Colonel’s Blog, Earthdate 31 May 2024…
Hey Y’all!
Good morning and happy Fast-Jet Friday from Air2Ground Farms! The fast jets today are the Mighty-Mighty F-15E Strike Eagle. The first is a top-side shot, the second a bottom-side shot, both taken as the jets were flying low-level in Wales this week. What an amazing machine! The weather has been warm but relatively dry. Today is rainy and it appears it will start a trend of rain over the next week or so. The top pic is Shelley and I relaxing at a friend’s house…proof that we don’t work all the time! For the most part, the animals are doing well on the farm this week. The beef herd is doing very well on the spring grass and is making its way across the farm again. The frequent, but not daily, moves seems to be working well for both the herd and the pastures. The rams are in their own paddock with a couple of guardian dogs and there is more forage than they can eat, so they are fat and satisfied. It’s pretty much the same with the dairy herd. They have a large area with more than they can eat and they look great. The layer flock (chickens, ducks, and a couple of geese) are thoroughly enjoying their newfound free-range freedom. There are a couple of chickens that are convinced that the barn is the best spot in this area of the Ozarks and I am frequently running them out. Outside of that minor annoyance, they are doing very well. The four guardian dogs that are free-ranging with the birds have gotten to where they just totally ignore the birds, or they nap in the area where the birds hang out most frequently. The benefit to the dogs roaming is that although the birds are free-ranging, there has been no predation. We processed batch-2 of Beef Chickens this week. We will get them packaged today and I will have the details on yield for the next blog. That leaves us with the ewe/lamb flock. Some of them are struggling. This is the time of year when the parasites are the worst and pasture-based flocks have the hardest time. We’ve lost a few ewes and lambs but nothing outside what should be expected for our management system. It sucks, but it’s part of it. That said, there are a bunch of them that are looking amazing!
I want to share some info that isn’t new, but is new to me. It’s concerning a fairly recently approved non-caloric sweetener called allulose. Allulose is fascinating as a sugar substitute and is making waves in the keto community for its unique benefits. It is naturally found in small amounts in foods like wheat, figs, and raisins, (and I’ve even read that it’s in maple syrup). In order to manufacture it at scale they convert fructose from sources such as corn into allulose, resulting in a sweetener that offers the same taste as sugar but with only a fraction of the calories…some sources say 0.4g per serving (sugar has 4.0g) and other sources say since it isn’t metabolized at all by the body it is an actual zero calorie sweetener. So, I consider allulose a game-changer for those of us on a ketogenic journey because it’s absorbed by the body but not metabolized, which means it doesn’t contribute to blood sugar spikes. This makes it a perfect fit for a keto diet, where maintaining low blood sugar levels is crucial. One study published in the Journal of Food Science delves deeper into the benefits and offers even better news! The research highlights that allulose not only provides a sweet taste without raising blood sugar levels but it actually lowers it. Participants in the study who consumed allulose showed significant reductions in glucose levels compared to those who consumed regular sugar. The study also found that allulose improved insulin sensitivity, which is a key factor in managing and preventing type 2 diabetes. The researchers concluded the study by saying that incorporating allulose into a balanced diet could be a powerful strategy for controlling blood sugar levels and supporting overall metabolic health. As is the case with most non-caloric sweeteners, there have been discussions of GI discomfort as a side effect. I have some in my Amazon cart because at some stores, it can be quite expensive. I am about to order the Wholesome brand, and I’ve read that Wholesome Yum is also a good one. We’re going to give it a try and will let you know how it effects us!
Sunday’s video was a look into our morning of milking and making a hog paddock, followed by building a piglet training pen and welcoming them onto the farm.
Thursday’s Dust’er Mud podcast was about the pivots we are making on the farm; including farrowing piglets, farmers markets, and more.
Have a great weekend!
Cheers!
Psycho & Shelley
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