My hands are tied, and it’s making me feel rather frustrated.
I mentioned before that Jeremy and I created a charitable organization to help connect the ranchers of our community with hungry families. In our minds, it created a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Unfortunately, things have come to a screeching halt because the issue of liability was brought up by a reporter interested in doing an article in our local paper. Rather than highlight the good we were doing, she wanted to focus on the bad: who people could sue.
Thanks for the support, local paper!
Our organization has helped hundreds of otherwise hungry families eat nutritious food, donated by ranchers who asked for nothing in return – not even a tax write-off.
Professionals are involved in every step of the process, to make sure only quality ground beef goes home to those families. And yet, when a reporter starts asking those professionals about liability, people get spooked. And families go hungry while people like me scramble to do some damage control.
It was suggested by the reporter that instead of asking local ranchers to donate meat, we’d do better to ask supermarkets, thereby putting the issue of liability on “Corporate America”.
Well, listen here. That is not the point.
The point is that we are a community, taking care of our own.
Supermarkets cannot donate hundreds of pounds of beef in one go. They are working for a profit. Ranchers, though? They can donate a quarter of a steer and not blink an eye.
Your average steer weighs about 1500 pounds. Subtract about 30% of that for bone and, um… the stuff that goes into “hot dogs” and you’ve got 1050 pounds. A quarter of that is 262.5 pounds of ground beef.
Do you know how many mouths that feeds?
And yet. Our meat packer – the only one in our area that is state inspected, is spooked. They won’t package any more “charity meat” until we can take the liability off of their hands.
Our insurance agents can’t get a liability policy for us, because the meat isn’t ours. They say the liability lies with the packers.
The USDA requirements for donated meat have been met – and yet, people are going hungry.
I don’t know what to do. I have no idea how to keep things going at this point, and I don’t have any money to give to a corporate attorney. I hope, with a little bit of research, I can solve this problem and be able to move forward. I’ve already discovered that Idaho has dealt with this issue already.
Has California? If not, how can I get them to?
A part of me wishes that the people who have used our court system to become millionaires over cups of spilled coffee could see what they’ve done to the spirit of giving – they should be ashamed at the ugliness they have created.
Category: Ranch Life
Categories
Stray
I found this puppy. 
I was on my way home from a late night ice cream run when I noticed something odd in my headlights. There she was, a tiny little lump in the middle of the street.
She was soaking wet, shivering, and oh my goodness she gently licked my hand when I put it toward her to sniff.
The girls are calling her Rory. She has the sweetest disposition, and is just amazing with the kids.
I hate to think that someone just dumped her out here in the country, but it happens more often than you’d probably care to know. So far, no one has claimed her.
Jeremy laughed when I brought her in, because, see, it’s not the first time I’ve walked through the door with an animal in my arms.
I’m a stray magnet. I’ve rescued strays my whole life, at least 50 of them if I were to try and count them.
Cats and dogs of all colors, shapes and sizes. Even a pot-bellied pig, once, when it showed up after a storm.
Does this happen to everyone?
Do animals just offer themselves to you?
My husband thinks most people just look the other way. But that’s not possible for me.
One time, a dog offered itself to me and in my rear view mirror I could see it watching me as I drove away.
The next day I went back to look for it, and it was nowhere to be found. I was so ashamed of myself for not helping it. I promised myself I’d never do that again.
So, I’m the crazy cat/dog lady. It’s just who I am. At least I’m always in good company!
Categories
Wordless Wednesday: Oh JOY!
Joy, 9 weeks
American Bulldog
Living on a ranch, my family has a fairly unique perspective on climate change.
We are able to see the effects global warming has on our crops and animals, and we try to accommodate those changes on a day to day basis. In turn, we are also able to combat climate change in ways that go beyond that of the average American.
Here are some steps my family has taken, or continues to take, to reduce our carbon footprint.
In and on our home:
* A large solar paneling system
* Energy Star appliances, electronics, windows, doors, heating and air units
* Sky lights
* Aluminum-lined roof sheeting
* Insulated walls built with 2×6’s rather than 2×4’s
* Environmentally friendly cleaning supplies
* Ceiling fans
* CFL light bulbs
On our ranch:
* A garden full of our favorite fruits and veggies
* Feeding scrap food to our chickens
* Composting our chicken’s waste to create natural fertilizer for our garden
* Discing our fields to reduce fire hazard and improve soil quality
* A gray-water irrigation system for our pasture
* Pasture and hay feeding our cattle
* Feeding our lawn and tree trimmings to our livestock
* Keeping a worm farm, and feeding it with coffee grounds
* Using a drip irrigation system for our garden, lawn and trees
* Trading goods with neighbors and friends
In our general lives:
* Always purchasing a living Christmas tree, and planting it after the holidays
* Reusable cloth tote bags for shopping
* Recycling
* Fuel-efficient vehicles
* Carpooling whenever possible
* Sharing magazine subscriptions with friends and family
* Donating and purchasing used clothing, furniture, toys, etc.
* Shopping locally whenever possible, including farmer’s markets
Our ranch isn’t fully sustainable year-round, but for most months of the year, we could easily live without stepping foot off of our own property. We hope, eventually, to be completely sustainable and eliminate our family’s carbon footprint altogether.
I’d love to hear how you’re fighting climate change!
Go here for some amazing suggestions. And go here to find out more about Blog Action Day 09!
It’s happened again.
I’ve been roped into taking care of -and selling – another litter of AKC Lab puppies.
Oh, the cuteness.
Oh, the sweetness.
Oh the… poop. Right.
We started out with 9, and now we’re down to 4. We should be down to 3, because a lady called this morning and said she wanted to drive up from the Bay Area, Today! To get a Puppy! And could I please see her, Today! So she could get a puppy! Today!
She was so eager that I agreed, even though my parents took the kids all day so that I could help Jeremy work on a house that needs to be finished. By Tuesday. As in, two days from now, Tuesday.
“I’ll leave right now,” she said, “so I can be there by noon.”
“Ok, I can do that” I said, because, I do have some work to catch up on in the office.
People? It is 4 in the frackin afternoon.
She has not called.
She is not answering her phone.
I have left two messages.
What to do, what to do? I can’t just leave. She could be a puppy-napper.
And those are my cute, sweet, poopin’ puppies!