I call bullsh*t.

Tarkus: This is bad news for Wisconsin.

/happy cows

This is GREAT news for New Zealand!

Australian researched published on Thursday shows.

Pricipal caught sayof?

FTFA: The scientists supplemented the diet of dairy cows with 5kg of dried grape marc over 37 days.

37 days? This is a scientific experiment? For the very, very impatient cow observation society of slow moving cows?

what's with all the negative waves, man.

Wine snobbery, or raw milk snobbery?

Reduced methane emissions by 20%? Does this work on people too? I know a few people who produce a lot of methane.

(i love GIS)

I buy organic vodka, not because it's organic, but because it is from Minnesota, and the label has a bit about how the farmers feed the mash back to the cows.

It's pretty good vodka too. Can't remember the name, but it is a top shelf bottle at $20.

A jar of pickle juice does the same thing. Old Dirty South cure for indigestion.

This just in: giving your animals a more balanced diet makes them healthier and improves the quality of the meat/milk/eggs they give you.

Dramatic results are probably due to comparison with cows which get a single ingredient in their diet, the "standard autumn feed" (which is a mix of grains and grass/silage, with some vitamins thrown in).

I daresay if they gave the cows each an apple a day, there would be much the same effect.

Need to be careful as always not to overdo it... an excess of sugars in the diet would lead to problems.

Farmers in Kentucky have been feeding their cattle the leftover mash from burbon for a long long time. It's a win for everyone involved.

so, the steroids, antibiotics, and ground up chicken brains weren't doing the trick?

Wodan11:
This just in: giving your animals a more balanced diet makes them healthier and improves the quality of the meat/milk/eggs they give you.

ows:
so, the steroids, antibiotics, and ground up chicken brains weren't doing the trick?

Aaaaand yeah. As scientifically interesting and waste-reducing as this is, it still falls under the category of "things we do to try and mitigate the effects of the awful ways we farm animals".

I should know. For a year and a bit, I worked on developing an edible cattle vaccine for "shipping fever". Cows would eat our GMO clover containing bacterial antigens, and they'd hopefully become immune to M. haemolytica infection. But the REAL problem isn't the bacterium, it's that we house and transport cattle in super-cramped, super-stressful conditions. Have you seen a cattle truck driving down the highway? Freezing cold, jostled violently about, some breaking limbs and thrashing about for hours in agony. Yeah, "shipping fever" is totally the problem, and our vaccine would have made everything all right.

I always wondered if we could plug something into a cow's butt to gather natural gas to burn in power plants.

No Such Agency: Have you seen a cattle truck driving down the highway?

Actually, this is exactly why I wish I had the willpower to become a vegetarian. I don't, inherently, have any opposition to eating meat... just the incredibly, INCREDIBLY farked up way we do it. I always get a sinking feeling in my gut when I see those awful trucks full of crated chickens driving along in the dead of winter because I know they're suffering immensely so that I can have a plate of wings later that night.

So, as an alternative, I've tried to just cut back on the amount of meat I eat and buy it from a local farm instead. It doesn't taste any better, it's probably no healthier, and it costs more, but at least I can drive by the place any time I want and see that the animals are being treated reasonably.

I'm okay with eating meat, I just don't want it to be tortured while it's still an animal.

zarberg: I always wondered if we could plug something into a cow's butt to gather natural gas to burn in power plants.

Actually, there are some cow-shiat powered facilities- mostly small production for the purpose of powering the farm where the cows live.

No Such Agency: Have you seen a cattle truck driving down the highway? Freezing cold, jostled violently about, some breaking limbs and thrashing about for hours in agony.

If I can't get local I try to buy organic because it's hard to raise a cow in a CAFO without antibiotics. But in this particular case, I have to say their ride looks similar to what I've gone through on some domestic plane flights.*

If a cow breaks a limb while riding in a truck, I don't think it's the truck that's the problem. That has to go back to being raised in horrific conditions.

*The cruel, heartless bastards. . .

This would impress Ronald Reagan if he were still around. His administration claimed cow farts cause global warming.

A coworker of mine comes from central PA. Her family has run a cow operation since forever, and for about 25 years fed the cows waste product from the Yeungling brewery. They needed to get rid of the stuff, and it was free or just about free at the time.

/end CSB

macdaddy357: This would impress Ronald Reagan if he were still around. His administration claimed cow farts cause global warming.

They do

fireclown: A coworker of mine comes from central PA. Her family has run a cow operation since forever, and for about 25 years fed the cows waste product from the Yeungling brewery. They needed to get rid of the stuff, and it was free or just about free at the time.



