASH0123e72679c205467878c413&c=hdl&sib=&ed=1&p.s=ClassifierBrowse&p.sa=&p.a=b&p.c=hdl

[near horse]

I think one issue is availability of “certain” types of produce in offseason. While the supermarket(s) here lean toward the “cheapest” – the local food co-op is working to buy as much locally produced food as possible – they’re even promoting Local 100 or Local 50 – stuff produced within a 50 or 100 mile radius of the coop (that’s pretty small distance here).

Erika – does GAP cover farm to table distances? I don’t know much about it but always felt like GAPs were like GLP (good lab practices) – another bunch of folks to come measure/evaluate your practices, good as they might be, and then tell you how to do it better. Even though they aren’t doing it themselves and often, never have done “IT”.

I would like to hear more about GAP though.

[near horse]

I was looking for a video clip of the last log drive here in ID and saw that Maine Public Radio has a video “Last Log Drive Down the Kennebec”. Don’t know anything more about it.

All you Northeasters check out the website for some films showing some history from your area.

http://oldfilm.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16&products_id=51&zenid=uhq6r8n458ag6t14pvnn4aakf5

[near horse]

Never heard of BL toxicity. Anyone know what the compound is? Also, how much would a horse need to consume? If I recall, young locust has physical protection – thorns and chemical protection in the older vegetation – never heard anything about wood.

I do like BL for a number of other reasons – growth rate, N fixer, tough (live and as wood).

Jason, how worn have your treads gotten by now? Are your horses shod?

[near horse]

Here in “my” section of Idaho, running logs on the river (N. fork of the Clearwater) ended about the same time – 1970’s, but also coincided with the dammimg of the river. I think there is a video of the “last log drive” on the North Fork. Probably is for the Kennebec and Androscoggin too.

Just recently, Potlatch decided to sell all of its pulp mills and now are a “land management” agency charging access fees to use their property. That doesn’t sit well with most folks here since many timber companies (like Weyerhauser etc) were spinoffs from the railroads who were “given” alternating sections of land by the US government in exchange for building the RR.

[near horse]

Hi,

I’m a little nervous that perhaps I didn’t get this conference call stuff out to all transition team members. So to alleviate my concerns, could each of you send me a confirmation that you indeed have received the info and mention whether you will be participating in the call.

BTW – does anyone know if Erik and Brad are onboard? Haven’t heard anything from them.

Thanks again – from nervous Nelly.

[near horse]

While I am also concerned about “exposure” or not staying under the radar, in the current politcal climate it seems that it’s a good thing to ally ourselves with someone like FB that has some clout. Otherwise, we run the risk of having no voice in the policies that affect our lives as small farmers/loggers using animal power.

I do applaud you Erika for working on this and the raw milk issue! Good job.

[near horse]

There’s a nice picture of a sled setup w/ a battery and tractor light(s) over on RH site. Worth a look – a nice setup.

[near horse]

Hey Marshall,

I’d try talking with either extension or my seed provider to see what they suggest. That problem with fluffy seed “bridging” in the seeder is still an issue so they should be able to help.

[near horse]

I agree with Carl that trapping is more likely to catch whatever is causing your problem. You didn’t mention how whatever it was got in. Was there an obvious entry/exit site?

We’ve even had stray dogs get after our chickens. They’ll keep chasing/killing as long as something’s still running. Good luck but a baited trap will likely catch him next time – I would reset the trap the next few nights even if you do get something first go round – could be more than one.

[near horse]

Haven’t heard back from Erik or Brad but the best date for all the rest of us appears to be Thurs 12/16. Should we just pick that date as “the one”?

Also, was the “time” alright for the last conference call (I think it was 7 PM for you guys)? I’m okay with that time if you all are.

[near horse]

Hey Mark,

Strobes AND a Travolta leisure suit? I thought part of your reasoning for using lights was to “keep customers from freaking out”? That leisure suit will destroy any chance of that happening.

We have some of those cheap solar lights – they sort of glow more than light up. Could be we bought the cheapest kind.

[near horse]

Here’s a link (got it from RH) that tries to sum up the amended SB510 –
http://farmandranchfreedom.org/Tester-Hagan-explanation

It really ticks me off that the “fears” of bioterrorism are being used to make many small farmers/producers “register” w/ FDA . The primary change that has made our food supply “more susceptible to bioterrorism” is the consolidation of that system by large agribusinesses – now it’s potentially easier to taint massive amounts of food with one contamination. So the answer is to make the small producers subject to increased regulation.

Step back and think about this. The most basic act of producing/providing/consuming food that obviously has been taking place since early ag (5,000+ yrs) has now been made more complicated than a negotiated peace deal between Israel and Palestine. As a friend of mine used to say “they could screw up a rock fight.”

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