Which came first, the chicken or the egg? In the Intermountain Farmers Association history, the egg came first. Launched in 1923 as a business cooperative to boost local economies, the Utah Poultry Producers Association achieved success by quickly establishing egg receiving plants in key Utah locations. Recognizing market growth in other commercial territories, the … [Read more...]
A Millcreek Couple’s Modern Quest for Self-Sufficiency
Kristy McNealy laughs when asked if she thinks her lifestyle is revolutionary. “It doesn’t feel revolutionary,” she responds. “I just have this huge great lot and it feels wasteful to only use it to water grass.” Two years ago, Kristy and her husband, Rod, bought a 1950s-era Millcreek home on a half-acre lot. Included in the sale were the property’s water shares. Their … [Read more...]
Preserving Your Harvest Through Canning
As I was growing up, my neighbors had a root cellar; a stone outbuilding that was always dark and cool. Inside, from floor to ceiling, were stacked bottles of peaches, cherries, jams, and tomatoes. Everything that grew in their garden was canned and kept for use throughout the year. Today, canning is becoming a lost art. But there are a few stalwarts who carry on the … [Read more...]
Grass-Fed Beef Video Part III
Watch part three three of our video series on Utah ranches raising grass-fed beef. Blue Tree Ranch is a family-owned and operated first-generation pasture-raised beef farm in Utah. Bjorn Carlson talks about the health benefits of pasture-raised beef, and his kids talk about what they do on the farm to help. … [Read more...]
Intensive-grazing practices could be a key part of the solution preventing climate change
The pasture-raised beef movement is much more than just another health fad. The practice of intensively managing cattle on rangelands can improve soil and prevent desertification. One of the leading experts in using livestock to reduce desertification in arid climates is a man named Allan Savory, who has studied rangeland management in Africa for over 40 … [Read more...]
Build a Better Burger
It's a summertime staple: grilled, barbecued cheeseburgers topped with lettuce, pickles, onions and fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes. It doesn't get much better than this, except for the addition of an ice-cold beer. Americans consume an average of 73 pounds of red meat per person per year. But how is all of this beef produced? In one pound of ground beef (from most major … [Read more...]
Beehive Naturals
“Our kids actually do a lot of the work on the farm—milking goats and tending bees. When we aren’t farming we put them to work making the products.” The Ginn kids don’t play video games or watch TV (except an occasional football game) instead, Sam Ginn says, “They help me with the massive amount of work” on their small backyard homestead in Plain City (just north of … [Read more...]
Omnivore’s Dilemma: Liberal Propaganda?
The book Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, has been recommended to me about 15 times by various people, mostly from the farmers market. I write about food, farmers and ingredients and especially the farm to table movement, but the reason I didn't read this book sooner is that this book's title makes its content sound like liberal propaganda. I don't read books that … [Read more...]
Young Living Farms Receives a Warning Letter from the FDA
Young Living Farms based out of Lehi, Utah has been selling essential oils for medicinal properties since they were founded by D. Gary Young over twenty years ago. Some of the claims D. Gary Young has personally made include that their essential oils can cure a myriad of illnesses and that their oils can also prevent disease. It's clear from the debate surrounding this issue … [Read more...]
Young Living Farms Wacky Somalian Adventures
Sultan Yusuf Ahmed Salah of Somalia recently posted a YouTube video in which he claims that Young Essential Oils Founder Gary Young visited Somalia to test resins from their rare Frankincense trees and write about his journey. According to Salah, Young promised to provide charitable donations to establish health clinics and money to train teachers. Young Living Farms’ legal … [Read more...]