<![CDATA[Pasture's Delights: Blog Posts]]> https://pasturesdelights.com Wed, 7 Oct 2026 00:00:00 EST en-us <![CDATA[Gaining Perspective for Safe Flights and Healthy Country]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/Gaining-Perspective-for-Safe-Flights-and-Healthy-Country_b_40.html Mon, 15 Jul 2024 00:00:00 EST https://pasturesdelights.com/Gaining-Perspective-for-Safe-Flights-and-Healthy-Country_b_40.html <![CDATA[Mafia USDA Goes After Small Farm to Protect their Big MEAT Clients]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/Mafia-USDA-Goes-After-Small-Farm-to-Protect-their-Big-MEAT-Clients_b_39.html Sun, 25 Feb 2024 00:00:00 EST https://pasturesdelights.com/Mafia-USDA-Goes-After-Small-Farm-to-Protect-their-Big-MEAT-Clients_b_39.html <![CDATA[Fall on the Farm]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/Fall-on-the-Farm_b_38.html Tue, 4 Nov 2014 00:00:00 EST Dear Real Food enthusiast,

Good day! I hope you are enjoying a pleasant fall. After I get home from flying and seeing the land from up high, I enjoy getting to work on the land and seeing cows enjoying their lives basking outdoors and munching away doing what cows do best. With ample moisture giving way to lush, green pasture fields, there is a semblance of Ireland around here. The cows are content, doing well, and looking great too!

Though fall is a splendid time of year on the Pasture’s Delights farm for both man and beast, it is also one of the most “tricky” times of the year for managing cows on grass. Fall time is fraught with multiple challenges when it comes to ensuring a no-grain, 100% grass-fed milk cow has all her nutritional needs met.

The #1 challenge of grass-based dairying (or beef finishing), is ENERGY. Our cows don’t get energy from grain, which dairy farmers typically depend on as their main source of concentrated energy. Reference how grain can be used to produce bio-fuels (ethanol, soy-diesel) as a source of energy for cars. Cows, some weighing as much as small cars, also need energy to move their big bodies and work hard producing milk. If we don’t give them grain for energy, then they do have to get energy by other means somehow.

First, let’s refresh our memories on where plant energy is found: Starches are found in “grassy” seeds (wheat, corn, oats), sugar is found in plants and fruits, and fats are found in both seeds and plants. Starches, like those from corn (corn starch) or wheat grain, are used to make bread and pasta (all those carbohydrates!). The sugar cane plant is used to make your standard white table sugar and also molasses. Fats (fatty oils) are found in your oil seeds: sunflower seeds, flax, soybeans, high oil corn, and peanuts—as well a small amount of fat that can be found in plant tissue other than the seed as well.

At Pasture’s Delights we do not like to feed starches (grains) because it can compromise milk safety with E Coli 0157:H7 resistance, and interferes with synthesis of the cancer prevention fatty acid known as Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). There are other reasons we do not feed grain to cows, but I’ll save that for another day. Today, our focus is on how we can ensure a cow has enough energy on grass-based diet in the fall.

Eliminating grains leaves us with (plant) sugar being the primary source of energy for our cows. As a grass-farmer, my primary goal is to get the sugar in the plants as high as possible in the plants to increase the sugar available to the cows for energy purposes. Incidentally, by the same token, increasing the sugar and increasing plant health is one and the same as plant sugar content is indicative of plant health. Insects will be less likely to attack a healthy plant because insects do not have a pancreas and cannot digest the sap of a plant that is relatively high in sugar.

As a side note, Monsanto and the chemical companies DO know about soil health affecting plant health, as this is first-hand information from a credible source from within the ag-chemical industry. Could selling products (i.e. herbicides) that sicken the soil biome where growing plants are, thereby, not afforded the best chance to be healthy, and then turning around and selling an expensive technological cure for the insect problems be a way to make more money? Just asking…

I don’t know about you, but I’m no spring chicken anymore! As we age and get older our energy levels tend to decrease. A typical person’s “heavy lifting” years is in their 20s and 30s when they have the energy and strength to accomplish more. The same kind of goes for a pasture plant. 60% of a typical year’s growth for a plant occurs in just two months, May and June. Sunlight (energy) is one critical aspect of a plant having more energy (to grow) during this time: there are simply more daylight hours for the plant to capture the sun’s energy for the photosynthesis process. Moisture is also necessary for production and typically plentiful at this time. Last but not least, adequate soil mineral bio-availability is critical. It is in the spring when the soil is teaming with the highest amount of bacteria activity. Bacteria break down organic matter, free up nutrients such as nitrogen, and also team up with phosphorus to make it available to the plants.

Having the right mix of sunlight, moisture, and bio-available minerals is necessary for a plant to make sugars.

Both as a grazing consideration, and especially for harvesting excess pasture for baled hay, we desire to cut our fields in the middle of the afternoon at the apex of when plants are manufacturing their sugars, so that it can be stored for winter time feed.

In the fall we have several factors working against us.

  1. Day length: less hours of day length simply means less sugar (energy) production.
  2. Bio-available soil nutrition: Butter from grass-fed cows in the springtime is known to be chocked full of nutrition, due to the plants having more nutrients themselves which is an extension of the mineral / nutrition availability in the soil. The polar opposite is plant nutrition during the fall, which is far less than what it is during the spring.
  3. To exacerbate the situation, once the temperatures start cooling it signals the plants to make long term preparations as they begin moving energy and nutrition to their roots, further reducing energy and nutrition available to grazing livestock.
  4. Another nuance with grazing or haying is we actually do want the plants to store nutrition to ensure plant vitality the following spring, so we do not want to hay or graze too much before the plants go into winter dormancy when the “killing” frost happens.

Here is what we do to help ensure the cows are getting the energy they need:

  1. We feed molasses. One pound of molasses plant sugar can substitute for three pounds of corn.
  2. We supplement at the bunk with a variety of baled forages that has more energy than the fall pastures.
  3. We include Apple Cider Vinegar (source of acetic acid, and goodies) into the water. This helps with the creation of Volatile Fatty Acids from plant material, a crucial source of energy for making milk and butterfat.

These are just some of the nuances of grass-based raw milk dairying in the fall. As you are preparing for your harvest celebrations this autumn, think of the plants and animals—for their nourishment is your nourishment. Until next time, on behalf of the entire Pasture’s Delights team, I wish you lots of wellness and happiness!

Farmer Mark Grieshop
Bio-Entrepreneur
Pasture’s Delights

]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/Fall-on-the-Farm_b_38.html Dear Real Food enthusiast,

Good day! I hope you are enjoying a pleasant fall. After I get home from flying and seeing the land from up high, I enjoy getting to work on the land and seeing cows enjoying their lives basking outdoors and munching away doing what cows do best. With ample moisture giving way to lush, green pasture fields, there is a semblance of Ireland around here. The cows are content, doing well, and looking great too!

Though fall is a splendid time of year on the Pasture’s Delights farm for both man and beast, it is also one of the most “tricky” times of the year for managing cows on grass. Fall time is fraught with multiple challenges when it comes to ensuring a no-grain, 100% grass-fed milk cow has all her nutritional needs met.

The #1 challenge of grass-based dairying (or beef finishing), is ENERGY. Our cows don’t get energy from grain, which dairy farmers typically depend on as their main source of concentrated energy. Reference how grain can be used to produce bio-fuels (ethanol, soy-diesel) as a source of energy for cars. Cows, some weighing as much as small cars, also need energy to move their big bodies and work hard producing milk. If we don’t give them grain for energy, then they do have to get energy by other means somehow.

First, let’s refresh our memories on where plant energy is found: Starches are found in “grassy” seeds (wheat, corn, oats), sugar is found in plants and fruits, and fats are found in both seeds and plants. Starches, like those from corn (corn starch) or wheat grain, are used to make bread and pasta (all those carbohydrates!). The sugar cane plant is used to make your standard white table sugar and also molasses. Fats (fatty oils) are found in your oil seeds: sunflower seeds, flax, soybeans, high oil corn, and peanuts—as well a small amount of fat that can be found in plant tissue other than the seed as well.

At Pasture’s Delights we do not like to feed starches (grains) because it can compromise milk safety with E Coli 0157:H7 resistance, and interferes with synthesis of the cancer prevention fatty acid known as Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). There are other reasons we do not feed grain to cows, but I’ll save that for another day. Today, our focus is on how we can ensure a cow has enough energy on grass-based diet in the fall.

Eliminating grains leaves us with (plant) sugar being the primary source of energy for our cows. As a grass-farmer, my primary goal is to get the sugar in the plants as high as possible in the plants to increase the sugar available to the cows for energy purposes. Incidentally, by the same token, increasing the sugar and increasing plant health is one and the same as plant sugar content is indicative of plant health. Insects will be less likely to attack a healthy plant because insects do not have a pancreas and cannot digest the sap of a plant that is relatively high in sugar.

As a side note, Monsanto and the chemical companies DO know about soil health affecting plant health, as this is first-hand information from a credible source from within the ag-chemical industry. Could selling products (i.e. herbicides) that sicken the soil biome where growing plants are, thereby, not afforded the best chance to be healthy, and then turning around and selling an expensive technological cure for the insect problems be a way to make more money? Just asking…

I don’t know about you, but I’m no spring chicken anymore! As we age and get older our energy levels tend to decrease. A typical person’s “heavy lifting” years is in their 20s and 30s when they have the energy and strength to accomplish more. The same kind of goes for a pasture plant. 60% of a typical year’s growth for a plant occurs in just two months, May and June. Sunlight (energy) is one critical aspect of a plant having more energy (to grow) during this time: there are simply more daylight hours for the plant to capture the sun’s energy for the photosynthesis process. Moisture is also necessary for production and typically plentiful at this time. Last but not least, adequate soil mineral bio-availability is critical. It is in the spring when the soil is teaming with the highest amount of bacteria activity. Bacteria break down organic matter, free up nutrients such as nitrogen, and also team up with phosphorus to make it available to the plants.

Having the right mix of sunlight, moisture, and bio-available minerals is necessary for a plant to make sugars.

Both as a grazing consideration, and especially for harvesting excess pasture for baled hay, we desire to cut our fields in the middle of the afternoon at the apex of when plants are manufacturing their sugars, so that it can be stored for winter time feed.

In the fall we have several factors working against us.

  1. Day length: less hours of day length simply means less sugar (energy) production.
  2. Bio-available soil nutrition: Butter from grass-fed cows in the springtime is known to be chocked full of nutrition, due to the plants having more nutrients themselves which is an extension of the mineral / nutrition availability in the soil. The polar opposite is plant nutrition during the fall, which is far less than what it is during the spring.
  3. To exacerbate the situation, once the temperatures start cooling it signals the plants to make long term preparations as they begin moving energy and nutrition to their roots, further reducing energy and nutrition available to grazing livestock.
  4. Another nuance with grazing or haying is we actually do want the plants to store nutrition to ensure plant vitality the following spring, so we do not want to hay or graze too much before the plants go into winter dormancy when the “killing” frost happens.

Here is what we do to help ensure the cows are getting the energy they need:

  1. We feed molasses. One pound of molasses plant sugar can substitute for three pounds of corn.
  2. We supplement at the bunk with a variety of baled forages that has more energy than the fall pastures.
  3. We include Apple Cider Vinegar (source of acetic acid, and goodies) into the water. This helps with the creation of Volatile Fatty Acids from plant material, a crucial source of energy for making milk and butterfat.

These are just some of the nuances of grass-based raw milk dairying in the fall. As you are preparing for your harvest celebrations this autumn, think of the plants and animals—for their nourishment is your nourishment. Until next time, on behalf of the entire Pasture’s Delights team, I wish you lots of wellness and happiness!

Farmer Mark Grieshop
Bio-Entrepreneur
Pasture’s Delights

]]> <![CDATA[Celebrating 5 years!]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/Celebrating-5-years_b_37.html Tue, 9 Sep 2014 00:00:00 EST August 24, 2014 marked Pasture’s Delights 5 year anniversary in the business of producing REAL (raw) MILK! Perhaps since grade school, I’ve been on the journey that lead to the founding of Pasture’s Delights. At a parent-teacher conference, my first-grade teacher informed my mom “Mark is doing very well in school, but for some reason he will not drink the school milk!" I remember the milk at school tasting nothing like the (raw) milk I was used to at home. In twelve years of school, I never did get used to that bland taste of pasteurized “cardboard” milk. As the saying goes “necessity is the mother of all invention” and recognizing that others also were expressing growing demand for great tasting, nourishing food – namely raw milk and pasture-raised chickens – in my adulthood I set out to fill that void.

