AdAgrA 2021: Hidden Treasure

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AdAgrA: Adventist Agriculture Association

Homesteading

Kelli Dysinger

Who Let the Goats Out?!

I have lots of pictures in this presentation, so hopefully kids will enjoy that.

Okay, so she already said, my name is Kelly, and I live and work on Bountiful Blessings Farm with my husband Joshua.

We manage all of the winter production, we do some farmers markets and CSA.

And we also have, oops, I'm not meaning to do this.

We also have a lot of animals I ever heard of goats and sheep we have lots of dogs and cats and a couple hundred chickens I Love most every aspect of farming in the farming life, but the animals are what I'm really really passionate about So that's what I'm going to share a little bit with you all today about my goats.

Goats are good for several different reasons, but something that's really popular, especially now, is products made from the dairy, from dairy goats.

And so there's a lot of different dairy breeds that are really great and great producers So if you were looking to add like a value-added product to sell at your farmers market or through your CSA You can make soaps cheeses lotions and a whole lot more with goats milk.

So, goats can actually add to your business in that way.

And the second thing is brush management.

Goats, unlike cows and sheep, They're not grazers.

They like shrubbery Blackberry vines like all the really brushy stuff like that's their favorite thing and so They're really great for clearing out land that's unusable and I've actually heard of some companies that will rent you goats They'll put up a fence put them in your area That's kind of funny.

I haven't seen it myself, but I have heard of it.

And then the last is the reason that I mostly have goats is because they're great pets.

If you've ever been around goats, you know what I'm talking about.

They love to dance and to play and You'll see a little bit more of that later because whoops I actually have a big rock pile, and they all like to climb on it and plinking in the mountain There's very fun to sit with and watch Okay, so we're going to talk about goats' 4 basic needs, first of which being food.

Goats are not very picky when it comes to food, and they will eat most anything as their you know reputation goes before them they will not actually consume everything but they will try to eat everything they do chew on metal and plastic paper bags anything that's around but they won't eat it but so you have to kind of step in and make sure that they have what's good for them.

So, we'll talk a little bit more about that, but fresh water, spring water if it's available.

A lot of city water is somewhat deficient in the natural nutrients and minerals that come out of a spring so if that's available.

That's the best, but if not There are options to make up for it.

You don't know why it keeps changing Okay, the third is shelter, and we will talk more about all of these things later on But you want at least a three-sided structure to offer them shelter from the wind and rain.

It'll start to sprinkle and the whole herd will just head for the barn.

But goats, they're the biggest wimps when it comes to rain, so you want at least a three-sided structure so that they have shelter from the elements and then minerals it's often forgotten part of Goats care, but we're going to talk about that, too So first off we're going to talk a little bit more in depth on the hay and grain goats fall into the category of small ruminants which is pretty much a fancy word for meaning that they have multiple stomachs goats have 4 and as I was doing some research and stuff on this, I also found out that giraffes are ruminants.

So goats and giraffes are stomach related, which is kind of funny.

So their first stomach is called the rumen and it's very important and especially with the goats.

The long fibers in hay are very important to keep the rumen working smoothly and properly.

And also the long fibers in hay produce heat as it's digested, which we'll talk about that a little bit more later.

In the winter it's important that they have this hay because it'll actually help them produce heat from the inside out so that is also very important.

This picture is a hay feeder that I actually built myself you don't need anything fancy you can easily find plastic bins or barrels like this on Craigslist or maybe if you have property like that you bought like with a barn on it like this 1 was on the property and it was just left in a barn and so I took it and You can take a bowl or something round mark on the plastic And then I just took a jigsaw and cut out all the holes and screwed it to a wooden base So it's kind of secure and that's a really simple easy hay feeder You want to make sure your hay smells sweet and not moldy or musty because goats don't have a strong preference They will eat moldy hay and it will make them sick.

So you have to watch out for that for them I want it to be nice and green not yellow and Yeah, if possible purchase it from a local farmer you can get hay and straw and all the things from tractor supply or the co op.

But chances are it's going to be much more expensive than if you buy directly from a local farmer.

So look in your area, kind of watch places you drive, see if you see farmers in your area that make and build their own hay and straw, and you can stop and talk to them, we've done that.

Also Craigslist and Facebook marketplace are a great place to find local hay and usually much less expensive than tractors fly or the co-op so those are great resources to look for also you want to make sure you store all of your hay under some sort of shelter because if it gets rained on or if it's in a low place that water runs off it'll mold very quickly and you can ruin a lot of hay if it's not stored properly.

