The Goat Source Newsletter
Volume 5 Number 6 June 2008

Hi, Here is the June edition of The Newsletter. I am late, I’m late, I’m very, very late (to quote the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland). Summer is trying it’s best to arrive, although we are still having weather more like early Spring around here. At least the night time temps are not freezing anymore. My goats really like that! They are sleeping outside again, not packed into the barn. My babies are racing about like mad things, leaping and bouncing, I wish I had that kind of energy!!

 Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to your friends.

What’s New This Month?

• USDA Sued
  
• Classified Ads
  
• Make Butter Without A Separator
• June Quiz
  
• Helpful Hints

USDA SUED

 Legal Defense Fund Files Intent to Sue Letter with USDA and Michigan Department of Agriculture

Falls Church, Virginia, (May 15, 2008) — Attorneys for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund today sent a Notice of Intent to Sue letter to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) over implementation of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), a plan to electronically track every livestock animal in the country.

The Notice asks the USDA and MDA to "immediately suspend the funding and implementation of NAIS," and "fully and fairly examine" whether there is even a need for such a program.

Taaron Meikle, Fund president, said that contrary to USDA’s claim, NAIS will do nothing to protect the health of livestock and poultry. "At a time when food safety and costs are a concern, the USDA has spent over $118 million to promote a program that will burden everyone from pleasure horse owners to ranchers and small farmers to individuals who raise a few chickens or steers on their own land for their own use."

Once fully implemented, the NAIS program would require every person who owns even one livestock or poultry animal (a single chicken or a pet pony) to register their property with the state and federal government, to tag each animal, and to report "events" to a database within 24 hours. Reportable events would include such things as a private sale, a state fair, or a horse show.

The Notice charges that USDA has never published rules regarding NAIS, in violation of the Federal Administrative Procedures Act; has never performed an Environmental Impact Statement or an Environmental Assessment as required by the National Environmental Policy Act; is in violation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act that requires them to analyze proposed rules for their impact on small entities and local governments; and violates religious freedoms guaranteed by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

"We also think there are constitutional issues at stake here," Meikle noted. "The requirement to use electronic ear tags or RFID chips violates the religious beliefs of some farmers, such as the Amish, and provisions in a memorandum of understanding between the USDA and the MDA could violate the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution by requiring the state to stop and inspect vehicles carrying livestock without a warrant or probable cause."

The MDA has implemented the first two stages of NAIS -property registration and animal identification - for all cattle and farmers across the state as part of its mandatory bovine tuberculosis disease control program, which is mandated by a grant from the USDA.

"While touted as a disease control program, the NAIS will drive many small farmers out of business" Meikle noted, "and burden every person who owns even one horse, chicken, cow, goat, sheep, pig, llama, alpaca, or other livestock animal with expensive and intrusive government regulations."

Joe Golimbieski, a farmer from Standish, Michigan and Fund member, explains: "The cost of the tags is just the start. We’re at the mercy of whatever price the stockyards charge to do the tagging. And our farm doesn’t have extra employees to deal with paperwork. NAIS is likely to put us out of business."
Gary Cox, General Counsel for the Fund, states that "USDA and MDA have exceeded their authority and they have completely failed to follow the proper procedures. We are calling on the agencies to immediately halt implementation of the program or face appropriate action."

About The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund: The Fund’s mission is to defend the freedoms and to broaden the rights of sustainable farmers and their consumers to produce and consume local, nutrient-dense foods. Concerned citizens can support the Fund by joining at www.farmtoconsumer.org or by contacting the Fund at 703-208-FARM. The Fund’s sister organization, the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation (www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org), works to support farmers engaged in sustainable farm stewardship and promote consumer access to local, nutrient-dense food.

Editor’s Note: The Notice of Intent to Sue the (USDA) and (MDA) is available at www.farmtoconsumer.org
Contacts:

Taaron G. Meikle
President, Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and Farm-to-Consumer Foundation
703-537-8372
Brian Cummings
Cummings & Company LLC
214-295-7463

Classified ads

Going "Green"?  Would you like to make your farm & home better for our planet with ecofriendly products? Visit for more information www.freewebs.com/briarwood-farm 715-572-0240

Wanted  Top Quality Anglo nubian buck . Looking for a top buck  I recently lost mine to a cranky snake and still have does to join.  Must be tested for cae and jd .Would prefer accredited stud.
Lesley&Tom McDowell, 71 Mayfield Rd, Baan Baa Via Narrabri, NSW 2390 Australia 

glendowen @ hotmail.com          (Be sure and take out the spaces in the email address)

Get your goat person a great  shirt!  Get Yer Goat has them!!

I Love Goats! Pocket Knives Laser Engraved folding pocket knife (opens to 6 ¾ inches). Black composite handle with pocket clip. Every goat person needs a good knife!! I love mine and use it all the time!

 Order today - $5 each plus S&H. Discount when you order more than one. Email me at

The Goat Source 

for more information. Need a good fund raiser? Order these for resale OR get your own design laser engraved (custom orders must be for quantity of 100 or more). Quantity discount on all custom orders!! I can work with you on custom orders, just let me know what your needs are!

Make Butter Without a Separator!

Strain one gallon of fresh milk into a clean, shallow, large pan and allow the container to sit uncovered and undisturbed-in your refrigerator for 24 hours. The next day, take the pan from the fridge and-with a large spoon carefully skim off the cream that has risen to the top and store it in the refrigerator in a sterile, tightly covered jar. It is critical that there is nothing in the refrigerator that is strongly flavored as the cream will take on the flavor - no onions or garlic!! Repeat the foregoing procedure on a daily basis until you’ve accumulated one pint of heavy cream in your jar. When you’ve collected a pint of cream, you’ll be ready to make butter. You can make your butter in a mixer, a blender or just use the pint jar that you collected the cream in! The cream will stay fresh aprox. a week, depending on how clean it is. Take extra care and you will have a superior product.

Visit this link for more info.

June Quiz Answer

 There were no entries to the June quiz. The question was " What is leafy spurge? Why is it relevant to goats?

• Leafy spurge, Euphorbia esula L., is a creeping perennial that reproduces from seed and vegetative root buds.
• It can reduce cattle carrying capacity of rangeland or pastures by 50 to 75 percent.
• Leafy spurge is difficult to control. Its extensive root system has vast nutrient stores that let it recover from control attempts.
• Combine control methods into a system to achieve best results.

Biological control. Sheep or goats can be used to help control leafy spurge. Research from Montana State University indicates sheep may consume up to 50 percent of their diet as leafy spurge. Introduce sheep to leafy spurge in early spring when the weed is succulent. Goats will consume leafy spurge at almost any time during the growing season.

Rotate pastures to prevent seed production and allow desirable forage plants to regain vigor. If livestock graze leafy spurge after seed formation, hold animals in a corral for at least seven days before moving them to an un-infested area. This reduces viable seed passage. Sheep or goats followed by fall herbicide treatment may be an effective, integrated means to use infested ground and control the weed.

 Helpful Hints

Check the udder on your fresh does that are nursing kids, frequently. Kids can be hard on an udder. Treat cuts, scrapes, and chapping with a good quality healing salve promptly. A doe with a hurting udder won’t let her kids nurse, leading to multiple problems. If necessary, milk her out, to relieve an overly full udder.

That’s all for this month,
See you next month!!
Leslie, The Goat Source
The Goat Source
13611 NCR 9
Wellington, Co 80549
(970) 568-9622
http://www.goatsource.com
The Goat Source