The belief that one person can do something great is a myth. Pasture's Delights' existence and ability to serve is made possible by quite a few people who have either influenced our business and agronomic practices or in some shape or form have had a hand in our achievements. Truth be known, I really have no idea who all has impacted the business since the ripple effect of people’s actions is much greater than we can ever see. However, we can still acknowledge those who we do know who have contributed, helped, dedicated, and sacrificed a great deal on behalf of the greater good of Pasture’s Delights and everyone it serves or affects. Even Albert Einstein, the scientist who revolutionized the world with his theory of relativity, didn’t work in a vacuum. Of the debt he owed to others for his work, Einstein remarked, “Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.”

I have not had any children yet, but from what I’ve been told, starting a business is a lot like rearing a child. It is a huge commitment that consumes nearly all of your available time, money, and energy—especially during the early years. In 2012, Carrie and Troy Fisher joined in the business rearing efforts. With their contributions, Pasture’s Delights has grow beyond what I could accomplish alone. A huge amount of gracious understanding goes out to all our family and friends for boring the brunt of the sacrifices made by Carrie, Troy, myself and the rest of team in dedicating so much of our available resources toward the rearing of Pasture’s Delights. Our loved ones perhaps feel a little abandoned at times, but they should definitely know it is not anything personal or intentional. We appreciate their understanding and continued support very, very much!

Though Pasture’s Delights is not a typical family farm where either a farm has been handed down or is predominantly managed by family or employs family, it was the influence of my dad and other relatives that most definitely was instrumental for sowing and nourishing the early seeds of ideas of what would later develop into Pasture’s Delights.

I would say the first seed got planted in the 1980s as I grew up on my father’s dairy and grain farm. It was back then that I was exposed to his and my uncles’ propensity toward less chemical farming – for them it was just an innate common sense, perhaps an integrity toward doing the right thing concerning nature and agriculture, and a belief that all these chemicals could not be good for the soil, livestock, them, and their families! They were moving toward organic but didn’t necessarily recognize it as such then. Considering the lower yields, it was not necessarily the financially smart thing to do at the time. However my exposure to their internal awareness and reluctance to compromise the health of the soil while also trying to make ends meet financially got me initially thinking about how I would (someday) farm in a more ecologically sound manner. If seeing is believing, I definitely saw some things then that I continue to believe in now, such as the importance of fish emulsion fertilizer to growing quality crops. To that end, I am lucky to have had the exposure to ecological ideals and cannot judge harshly conventional farmers of today who simply know and believe what they know based on what their farmer parents knew or what the universities taught them. "Father like son" as the saying goes. Fortunately, the more open-minded and observant farmers and other people are realizing the effects that years of chemical farming have had - loss of soil life, soil erosion, decreasing organic matter - and organic farmers are beginning to achieve comparable yields because of soil life increasing organic matter. More and more farmers are adopting eco-friendlier practices such as cover crops if not making the switch altogether to organic cropping and grazing. My dad and uncles planted the good sustainable farming seed in my heart and head. It has been an honor and privilege to nurture and grow it so it can produce and bear fruit.

Yet Pasture’s Delights would be nothing without our customers who believe in this sustainable approach to farming. Quality food doesn’t come cheap. The faith and value our customers have in our business and our product are what keep us going. If it were not for some of our first herd owners like Rachel Heun and Jason Iwen there would be no Pasture’s Delights today. And it is the 500+ families we serve today that make it possible for us to grow and serve their children and communities nourishing food tomorrow.

Getting the initial word out to people about Pasture’s Delights was primarily aided by a significant helpful gesture from Blaine Hitzfield at Seven Sons Family Farm, now the region’s premier grass-fed beef provider as well as networker with many grass-based farms in the Midwest. He built our first website and advertised on our behalf for us. Over the years they have encouraged and supported us with marketing communications, hosting the initial delivery call-out and milk drop-off point at their on-farm store, and most recently loaning their delivery van while ours was serviced, among many other various forms of meaningful cooperation and teamwork. Their family-run operation’s support and desire to see Pasture’s Delights succeed and thrive is a great example of how success and teamwork, rather than greed, gives life to a more vibrant community for everyone!

Bill Werling and his entire family at Werling Farms are another superb example of selfless desire to simply help when and however they can, because they can and want to. Bill doesn’t look for a reason to say “no”, but rather finds a way to juggle things to help us out. We are deeply grateful for his allowing us to borrow his trailer and several other important, necessary pieces of farm equipment. It is noteworthy that Bill and his son Jason are the ones who installed the milking system that is still in use today. On August 24, 2009 we flipped the switch around 4:00 p.m. for our first milking, and the system worked like a charm and has been going strong ever since.

Likewise, the Girod family has gone to unbelievable lengths (i.e. working 3 days straight with no sleep) in order to harvest and bale up the highest quality feed possible for us and the farmers they custom harvest for. Our herd-owners’ cows get to eat quality harvested hay in the winter because of their efforts.

When it comes to farmers who care about others and their communities and our country, I recognize the Hitzfields, Werlings, and Girods as remarkable hero farmers we all can be very thankful are part of the fabric of the American landscape. They are the kind of people who strengthen the fabric and hold our society together. Pasture's Delights is indeed very grateful for the relationships we have with them.

In addition, we can’t forget the people who get things done on a daily basis at Pasture’s Delights. We have a team who work and breathe life into Pasture’s Delights step by step, bale by bale, forkful after forkful, sanitizing after sanitizing, milking after milking, pail after pail, gallon after gallon, crate after crate, mile after mile, persevering through set-backs and jumping over every challenging hurdle that gets in the way in order that Pasture’s Delights can produce and serve the safest, best-tasting milk we possibly can, 365 days a year – now for five years and counting! …nourishing body after body, seeing smile after smile, happier life after happier life – person after person fulfilling their purpose living their American dream. That’s what this is all about.

We are thankful for so many people who’ve enabled Pasture’s Delights to deliver on its mission of harvesting (solar) energy through plants by transforming it into great-tasting, nourishing food: the landlords whose ground we farm, fellow Ayrshire farmers who have facilitated our growth with the purchase of their cows, vendors who make timely electrical and plumbing repairs so milking equipment and livestock water supplies stay operating 365 days a year, and so many more. These vendors also have been understanding and flexible during periods of tight cash-flow when we’ve struggled with paying bills in an ideal timely manner. We appreciate their sense of teamwork and the mutual (long-term) value it begets them and us.

As you know, there is no better learning than through doing. Boy! I have learned a lot on this journey thus far, too much to mention. Some of the biggest take-aways have been:

Business sense, sense of personal responsibility and work ethic are in short supply. Just as many consumers are disconnected from food—not really knowing where it comes from or how it is produced—(Pasture's Delights mission to correct that) I have come to the conclusion there is far greater cause to be concerned with people’s disconnect from understanding business and economics – including the American way of how money, paychecks and wealth comes is produced and distributed.
The government has NOT been the biggest thorn in our side (with the raw milk business). Rather, it has been people who presumably cloak themselves in the American flag and tout the American virtue of freedom – UNTIL their pocketbook or way of life is threatened by fair competition. Then they are all for using the power of government regulations and regulators to maintain their upper hand. In this regard, the bigger threat to small farms like Pasture’s Delights is not necessarily Big Government, but Big Business.

Perceptions form our reality but they may not be actuality. People believe what they see (and don't really think about what they don't see). I'll be Captain Obvious and say we really don't know what we don't know, and I've learned we don't seem to be too interested in finding out either! As a parent knows what it is like to be a child, a child does not know what it is like to be a parent. How could they, unless they have a child themselves? This relates back to the "economics disconnect" in that most business owners / managers know what it is like to be an employee, but fewer and fewer employees, or non-employed people have perspective of a business owner. This is contributing to the polarization of our beloved country. There was a great (mis) perception regarding some points in an article I wrote earlier this year explaining my opposition to minimum wage. I got some feedback from several readers expressing their discontent with me for their belief that since I am against minimum wage that I also try to pay people (at the farm) as little as possible. Actually, the exact opposite is the truth - I desire to see my co-workers earn as much as possible and empower them to do so, and they get what they earn based on the results of our contributions, efforts, to do a great job taking care of animals, each other, and our customers. However, minimum wage increases (reference people's disconnect in understanding business and economics) stymie my co-workers' ability to earn more, just as milk regulations stymie people's ability to sell or access raw milk. Also, whether it be GMOs, Raw Milk, or other food issues - we cannot allow these issues to polarize and divide us. Agree to disagree when appropriate, but do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Seek and nurture the truth always, and the truth will eventually set us free.

Yes, along the way we have had our fair share of detractors and even distractions. The notion that people achieve more by working with others than against them doesn’t seem to be universally accepted. I have learned over the years that some people did not expect us to make it three months – with some even doing what they could to stop us. When a year came around, they gave us another year, then maybe one more. We now have reached the “magical” 5 years. The fact that we have made it this far we owe to the people who have stood with us, worked with us, and who have loyally and faithfully patronized our business. Interestingly enough, most businesses do not fold because of financial reasons, though that certainly is a mitigating circumstance. Rather it is the stamina and perseverance – the will to make it through the lean startup years— needed to achieve sustainability and success.

Admittedly, we have a ways to go to reach Pasture’s Delights’ potential as a diversified sustainable farm producing top-notch food for you. I certainly look forward to doing what I personally can to ensure that happens, but whatever happens it will not be solely because of me. There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve and overcome just by ourselves.

Congratulations everyone on 5 years of teamwork working together! I look forward to many more!

Wishing you wellness and happiness,

Mark Grieshop
Bio-entrepreneur
Pasture’s Delights

]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/Celebrating-5-years_b_37.html August 24, 2014 marked Pasture’s Delights 5 year anniversary in the business of producing REAL (raw) MILK! Perhaps since grade school, I’ve been on the journey that lead to the founding of Pasture’s Delights. At a parent-teacher conference, my first-grade teacher informed my mom “Mark is doing very well in school, but for some reason he will not drink the school milk!" I remember the milk at school tasting nothing like the (raw) milk I was used to at home. In twelve years of school, I never did get used to that bland taste of pasteurized “cardboard” milk. As the saying goes “necessity is the mother of all invention” and recognizing that others also were expressing growing demand for great tasting, nourishing food – namely raw milk and pasture-raised chickens – in my adulthood I set out to fill that void.

The belief that one person can do something great is a myth. Pasture's Delights' existence and ability to serve is made possible by quite a few people who have either influenced our business and agronomic practices or in some shape or form have had a hand in our achievements. Truth be known, I really have no idea who all has impacted the business since the ripple effect of people’s actions is much greater than we can ever see. However, we can still acknowledge those who we do know who have contributed, helped, dedicated, and sacrificed a great deal on behalf of the greater good of Pasture’s Delights and everyone it serves or affects. Even Albert Einstein, the scientist who revolutionized the world with his theory of relativity, didn’t work in a vacuum. Of the debt he owed to others for his work, Einstein remarked, “Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.”

I have not had any children yet, but from what I’ve been told, starting a business is a lot like rearing a child. It is a huge commitment that consumes nearly all of your available time, money, and energy—especially during the early years. In 2012, Carrie and Troy Fisher joined in the business rearing efforts. With their contributions, Pasture’s Delights has grow beyond what I could accomplish alone. A huge amount of gracious understanding goes out to all our family and friends for boring the brunt of the sacrifices made by Carrie, Troy, myself and the rest of team in dedicating so much of our available resources toward the rearing of Pasture’s Delights. Our loved ones perhaps feel a little abandoned at times, but they should definitely know it is not anything personal or intentional. We appreciate their understanding and continued support very, very much!

Though Pasture’s Delights is not a typical family farm where either a farm has been handed down or is predominantly managed by family or employs family, it was the influence of my dad and other relatives that most definitely was instrumental for sowing and nourishing the early seeds of ideas of what would later develop into Pasture’s Delights.

