Conservation This Farm Is Trying To Change The Future Of Organic Pork It is possible to create a humane, self-sustaining, and profitable hog farming system and to make organic pork more widely available. NOTE: post initially appeared on RodalesOrganicLife.com on December 12, 2016 The Rodale Institute’s hog facility has one goal: Show farmers everywhere how to create a humane, self-sustaining,
Conservation Land-Rich Farmers Still Struggle to Survive Heavy subsidies of agriculture have not made farming and ranching profitable. Nor can they. NOTE: This post initially appeared on WSJ.com on December 21, 2016 The farmer is the only businessperson who buys his inputs at retail and sells at wholesale, all the while hoping (and praying) for good
far-West Texas oil & gas Far-West Texas Mineral Classifications As explained below, far-West Texas ranches often come with mineral ownership that cannot be severed from the surfaces. This is an important investment feature. By John McFarland I have recently been reading “The Big Rich: the Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes,” by Bryan Burrough. It has
"Invasion Biology" Kaput Maker Pulls Feral Hog Poison Out of Texas Those who oppose the idea of drenching Texas ranges with the rat poison Warfarin, are either “lawyers, misinformed or radical environmentalists”. Kaput has been withdrawn by its manufacturer, who in doing so reiterated all these false health claims about free range pigs. There has been no epiphany within Big Wildlife,
"Invasion Biology" Texas House Orders Study Before Using Poison on Feral Hogs The ‘feral pig apocalypse’ is a costly bureaucratic poisoning boondoggle that will harm wildlife in incalculable ways. There is an obvious alternative: Let the market solve the problem the bureaucrats created, and let Texas’ leaders lead towards a solution that benefits wildlife, habitat and the economics of land ownership. Feral
Bio-Diversity Euros Cave to Big Ag The full force of the United States has been thrown behind the effort to force our destructive agricultural model on the world, in the name of “free trade”. The European Chemicals Agency on Wednesday said glyphosate, the key chemical in Monsanto Co.’s flagship herbicide, doesn’t cause cancer, but
Bio-Diversity Texas Hunters Want to Put the Kibosh on Ag Commissioner’s ‘Feral Hog Apocalypse' The “feral hog apocalypse” is brought to you by Big Wildlife: The same folks who gave us CWD. NOTE: This post initially appeared on SAExpressNews.com on February 22, 2017 State Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s call for a “feral hog apocalypse” has hunters across Texas up in arms about
Conservation Holocene Sea-Ice Cover According to this paper, Arctic sea-ice fluctuation is caused by natural solar cycles, not anthropogenic (human caused) global warming. — Paper Summary by Dr. Richardson Gill: The February issue of the Journal of Quaternary Science, a highly respected paleoclimatology journal, included an article that reported a study of Arctic sea-ice extent
Bio-Diversity Unsealed Documents Raise Questions on Monsanto Weed Killer Big Tobacco and its cronies manipulated public opinion for decades after they knew that smoking causes cancer. Monsanto is doing the same with respect to glyphosate (Roundup). NOTE: article initially appeared on NYTimes.com on March 14, 2017 A lawsuit contends that the main ingredient in Roundup, the world’s
Chronic Wasting Disease Chronic Wasting Disease Spreads “Feeding can cause deer to gather in a certain place and spread the disease more rapidly. “We would discourage any artificial supplemental feeding,” Lightfoot said. “It does congregate deer and have potential for additional risk.” NOTE: This post initially appeared on SAExpressNews.com on January 26, 2017 State wildlife officials
"Invasion Biology" The Ultimate Pursuit in Hunting: Sheep Desert Bighorn Sheep are one of four wild sheep found in North America. All four are incredible animals. Few private landowners in far-West Texas have as much experience or success with Desert Bighorn Sheep as ourselves. Our experience is that sheep are easy to raise: Add lots of free water
"Invasion Biology" Rattlesnakes and Yucca Bucks Great thoughts on mule deer and ‘paradigms’, by Steve Nelle. NOTE: the following article was originally published in Texas Wildlife Magazine, November 2015. The article was provided by the publisher directly and permission for it’s use in this post has been granted. Document (PDF) can be viewed here
"Invasion Biology" Wild Boar Trappers Fear Hog Poison’s Effect on EU Wild Meat Market The feral pig ‘problem’ is a regulatory issue. The one bright spot is that the Europeans – whose food safety standards far exceed our own – love our free range pork. The brilliant idea to use Warfarin to control pigs will destroy that market, and produce unknown and unintended consequences to other
Animal Development Bison: At Home, On the Range Raising bison commercially on open ranges. NOTE: This post initially appeared on ModernFarmer.com on September 12, 2016 In 1994, when Mary and Lee Graese bought their first two bison, beef was what’s for dinner, as Robert Mitchum’s voice intoned on the omnipresent television ads. We’re talking
Conservation Federal Lands: A 660 Million-Acre Mess There is general consensus that Federal lands are mismanaged, but no agreement on how to fix the problem. Should ownership and management: (1) remain as is? Or, should some federal lands (2) be transferred to the states, and/or (3) sold to the public? NOTE: this post initially appeared on
west texas Between Heaven and Texas Another great video by Wyman Meizner. Wyman Meinzer – Between Heaven And Texas Short from Wyman Meinzer on Vimeo.
