Countryside Organics

What is an Herbal Ley? An Herbal Ley is a foraging mix comprised of multiple grasses, herbs and clovers. It should produce a well-balanced forage that reduces fertilizer inputs and provide increased levels of vitamins and minerals to livestock. Additionally, it should build and restore soil fertility. The higher initial cost of Herbal Leys are offset by improved animal performance, reduced fertilizer inputs and reduced supplementary feed input.

Kevin found this story about herbal dessert grazing on allaboutfeed.net.

Countryside Organics sells our own Herbal Ley mixture, here. Have a great day!

New York, New York – February, 2 2012 – It was standing room only as family farmers from around North America filled Federal Court Judge Naomi Buchwald’s courtroom in Manhattan on Tuesday, January 31. The topic was the landmark organic community lawsuit OSGATA et al v. Monsanto and the oral argument Monsanto’s pre-trial motion to dismiss which it filed last July. Plaintiffs from at least 21 States and Provinces were in the courtroom including Oregon, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Saskatchewan, Missouri, Iowa, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine.

Meanwhile, outside the courthouse in Foley Square, hundreds turned out for the Citizen’s Assembly of support for family farmers, an action organized by several groups including Occupy Food Justice. A depiction of Monsanto’s infamous 100 year history including Agent Orange, Dioxin, PCBs and now gene-spliced food was presented. Speakers addressed topics ranging from sustainable agriculture to risks associated with GMOs to issues of good food and food justice. After the conclusion of the courtroom oral argument, the plaintiff farmers and their legal team from the Public Patent Foundation provided details and comments on the courtroom proceedings, to supporters at the Citizens’ Assembly.

“We were very pleased that the court granted our request to have oral argument regarding Monsanto’s motion to dismiss our case today,” said Daniel Ravicher of the Public Patent Foundation, lead lawyer for the Plaintiffs. “The judge graciously permitted both parties to raise all the points they wished in a session that lasted over an hour. While Monsanto’s attorney attempted to portray the risk organic farmers face from being contaminated and then accused of patent infringement as hypothetical and abstract, we rebutted those arguments with the concrete proof of the harm being suffered by our clients in their attempts to avoid such accusations. The judge indicated she will issue her ruling within two months. We expect she will deny the motion and the case will then proceed forward. If she should happen to grant the motion, we will most likely appeal to the Court of Appeals who will review her decision without deference.”

The large group of 83 Plaintiffs in OSGATA v. Monsanto is comprised of individual family farmers, independent seed companies and agricultural organizations. The total number of members within the plaintiff group exceeds 300,000 and includes many thousands of certified organic farmers. The Plaintiffs are not seeking any monetary compensation. Instead, the farmers are pre-emptively suing Monsanto and seeking court protection under the Declaratory Judgment Act, from Monsanto-initiated patent infringement lawsuits

President of lead Plaintiff, Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, Maine organic seed farmer Jim Gerritsen was in the courtroom and witnessed the oral argument. Gerritsen had this to say, “Our lawyer did a good job explaining the current injustice farmers face. We have a right to be secure on our farms and to be free from Monsanto’s GMO trespass. If we become contaminated by Monsanto, not only is the value of our organic seed crop extinguished but we could also be sued by Monsanto for patent infringement because their contamination results in our ‘possession’ of their GMO technology. We have farmers who have stopped growing organic corn, organic canola and organic soybeans because they can’t risk being sued by Monsanto. It’s not fair and it’s not right. Family farmers need justice and we deserve the protection of the court.”

Early on in the legal process, Monsanto was asked by lawyers for the Plaintiffs to provide a binding legal covenant not to sue. Monsanto refused this request and in doing so made clear that it would not give up its option to sue contaminated innocent family farmers who want nothing to do with Monsanto’s GMO technology.

In a remarkable demonstration of solid support by American citizens for family farmers, co-plaintiff Food Democracy Now! has collected over 100,000 signatures on it’s petition supporting the rights of family farmers against Monsanto. “For the past 12,000 years farmers have saved the best seeds each year to increase yields and improve traits for the food we eat,” said Dave Murphy, founder and Executive Director of Food Democracy Now! “In 1996, when Monsanto sold its first patented genetically modified (GMO) seed to farmers, this radically changed the idea of how farmers planted and saved seed. Less than two decades later, Monsanto’s aggressive patent infringement lawsuits have created a climate of fear in rural America among farmers. It’s time for that to end. Farmers should not have to live in fear because they are growing our food.”

A complete 36 page transcript of the Oral Argument is available here.
Further information on OSGATA v. Monsanto is available at osgata.org and pubpat.org

Whether a micro-flock or a larger endeavor, starting chickens is easy. You need heat, shelter with clean bedding, water, food, and, of course, chicks.

Heat. 90-95º F to start. No drafts. Use a heat lamp for a heat source and elevate it above the floor or ground of your shelter. For day-old chicks start at 90-95º F and reduce the heat approximately 1 degree per day for 30 days. Use a thermometer to be certain the area under the heat lamp (far enough away from the birds to be safe) is the appropriate temperature.

Shelter. A stall in a barn, a portion of an enclosed porch, a corner of a garage, part of a shed, a large box, all of these would work fine for your chicks. It is important that the chicks are contained and safe from predators and in close proximity to their food and water. Bedding of shavings or sawdust or shredded newspaper that can be swept or replaced.

Water. Clean water in a gravity feeder all the time. When your chicks arrive take the chick gently in your hand and dip its beak into the water a couple times until it takes a drink. S/he will be thirsty. Make sure s/he knows where the waterer is. Then feed her the same way, by dipping her beak into the feed.

Food: Countryside Organics Starter for one month. Grower/Broiler until 4 months for layers and till finish for broilers. Layer Feed from 4 months on. Mix some pulverized, hard boiled organic eggs into the starter feed for the first couple of days (it’s what they have been dining on so far!). Add small-sized starter grit, free choice, after 1o days or so. Be sure to not add grit too early as the young chicks may mistake it for feed.

Chicks. Order your chicks mail-order from McMurray Hatchery. You can order a mix and it is fun to go in on an order with friends. Order well in advance of your start date to be guaranteed the type of bird(s) you desire. McMurray will give you a day that you should expect your chickens. Be sure to be available to pick them up from the Post Office.

More info? See this page for more information on raising small flocks of chickens by Harvey Ussery. Harvey also has a great new book on chickens called The Small-Scale Poultry Flock, available on our webstore. For more information on micro-flocks, urban and backyard chickens be sure to see Patricia Forman’s book, City Chicks, also available on our website. See our own FAQ about how much feed for chickens here.

Have fun and as Patricia Foreman says, “May the flock be with you!”