I would say the first seed got planted in the 1980s as I grew up on my father’s dairy and grain farm. It was back then that I was exposed to his and my uncles’ propensity toward less chemical farming – for them it was just an innate common sense, perhaps an integrity toward doing the right thing concerning nature and agriculture, and a belief that all these chemicals could not be good for the soil, livestock, them, and their families! They were moving toward organic but didn’t necessarily recognize it as such then. Considering the lower yields, it was not necessarily the financially smart thing to do at the time. However my exposure to their internal awareness and reluctance to compromise the health of the soil while also trying to make ends meet financially got me initially thinking about how I would (someday) farm in a more ecologically sound manner. If seeing is believing, I definitely saw some things then that I continue to believe in now, such as the importance of fish emulsion fertilizer to growing quality crops. To that end, I am lucky to have had the exposure to ecological ideals and cannot judge harshly conventional farmers of today who simply know and believe what they know based on what their farmer parents knew or what the universities taught them. "Father like son" as the saying goes. Fortunately, the more open-minded and observant farmers and other people are realizing the effects that years of chemical farming have had - loss of soil life, soil erosion, decreasing organic matter - and organic farmers are beginning to achieve comparable yields because of soil life increasing organic matter. More and more farmers are adopting eco-friendlier practices such as cover crops if not making the switch altogether to organic cropping and grazing. My dad and uncles planted the good sustainable farming seed in my heart and head. It has been an honor and privilege to nurture and grow it so it can produce and bear fruit.

Yet Pasture’s Delights would be nothing without our customers who believe in this sustainable approach to farming. Quality food doesn’t come cheap. The faith and value our customers have in our business and our product are what keep us going. If it were not for some of our first herd owners like Rachel Heun and Jason Iwen there would be no Pasture’s Delights today. And it is the 500+ families we serve today that make it possible for us to grow and serve their children and communities nourishing food tomorrow.

Getting the initial word out to people about Pasture’s Delights was primarily aided by a significant helpful gesture from Blaine Hitzfield at Seven Sons Family Farm, now the region’s premier grass-fed beef provider as well as networker with many grass-based farms in the Midwest. He built our first website and advertised on our behalf for us. Over the years they have encouraged and supported us with marketing communications, hosting the initial delivery call-out and milk drop-off point at their on-farm store, and most recently loaning their delivery van while ours was serviced, among many other various forms of meaningful cooperation and teamwork. Their family-run operation’s support and desire to see Pasture’s Delights succeed and thrive is a great example of how success and teamwork, rather than greed, gives life to a more vibrant community for everyone!

Bill Werling and his entire family at Werling Farms are another superb example of selfless desire to simply help when and however they can, because they can and want to. Bill doesn’t look for a reason to say “no”, but rather finds a way to juggle things to help us out. We are deeply grateful for his allowing us to borrow his trailer and several other important, necessary pieces of farm equipment. It is noteworthy that Bill and his son Jason are the ones who installed the milking system that is still in use today. On August 24, 2009 we flipped the switch around 4:00 p.m. for our first milking, and the system worked like a charm and has been going strong ever since.

Likewise, the Girod family has gone to unbelievable lengths (i.e. working 3 days straight with no sleep) in order to harvest and bale up the highest quality feed possible for us and the farmers they custom harvest for. Our herd-owners’ cows get to eat quality harvested hay in the winter because of their efforts.

When it comes to farmers who care about others and their communities and our country, I recognize the Hitzfields, Werlings, and Girods as remarkable hero farmers we all can be very thankful are part of the fabric of the American landscape. They are the kind of people who strengthen the fabric and hold our society together. Pasture's Delights is indeed very grateful for the relationships we have with them.

In addition, we can’t forget the people who get things done on a daily basis at Pasture’s Delights. We have a team who work and breathe life into Pasture’s Delights step by step, bale by bale, forkful after forkful, sanitizing after sanitizing, milking after milking, pail after pail, gallon after gallon, crate after crate, mile after mile, persevering through set-backs and jumping over every challenging hurdle that gets in the way in order that Pasture’s Delights can produce and serve the safest, best-tasting milk we possibly can, 365 days a year – now for five years and counting! …nourishing body after body, seeing smile after smile, happier life after happier life – person after person fulfilling their purpose living their American dream. That’s what this is all about.

We are thankful for so many people who’ve enabled Pasture’s Delights to deliver on its mission of harvesting (solar) energy through plants by transforming it into great-tasting, nourishing food: the landlords whose ground we farm, fellow Ayrshire farmers who have facilitated our growth with the purchase of their cows, vendors who make timely electrical and plumbing repairs so milking equipment and livestock water supplies stay operating 365 days a year, and so many more. These vendors also have been understanding and flexible during periods of tight cash-flow when we’ve struggled with paying bills in an ideal timely manner. We appreciate their sense of teamwork and the mutual (long-term) value it begets them and us.

As you know, there is no better learning than through doing. Boy! I have learned a lot on this journey thus far, too much to mention. Some of the biggest take-aways have been:

Business sense, sense of personal responsibility and work ethic are in short supply. Just as many consumers are disconnected from food—not really knowing where it comes from or how it is produced—(Pasture's Delights mission to correct that) I have come to the conclusion there is far greater cause to be concerned with people’s disconnect from understanding business and economics – including the American way of how money, paychecks and wealth comes is produced and distributed.
The government has NOT been the biggest thorn in our side (with the raw milk business). Rather, it has been people who presumably cloak themselves in the American flag and tout the American virtue of freedom – UNTIL their pocketbook or way of life is threatened by fair competition. Then they are all for using the power of government regulations and regulators to maintain their upper hand. In this regard, the bigger threat to small farms like Pasture’s Delights is not necessarily Big Government, but Big Business.

Perceptions form our reality but they may not be actuality. People believe what they see (and don't really think about what they don't see). I'll be Captain Obvious and say we really don't know what we don't know, and I've learned we don't seem to be too interested in finding out either! As a parent knows what it is like to be a child, a child does not know what it is like to be a parent. How could they, unless they have a child themselves? This relates back to the "economics disconnect" in that most business owners / managers know what it is like to be an employee, but fewer and fewer employees, or non-employed people have perspective of a business owner. This is contributing to the polarization of our beloved country. There was a great (mis) perception regarding some points in an article I wrote earlier this year explaining my opposition to minimum wage. I got some feedback from several readers expressing their discontent with me for their belief that since I am against minimum wage that I also try to pay people (at the farm) as little as possible. Actually, the exact opposite is the truth - I desire to see my co-workers earn as much as possible and empower them to do so, and they get what they earn based on the results of our contributions, efforts, to do a great job taking care of animals, each other, and our customers. However, minimum wage increases (reference people's disconnect in understanding business and economics) stymie my co-workers' ability to earn more, just as milk regulations stymie people's ability to sell or access raw milk. Also, whether it be GMOs, Raw Milk, or other food issues - we cannot allow these issues to polarize and divide us. Agree to disagree when appropriate, but do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Seek and nurture the truth always, and the truth will eventually set us free.

Yes, along the way we have had our fair share of detractors and even distractions. The notion that people achieve more by working with others than against them doesn’t seem to be universally accepted. I have learned over the years that some people did not expect us to make it three months – with some even doing what they could to stop us. When a year came around, they gave us another year, then maybe one more. We now have reached the “magical” 5 years. The fact that we have made it this far we owe to the people who have stood with us, worked with us, and who have loyally and faithfully patronized our business. Interestingly enough, most businesses do not fold because of financial reasons, though that certainly is a mitigating circumstance. Rather it is the stamina and perseverance – the will to make it through the lean startup years— needed to achieve sustainability and success.

Admittedly, we have a ways to go to reach Pasture’s Delights’ potential as a diversified sustainable farm producing top-notch food for you. I certainly look forward to doing what I personally can to ensure that happens, but whatever happens it will not be solely because of me. There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve and overcome just by ourselves.

Congratulations everyone on 5 years of teamwork working together! I look forward to many more!

Wishing you wellness and happiness,

Mark Grieshop
Bio-entrepreneur
Pasture’s Delights

]]> <![CDATA[How Big Government enriches Big Business at the expense of our health (Part 3)]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/How-Big-Government-enriches-Big-Business-at-the-expense-of-our-health-Part-3_b_36.html Tue, 5 Aug 2014 00:00:00 EST

How Big Government enriches Big Business at the expense of our health

“We have an official government ‘Cheap Food Policy.’ If you can grow it faster, better, cheaper, ‘that’s great!’ Well, nature has something to say about that. Nothing runs most efficiently and regeneratively at full throttle. There is a reason why the average NFL football player is dead at 57. When your neck is bigger than your head, you’re natured, and when you’re natured, nature weeds you out. In this idea of ‘faster, bigger, cheaper’ and viewing plants and animals as just machines, we concocted 40 years ago a wonderful, progressive, scientific US-duh (USDA) and industrial food system that included feeding dead cows to cows. Thirty years later, we have a world-wide awareness of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as Mad-Cow Disease. ‘Oops, maybe we shouldn’t have done that!’

“When you have a cheap food policy, or a cheap anything policy really – it reduces the quality of whatever you’re producing. If we had a cheap car policy, we’d have terrible cars. A side effect of this cheap food policy is a dumb farmer policy, because we have isolated this sector of the economy and said this needs to be very cheap. Thus, it has attracted dummies. So we now have rural “brain drain” and we ask, “why do farmers do these things? Why do they sign-up to grow for Tyson and Monsanto?” Well, it is because they are not thinking anymore. It is because we have two generations telling our young people if you’re bright, sharp and a go-getter that you go to town and get a “real” job with a 401K, health care, and other benefits at a great big Fortune 500 company and you certainly do not get blisters or splinters or dirt under your fingernails. And so this cheap-food policy has dumbed down farming.

“In addition, this cheap food policy thrives on a cheap petroleum policy, which depends on military and empire building around the world to make sure we get cheap petroleum because we’ve determined we need cheap food. Then we no longer have a carbon-centric food system – 80% of what we put in landfills is compostable so that stuff that’s supposed to go on the soil gets put in the garbage instead. Now we have a landfill problem, a nutrient deficiency problem, and less water and soil. Genius!

“Sir Albert Howard, the god-father of modern scientific composting said in 1940: ‘when you have a system that builds artificial soils, that grows artificial plants, that create artificial animals, and then makes artificial humans – it requires artificials (a.k.a. drugs) to keep them alive.’ And he said that in 1940! How prescient considering where we are today. There is a real cost to all this artificialness. The United States leads the world in the five degenerative diseases that are benchmarks for cultural health—not exactly a statistic to be proud of. Do you think our cheap food policy could be to blame? It’s hard for organic naysayers to make a case against organic farming with stats like these.”

Look for more of Joel’s message in future editions of Pasture Bites.

FULL DISCLOSURE. Joel’s characterizations—while effective at making his points—are not wholly endorsed by myself or Pasture’s Delights. Since his words are being published in our newsletter, we would like to qualify our position: Regarding football players and their relatively shorter life spans - this is likely due to a myriad of factors other than simply their size. Concussions and other things we may not even be unaware of could contribute to a shorter life span.

Also, while I acknowledge that statistically those who do better in school do tend to relocate from rural communities to larger, urban communities, I would say that to suggest that today’s farmers are “dummies” is an inaccurate and disparaging characterization. Just because some farmer may talk with a drawl and did not graduate at the top of the class does not, by any means, mean they are dumb. Are they “sheople” believing in the industrial food system and chasing success through the almighty dollar? Maybe. Are they human and, therefore, susceptible to being manipulated and programmed like most of us, especially when it’s much easier than fighting the system? Of course. Dumb – nope.

Overall, though, Joel makes some very fine points. Pasture’s Delights’ mission is providing quality food that nourishes people’s bodies, minds, and souls so they can think straight and have the energy and will-power to protect the right that is so fundamental to each and every person: Food choice and deciding how to feed our 3 trillion internal community of bacterial beings is one of the most basic rights that we each have, and it is our collective responsibility to fight for it.

Hope this discussion has given you some things to ponder. Wishing you wellness and happiness!

Farmer Mark Grieshop
Bio-Entrepreneur
Pasture’s Delights

]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/How-Big-Government-enriches-Big-Business-at-the-expense-of-our-health-Part-3_b_36.html

How Big Government enriches Big Business at the expense of our health

“We have an official government ‘Cheap Food Policy.’ If you can grow it faster, better, cheaper, ‘that’s great!’ Well, nature has something to say about that. Nothing runs most efficiently and regeneratively at full throttle. There is a reason why the average NFL football player is dead at 57. When your neck is bigger than your head, you’re natured, and when you’re natured, nature weeds you out. In this idea of ‘faster, bigger, cheaper’ and viewing plants and animals as just machines, we concocted 40 years ago a wonderful, progressive, scientific US-duh (USDA) and industrial food system that included feeding dead cows to cows. Thirty years later, we have a world-wide awareness of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as Mad-Cow Disease. ‘Oops, maybe we shouldn’t have done that!’

