Terri Paajanen - The Complete Guide to Organic Livestock Farming

The Complete Guide to
Organic Livestock Farming

Everything You Need to Know about Natural Farming on a Small Scale

By Terri Paajanen

A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the Vice President of Sunshine here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bears memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:

• Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.
• Support local and no-kill animal shelters.
• Plant a tree to honor someone you love.
• Be a developer put up some birdhouses.
• Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.
• Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.
• Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.
• Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.
• Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.
• If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.
• Support your local farmers market.
• Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.

Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.

Dedication

I would like to thank Michael Wilson for being such a wonderful help around our farm while I spent the time writing this book and also my daughter Emily for always reminding me how miraculous Nature is.

I also want to thank the farmers who took the time to take part in the creation of this book by sharing their own stories.

Introduction: The Movement Back to More Natural Products

In our fast-paced and highly technological world, we are seeing a revival of older ideas that come from a slower and simpler time. People are looking for a more wholesome lifestyle and trying to leave behind the overprocessed foods that have become commonplace on the grocery store shelves.

Over the past two generations, we have traded quality for convenience when it comes to our food. Now, we are coming full circle, and people are looking for quality again. Sometimes, this shows itself in a significant change of diet. Todays natural dietary trends encompass a number of new or old eating theories. Some of the more popular examples include:

Vegetarian: Not eating meat (sometimes excluding eggs and dairy as well)

Vegan: Not eating or using any animal products whatsoever (all forms of meat and dairy)

Localvore: Choosing food products that are grown locally rather than shipped from other areas

Raw food: Leaving foods as close to their natural states as possible so as not to diminish their nutritional value (though some cooking is allowed up to a varied maximum temperature)

Paleo eating: A more complicated diet plan that relates to how humans would have eaten before the advent of processed food, which includes grains and baked goods