Horse slaughter houses to open again

[cw4192]

First of all PERKELe how do you figure "WE" caused the $14 dollar a bale of hay? Second what is wrong with horse meat? Third are you a P.E.T.A member, and last, each monkey to their own vine

[kninebirddog]

Some of the things that have caused the Alfalfa prices to get where they are

1. China

2 Fuel cost

3 Genetically altered ...Try looking up what they have done with our seeds to make it round up ready and disease and fungus resistant...Specially on Corn and Cotton

 

those are a few things that have done much raise the prices

 

Much less the price of surface acre water

 

As for Slaughter...Slaughter is a good thing...Do not get me wrong I also Love horses I love my dogs but They are animals and yes they can serve a purpose but it is not limited to our enjoyment.

 

When they stopped slaughter many horses suffered a slow death of starvation or were not put down in a humane manner because instead of being able to be sold for slaughter and be put to use the owners had to figure out a way to discard of their aged ill dangerous animal

 

people actually would release horses into the wild or other manners of dumping the animal in hopes to make it someone elses problem to feed and care for. I know of a person in Ohio that trailered their horse to go for a ride with some friend to come back and find a strange horse tied to her trailer that was emaciated.

 

Like it or not Slaughter has a place and FYI horse meat is very good and is served in many fine restaurants over seas .

 

It is a good thing when we make full use of an animal from days of riding to feeding our pets to even enjoying a nice dinner.

[dsotm]

Why? They're tasty...

[uofahughes2]

Some of the things that have caused the Alfalfa prices to get where they are

1. China

2 Fuel cost

3 Genetically altered ...Try looking up what they have done with our seeds to make it round up ready and disease and fungus resistant...Specially on Corn and Cotton

 

 

With all due respect... I agree with your first two points. However, in the grand scheme of things, GMO's reduce the overall costs on crops. Without Corn and Cotton that was developed to be insect resistant, you could easily be spraying 2-3 times a week. On a crop like alfalfa where you can break down the seed cost over 4+ years it more then pays for itself. IF you can eliminate applying chemicals (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides) you are greatly reducing the cost to get that crop to market. Shoot, even cutting down fuel and labor by not applicating chemical is a huge savings.

 

Personally, I think one of the main factors attributing to high hay costs is simply the fact that we are getting ready to set records on cotton production this year. Cotton prices are higher then they have ever been, therefore a good chunk of acreage that has been formally dedicated to hay production has been traded for growing cotton. What caused this? I don't know. There is an abundance of reasons why hay and forage is expensive right now. However I don't think GMO's are one of them.

 

Jake

[kninebirddog]

Some of the things that have caused the Alfalfa prices to get where they are

1. China

2 Fuel cost

3 Genetically altered ...Try looking up what they have done with our seeds to make it round up ready and disease and fungus resistant...Specially on Corn and Cotton

 

 

With all due respect... I agree with your first two points. However, in the grand scheme of things, GMO's reduce the overall costs on crops. Without Corn and Cotton that was developed to be insect resistant, you could easily be spraying 2-3 times a week. On a crop like alfalfa where you can break down the seed cost over 4+ years it more then pays for itself. IF you can eliminate applying chemicals (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides) you are greatly reducing the cost to get that crop to market. Shoot, even cutting down fuel and labor by not applicating chemical is a huge savings.

 

Personally, I think one of the main factors attributing to high hay costs is simply the fact that we are getting ready to set records on cotton production this year. Cotton prices are higher then they have ever been, therefore a good chunk of acreage that has been formally dedicated to hay production has been traded for growing cotton. What caused this? I don't know. There is an abundance of reasons why hay and forage is expensive right now. However I don't think GMO's are one of them.

 

Jake

 

Next farmer you speak to that raises cotton and corn ask them how much they pay per bag of seed and then how much their Technology fee is On top of that bag of seed....PS last I heard from one farmer he was paying over 300 dollars a bag and for his farm over 50,000 in a technology fee a year for the seed he is using....So in truth there isn't much savings as all the farmers costs the prices we pay are proof that there isn't a great savings in this genetically altered seed as all those costs are passed on to US the consumers....

[.270]

in truth, if it wasn't cost effective farmers wouldn't do it. period. their profit margine is so slim that even a small dip in the price of cotton or feed or an increase in costs like fuel and equipment or a bad crop will cause em to go in the hole in hurry. i have mixed feelings about geneticaly altered stuff, but for now, it's the only way to go. i come from a family o' farmers and cowboys. all the farmers use the boll guard, roundup ready seed and love it. they'd cry if they had to go back.

 

alfalfa is high because of a lotta reasons. beef is high in demand for one. they put over a million head on the market in texas in the matter of a few weeks because of the drought. and the price still went up and is still climbing. now the lack of those million head will cause it to go up higher. high cotton prices have led farmers into planting more cotton and less feed, here in Az. another factor. a lot of dairy farmers sold out to developers and it took em a few years to get back into production with bigger, more modern dairies and that had a lot to do with the deep dip in alfalfa prices a c ooule years ago. now they are back in production and need all they can get. 2 years ago alfalfa farmers had a hard time getting $100 a ton. now it's $300. it's called supply and demand. a rancher i talked to in colorado said he bought basically bailed weeds for $150 a ton for winter feed and was glad to get it. everything is high. grain, sudan grass, bermuda. if livestock will eat it, it's high right now. and i'm glad. some folks i know real well can make up for what they lost the past few years. i buy a lotta feed every year. and it pay to irrigate my pasture. but i ain't gonna let my critters starve because the price is high.