“When you have a cheap food policy, or a cheap anything policy really – it reduces the quality of whatever you’re producing. If we had a cheap car policy, we’d have terrible cars. A side effect of this cheap food policy is a dumb farmer policy, because we have isolated this sector of the economy and said this needs to be very cheap. Thus, it has attracted dummies. So we now have rural “brain drain” and we ask, “why do farmers do these things? Why do they sign-up to grow for Tyson and Monsanto?” Well, it is because they are not thinking anymore. It is because we have two generations telling our young people if you’re bright, sharp and a go-getter that you go to town and get a “real” job with a 401K, health care, and other benefits at a great big Fortune 500 company and you certainly do not get blisters or splinters or dirt under your fingernails. And so this cheap-food policy has dumbed down farming.

“In addition, this cheap food policy thrives on a cheap petroleum policy, which depends on military and empire building around the world to make sure we get cheap petroleum because we’ve determined we need cheap food. Then we no longer have a carbon-centric food system – 80% of what we put in landfills is compostable so that stuff that’s supposed to go on the soil gets put in the garbage instead. Now we have a landfill problem, a nutrient deficiency problem, and less water and soil. Genius!

“Sir Albert Howard, the god-father of modern scientific composting said in 1940: ‘when you have a system that builds artificial soils, that grows artificial plants, that create artificial animals, and then makes artificial humans – it requires artificials (a.k.a. drugs) to keep them alive.’ And he said that in 1940! How prescient considering where we are today. There is a real cost to all this artificialness. The United States leads the world in the five degenerative diseases that are benchmarks for cultural health—not exactly a statistic to be proud of. Do you think our cheap food policy could be to blame? It’s hard for organic naysayers to make a case against organic farming with stats like these.”

Look for more of Joel’s message in future editions of Pasture Bites.

FULL DISCLOSURE. Joel’s characterizations—while effective at making his points—are not wholly endorsed by myself or Pasture’s Delights. Since his words are being published in our newsletter, we would like to qualify our position: Regarding football players and their relatively shorter life spans - this is likely due to a myriad of factors other than simply their size. Concussions and other things we may not even be unaware of could contribute to a shorter life span.

Also, while I acknowledge that statistically those who do better in school do tend to relocate from rural communities to larger, urban communities, I would say that to suggest that today’s farmers are “dummies” is an inaccurate and disparaging characterization. Just because some farmer may talk with a drawl and did not graduate at the top of the class does not, by any means, mean they are dumb. Are they “sheople” believing in the industrial food system and chasing success through the almighty dollar? Maybe. Are they human and, therefore, susceptible to being manipulated and programmed like most of us, especially when it’s much easier than fighting the system? Of course. Dumb – nope.

Overall, though, Joel makes some very fine points. Pasture’s Delights’ mission is providing quality food that nourishes people’s bodies, minds, and souls so they can think straight and have the energy and will-power to protect the right that is so fundamental to each and every person: Food choice and deciding how to feed our 3 trillion internal community of bacterial beings is one of the most basic rights that we each have, and it is our collective responsibility to fight for it.

Hope this discussion has given you some things to ponder. Wishing you wellness and happiness!

Farmer Mark Grieshop
Bio-Entrepreneur
Pasture’s Delights

]]> <![CDATA[How Big Government enriches Big Business at the expense of our health (Part 2) ]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/How-Big-Government-enriches-Big-Business-at-the-expense-of-our-health-Part-2-_b_33.html Thu, 1 May 2014 00:00:00 EST In this, part 2 of a multi-part series started in January, I paraphrase from a talk given by Joel Salatin, a self-proclaimed “lunatic” farmer who can also best be described as the voice and face of the ecological agricultural movement. Farmer Joel Salatin will take it from here as he explains…

How Big Government enriches Big Business at the expense of our health

Despite a crushing national debt, we have a climate of cost-share programs. Many farmers are looking for grants and government assistance. Unfortunately, this paradigm – this disparagement against “all things natural” —filters down into the way money and protocols are handled.

For example, when the Cheasapeake Bay Foundation, one of the premier environmental groups in America, got the Virginia General Assemble to “clean up the bay,” they went to land-grant college Virginia Tech for advice on how to clean up the bay and handle manure. Of course the “official” (conventional) solutions to handle manure are slurry systems, lagoons, and pits that take a lot of concrete, industrial equipment, energy, and capital to install—and sadly lots of lost potential for the soil.

They didn’t consider starting a cost-share program to develop composting facilities.

Got a problem with weeds? The USDA’s solution is herbicides, nothing about eliminating weeds through bio-symmetry mob-stocking – like how the bison grazed their grasses. Of course if you do it this way, you’ve already solved the problem and there is no problem to write a grant for.

We are stuck in a cycle of programs that support capital intensive solutions.

Another hit to ecology and sustainability are government subsidizes annuals. Annuals are seeds/plants that need planted every year, unlike perennials that come back for many number of years. They are very different types of plants in terms of energy flows and things of that nature.

The 6 things that the Farm Bill subsidizes are corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, cotton, and sugar. All of those are annuals, and yet annuals deplete soil and perennials build soil. Herbivores (cows, goats, sheep) are supposed to eat perennials, not annuals. The herbivore-perennial relationship self-fertilizes without any chemicals, petroleum, or heavy machinery. It is the way the soils were built up in the great Americas before the Europeans came to rape it. We are still mining the soil that was built by this herbivore-perennial complex without replenishing it. So this bill is a back-door approach to subsidizing concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) which depend on grains and concentrated feeding of animals in houses. The apparent USDA policy for animals is that animals don’t need to move around. There is an orthodoxy of animal care that says animals should be kept inside, not outside—it’s more scientific, more efficient, more controlled, and more safe.

Unfortunately, we don’t have an accounting system that measures the pollution, the degradation, the MRSA, C-Diff, and all the problems that come from the pathogenicity of a pathogen friendly system. Words like listeria, campylobacter — you never heard those words 40 years ago. Today these outbreaks are a direct result of the confinement and over-“insiding” of animals. The system the Farm Bill supports skews the true cost of conventional farming, externalizing these damages to other places. This system makes the animals sick and us sick, and turns to another Big Player (Big Pharm) for remediation. And Big Money continues on…

Look for more of Joel’s message in future editions of Pasture Bites.

FULL DISCLOSURE. While in many ways Joel’s message is spot on, there are always exceptions. I would like to commend the many people employed in government and universities who do share similar beliefs and concerns for the environment and animal welfare as we do at Pasture’s Delights. Not everyone or everything government- or university-related is “anti-nature” and “pro big business.” Also, there are several “organic” and “environmentally friendly” cost-share programs available to farmers. Not every program is pro “conventional” farmer. However, from my first-hand experience in dealing with these programs—and for a myriad of reasons least of which is tax dollar waste— I do not support them, whether “environmentally friendly” or not. That is a whole other topic I can delve into at another time.

Also, so as not to mislead anyone, Pasture’s Delights does utilize existing “modern” structures, left from the farm’s conventional days under different ownership, to store and handle manure accumulated from our cows’ time in the milking parlor and winter-time feeding and housing areas. We look forward to investing in composting a good portion of our manure in the future. We are also considering having a manure pick up day each spring for herd owners looking for a source to fertilize their gardens.

In addition, while at this time Pasture’s Delights’ pasture and hays are 100% from perennial pasture there are some considerations to grazing or feeding some annuals which we may further explore in the future. For example, most perennial grasses are cool season – they grow well in the spring and fall when the temperatures are cooler—whereas there are some annual grasses that grow very well in the heat of the summer when our perennial cool season pastures are otherwise growing very slowly. These annuals may have a place in helping keep up with the animals’ appetite for pasture. More research is needed. Also so you know, we and all farmers—organic, graziers, or grain—do qualify for a minimal government subsidy. But because we graze our crops, we do not qualify for the majority of government subsidies and safety nets that benefit grain farmers.

The thing I love about the Pasture’s Delights farming model is we can “nourish the world” without needing subsidies or externalizing costly problems such as erosion, nutrient run-off, and flooding onto other people today or tomorrow.

Wishing you wellness and happiness!

Farmer Mark Grieshop
Bio-Entrepreneur
Pasture’s Delights

]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/How-Big-Government-enriches-Big-Business-at-the-expense-of-our-health-Part-2-_b_33.html In this, part 2 of a multi-part series started in January, I paraphrase from a talk given by Joel Salatin, a self-proclaimed “lunatic” farmer who can also best be described as the voice and face of the ecological agricultural movement. Farmer Joel Salatin will take it from here as he explains…

How Big Government enriches Big Business at the expense of our health

Despite a crushing national debt, we have a climate of cost-share programs. Many farmers are looking for grants and government assistance. Unfortunately, this paradigm – this disparagement against “all things natural” —filters down into the way money and protocols are handled.

For example, when the Cheasapeake Bay Foundation, one of the premier environmental groups in America, got the Virginia General Assemble to “clean up the bay,” they went to land-grant college Virginia Tech for advice on how to clean up the bay and handle manure. Of course the “official” (conventional) solutions to handle manure are slurry systems, lagoons, and pits that take a lot of concrete, industrial equipment, energy, and capital to install—and sadly lots of lost potential for the soil.

They didn’t consider starting a cost-share program to develop composting facilities.

Got a problem with weeds? The USDA’s solution is herbicides, nothing about eliminating weeds through bio-symmetry mob-stocking – like how the bison grazed their grasses. Of course if you do it this way, you’ve already solved the problem and there is no problem to write a grant for.

We are stuck in a cycle of programs that support capital intensive solutions.

Another hit to ecology and sustainability are government subsidizes annuals. Annuals are seeds/plants that need planted every year, unlike perennials that come back for many number of years. They are very different types of plants in terms of energy flows and things of that nature.

The 6 things that the Farm Bill subsidizes are corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, cotton, and sugar. All of those are annuals, and yet annuals deplete soil and perennials build soil. Herbivores (cows, goats, sheep) are supposed to eat perennials, not annuals. The herbivore-perennial relationship self-fertilizes without any chemicals, petroleum, or heavy machinery. It is the way the soils were built up in the great Americas before the Europeans came to rape it. We are still mining the soil that was built by this herbivore-perennial complex without replenishing it. So this bill is a back-door approach to subsidizing concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) which depend on grains and concentrated feeding of animals in houses. The apparent USDA policy for animals is that animals don’t need to move around. There is an orthodoxy of animal care that says animals should be kept inside, not outside—it’s more scientific, more efficient, more controlled, and more safe.

Unfortunately, we don’t have an accounting system that measures the pollution, the degradation, the MRSA, C-Diff, and all the problems that come from the pathogenicity of a pathogen friendly system. Words like listeria, campylobacter — you never heard those words 40 years ago. Today these outbreaks are a direct result of the confinement and over-“insiding” of animals. The system the Farm Bill supports skews the true cost of conventional farming, externalizing these damages to other places. This system makes the animals sick and us sick, and turns to another Big Player (Big Pharm) for remediation. And Big Money continues on…

Look for more of Joel’s message in future editions of Pasture Bites.

FULL DISCLOSURE. While in many ways Joel’s message is spot on, there are always exceptions. I would like to commend the many people employed in government and universities who do share similar beliefs and concerns for the environment and animal welfare as we do at Pasture’s Delights. Not everyone or everything government- or university-related is “anti-nature” and “pro big business.” Also, there are several “organic” and “environmentally friendly” cost-share programs available to farmers. Not every program is pro “conventional” farmer. However, from my first-hand experience in dealing with these programs—and for a myriad of reasons least of which is tax dollar waste— I do not support them, whether “environmentally friendly” or not. That is a whole other topic I can delve into at another time.

Also, so as not to mislead anyone, Pasture’s Delights does utilize existing “modern” structures, left from the farm’s conventional days under different ownership, to store and handle manure accumulated from our cows’ time in the milking parlor and winter-time feeding and housing areas. We look forward to investing in composting a good portion of our manure in the future. We are also considering having a manure pick up day each spring for herd owners looking for a source to fertilize their gardens.

In addition, while at this time Pasture’s Delights’ pasture and hays are 100% from perennial pasture there are some considerations to grazing or feeding some annuals which we may further explore in the future. For example, most perennial grasses are cool season – they grow well in the spring and fall when the temperatures are cooler—whereas there are some annual grasses that grow very well in the heat of the summer when our perennial cool season pastures are otherwise growing very slowly. These annuals may have a place in helping keep up with the animals’ appetite for pasture. More research is needed. Also so you know, we and all farmers—organic, graziers, or grain—do qualify for a minimal government subsidy. But because we graze our crops, we do not qualify for the majority of government subsidies and safety nets that benefit grain farmers.