We used to drink saleable product from the Yeungling brewery until the horse developed a bladder infection and everything started tasting really strange, and not in a good way.

Happy cows come from Napa Valley...

zarberg: They do

Garlic, is there anything it can't do? Added benefit: no more vampire cows.

Splinshints: No Such Agency: Have you seen a cattle truck driving down the highway?

Actually, this is exactly why I wish I had the willpower to become a vegetarian. I don't, inherently, have any opposition to eating meat... just the incredibly, INCREDIBLY farked up way we do it. I always get a sinking feeling in my gut when I see those awful trucks full of crated chickens driving along in the dead of winter because I know they're suffering immensely so that I can have a plate of wings later that night.

So, as an alternative, I've tried to just cut back on the amount of meat I eat and buy it from a local farm instead. It doesn't taste any better, it's probably no healthier, and it costs more, but at least I can drive by the place any time I want and see that the animals are being treated reasonably.

I'm okay with eating meat, I just don't want it to be tortured while it's still an animal.

Co-sign. Just because nature has no underlying conscience and lots of gross/brutal things happen on a regular basis doesn't mean we get to torture our chosen food supply without consequences. We're capable of doing better, and we can and should choose to act better - everyone and everythin would benefit, except for the greedy sociopaths whose standard of "benefit" is "extract and hoard every last possible immediate efficiency from the production chain, and socialize the unpriced negative externalities, the suckers."

There's a grocery store in the city that sells free-run chicken and beef parts alongside the factory-farmed stuff. Surprise - no price difference at that store, cheaper than the greenwashed stuff at the big-name grocery store near me; and it actually has flavour!

Shirley Ujest: I buy organic vodka, not because it's organic, but because it is from Minnesota, and the label has a bit about how the farmers feed the mash back to the cows.

It's pretty good vodka too. Can't remember the name, but it is a top shelf bottle at $20.

Prairie Organic Vodka

"We've managed to utilise what is currently a waste product for the wine industry and turn it into a very valuable feed source,"

I thought that stuff was generally composted and then used to fertilize the vinyards the next season?

One step closer to making chocolate milk.

I tried beer, they drink a lot it got expensive

xnxax: Farmers in Kentucky have been feeding their cattle the leftover mash from burbon for a long long time. It's a win for everyone involved.

I toured the Spoetzl Brewery last summer. IIRC, they ferment the beer on the grains (barley and corn, wheat from their hefe) and sell the used grain to local ranchers. The weather's nice in Shiner, too. Happy cows, indeed.

zarberg: I always wondered if we could plug something into a cow's butt to gather natural gas to burn in power plants.

My guess is that PETA and HSUS would raise a stink. PMU farms have been almost driven out of the U.S. and gone to Canada and other countries. If keeping a bag on a mare is cruel and must be stopped in spite of the benefits derived by millions of women on hormone replacement therapy, my guess is that piping a cow's ass isn't going to go over well.

DingleberryMoose: xnxax: Farmers in Kentucky have been feeding their cattle the leftover mash from burbon for a long long time. It's a win for everyone involved.

I toured the Spoetzl Brewery last summer. IIRC, they ferment the beer on the grains (barley and corn, wheat from their hefe) and sell the used grain to local ranchers. The weather's nice in Shiner, too. Happy cows, indeed.

Ethanol plants do the same thing with the corn. It's a great feed for backgrounding cattle but you need unused corn to finish them.

theknuckler_33: I thought that stuff was generally composted and then used to fertilize the vinyards the next season?

Isn't that cannibalism?

Wodan11: This just in: giving your animals a more balanced diet makes them healthier and improves the quality of the meat/milk/eggs they give you.

Dramatic results are probably due to comparison with cows which get a single ingredient in their diet, the "standard autumn feed" (which is a mix of grains and grass/silage, with some vitamins thrown in).

I daresay if they gave the cows each an apple a day, there would be much the same effect.

Need to be careful as always not to overdo it... an excess of sugars in the diet would lead to problems.

I think part of it is how awesome anti-oxidants are for you. Red wine has noticeable long term benefits because it's fermented with the grape skins, where the majority of the anti-oxidants are located(resveratrol being the primary)

Mr. Right: DingleberryMoose: xnxax: Farmers in Kentucky have been feeding their cattle the leftover mash from burbon for a long long time. It's a win for everyone involved.

I toured the Spoetzl Brewery last summer. IIRC, they ferment the beer on the grains (barley and corn, wheat from their hefe) and sell the used grain to local ranchers. The weather's nice in Shiner, too. Happy cows, indeed.