So and then the last thing You want to try to stock up in the summer when it's fresh if you wait till the last minute Chances are you're going to be left with the less quality bales and from a bigger price so getting them earlier is definitely important so moving on to grain the number 1 rule of feeding grains and feeds is to keep them off the ground.

We're going to talk a little bit more, and you'll see why that makes sense a little more later when we talk about parasites, but You need to keep it off the ground to avoid contamination and so in this picture This is my very simple trough on the side of my barn.

That's where I give all my grain and The baby goats are not supposed to be in there, but they like to play in it So that's not helping as far as contamination, but they can't help it So pretty within a few weeks or months they grow too big and they can't stand in there anymore.

So it's not a huge problem, but you want to keep the food off the ground as much as possible.

Now I mostly feed whole oats, alfalfa pellets, beet pulp, black oil, sunflower seeds.

You can mix those in Mostly any portions it kind of depends on your herd and the individual animals what they need But that is a really good base.

I mix all of those pretty much evenly parted, you know, with the all 4 of them.

And they really like it and offers a lot of nice protein and nutrition.

If you have a lot of pasture space, which I do, I have quite a lot of pasture space, I don't give any grain during the summer months.

They have plenty of grass and forage, and it's not something that they really need.

But when the pasture is low, for us that's October through March approximately.

It varies from year to year when the pasture is low.

I do give them grain every day, sometimes morning and evening, just to make sure that they have plenty to fill their bellies.

And of course, this is in addition to having hay available 24-7.

So, moving on to the second of the goats' needs is water.

First, cool water available at all times is very important and if you can have a spigot in your pasture it eliminates a lot of headache because then you'll either be hauling 5 gallon buckets of water or a tub on the back of a four-wheeler to and from your pasture all the time trying to keep their water supplied.

I have a little spigot right here in my pasture which is very handy and easy to keep cool water available at all times especially If you live in the south where I do where it gets very hot and humid they go through water pretty quickly So this 1 is a pretty small trough.

I have a larger 1 now because I have more animals But This is something that I really love about my water troughs, is I actually started keeping goldfish in them about 2 years ago.

And I saw another farmer friend of mine do it, and I thought it was the coolest thing.

And I mean, any excuse to get another animal, right?

So I have, you can see, this is my current water trough back there.

And I have 5 goldfish in there now, and they've been living in there for 2 years.

And especially in the summer, there's a lot of algae that grows in the water and the water trough will turn green and scummy and really yucky And the goats don't like that.

I mean I wouldn't want to drink it either so every every other day every week at the very minimum I was dumping the whole thing out, scrubbing it down, just to keep it manageable because it grows so fast in the summer.

So adding goldfish, since I did that 2 years, I've never once emptied the tank fully, which is incredible.

They eat the algae that grows on the side of the tank they eat Any mosquito larvae other water parasites that might get in there and just a little bit of constant movement But they add by swimming around Just helps to break up that surface algae that grows so anyways.

It's really cool I have seen them nibble on the goats whiskers when they go to drink as well So I think they like each other So that's pretty cool.

You can buy goldfish very very cheaply at most any pet store like for pennies.

So yeah, some of mine are a couple years old now.

This is my current barn that I have and you can see I have it decorated for Christmas because the goats like to be festive too, or at least I like to think they are.

So it's important to have fresh bedding weekly or as needed in the winter I change it out once a week just because they're in there much more in the winter.

Nights are longer nights are colder and they spend a lot more time in the barn so I'm changing that out weekly.

In the summer it's much less often because they just don't get it that dirty.

You can use straw which is also a good place to look and try to get connected with your local farmers and not spend extra money from the co-op.

But yeah, you can also use pine shavings.

Hay is a little easier to store, a little easier to find.

Maybe could be better on a smaller scale, but I prefer straw, but you can definitely try both.

And it's a little bit hard to see in this picture because it's dark but I do have up in this corner of the barn there is a hay feeder mounted on the wall that we built and it's Good to have access to hay indoors if possible that way if it's rainy for several days in a row like it is in Tennessee in the winter They have plenty of food.

They can eat inside and so they don't have to go outside so 1 thing I meant To say at the beginning is that any of these slides feel free to take a picture of them I don't have handouts, so I don't have this information to give to you so anything if you want to remember Feel free to snap a picture of the slide Okay, so again.

This is another structure that we have because I have a few pastures and Obviously this red barn.