The thing I love about the Pasture’s Delights farming model is we can “nourish the world” without needing subsidies or externalizing costly problems such as erosion, nutrient run-off, and flooding onto other people today or tomorrow.

Wishing you wellness and happiness!

Farmer Mark Grieshop
Bio-Entrepreneur
Pasture’s Delights

]]> <![CDATA[A1/A2 Milk: What's the deal with that?]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/A1A2-Milk-Whats-the-deal-with-that_b_34.html Thu, 1 May 2014 00:00:00 EST If you've done research on raw milk, you may have come across references to A1 vs. A2 milk. Following the 2007 release of the book Devil in the Milk by Keith Woodford, there has been growing concern expressed by the general populace about A1 and A2 beta-casein content in milk. At Pasture's Delights, we recently tested our cows to find out our herd's A1/A2 beta-casein composition. Before we get into that, let us explain a little about what this means.

To understand the difference between A1 and A2 milk, you’ll need to understand some detail about the composition of milk, specifically the protein content. Cow milk contains about 3.3% protein. With milk protein there are two broad categories—whey and casein. The ratio of whey to casein varies greatly by species, but in cow breeds about 20% of the protein is whey and the remaining 80% is casein. Bovine casein protein comes in 5 varieties: Alpha-S1, Alpha-S2, Beta, Kappa, and Gamma. In one study of casein proteins in Ayrshire cows, 49% were Alpha Caseins, 36% were Beta Casein, and the remaining 15% were Kappa and Gamma Casein.

When we talk about A1 or A2 milk, we are only talking about Beta Casein and nothing else. Not fat or carbohydrates but only protein — and specifically a type of protein, Beta Casein, which accounts for just under 30% of the total protein content in milk. In a cup (236g) of our Ayrshire milk, we would expect about 2.3g of Beta Casein out of the total 7.8g of protein.

The Beta Casein protein is a long chain of 209 amino acids. The difference between A1 and A2 milk is a change between a single amino acid in this chain. In A1 milk the 67th amino acid in the chain is Histidine, while in A2 milk this amino acid is Proline. You might be asking yourself, why is this important at all?

The reason this may be important is that the Histidine amino acid bond in A1 milk is weaker compared to the Proline bond in A2 milk. During digestion the A1 Histidine bond is easily broken and creates an amino acid fragment call Beta Casomorphin 7 (BMC7). BCM7 is typically broken down further by the enzyme DPP4. Some individuals with certain health conditions (Crohn’s, Celiac, Autism) may have impaired digestion and not effectively produce this enzyme. BDM7 that is absorbed into the blood from the digestive track (most pronounced in individuals with leaky guts) can trigger cell inflammation and has been shown to bind to opioid receptors in the brain. However, rigorous scientific studies on the effect of BMC7 are few and far between and most use questionable epidemiological methodology that studies broad data sets to draw dubious correlations. This is the same process used in the controversial China Study, which concluded plant-based diets promote health and animal-based diets cause disease. Since we question these types of studies to draw accurate causation, the conclusions derived from the BMC7 studies are suspect as well.

BCM7 may be mainly created by A1 cow milk, but you should know that the digestion of casein protein in all milks including bovine, goat, sheep, and even human milk create various Beta Casomorphins. BCM4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 21 are all produced as the 209 amino acids of the Beta Casein molecule are cleaved apart by enzymes during digestion. Most of these are quickly broken down further by enzymes, just like DPP4 does for BCM7 in most people without impaired digestion.

Also, interestingly enough, the Beta Casein in human breast milk is broken down into BCM7 as well. The only difference here is that breast milk only contains about 10-15% as much total beta casein as cow milk, and there are 2 amino acids that differ between the human and bovine versions.

One last factor to consider with A1 and A2 is the genetics behind it. The blueprint for the Beta Casein protein is encoded in a cow’s (and all mammal’s) genes. If you’re familiar with genetics, you know that genes come in pairs. Half are inherited from the father and half from the mother. The genes that encode for Beta Casein are the same and it is possible to have both an A1 and A2 gene. Cows can have A1/A1, A1/A2, or A2/A2 genetics. An A1/A1 cow will produce only A1 milk and an A2/A2 cow will produce only A2 milk. However, since neither gene is dominate, an A1/A2 cow will produce a blend with half the Beta Casein being A1 and half being A2.

When scientists first categorized the exact makeup of Beta Casein protein, the first one was numbered A1. Later a chain was discovered that had a difference in the 67th amino acid and it was numbered A2. Later when tracing back the genetics, it was discovered that the A2 gene was in fact the original and the A1 is a mutation that originated a few thousand years ago in European cattle. There have actually been a total of 12 bovine beta casein variants found that are offshoots of the original A2 gene including A1, A3, A4, B, C, D, E, F, G, H1, H2, and I.

Genetics can vary significantly by breed. For example Holsteins favor A1, Guernseys and to a lesser extent Brown Swiss favor A2, and Jerseys and Ayrshires fall in the middle. This was actually proven out when we recently invested in genetic testing. Our Herd consists of 8 A2/A2 cows, 8 A1/A1 cows, and the rest A1/A2. So in our original example of a cup of milk, our Aryshire milk would contain 50% A1 and 50% A2 Beta Casein.

Although it may be inconclusive as to the exact dangers of A1 milk and the resulting BCM7, we feel the precautionary principle should be invoked. Humans have been consuming cow milk for 10,000 years, but A1 milk and the BMC7 that comes with it are a relatively recent development. Only in very modern times with the supremacy of the Holstein breed in US Dairy (accounting for more than 90% of all dairy cows today) has so much A1 milk been consumed. Realistically fluid milk is a minor concern compared to A1 cheese where the lactose carbohydrate and whey protein components have been removed and the casein proteins are further concentrated. Imagine how this has become even worse in our ‘fat is bad’ culture where even the fat is also removed in low and no-fat cheeses leaving only the casein. For example 2 slices of fat-free American singles made from A1 dominant Holstein milk would likely have nearly 3g of A1 beta casein or more than 2.5 times the amount found in a cup of our raw milk.

As a business and raw milk producer, we recognize that the A1 vs A2 issue may be important to some of our current and future herd owners. We do have as part of our business plan a roadmap for converting the herd towards exclusively A2 milk, but this will be multi-year project. In the meantime we are asking individuals that desire an exclusive A2 offering to let us know. In order to help cover the cost of genetic testing, separate and segregated collection, and additional administration expenses, we will only be making the A2 milk available at a premium. Initially we plan to set the boarding fees for A2-only shares at $12/share/week, but we will only begin the new offering once we have enough shares committed (15+).

If this is beyond your means or you don’t feel A2 milk is worth this premium, don’t worry about the milk that you receive containing more A1. We are setting our current 50/50 A1/A2 ratio as the benchmark for our standard herdshare offering. We will suspend additional A2 shares if they would cause our average on remaining milk to fall below the current value until we add another A2/A2 cow to the herd. In all likelihood, the percent of A2 milk in all our milk will increase over time as we continue to convert the herd by testing and selecting for A2/A2 genetics.

If you would like to do additional reading about this subject, we have extra copies of Keith Woodford's Devil in the Milk we would be happy to loan you. Just request them with your next delivery.

]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/A1A2-Milk-Whats-the-deal-with-that_b_34.html If you've done research on raw milk, you may have come across references to A1 vs. A2 milk. Following the 2007 release of the book Devil in the Milk by Keith Woodford, there has been growing concern expressed by the general populace about A1 and A2 beta-casein content in milk. At Pasture's Delights, we recently tested our cows to find out our herd's A1/A2 beta-casein composition. Before we get into that, let us explain a little about what this means.

To understand the difference between A1 and A2 milk, you’ll need to understand some detail about the composition of milk, specifically the protein content. Cow milk contains about 3.3% protein. With milk protein there are two broad categories—whey and casein. The ratio of whey to casein varies greatly by species, but in cow breeds about 20% of the protein is whey and the remaining 80% is casein. Bovine casein protein comes in 5 varieties: Alpha-S1, Alpha-S2, Beta, Kappa, and Gamma. In one study of casein proteins in Ayrshire cows, 49% were Alpha Caseins, 36% were Beta Casein, and the remaining 15% were Kappa and Gamma Casein.

When we talk about A1 or A2 milk, we are only talking about Beta Casein and nothing else. Not fat or carbohydrates but only protein — and specifically a type of protein, Beta Casein, which accounts for just under 30% of the total protein content in milk. In a cup (236g) of our Ayrshire milk, we would expect about 2.3g of Beta Casein out of the total 7.8g of protein.

The Beta Casein protein is a long chain of 209 amino acids. The difference between A1 and A2 milk is a change between a single amino acid in this chain. In A1 milk the 67th amino acid in the chain is Histidine, while in A2 milk this amino acid is Proline. You might be asking yourself, why is this important at all?

The reason this may be important is that the Histidine amino acid bond in A1 milk is weaker compared to the Proline bond in A2 milk. During digestion the A1 Histidine bond is easily broken and creates an amino acid fragment call Beta Casomorphin 7 (BMC7). BCM7 is typically broken down further by the enzyme DPP4. Some individuals with certain health conditions (Crohn’s, Celiac, Autism) may have impaired digestion and not effectively produce this enzyme. BDM7 that is absorbed into the blood from the digestive track (most pronounced in individuals with leaky guts) can trigger cell inflammation and has been shown to bind to opioid receptors in the brain. However, rigorous scientific studies on the effect of BMC7 are few and far between and most use questionable epidemiological methodology that studies broad data sets to draw dubious correlations. This is the same process used in the controversial China Study, which concluded plant-based diets promote health and animal-based diets cause disease. Since we question these types of studies to draw accurate causation, the conclusions derived from the BMC7 studies are suspect as well.

BCM7 may be mainly created by A1 cow milk, but you should know that the digestion of casein protein in all milks including bovine, goat, sheep, and even human milk create various Beta Casomorphins. BCM4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 21 are all produced as the 209 amino acids of the Beta Casein molecule are cleaved apart by enzymes during digestion. Most of these are quickly broken down further by enzymes, just like DPP4 does for BCM7 in most people without impaired digestion.

Also, interestingly enough, the Beta Casein in human breast milk is broken down into BCM7 as well. The only difference here is that breast milk only contains about 10-15% as much total beta casein as cow milk, and there are 2 amino acids that differ between the human and bovine versions.

One last factor to consider with A1 and A2 is the genetics behind it. The blueprint for the Beta Casein protein is encoded in a cow’s (and all mammal’s) genes. If you’re familiar with genetics, you know that genes come in pairs. Half are inherited from the father and half from the mother. The genes that encode for Beta Casein are the same and it is possible to have both an A1 and A2 gene. Cows can have A1/A1, A1/A2, or A2/A2 genetics. An A1/A1 cow will produce only A1 milk and an A2/A2 cow will produce only A2 milk. However, since neither gene is dominate, an A1/A2 cow will produce a blend with half the Beta Casein being A1 and half being A2.

When scientists first categorized the exact makeup of Beta Casein protein, the first one was numbered A1. Later a chain was discovered that had a difference in the 67th amino acid and it was numbered A2. Later when tracing back the genetics, it was discovered that the A2 gene was in fact the original and the A1 is a mutation that originated a few thousand years ago in European cattle. There have actually been a total of 12 bovine beta casein variants found that are offshoots of the original A2 gene including A1, A3, A4, B, C, D, E, F, G, H1, H2, and I.

Genetics can vary significantly by breed. For example Holsteins favor A1, Guernseys and to a lesser extent Brown Swiss favor A2, and Jerseys and Ayrshires fall in the middle. This was actually proven out when we recently invested in genetic testing. Our Herd consists of 8 A2/A2 cows, 8 A1/A1 cows, and the rest A1/A2. So in our original example of a cup of milk, our Aryshire milk would contain 50% A1 and 50% A2 Beta Casein.