Ethanol plants do the same thing with the corn. It's a great feed for backgrounding cattle but you need unused corn to finish them.

Yep. Most of the useful fuel (fermentable/soluble sugars) is gone from the mix, but it's good bulk filller. Most importantly, it helps lower the prices of both beer and steak.

Mr. Right: My guess is that PETA and HSUS would raise a stink.

You are exactly right, at least in my county. There were some experimental efforts that had positive effects of methane containment, but PETA believed if they could stop those efforts that it would hurt the industry enough to close the farms. They went to court and stopped the experiments, but not the farms.

DingleberryMoose:

Yep. Most of the useful fuel (fermentable/soluble sugars) is gone from the mix, but it's good bulk filller. Most importantly, it helps lower the prices of both beer and steak.

Absolutely! Do you suppose that's why so many beers are so good with steak? One of my favorites has become a good steak au poivre, add a little blue cheese to the cream reduction, and serve with a Goose Island Bourbon County Stout. I'm sure a lot of other beers would do as well. I'm glad the folks in the article found a use for the marc but it's used in dairy. Perhaps that's why various wines and cheeses pair so well? Or am I just looking for an excuse to drink adult beverages at every opportunity?

Mr. Right: zarberg: I always wondered if we could plug something into a cow's butt to gather natural gas to burn in power plants.

My guess is that PETA and HSUS would raise a stink. PMU farms have been almost driven out of the U.S. and gone to Canada and other countries. If keeping a bag on a mare is cruel and must be stopped in spite of the benefits derived by millions of women on hormone replacement therapy, my guess is that piping a cow's ass isn't going to go over well.

You can put the waste in a sealed container and collect the gas that is produced. Even just your own waste can provide you with a not insubstantial amount of energy. Producing biogas from livestock manure is not widely accepted outside of China. Done on site biogas can be easily used well to compliment solar or wind electrical generation by providing both heating and cooking fuels.

Splinshints: No Such Agency: Have you seen a cattle truck driving down the highway?

Actually, this is exactly why I wish I had the willpower to become a vegetarian. I don't, inherently, have any opposition to eating meat... just the incredibly, INCREDIBLY farked up way we do it.

Have you seen the way we treat vegetables in those trucks?

Mr. Right: DingleberryMoose:

Yep. Most of the useful fuel (fermentable/soluble sugars) is gone from the mix, but it's good bulk filller. Most importantly, it helps lower the prices of both beer and steak.

Absolutely! Do you suppose that's why so many beers are so good with steak? One of my favorites has become a good steak au poivre, add a little blue cheese to the cream reduction, and serve with a Goose Island Bourbon County Stout. I'm sure a lot of other beers would do as well. I'm glad the folks in the article found a use for the marc but it's used in dairy. Perhaps that's why various wines and cheeses pair so well? Or am I just looking for an excuse to drink adult beverages at every opportunity?

Probably the latter. And you forgot one important combination: beer and dairy. I made some blackberry hefe last fall that kicks ass when poured over homemade vanilla ice cream on a hot day.

/saving some for next summer, it's aging well

The French have been doing this with pigs for over 1000 years. Glad science is catching up. Now France can surrender.

DingleberryMoose: xnxax: Farmers in Kentucky have been feeding their cattle the leftover mash from burbon for a long long time. It's a win for everyone involved.

I toured the Spoetzl Brewery last summer. IIRC, they ferment the beer on the grains (barley and corn, wheat from their hefe) and sell the used grain to local ranchers. The weather's nice in Shiner, too. Happy cows, indeed.

I toured the Woodford Reserve facility when I was in Lexington for a football game. I highly recommend the tour, it was fascinating. The warehouse where they age the whiskey smells amazing. I want my house to smell like that.

They donate the leftover mash to a local farm a few miles down the road. Apparently cows love the stuff.

I have a crazy idea, why don't we feed cows their natural diet, grass!

pute kisses like a man: then they would taste too good. As evidenced by our farming and ranching techniques, I've become convinced that the average american consumer desires food that is less desirable than that food item's potential.

That, and the fact that there are now 7 Billion people on this rock. Feeding cows on grass takes a whole lotta space.

fireclown: pute kisses like a man: then they would taste too good. As evidenced by our farming and ranching techniques, I've become convinced that the average american consumer desires food that is less desirable than that food item's potential.

That, and the fact that there are now 7 Billion people on this rock. Feeding cows on grass takes a whole lotta space.

The land in this area that's ranched isn't good enough to be farmed for cotton, in general, and wouldn't be utilized otherwise. Supplementing the cattle's diet is more a necessity than a convenience. Cattle eat a lot.