I'm not going to be hauling around depending on where the goats are We're going to talk about rotational grazing a little bit later But this is a very simple metal structure that we've had for years and it's absolutely nothing fancy but the goats will all climb in there and huddle up at night to keep out of the rain and out of the cold and so that one's a really easy thing that I can move around to whatever pasture the goats are in and then you can see that's 1 of my goats inside so it fits them all quite comfortably they like to be cozy anyways.

1 other thing I was gonna say about this barn you'll never guess how much I paid for this barn.

Found it on Facebook marketplace Somebody didn't like it sitting in their backyard and they're like, hey, come get it and it's yours.

So that was an adventure, but we did bring that barn home on the back of a trailer.

Lydia LaJewel Rice

Healing Salves

Just out of interest, is there anyone here who attended the seminar in Florida that was garden herbs to salves and creams?

This will have some similar content, but it will be more specific to healing saps.

So I'm glad that you're here to enjoy this with us.

And thank you for that introduction, that saves me a little bit of time.

And I have a passion for herbs that can be found local or you can grow locally in your area.

I believe that God has put so much in nature for us to take advantage of and it's a blessing that We can now have herbs shipped to us from places like China or South America, but I think that God has given us plants right around us that we walk on every day that have medicinal properties.

And so I really want to empower you to look for those plants that are right around you or that you can grow.

So we're going to look at some mostly topical herbs.

This is about salves and that's a topical application, but we're also going to look at some other salves that are commonly used internally.

But as I like to share on a topic, it gives me the opportunity to also look more deeply into the spiritual applications as well.

And I think as we study the physical and the spiritual together, we will gain a deeper understanding and a holistic view as God wants us to understand holistic.

The world talks about holistic, but I think God has a different definition of what holistic looks like.

So the only place in the Bible, or the King James Version, that the word sabbed specifically is used is a very familiar verse that we find in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 18.

And God is counseling the Church of Laodicea to buy from Him gold tried in the fire, white raiment that we may be clothed, and eye salve that we can see.

Is this something that we can get from him to put on?

And we understand that as we look at some other Bible verses.

Jeremiah says, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding, which have eyes and see not, and have ears and hear not.

So it's not about a physical seeing and a physical hearing, but a spiritual 1.

Also, in Jeremiah, it says, it's a rhetorical question.

Why then is the health of the daughter of my people recovered, Why not?

If there is something there, why are we still sick?

And Isaiah Helps us to understand this further.

It says, why should you be stricken anymore?

The whole head is sick and the whole heart faint from the sole of the foot even to the head.

There is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores.

Does that sound like something you would want to salve for?

You would want to salve for those types of things.

And it says, they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

So, the Bible has a lot to say about this topic, and I just want to, in this, encourage you to start your own study, because it's not so much me sharing what I've gained from this study, but to say there's a rich Bible study here for you, seeking to learn about salves, of what the spiritual salve that God has for us.

And just a simple Google, Ellen White search on ISALV will reveal the different, there's steps in what the ISALV is to do.

It's supposed to help us to see our need, to open our eyes.

And also to, when we see our need, to know where to get the relief from, to get the salve from, and also to have discernment, to have spiritual judgment on how to make decisions for the times that we live in, these crucial times.

So that's just a little teaser, a little encouragement.

Go and search out because this is a message for the Church of Laodicea that we need to hear today.

So what is that salve that God wants us to have today?

Now there's the spiritual and there's the physical.

So now we're going to jump into the physical steps.

Found in Psalms 146 verse 8, The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind.

The Lord raiseth them up that are bowed down.

There is, and the Lord is the 1 who can help us open our eyes.

We're going to start our study of this topic with a little quote.

God's healing power runs all through nature.

If a tree is cut, if a human being is wounded or breaks a bone, nature begins at once to repair the injury.

Even before the need exists, the healing agencies are in readiness, and as soon as a part is wounded, every energy is bent to the work of restoration.

Before sin created the need, God had provided the remedy.

Every soul that yields to temptation is wounded, bruised by the adversary, but whenever there is sin, there is a Savior.

It is Christ's work to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captive, to set at liberty them that are bruised.

So as you get into this work of creating salves, I want you to know that you are working with the Creator, because it's His work to heal.

And so you have a divine helper with you as you're creating these simple natural remedies.

If you can see the fine print, it says, What do I need and what do I have?

As I said at the beginning, I like to look at what's around in your area.

We're gonna look at herbs that are common across the United States, generally, because oftentimes they're weeds, and weeds travel very well.

It's good to know where you live and what will thrive well there.

And this is, you're all farmers are familiar with agriculture, so you know kind of your area.

Because as you enjoy something, it makes it more just restorative when you find pleasure in it.