Although it may be inconclusive as to the exact dangers of A1 milk and the resulting BCM7, we feel the precautionary principle should be invoked. Humans have been consuming cow milk for 10,000 years, but A1 milk and the BMC7 that comes with it are a relatively recent development. Only in very modern times with the supremacy of the Holstein breed in US Dairy (accounting for more than 90% of all dairy cows today) has so much A1 milk been consumed. Realistically fluid milk is a minor concern compared to A1 cheese where the lactose carbohydrate and whey protein components have been removed and the casein proteins are further concentrated. Imagine how this has become even worse in our ‘fat is bad’ culture where even the fat is also removed in low and no-fat cheeses leaving only the casein. For example 2 slices of fat-free American singles made from A1 dominant Holstein milk would likely have nearly 3g of A1 beta casein or more than 2.5 times the amount found in a cup of our raw milk.

As a business and raw milk producer, we recognize that the A1 vs A2 issue may be important to some of our current and future herd owners. We do have as part of our business plan a roadmap for converting the herd towards exclusively A2 milk, but this will be multi-year project. In the meantime we are asking individuals that desire an exclusive A2 offering to let us know. In order to help cover the cost of genetic testing, separate and segregated collection, and additional administration expenses, we will only be making the A2 milk available at a premium. Initially we plan to set the boarding fees for A2-only shares at $12/share/week, but we will only begin the new offering once we have enough shares committed (15+).

If this is beyond your means or you don’t feel A2 milk is worth this premium, don’t worry about the milk that you receive containing more A1. We are setting our current 50/50 A1/A2 ratio as the benchmark for our standard herdshare offering. We will suspend additional A2 shares if they would cause our average on remaining milk to fall below the current value until we add another A2/A2 cow to the herd. In all likelihood, the percent of A2 milk in all our milk will increase over time as we continue to convert the herd by testing and selecting for A2/A2 genetics.

If you would like to do additional reading about this subject, we have extra copies of Keith Woodford's Devil in the Milk we would be happy to loan you. Just request them with your next delivery.

]]> <![CDATA[Julien's Chocolate Banana Milk Shake]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/Juliens-Chocolate-Banana-Milk-Shake_b_35.html Thu, 1 May 2014 00:00:00 EST


As the weather warms up, try this recipe for a deliciously cold sweet treat, courtesy of herd owner Shelli Yason's son Julien. According to Julien, this is his favorite use for their "Happy Cow" milk from Pasture's Delights.

For this recipe, you will need:

  • Whole raw "happy cow" milk
  • Ice Cube Tray
  • Ripe Banana
  • Chocolate Syrup
  • Blender

Raw Milk can be acquired through the Pasture's Delights Herdshare Program.
Email us for information on pricing and how to sign up!

]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/Juliens-Chocolate-Banana-Milk-Shake_b_35.html


As the weather warms up, try this recipe for a deliciously cold sweet treat, courtesy of herd owner Shelli Yason's son Julien. According to Julien, this is his favorite use for their "Happy Cow" milk from Pasture's Delights.

For this recipe, you will need:

  • Whole raw "happy cow" milk
  • Ice Cube Tray
  • Ripe Banana
  • Chocolate Syrup
  • Blender

Raw Milk can be acquired through the Pasture's Delights Herdshare Program.
Email us for information on pricing and how to sign up!

]]> <![CDATA[How to Make Cottage Cheese]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/How-to-Make-Cottage-Cheese_b_31.html Thu, 6 Mar 2014 00:00:00 EST


In days gone by, cottage cheese was made from raw milk, which was poured into a pot and set in the cool corner of the cook stove to stay warm over several days until the bacteria in the unpasteurized milk increased the lactic acid levels enough to form the soft curds that are the base for cottage cheese. In this recipe, we use a mesophilic starter to better control the milk's culturing, but the principle is the same. Yield: 1.5 pounds

For this recipe, you will need:

Raw Milk and Cream can be acquired through the Pasture's Delights Herdshare Program.
Email us for information on pricing and how to sign up!

]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/How-to-Make-Cottage-Cheese_b_31.html


In days gone by, cottage cheese was made from raw milk, which was poured into a pot and set in the cool corner of the cook stove to stay warm over several days until the bacteria in the unpasteurized milk increased the lactic acid levels enough to form the soft curds that are the base for cottage cheese. In this recipe, we use a mesophilic starter to better control the milk's culturing, but the principle is the same. Yield: 1.5 pounds

For this recipe, you will need:

Raw Milk and Cream can be acquired through the Pasture's Delights Herdshare Program.
Email us for information on pricing and how to sign up!

]]> <![CDATA[Increasing the Minimum Wage]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/Increasing-the-Minimum-Wage_b_32.html Thu, 6 Mar 2014 00:00:00 EST Its effect on you, Pasture’s Delights, and everyone else
  • Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy gives girl flowers. Girl never speaks to boy again.
  • Farmer has bull. Farmer wants bull to be nice and tame. Farmer treats bull like a pet. Bull one day attacks farmer.
  • People who are poor want more money (to live better). People support minimum wage. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer.
  • Politician wants more power. Politician tells the people what they want to hear. Politician buys votes with tax dollars. BINGO! We have a winner! Politician gets more power.

If the boy wants to attract his girl, if a farmer wants doesn’t want to get attacked by his bull, and if people want to increase their median standard of living then it is senseless to keep repeating the same things and expect different results! How many times have we raised minimum wage? With 90+ socio-economic programs attempting to “redistribute the wealth” the wealth gap keeps widening between the rich and the poor. As counter intuitive as it may seem, disbanding many social welfare programs, including minimum wage mandates and unemployment insurance, will actually lift people out of poverty rather than keep them there. I shall explain here in this article.

Before we get started, you may wonder why I am discussing the minimum wage topic in this Pasture Bites newsletter. I believe that if you want the REAL milk we produce, at a price you can afford, you will want to invest the time to read and understand this issue. In my 14 years working as an airline pilot (a union employee), and now going into year five at Pasture’s Delights as a business entrepreneur who employs people, the #1 issue that most concerns me for long term sustainability (in both the airline and farm business) is socio-economic policy. The “entitlement mentality” is seeping deeper and deeper into every crevice of the American people’s psyche - the full spectrum from gov’t leaders, to business owners and leaders, to the working class, and those not working. And when things freeze up (when the money stops flowing, just as it did in Germany prior to Hitler, just as it did in Russia prior to Lenin, and just as it started to in Ukraine recently), things crack wide open spewing a lot of blood, and I mean that literally. Of course we don’t want to go there, so the hope is that this article may save us heartache in the future. Being able to afford quality milk is the lesser of our worries, but first let’s discuss any minimum wage mandate’s impact on the price of products, and the wealth gap.

Intention of Minimum wage

  • Businesses pay people more money
  • More people with more money = economic stimulation
  • More people with more money = fewer people in poverty
  • Fewer people in poverty = less taxation subsidizing poverty wages

Sounds like a winner, right?

“Supporters hail Minimum wage for “fairness” and a benefit for poor people.  This, it is alleged, will provide more income to support spending and stimulate the economy.  If it works that well, why not make the minimum $50?  This would provide someone working 2,000 hours a year an income of $100,000, eliminating poverty and stimulating the economy.  Obviously, $50/hour would be detrimental to employment as is $10/hour, it’s just a matter of degree” says William Dunkleberg, a Forbes magazine contributor.

In states such as Washington and Connecticut, which report no harm on job growth due to raising the minimum wage, the economic growth is in high skilled areas. Taking a look at the country as a whole:

What really happens when minimum wage goes up

  • Relative labor cost goes up (inflation) = business cannot afford higher labor costs
  • Business cannot afford (artificially higher) labor costs = business closings
  • Business closings = less business competition
  • Less business competition = higher product price elsewhere in marketplace
  • Higher per product price = less # products purchased = less demand for jobs
  • Business closings = fewer jobs
  • More people after fewer jobs = downward wage pressure
  • Downward wage pressure = lower demand for products

Between business (owners) facing less competition for their products (ability to raise prices), and having more competition for the employment they offer (ability to lower wages), the business owner is able to get wealthier and at the same time the worker receives lower wages. This scenario is alive and well, and people wish to blame capitalism for causing the wealth disparity). Actually it isn’t capitalism causing the problem here. It is the socialistic “medicine” in the form of minimum wage (and other programs) COMBINED with capitalism making the person (system) sick.

When the “medicine” is pumped into a healthy capitalist system, here’s what happens:

  • Breakeven cost goes up
  • Breakeven cost of product goes up = price of product probably has to go up too
  • Price of product goes up = makes product unaffordable to more people
  • Unaffordability to more people = decreased demand for product
  • Decreased demand for product = decreased demand for jobs
  • Decreased demand for jobs = more people competing for smaller number of jobs
  • Competition for jobs = downward pressure on wages, pushing more people into poverty
  • More people in poverty = more taxation to subsidize low / no income households
  • More Social programs = increased cost for administering programs and increased opportunity for fraud and abuse
  • More taxation = less take-home pay to purchase goods
  • Inflation = now your (saved) dollars saved have less value (to purchase car, a home, or start your own business?)
  • Fewer businesses offer fewer jobs, pay lower wages have less competition, and charge higher prices, and capture a higher percentage of the wealth (transfer) = widening wealth gap between rich and poor
  • Fewer, but larger businesses = sets rich up to get richer
  • Super rich = out of touch with reality for what it is like for many people to not have work or work for low wages, and remain in poverty
  • More workers and fewer business owners = fewer people exposed to knowing and understanding how business works
  • Differing perspectives – wealthy resent being taxed to subsidize the poor, the poor resent the wealthy living a lavish lifestyle = conflict.
  • Conflict = unhappiness, social instability, who knows?

Present day America - the results of recent socio-economic policy:

Are there fewer or more businesses on Main Street today as opposed to 100 years ago? We have minimum wage today; are people making more clocking in at Wal-Mart as opposed to on Main Street a 100 years ago? Is the wealth gap widening between rich and poor? Is America becoming more “polarized”?

At the airline I work at many employees resent the lavish lifestyle of the CEO, and executives resent what amounts to many employees having a non-competitive “entitlement” mentality doing only the minimum to retain their employment. These are seeds that foster an uncooperative workplace culture. The lack of perspective and understanding is creating conflict that could harm the airline and its entire people.

Minimum Wage = Fewer Teen Jobs (Even at a Farm)

“Another argument in favor of the minimum wage is that it is a stimulus, introducing new income and spending into the market.  But was there more income to spend in 2009 when nearly 600,000 teen jobs were lost?  Common sense says that every dollar a minimum wage worker receives must have come out of somebody else’s pocket, either small business owners or their customers.  The money for a higher minimum wage does not come from thin air.

Consider a community based pizza parlor selling 100 pies a day for 360 days at $10 each.  Total revenue is $360,000.  It employs 10 minimum wage workers earning $7 per hour, working 2000 hours a year, making labor costs $140,000.  Assume rent, utilities, equipment, depreciation, insurance, supplies, licenses, and food costs come to $170,000 per year, leaving a profit of $50,000 for the owner and his/her family.  Raising the minimum wage $1 would raise labor costs by $20,000 (paying more for the same amount of labor) and reduce profit to $30,000.  The owner must either move into a smaller house or raise prices, which reduces the demand for pizza, resulting in the loss of a worker.  So, the full increase in the wage cost of an increase in the minimum wage comes out of the pockets of customers or the owner’s family, and the one person who loses a job.  There was no net gain in income to increase spending in the community served as every dollar the minimum wage workers received came out of someone else’s pocket in the community. As a jobs program, raising the minimum wage is a real loser.  Congress raised the minimum wage 10.6% in July, 2009.  In the ensuring 6 months, nearly 600,000 teen jobs disappeared, even with nearly 4% growth in the economy, this compared to a loss of 250,000 jobs in the first half of the year as GDP growth declined by 4%  Why?  When you raise the price of anything, people take less of it, including labor.  The unemployment rate for teens remains unacceptably high.   Workers of all ages that are relatively unskilled are adversely impacted by this policy.” - William Dunkleberg

At Pasture’s Delights I have thought of the value of employing teenage people to spend time with the animals an hour or two a day so the animals are more docile, or to do odd-jobs like trimming fence rows and keeping the ditches clean. However, the value in those activities does not justify paying ever-higher (minimum) wages. So, the ditches remain dirty, the fence rows unsightly, the cows are more wild, and (I generalize a bit) teens sit at home, contribute nothing to society, get fat and earn no money.

This management decision is not about “profit” at Pasture’s Delights. Avoiding superfluous minimum wage workers helps us to keep your REAL milk affordable at a time when other costs are spiraling upward.