 

i think eating horses is a sin. i can't imagine it. but at the same time, there needs to be someway to take care of the problem. 99% of the slaughtered horses will be pet food. few folks like it. i've buried a lotta horses. no way i'd ever send one to the kill floor. but that's me. other folks aren't that nostalgic. and folks that just turn em loose are sorry people. if you're gonna have an animal, take care of it. one thing i would love to see tho, is round up all these herds of wild horses and pack them off to the slaughter house. they don't do anything but hurt the country. them and the donkeys. have one big round up. get em all and solve that part of the problem. this BS of trying to adopt em out is stupid.

 

i hate to see horses slaughtered. but what else are you gonna do? take care of your animals your way, and let others do what they may. and don't blame farmers because the price of feed is up. it's a blue whale deal all over again, that's the way it is. Lark.

[kninebirddog]

For got to add another thing which has caused the Corn price to go high along with the previous stuff mentioned which is a JOKE to we the people and a complete waste ...

Ethanol E85 Why are we wasting our FOOD source on a fuel which appears cheaper at the pump but is not cost effective at all..requires diesel and propane to make and haul as when it is made it can not be piped it is to caustic so it has to be hauled requires propane to process and then

http://www.fuelecono...des/FEG2011.pdf Scroll down to about page 9

....Look under the note column where you will see Gas and the E85 cost and mileage per year Example in attached picture Not only does the Buick regal Loose about 5 MPG for using the E85 it also average costing the person approx 900 dollar More a year to use..But people fall for this GREEN dream and think Sustainability is something to aim for..they are lead to believe we are going to save the earth by going Green..It is a Lie

 

But they keep shoveling down our throats

[uofahughes2]

 

 

Next farmer you speak to that raises cotton and corn ask them how much they pay per bag of seed and then how much their Technology fee is On top of that bag of seed....PS last I heard from one farmer he was paying over 300 dollars a bag and for his farm over 50,000 in a technology fee a year for the seed he is using....So in truth there isn't much savings as all the farmers costs the prices we pay are proof that there isn't a great savings in this genetically altered seed as all those costs are passed on to US the consumers....

 

I agree the seed is expensive and the Technology fees are insane. But like Lark, said, if it didn't pay, they wouldn't plant it. There is still plenty of non-gmo seed available. It just doesn't make sense not to utilize the technology available.

 

E85 is a joke. With corn anyways. I don't know if there is any truth in it, but I remember reading an article that said for every gallon of ethanol fuel created, it took something like 1.2 gallons of regular fuel to create it. I'm sure the article was slanted but I remember thinking it was absurd. I heard that they are working on using leftover watermelons to try and produce ethanol since it has such a high sugar content. If you've ever driven by a melon field after its been harvested, you know how much goes to waste.

 

If you get a chance, check out this video One Hungry World It's got some neat facts about how much productivity we are required to get of an acre of farmland compared to 30 years ago.

 

Have a good one!

 

Jake

[.270]

i know a guy that's heavily involved in corn juice fuel. he said without the gov't subsidy it's a big time loser. with it, you make jillions. the biggest reason for the horse problem is the economy stinks period. folks have had to make big changes and a lot of em shucked the horses. too bad too. i really like horses. Lark.

[billrquimby]

Lark:

 

Know what you mean. I've also buried horses (my daughter's Shetland and my niece's quarter horse that we stabled), and both instances brought tears to my eyes.

 

But I also spent age 5 to 9-1/2 eating horse meat during World War II. Beef and pork were rationed by the War Department, and my mother was supporting us on my father's meager Seabees checks and her low-paying job. She traded her meat ration stamps for cash or other stamps and bought non-rationed horse meat. All the grocery stores in Yuma sold it.

 

Don't remember what it tasted like, but do remember that it was a brighter red than beef. It must have been tasty, because I was a finicky eater as a boy.

 

I've also eaten a lot of zebra filets in African hunting camps. It is delicious! Zebra fat is a bright yellow, even after being cooked, though. Don't remember horse meat having yellow fat, but wouldn't be surprised if it did.

 

When beef climbs to $25-$30 per pound and higher in the inflation that surely will come unless something is done about America's multi-trillions debt soon, a lot of us who are living on fixed incomes will be eating horse meat again.

 

Bill Quimby

[kninebirddog]

http://www.metro.ca/recettes/46/horse-meat.en.html

 

http://potrocarn.blog.com.es/2009/03/13/fajitas-con-carne-caballo-5748080/

[.270]

hey bill, we can all eat green chili "burros" for real. Lark.

[billrquimby]

hey bill, we can all eat green chili "burros" for real. Lark.

 

Lark:

 

That's for sure, my friend.

 

Right after WWII, the Yuma Rod and Gun Club used to pit barbecue wild burros, as part of an effort to remove burros from desert bighorn country. It was a big event in a little river town where not much happened. The best meat came from the colts.

 

Wildlife managers (they still were called game wardens then) encouraged everyone to shoot every burro they saw. I did my part and ate a few burros while in high school.

 

All that changed when the U.S. Wild and Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act passed and became law in 1971. Later the BLM came up with its "adopt a burro" program. I wrote a column saying that "bullets for burros" would have been a better idea, and the entire world jumped on me.

 

Bill Quimby

[.270]

yep, the good ol' federal gov't has come up with some real fiasco's and instead of stepping back and looking at the truth they just keep pumping money into the program. the wildhorse act is one of the worst. the wolf deal is another. now we're gonna have the jags and polar bears. the polar bear one is really interesting. per all "their" studies, the numbers are going up right now. but they say it is because of the warm weather and that soon it will get too warm and the population will drop dramatically. i'd really like to see that crystal ball they have. you shoot burro now and see what happens. felony conviction and prison. you can kill a person and get off with less or maybe nothing. Lark.

[Sir Buckwheat]

Glad to see the government finally pulled their heads out of their arses, at least as far as this issue goes. Shutting down those slaughter houses hurt a lot of people, not only those who owned and worked at them.