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Livestock

Maricopa County Fair

Discover the History and Culture of the Maricopa County Fair The Maricopa County Fair, in Phoenix Arizona runs from April 10th to the 14th at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. This is an interview with Karen Searle, Executive Director about what is old what is new and exciting about this years fair. We talk about the age of the fair, and what is new and exiting about this years fair - what there is for kids ans seniors, and their Community Stage - which is one of the main things this fair known for.

By |2024-01-11T00:48:47+00:00April 4th, 2019|County Fair, Fair Food, Phoenix, Podcast|0 Comments
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Consider Farming? Consider Chickens?

Farming for Beginners: How to Decide Between Livestock and Plants? Farming, it may seem complicated at first, but is in fact a simple process, the only question is it right for you. Some may think of farming as sitting back and watching over plants or livestock, but unless you can afford to pay people to work your land you will have to participate in the harvest and up keep. Now you may be thinking how you will be able to afford the land and provide other needed items that you are not producing. Well that is quite simple, while you may not be able to mass produce food like the large companies, you can produce more than your family needs to survive. With your extra food you can sell it at a farmers market or to friends. Now with all of the logistics out of the way an interesting topic looms: Will you farm livestock or fruits and vegetables? If your a vegetarian your answer is simple, you will grow fruits and vegetables, however if you are not you still have a difficult decision. While both livestock and fruits and vegetables can yield a profit - livestock can do this with less work for you. The kinds of livestock farming that you could participate in are raising them for sale or raising them and selling their meat and other products. Raising livestock for sale may be another solution for a person who does not want to consume animal products, but selling the meat and other products of the animals is potentially more profitable. The kinds of livestock that you could chose to farm are cattle, pigs, sheep, turkey, and chickens. Each of these animals have reasons both for and against farming them. The cattle can be butchered and milked, both of which could be sold. The sheep’s wool can be harvested as well as mutton. Chickens produce both eggs and meat. Pigs and turkeys however only produce meat. No matter what animal you choose to farm you need to be able to provide some basic necessities like a clean shelter, clean water, and nutritious feed. The shelter needs to be clean of mud and manure, as well as providing enough space for the livestock to be comfortable, this includes ventilation that does not create drafts and proper bedding material, which will need to be changed often to prevent sickness. The clean water is necessary as it helps regulate the body temperature of the animals, and clean [...]

By |2024-01-12T00:36:47+00:00March 4th, 2018|Farm, Animals, Chickens, Poultry|0 Comments
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Environmental Changes and our Livestock

Environmental Changes and Livestock: What You Need to Know Livestock sector contributes to a big percentage of agricultural produce its key in the global food security chain. Environmental changes have had a significant impact on livestock farming thus distracting the food supply chain. Climate change is majorly caused by the emissions from greenhouse gas which leads to the warming of the atmosphere. Ironically, the livestock sector contributes to climate change through its contributions to the emission of green gas.[1] This has had serious implications on livestock sector in the US. Some of the effect associated with environmental changes include; Low livestock production: Environmental changes cause an unpredictable weather patterns which has an impact on livestock sector. This has an overall performance on livestock performance which has an effect on the livestock products. Environmental changes also increase vulnerability of livestock as most of the time the environment becomes harsh for the sustainable of the animals.[1] Increase of temperatures during summer reduce animal production while it causes a slow down during winter. Effects on parasites that affect livestock’s: Environmental changes has caused changes and an increase in parasites that affect domestic animals. An increase in diseases such as bovine respiratory disease have been reported to have increased in the last few years. Impacts of Climate Change on Livestock Farming This has been blamed on environmentally factors.  Some of this parasites affect crops which act as foods for the livestock. This has continued to affect plant and livestock diseases in most places in the US. Reduced quality and quantity of produce: The quality of produce such as feeds is degraded as a result of high atmospheric, increase of carbon dioxide and dry conditions. This however is very determined on factors such as location, species, crops, livestock system among others. This affects the quality of forage and feeds.[3] Extreme weather conditions such as floods may cause roots structure and decrease in total quality and quantity. Unpredictable rainfall: Livestock farming relies heavily on agricultural crops, while the growth of this crops needs reliable water. Climate change has affected rainfall pattern which has led to scarcity of water thus affecting the whole cycle. Livestock requires drinking water, crops for product processes. It is estimated that by 2025, 64% may experience constrained water conditions.[4] Reproduction: Livestock reproduction of both sexes is affected by heat stress. This affects cows and pigs in embryo employment development and low pregnancy rates. Cow fertility is compromised by too much heat or deficits. Lower sperm concentration has also been [...]

By |2024-01-12T12:37:50+00:00May 18th, 2017|Environmental, Livestock|0 Comments
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Effect of Cows on Environment?

Cows and the Environment: A Surprising Connection Effect of Cows ?   What is the real cost of a steak dinner: A day’s wage or the destruction of an ecosystem? PETA insists that meat is murder. Americans are yet to be dissuaded. But for as long as there have been nice things, there have existed smart alecs to ruin them. An insidious proposition has recently been making its play. Cows flatulence is 70-120kg of Methane gas into our atmosphere annually. The argument goes that Methane, a Greenhouse Gas, traps heat which negatively impacts Earth’s climate. Livestock specifically contributes 26% of all Methane! Therefore, red-blooded Americans must curb their appetite for succulent sirloins otherwise Earth becomes a furnace! Obama declares War on Dairy The US government aims to reduce Methane output from bovines by 25% before the decade closes. But would this significantly impact climate scientists’ models? Here is a breakdown of cattle per top 5 countries. We’ve provided our own high-end annual Methane output estimates. 1) India: 301,600,000 cows. 39,894,851 US tons. 2) Brazil: 219,093,000 cows. 28,981,043 US tons. 3) China: 100,250,000 cows. 13,260,805 US tons. 4) United States: 91,988,000 cows. 12,167,929 US tons. 5) European Union: 88,600,000 cows. 11,719,774 US tons. If the entire US population shunned beef, cattle Methane output would not fall even 10%. “Like, just get rid of all the cows, man.” Assuming cows collectively drop dead tomorrow, the effects would be disastrous. Sure, global Methane output is cut by a quarter. Warming would theoretically decline and Arctic permafrost melt slow. But, even climate scientists acknowledge Earth cannot completely reverse gears. There is a guaranteed amount of climate change. Cows on the other hand play a delectable role. The obvious drawback, albeit manageable, is no beef and considerably less dairy. On the plus side, Cornell University estimates 800 million people could be fed with livestock grain. I personally prefer steak over Shreddies, but c’est la vie. Cornell professor David Pimentel notes that 100,000 litres of water are used for every kilogram of food. The average American consumes 666 litres daily! An omen? Eliminating cattle lets us mitigate water shortages at the very least. Poultry requires less fuel to prepare and provides greater protein per gram. Americans consume approximately 100lbs annually – twice as much as beef. While 800 million people is nothing to sneeze at, reallocating cattle resources feeds only 2% of Earth’s malnourished. Of course, Americans would look for a substitute, vegan or otherwise. Beef makes a colossal contribution to America’s economy. The [...]

By |2024-01-12T13:55:24+00:00July 16th, 2016|Cattle, Cows, Poultry|0 Comments
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