Minimum Wage Poverty = Resentment

“Firms cannot pay a worker more than the value the worker brings to the firm.  Raising the minimum denies more low skilled workers the opportunity to get a job and receive “on the job” training.  The impact of raising the minimum wage in 2009 on teen employment makes it very clear that this is especially harmful for young teen workers looking for their first opportunity to have a job. Raising the cost of labor raises the incentive for employers to find ways to use less labor.  Most minimum wage earners are not in poverty, yet their employment opportunities are impaired as well as those who seek employment.  This is but one of the poorly designed policies that are created by politicians who have little or no understanding of how business works.  They promise higher legislated wages or other benefits to constituents who don’t understand the true economic impact in order to gain votes.” - William Dunkleberg

I hear some wage earners remark that they will not work for minimum wage to survive (posing the question who is responsible to support them then?), or that it is not fair that they should have to work 50-60 hours a week to survive. Hold that thought. Along the same lines, back in January it was much more comfortable for many to call off work or not brave the wintry elements and stay in their house because it was too dangerous to be on the roads or too cold to be outside. Yet, it was perfectly fine for other people to have to fly the planes or keep the airline running, or for Farmer Mark, and his co-workers to be outside to endure the weather conditions. Someone had to milk the cows! If people will not work for minimum wage for 50-60 hours a week, will they understand why Farmer Mark, a business entrepreneur, risks working 70+ hours a week receiving $0 going on four years now, making tons of personal (family) sacrifice with the hope of someday of recouping my investment? I will be viewed as “rich” and not deserving of getting a return on my investment, and people (who have no clue what I invested) will want to tax me (get something for nothing) because in their eyes they don’t think I deserve more money than they do, even though they had the same opportunity to risk working for $0, working long hours, and sacrifice – as I did. Talking about wanting your cake and eating it too. (If you think this inequality is inevitable, read about the Amish community at the end of this newsletter.)

Just as there is economic consideration for a minimum wage worker, there is economic consideration for entrepreneurs to weigh the risks of low or no income, the long hours, and sacrifices if there is low or no potential for return. I am a “poor” entrepreneur. Explain to me how increasing the minimum wage is going to help me. I only wish I got paid (rewarded) what amounted to a minimum wage for the hours I put it. I, and others, have gotten paid $0 for of thousands of hours of work. On top of that I, and others, have invested $LOTS. On top of that a huge sacrifice has been required of me, my family and friends to do what it takes to rear the business. Just as the extremely wealthy perhaps have no clue what it is like to be poor or work hard to live on poverty wages, most workers who collect a paycheck, minimum wage or otherwise, have not a clue what it takes to start and rear a business to a point to where it can afford to pay its founder(s). Raising minimum wage causes existing and would-be business founders to reconsider if the risk, including the burden of increased wage/income gap, investment, and sacrifice is worth it, potentially reducing jobs and job creation potential.

If someone does not want to work hard, sacrifice, or risk that is their freedom of choice to do just that, which I totally respect. I just ask that they not think it is my responsibility to support both myself AND them.

People can read books about flying, farming and cooking all day long but that doesn’t make them a pro at any of them. If I were to talk about flying, you would probably listen to what I have to say because I am an experienced airline pilot. Because I have been grass-based farming I get calls from people who want to learn about grass-based farming. I do not get calls from Paula Dean, or any other cook, because I have zero credibility in the kitchen. Then why do people value the opinion of political leaders regarding socio-economic policy when they have no business experience? Oh, I forgot. They care more about people being poor, as if I, and others, don’t. There is a reason why the majority of business leaders and (proven) economists are against raising the minimum wage. Of course that isn’t what most people want to hear, and being that this is a democratic process people will likely vote themselves into slavery, and as the poorer get poorer and the few rich get richer the opportunity to vote and get ourselves out of this down-ward spiral slips away.

The minimum wage issue is a conversation you need to be having at the supper table with family, and when you’re talking with friends, neighbors, and co-workers. The points I bring up here you are not going to hear very often amidst all the clamoring for “raise the minimum wage!” because business leaders/economists are simply outnumbered by workers, not to mention chances are business owners putting in long hours probably have less time to afford to offer their perspective on the issue. This is why it all the more important that if you understand the implications of raising minimum wage why your help is needed. We have to act. The extent to which the citizenry is content to passively wait for someone else to solve our nation’s problems the more pain we will all inevitably feel, because if we do not act soon all that is need of fixing will be unfixable.

Implications of No Minimum Wage

  • (Potentially) lower labor wages = lower barrier entry cost to start business
  • More businesses = more product competition
  • More product competition = lower product prices
  • Lower product prices = more goods people can otherwise purchase
  • Increased demand for goods = increased demand for labor
  • In this scenario (without any interference from a minimum wage mandate), there are more businesses and business competition (wealth spread across more businesses), and increased demand for labor (more businesses and more products), wealth distributed to more workers. Unfettered free market is the great equalizer.
  • More businesses = more jobs
  • More job openings = more competition for jobs
  • More competition for jobs = increased wages
  • Increased wages = less hours have to work
  • Less hours have to work = more time for family, volunteering
  • More jobs and higher wages = less reason for people to be on welfare (social welfare programs)
  • Reduced tax burden = more take-home pay
  • More take-home pay = increased ability to help a person legitimately in need (whereas a person may “slip through the cracks” or not be aware of a government program that can help them)
  • The scenario “levels the playing field”. Increased product competition, lower prices, and increased demand for labor and labor wages = a natural convergence of the wealth gap
  • = more people working, and realizing a higher median standard of living
  • = less resentment and less conflict
  • All combined = the American Dream made possible for more time and energy to enjoy life with family and friends, and not at the expense of the others and future generations.

The Amish Model: An economy that (really) works for everyone

I never forget attending a grazing conference one winter. An Amish man told the story of his little boy seeing his parents and older siblings doing evening chores. “Dad, I want to help. What can I do?” said the boy. “Son, why don’t you come over here. You are in charge of filling the cow water tank” said the dad. A menial task, but now the boy had a sense of purpose, and felt like he was part of the (family) team. Instead of badgering the rest of his family he was contributing. The Amish dad said this freed up his time to do something requiring more skill, which contributed value, as well, to their family farm (business). The boy didn’t see any money from filling the water tank (it isn’t always about the money), but the Amish man did explain how as his children got older they began to earn more for their contributions. As adults they have a work ethic, not an entitlement mentality, and they strive to earn and provide for their families. There is no minimum wage, yet they do not live in poverty. In fact I am willing to bet that the average median household net worth (wealth) of an Amish household far surpasses that of the average (non-Amish) American household, and probably rivals some of the wealthiest communities in the state.

Because of no minimum wage, Amish have a lower barrier cost to entry to start businesses. If you think organic milk is expensive, but affordable, you can thank the Amish for seizing the opportunity to enter organic dairying and lowering the price to such an affordable level. If they had to pay minimum wages, their barrier to entry would be too high, and organic milk prices would be much higher. They are able to start dairy farms that compete against mega-dairies that resort to employing foreign labor (while taxpayers get to subsidize the social programs that go along with that). Since Amish families have started many smaller organic dairies product competition for organic milk has helped reduced the price of organic milk. Organic milk is more affordable which allows more people to benefit from organic milk.

Amish earnings from producing organic milk allow them to purchase other products, spurring Amish to start furniture businesses, construction businesses, Amish bakeries, and other businesses, thus creating a labor demand that employs their population, nixing the need for a tax burden to support those who do not work. They are able to keep a higher percentage of their income to help each other out in times of need. There is cooperation between Amish people. (At the airline, wage entitled union employees and executives foster an environment of non-cooperation.) Amish are resourceful and compete (both capitalist traits) allowing them to capture time and energy (wealth) from going to waste. This wealth allows them to purchase land, own a home, and have a healthy work/life balance conducive to raising a functional family, and live life with a smile, enjoying the reality of their American Dream come true.

Some people think Amish are backwards. Maybe we need to take a look in the mirror and see who has it backwards. It took the Israelites 40 years to make an 11 day trip. Rather than keep going around and around the mountain making the same mistakes chasing our tails, let’s follow the wisdom of our Founding Fathers. Successful workers, farmers, and business owners who were willing to risk their own lives for you and me I bet they knew what they were talking about to make the American dream possible. After all, things went pretty well until things started getting mucked up in the late 1800’s, when people began to think they knew better.

I’m a REAL American. I want the American Dream! If you do too, you know what to do: Say No to the Minimum Wage!

Email your government representative today!

Mark Grieshop
American Farmer and Entrepreneur
Pasture’s Delights

]]> https://pasturesdelights.com/Increasing-the-Minimum-Wage_b_32.html Its effect on you, Pasture’s Delights, and everyone else
  • Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy gives girl flowers. Girl never speaks to boy again.
  • Farmer has bull. Farmer wants bull to be nice and tame. Farmer treats bull like a pet. Bull one day attacks farmer.
  • People who are poor want more money (to live better). People support minimum wage. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer.
  • Politician wants more power. Politician tells the people what they want to hear. Politician buys votes with tax dollars. BINGO! We have a winner! Politician gets more power.

If the boy wants to attract his girl, if a farmer wants doesn’t want to get attacked by his bull, and if people want to increase their median standard of living then it is senseless to keep repeating the same things and expect different results! How many times have we raised minimum wage? With 90+ socio-economic programs attempting to “redistribute the wealth” the wealth gap keeps widening between the rich and the poor. As counter intuitive as it may seem, disbanding many social welfare programs, including minimum wage mandates and unemployment insurance, will actually lift people out of poverty rather than keep them there. I shall explain here in this article.

Before we get started, you may wonder why I am discussing the minimum wage topic in this Pasture Bites newsletter. I believe that if you want the REAL milk we produce, at a price you can afford, you will want to invest the time to read and understand this issue. In my 14 years working as an airline pilot (a union employee), and now going into year five at Pasture’s Delights as a business entrepreneur who employs people, the #1 issue that most concerns me for long term sustainability (in both the airline and farm business) is socio-economic policy. The “entitlement mentality” is seeping deeper and deeper into every crevice of the American people’s psyche - the full spectrum from gov’t leaders, to business owners and leaders, to the working class, and those not working. And when things freeze up (when the money stops flowing, just as it did in Germany prior to Hitler, just as it did in Russia prior to Lenin, and just as it started to in Ukraine recently), things crack wide open spewing a lot of blood, and I mean that literally. Of course we don’t want to go there, so the hope is that this article may save us heartache in the future. Being able to afford quality milk is the lesser of our worries, but first let’s discuss any minimum wage mandate’s impact on the price of products, and the wealth gap.

Intention of Minimum wage

  • Businesses pay people more money
  • More people with more money = economic stimulation
  • More people with more money = fewer people in poverty
  • Fewer people in poverty = less taxation subsidizing poverty wages

Sounds like a winner, right?

“Supporters hail Minimum wage for “fairness” and a benefit for poor people.  This, it is alleged, will provide more income to support spending and stimulate the economy.  If it works that well, why not make the minimum $50?  This would provide someone working 2,000 hours a year an income of $100,000, eliminating poverty and stimulating the economy.  Obviously, $50/hour would be detrimental to employment as is $10/hour, it’s just a matter of degree” says William Dunkleberg, a Forbes magazine contributor.

In states such as Washington and Connecticut, which report no harm on job growth due to raising the minimum wage, the economic growth is in high skilled areas. Taking a look at the country as a whole:

What really happens when minimum wage goes up

  • Relative labor cost goes up (inflation) = business cannot afford higher labor costs
  • Business cannot afford (artificially higher) labor costs = business closings
  • Business closings = less business competition
  • Less business competition = higher product price elsewhere in marketplace
  • Higher per product price = less # products purchased = less demand for jobs
  • Business closings = fewer jobs
  • More people after fewer jobs = downward wage pressure
  • Downward wage pressure = lower demand for products

Between business (owners) facing less competition for their products (ability to raise prices), and having more competition for the employment they offer (ability to lower wages), the business owner is able to get wealthier and at the same time the worker receives lower wages. This scenario is alive and well, and people wish to blame capitalism for causing the wealth disparity). Actually it isn’t capitalism causing the problem here. It is the socialistic “medicine” in the form of minimum wage (and other programs) COMBINED with capitalism making the person (system) sick.