"Invasion Biology" Meat Production Helps Offset Wild Pig Problem When properly prepared, the taste of free-range pork is the same as factory pork. NOTE: article initially appeared on SAExpressNews.com on November 6, 2016 SNYDER, Texas (AP) — Sure, feral hogs cause their share of trouble. But if you like bacon and pork chops, Texas’ pig problem has a swine
"Invasion Biology" America’s Wildlife Body Count Wild animal eradications directly attack biodiversity thereby harming all wildlife and habitat. The methods by which these eradications are accomplished pose huge ethical questions. NOTE: This post initially appeared on NYTimes.com on September 17, 2016 Until recently, I had never had any dealings with Wildlife Services, a century-old agency
Algae Blooms Parts of Florida Are In a State of Emergency Over a Toxic Algae Bloom That Can Be Seen From Space The ubiquitous use of agricultural chemicals is poisoning our ranges, farmlands, estuaries and oceans, posing huge risks to our civilization. NOTE: This post initially appeared on Quartz (QZ.com) Some Florida coasts look like scenes from a horror film. The green goo is everywhere, it’s scaring people and causing
"Invasion Biology" Study Shows Mountain Lions Pose no Human Threat in Big Bend National Park Studies at Big Bend National Park show that mountain lions avoid humans, are most active early and late in the day, and that female lions are more active than males. This is consistent with our experience and observations at Circle Ranch, where we protect our lions because they and all
Quail Montezuma’s Reward: The Rarest Quail in Texas Mearns or Montezuma, the largest and rarest of our four Texas quails, is found throughout the mountains of far-West Texas. We have this quail in small numbers at Circle Ranch. Blues and Gambels are runners. Mearns hold even more tightly than bobwhite. What a shock when they flush—literally—from
Bio-Diversity Antibiotic Use on Farms Helps Fuel Antibiotic-Resistant Diseases Feral pigs, according to our wildlife and food quality experts, are unfit to eat because they carry diseases. But do they? Over the last 30 years, the two largest processors of wild pigs in Texas have slaughtered and tested tens of thousands of animals. They have never found a diseased
Animal Development 5 Rules for Bigger, Better and More Mulies A great article by Steve Nelle that outlines how to have more and healthier mule deer, quail and pronghorn. 1. Grazing management is the single most important way to affect mule deer food supply. When grass conditions permit, practice light-to-moderate seasonal grazing, in some rotational form (examples include “holistic planned
Conservation National Parks: Lost and Neglected Considering the Federal record in financial regulation, education, healthcare and a host of other arenas, is it news that their management of public lands is a mess? Why should the Federal government own 640-million acres? Texas, as a private lands state, doesn’t have this problem on a large scale,
Bio-Diversity Princeton University: Wildlife and Cows Can Be Partners Not Competitors in Food Search Cattle and horses closely resemble native animals that would be the dominant large grazers in North America, but for human impact. Horses – these include donkeys or burros – and their ancestors were in our deserts for 50 million years. They disappeared 5,000 years ago and have been back for 500