And I found this poster at our DMV locally there in Utah, very interesting because it caught my attention because I love plants.

But up there you'll see I blew up common St.

John's wort, Japanese knotweed, and purple loosestrife.

And my herbal apprenticeship, I learned that these were herbs, not weeds.

But apparently the farmers or the ranchers don't appreciate the St.

John's wort so well when their cattle eat it and their skin gets more sensitive to the sun.

Sherri Neuroh

First Aid for the Homesteader

My name is Sherry Nero and I'm happy to be with you via recording today.

Heavenly Father, you created the human body.

We would like to learn a little bit more about how to help ourselves, our family members, our neighbors, when the need should arise.

And we recently studied the story of the Good Samaritan with our children.

It's probably the most famous first aid story in the Bible.

And if you haven't read it recently, it's a good study.

And today's topic, first aid for the homesteader will be presented from a lay person's perspective.

I'm a wife, a mom, and a little bit of hiking and camping experience here and there.

I have tried to use credible sources to get my information from, but I do encourage you to do your own research as well as check with medical professionals in the area where you live.

Conditions can be very different depending what part of the country you live in or which country you live in around the world.

So I encourage you to do your own research.

Right up front, I will strongly recommend a CPR course.

That's cardiac pulmonary, oh, CPR course.

I did mine recently through the American Heart Association.

A single mom who's a nurse and she does training on the side for a little bit of extra income.

Because of COVID, we did it outside in a park and I was able to pray with her at the end.

I highly recommend you getting some training for yourself.

At least 1 person in the family, preferably all the adults and teenagers, should know how to do CPR.

Do it now before your gardens get going in spring.

And I'm going to share my screen here quickly.

I think, you know, we're talking about rural and different people can have different ideas of rural, exactly how rural is rural.

You can see there's quite a different scenario presented here on the 1 side, there's some buildings, it looks like a little town, nearby mountains, and then other folks could be way out there, you know, hundreds of kilometers or hours away from the nearest neighbor or a hospital.

So I would like you to take the time to think about your particular situation.

How long does it take you to get to a hospital?

How long would it take for first responders to get to you?

Sometimes there are local volunteers that do respond to a 911 call if you're in the States.

So something to think through, the time factor is really critical.

For example, if you are 2 hours from the nearest hospital and there is a significant accident or injury, that's gonna be your problem to deal with in those first critical hours.

So if you're very rural, you need to have quite a bit more training under your belt or educate yourself.

You also need to be very deliberate with your prevention.

Think through scenarios, how can I prevent things from happening?

And also the more robust your first aid kits will need to be if you're a number of hours away from medical care.

I'd also like to point out nowadays, the times we're living in, it's becoming apparent that we really do need to be able to help ourselves a little bit more than we're used to maybe, and this is good information to have.

A very simple thing is letting people know where you're going to be, how long you expect to be there, and when you expect to be back.

So simple, but most people don't do it, but this could save your life.

If you're out on a farm, if you have a big farm, or if an accident happens, someone knows you were supposed to be back by 3pm, and 4.30pm comes around and you're still not back, they know something's wrong.

So that's a good habit to put in place in your home.

A few other things, just being very observant.

If you're out and about on the homestead or on the farm, keep an eye on the kids, look at the visitors or people that are with you.

Just use your eyes, use your ears, be observant.

And that said, what kind of incidents are most likely to take place in a rural situation or on a homestead.

And I looked that up and they say in the agricultural industry tractor rollovers are a leading cause of death.

Something else is four-wheel or quad bike accidents or crush injuries, exhaust burns.

And interestingly, I found some statistics that 33 kids are injured every day in agriculture-related incidents.

And that's quite a lot of kids every day.

For children, transportation-related incidents again, falls, slips, trips, contacts with other objects, and machinery accidents, and drowning.

So I hope you look at your farm vehicles with new eyes and also take a look at the water that's around you.

I actually would like to start with drowning first.

And the reason is I never knew that drowning is the number 1 cause of death for children under the age of 4.

And it is the third cause of death worldwide for children between the ages of 5 and 14.

Farms have creeks, ponds, rivers, stock tanks, buckets with water, rain tanks.

There's always some water somewhere on a farm or a homestead.

And I also would like to address the common perception that drowning is loud.

Within 30 to 60 seconds, someone could be drowning.

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Series

Homesteading

Who Let the Goats Out?!

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Attachments

Homesteading Track

Beginning with Animals on the Homestead

57m

So You Want to Start a Garden?

1h 13m

Homesteading

Shepherding with Love

1h 1m

Sound Doctrine