When the “medicine” is pumped into a healthy capitalist system, here’s what happens:

  • Breakeven cost goes up
  • Breakeven cost of product goes up = price of product probably has to go up too
  • Price of product goes up = makes product unaffordable to more people
  • Unaffordability to more people = decreased demand for product
  • Decreased demand for product = decreased demand for jobs
  • Decreased demand for jobs = more people competing for smaller number of jobs
  • Competition for jobs = downward pressure on wages, pushing more people into poverty
  • More people in poverty = more taxation to subsidize low / no income households
  • More Social programs = increased cost for administering programs and increased opportunity for fraud and abuse
  • More taxation = less take-home pay to purchase goods
  • Inflation = now your (saved) dollars saved have less value (to purchase car, a home, or start your own business?)
  • Fewer businesses offer fewer jobs, pay lower wages have less competition, and charge higher prices, and capture a higher percentage of the wealth (transfer) = widening wealth gap between rich and poor
  • Fewer, but larger businesses = sets rich up to get richer
  • Super rich = out of touch with reality for what it is like for many people to not have work or work for low wages, and remain in poverty
  • More workers and fewer business owners = fewer people exposed to knowing and understanding how business works
  • Differing perspectives – wealthy resent being taxed to subsidize the poor, the poor resent the wealthy living a lavish lifestyle = conflict.
  • Conflict = unhappiness, social instability, who knows?

Present day America - the results of recent socio-economic policy:

Are there fewer or more businesses on Main Street today as opposed to 100 years ago? We have minimum wage today; are people making more clocking in at Wal-Mart as opposed to on Main Street a 100 years ago? Is the wealth gap widening between rich and poor? Is America becoming more “polarized”?

At the airline I work at many employees resent the lavish lifestyle of the CEO, and executives resent what amounts to many employees having a non-competitive “entitlement” mentality doing only the minimum to retain their employment. These are seeds that foster an uncooperative workplace culture. The lack of perspective and understanding is creating conflict that could harm the airline and its entire people.

Minimum Wage = Fewer Teen Jobs (Even at a Farm)

“Another argument in favor of the minimum wage is that it is a stimulus, introducing new income and spending into the market.  But was there more income to spend in 2009 when nearly 600,000 teen jobs were lost?  Common sense says that every dollar a minimum wage worker receives must have come out of somebody else’s pocket, either small business owners or their customers.  The money for a higher minimum wage does not come from thin air.

Consider a community based pizza parlor selling 100 pies a day for 360 days at $10 each.  Total revenue is $360,000.  It employs 10 minimum wage workers earning $7 per hour, working 2000 hours a year, making labor costs $140,000.  Assume rent, utilities, equipment, depreciation, insurance, supplies, licenses, and food costs come to $170,000 per year, leaving a profit of $50,000 for the owner and his/her family.  Raising the minimum wage $1 would raise labor costs by $20,000 (paying more for the same amount of labor) and reduce profit to $30,000.  The owner must either move into a smaller house or raise prices, which reduces the demand for pizza, resulting in the loss of a worker.  So, the full increase in the wage cost of an increase in the minimum wage comes out of the pockets of customers or the owner’s family, and the one person who loses a job.  There was no net gain in income to increase spending in the community served as every dollar the minimum wage workers received came out of someone else’s pocket in the community. As a jobs program, raising the minimum wage is a real loser.  Congress raised the minimum wage 10.6% in July, 2009.  In the ensuring 6 months, nearly 600,000 teen jobs disappeared, even with nearly 4% growth in the economy, this compared to a loss of 250,000 jobs in the first half of the year as GDP growth declined by 4%  Why?  When you raise the price of anything, people take less of it, including labor.  The unemployment rate for teens remains unacceptably high.   Workers of all ages that are relatively unskilled are adversely impacted by this policy.” - William Dunkleberg

At Pasture’s Delights I have thought of the value of employing teenage people to spend time with the animals an hour or two a day so the animals are more docile, or to do odd-jobs like trimming fence rows and keeping the ditches clean. However, the value in those activities does not justify paying ever-higher (minimum) wages. So, the ditches remain dirty, the fence rows unsightly, the cows are more wild, and (I generalize a bit) teens sit at home, contribute nothing to society, get fat and earn no money.

This management decision is not about “profit” at Pasture’s Delights. Avoiding superfluous minimum wage workers helps us to keep your REAL milk affordable at a time when other costs are spiraling upward.

Minimum Wage Poverty = Resentment

“Firms cannot pay a worker more than the value the worker brings to the firm.  Raising the minimum denies more low skilled workers the opportunity to get a job and receive “on the job” training.  The impact of raising the minimum wage in 2009 on teen employment makes it very clear that this is especially harmful for young teen workers looking for their first opportunity to have a job. Raising the cost of labor raises the incentive for employers to find ways to use less labor.  Most minimum wage earners are not in poverty, yet their employment opportunities are impaired as well as those who seek employment.  This is but one of the poorly designed policies that are created by politicians who have little or no understanding of how business works.  They promise higher legislated wages or other benefits to constituents who don’t understand the true economic impact in order to gain votes.” - William Dunkleberg

I hear some wage earners remark that they will not work for minimum wage to survive (posing the question who is responsible to support them then?), or that it is not fair that they should have to work 50-60 hours a week to survive. Hold that thought. Along the same lines, back in January it was much more comfortable for many to call off work or not brave the wintry elements and stay in their house because it was too dangerous to be on the roads or too cold to be outside. Yet, it was perfectly fine for other people to have to fly the planes or keep the airline running, or for Farmer Mark, and his co-workers to be outside to endure the weather conditions. Someone had to milk the cows! If people will not work for minimum wage for 50-60 hours a week, will they understand why Farmer Mark, a business entrepreneur, risks working 70+ hours a week receiving $0 going on four years now, making tons of personal (family) sacrifice with the hope of someday of recouping my investment? I will be viewed as “rich” and not deserving of getting a return on my investment, and people (who have no clue what I invested) will want to tax me (get something for nothing) because in their eyes they don’t think I deserve more money than they do, even though they had the same opportunity to risk working for $0, working long hours, and sacrifice – as I did. Talking about wanting your cake and eating it too. (If you think this inequality is inevitable, read about the Amish community at the end of this newsletter.)

Just as there is economic consideration for a minimum wage worker, there is economic consideration for entrepreneurs to weigh the risks of low or no income, the long hours, and sacrifices if there is low or no potential for return. I am a “poor” entrepreneur. Explain to me how increasing the minimum wage is going to help me. I only wish I got paid (rewarded) what amounted to a minimum wage for the hours I put it. I, and others, have gotten paid $0 for of thousands of hours of work. On top of that I, and others, have invested $LOTS. On top of that a huge sacrifice has been required of me, my family and friends to do what it takes to rear the business. Just as the extremely wealthy perhaps have no clue what it is like to be poor or work hard to live on poverty wages, most workers who collect a paycheck, minimum wage or otherwise, have not a clue what it takes to start and rear a business to a point to where it can afford to pay its founder(s). Raising minimum wage causes existing and would-be business founders to reconsider if the risk, including the burden of increased wage/income gap, investment, and sacrifice is worth it, potentially reducing jobs and job creation potential.

If someone does not want to work hard, sacrifice, or risk that is their freedom of choice to do just that, which I totally respect. I just ask that they not think it is my responsibility to support both myself AND them.

People can read books about flying, farming and cooking all day long but that doesn’t make them a pro at any of them. If I were to talk about flying, you would probably listen to what I have to say because I am an experienced airline pilot. Because I have been grass-based farming I get calls from people who want to learn about grass-based farming. I do not get calls from Paula Dean, or any other cook, because I have zero credibility in the kitchen. Then why do people value the opinion of political leaders regarding socio-economic policy when they have no business experience? Oh, I forgot. They care more about people being poor, as if I, and others, don’t. There is a reason why the majority of business leaders and (proven) economists are against raising the minimum wage. Of course that isn’t what most people want to hear, and being that this is a democratic process people will likely vote themselves into slavery, and as the poorer get poorer and the few rich get richer the opportunity to vote and get ourselves out of this down-ward spiral slips away.

The minimum wage issue is a conversation you need to be having at the supper table with family, and when you’re talking with friends, neighbors, and co-workers. The points I bring up here you are not going to hear very often amidst all the clamoring for “raise the minimum wage!” because business leaders/economists are simply outnumbered by workers, not to mention chances are business owners putting in long hours probably have less time to afford to offer their perspective on the issue. This is why it all the more important that if you understand the implications of raising minimum wage why your help is needed. We have to act. The extent to which the citizenry is content to passively wait for someone else to solve our nation’s problems the more pain we will all inevitably feel, because if we do not act soon all that is need of fixing will be unfixable.

Implications of No Minimum Wage

  • (Potentially) lower labor wages = lower barrier entry cost to start business
  • More businesses = more product competition
  • More product competition = lower product prices
  • Lower product prices = more goods people can otherwise purchase
  • Increased demand for goods = increased demand for labor
  • In this scenario (without any interference from a minimum wage mandate), there are more businesses and business competition (wealth spread across more businesses), and increased demand for labor (more businesses and more products), wealth distributed to more workers. Unfettered free market is the great equalizer.
  • More businesses = more jobs
  • More job openings = more competition for jobs
  • More competition for jobs = increased wages
  • Increased wages = less hours have to work
  • Less hours have to work = more time for family, volunteering
  • More jobs and higher wages = less reason for people to be on welfare (social welfare programs)
  • Reduced tax burden = more take-home pay
  • More take-home pay = increased ability to help a person legitimately in need (whereas a person may “slip through the cracks” or not be aware of a government program that can help them)
  • The scenario “levels the playing field”. Increased product competition, lower prices, and increased demand for labor and labor wages = a natural convergence of the wealth gap
  • = more people working, and realizing a higher median standard of living
  • = less resentment and less conflict
  • All combined = the American Dream made possible for more time and energy to enjoy life with family and friends, and not at the expense of the others and future generations.

The Amish Model: An economy that (really) works for everyone

I never forget attending a grazing conference one winter. An Amish man told the story of his little boy seeing his parents and older siblings doing evening chores. “Dad, I want to help. What can I do?” said the boy. “Son, why don’t you come over here. You are in charge of filling the cow water tank” said the dad. A menial task, but now the boy had a sense of purpose, and felt like he was part of the (family) team. Instead of badgering the rest of his family he was contributing. The Amish dad said this freed up his time to do something requiring more skill, which contributed value, as well, to their family farm (business). The boy didn’t see any money from filling the water tank (it isn’t always about the money), but the Amish man did explain how as his children got older they began to earn more for their contributions. As adults they have a work ethic, not an entitlement mentality, and they strive to earn and provide for their families. There is no minimum wage, yet they do not live in poverty. In fact I am willing to bet that the average median household net worth (wealth) of an Amish household far surpasses that of the average (non-Amish) American household, and probably rivals some of the wealthiest communities in the state.

Because of no minimum wage, Amish have a lower barrier cost to entry to start businesses. If you think organic milk is expensive, but affordable, you can thank the Amish for seizing the opportunity to enter organic dairying and lowering the price to such an affordable level. If they had to pay minimum wages, their barrier to entry would be too high, and organic milk prices would be much higher. They are able to start dairy farms that compete against mega-dairies that resort to employing foreign labor (while taxpayers get to subsidize the social programs that go along with that). Since Amish families have started many smaller organic dairies product competition for organic milk has helped reduced the price of organic milk. Organic milk is more affordable which allows more people to benefit from organic milk.

Amish earnings from producing organic milk allow them to purchase other products, spurring Amish to start furniture businesses, construction businesses, Amish bakeries, and other businesses, thus creating a labor demand that employs their population, nixing the need for a tax burden to support those who do not work. They are able to keep a higher percentage of their income to help each other out in times of need. There is cooperation between Amish people. (At the airline, wage entitled union employees and executives foster an environment of non-cooperation.) Amish are resourceful and compete (both capitalist traits) allowing them to capture time and energy (wealth) from going to waste. This wealth allows them to purchase land, own a home, and have a healthy work/life balance conducive to raising a functional family, and live life with a smile, enjoying the reality of their American Dream come true.

Some people think Amish are backwards. Maybe we need to take a look in the mirror and see who has it backwards. It took the Israelites 40 years to make an 11 day trip. Rather than keep going around and around the mountain making the same mistakes chasing our tails, let’s follow the wisdom of our Founding Fathers. Successful workers, farmers, and business owners who were willing to risk their own lives for you and me I bet they knew what they were talking about to make the American dream possible. After all, things went pretty well until things started getting mucked up in the late 1800’s, when people began to think they knew better.

I’m a REAL American. I want the American Dream! If you do too, you know what to do: Say No to the Minimum Wage!

Email your government representative today!

Mark Grieshop
American Farmer and Entrepreneur
Pasture’s Delights

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