Each month seems to witness the arrival of yet another article, documentary, or exposé about the highly questionable practices used by the Factory Food Industry. In pursuit of profit, methods of food production that would seem unthinkable are evidently quite commonplace (e.g., the recent “Pink Slime” revelations with regard to mass-produced ground beef – “Yeah, bro, give me some extra ammonia in my burger, okay?!”).

To the extent possible, My friends and I are undertaking to consume only animal protein that is raised naturally. We buy local. We buy organic. We buy free-range/pastured/etc. And when we can, we raise our own. (Although this article is about broiler chickens, I also have friends raising goats for meat.)

Broiler chickens are an option for folks like us. It doesn’t take 30 acres of land and huge infrastructure costs to raise several dozen birds, and out where we live in the Hudson Valley there aren’t any benighted Homeowners Associations to interfere. Last summer-into-fall, some friends (we’ll call them T&S) bought and raised 50 broiler chickens with the understanding that four families in our circle would split the cost and share in the harvest. This article is about the particulars of that experience. » Read more

Fodder or animal feed is any feedstock used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them), rather than that which they forage for themselves in pasture and grazing land. It includes hay, straw, silage, compressed and pelleted feeds, oils and mixed rations, and also sprouted grains and legumes.  The fodder system we are focusing on here today is a hydroponically grown, quick turn over, and cost effective system.   

With many regions of the world experiencing record droughts and peak water becoming more of a concern for many businesses and individuals who own and raise livestock,  seeking options and solutions to maintain the health and growth of their animals can be a challenge.  Sprouting fodder on site can be a dependable and low cost source of feed and nutritional supplementation, creating a local, on demand feed source that can build great resiliency and independence for homesteaders and those in agricultural industries.  » Read more

Water is vital to life. Having access to clean, pure water is critical to maintaining health and wellbeing. We all need it in order to survive. But clean water is getting harder to come by. There is constantly more stress and contamination sources being applied to the natural and human built processing systems that supply us with fresh potable water. Water treatment plants go offline when power outages occur. Groundwater and well water sources are being increasingly contaminated. Natural disasters compound the stress on these systems and introduce new hazards and toxic inputs that we once thought were contained and managed. Here are a few recent examples of how our water supplies are being compromised and the potential health risks involved.  » Read more

Part I - Practical Survival Equipment

In this segment of the Emergency Assessment series, we’re going to discuss equipment, but not in a way that is commonly seen.

We’re going to take the information from the previous segment (Understanding Emergencies) and set up some definitions that we will use to frame what we need in order to meet emergencies head on.  If you have not yet read that article, please take a few minutes to read it now, because this article builds on the knowledge gained in the previous one.

Most of the time, this discussion focuses on what you hear when you hear “survivalists” consider their options. Typically it’s the equipment: What rifle for deer? What (this) to accomplish (that)? Our section on equipment is intentionally placed halfway through this article, because before we decide on any sort of equipment, it’s imperative that we shape our demands, and our demands are not equipment -- our demands are skills. A set of lock picks aren’t going to do you any good if you’re trying to escape a dead city and you can't tell a rake from a torsion wrench.

In short, our priorities are:

1. A cogent assessment of the situation
   
   
2. A detailed plan on what you have, lack, and need, in terms of skill set, mindset, and know-how
   
   
3. The skills to perform the given task
   
   
4. The tools to perform the given task