Guest guest Posted August 13, 2004 Report Share Posted August 13, 2004 Hi Lynn, I'm not a farmer, just an owner of 2 jersey cows for a little over a year. We started out feeding the same grain mix that the farmer that we bought the girls had been feeding, but they both lost weight and I couldn't seem to put it back on them no matter what I did until I stopped feeding grains. I replaced it with wheat grass and then EM cultured compost. They started gaining immediately. Now we mostly just feed extended EM (about 3-4 gallons/day/cow, costs me about .50/cow/day), pasture and hay, with a REAL salt rock available at all times. One of the cows is really beefy, and the other, who gives almost twice as much milk, is still slightly on the lean side, but way better than she was. Their milk production is the same, 8 and 10 months into their lactations, as it was at the beginning of their lactations, though the cream is less without the grains. We just had one of them bred. if you want more info on EM's, go to http://www.eminfo.info Meg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 13, 2004 Report Share Posted August 13, 2004 Hi Meg, I'm so glad to hear about someone using EM with their dairy cows. Thank you for sharing that. Do you have snow in the winter where you are? and need to feed hay in winter? When I clear some land and get a milking cow I will definitely give her EM. Tonio Hi Lynn,I'm not a farmer, just an owner of 2 jersey cows for a little over a year.We started out feeding the same grain mix that the farmer that we bought thegirls had been feeding, but they both lost weight and I couldn't seem to putit back on them no matter what I did until I stopped feeding grains. Ireplaced it with wheat grass and then EM cultured compost. They startedgaining immediately. Now we mostly just feed extended EM (about 3-4gallons/day/cow, costs me about .50/cow/day), pasture and hay, with a REALsalt rock available at all times. One of the cows is really beefy, and theother, who gives almost twice as much milk, is still slightly on the leanside, but way better than she was. Their milk production is the same, 8 and10 months into their lactations, as it was at the beginning of theirlactations, though the cream is less without the grains. We just had one ofthem bred. if you want more info on EM's, go to http://www.eminfo.infoMeg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 13, 2004 Report Share Posted August 13, 2004 That's interesting, Meg. I just bought a cow and was thinking in terms of cups of AEM. You must dilute it beyond 20:1 to get 15 cent/gal. I would appreciate some details. Re: cow feed Hi Lynn, I'm not a farmer, just an owner of 2 jersey cows for a little over a year. We started out feeding the same grain mix that the farmer that we bought the girls had been feeding, but they both lost weight and I couldn't seem to put it back on them no matter what I did until I stopped feeding grains. I replaced it with wheat grass and then EM cultured compost. They started gaining immediately. Now we mostly just feed extended EM (about 3-4 gallons/day/cow, costs me about .50/cow/day), pasture and hay, with a REAL salt rock available at all times. One of the cows is really beefy, and the other, who gives almost twice as much milk, is still slightly on the lean side, but way better than she was. Their milk production is the same, 8 and 10 months into their lactations, as it was at the beginning of their lactations, though the cream is less without the grains. We just had one of them bred. if you want more info on EM's, go to http://www.eminfo.info Meg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 13, 2004 Report Share Posted August 13, 2004 on 8/13/04 10:11 AM, RawDairy at RawDairy wrote: > Do you have snow in the winter where you are? and need to feed hay in winter? Yes, we have a LOT of snow here in northern Wisconsin. We also have to feed some hay in the summer to supplement their 2-acre pasture. We've sprayed the pasture down with EM's a couple of times this summer, but it needs a lot more, and some more organic matter, as it is very sandy infertile soil here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 13, 2004 Report Share Posted August 13, 2004 on 8/13/04 4:52 PM, RawDairy at RawDairy wrote: > > > That's interesting, Meg. I just bought a cow and was thinking in terms of > cups of AEM. You must dilute it beyond 20:1 to get 15 cent/gal. I would > appreciate some details. We have large pickle barrels that we fitted with a spigot towards the bottom. We cover them with thick black trash bags and bungee cords since they didn't have lids. We make the EM-X in the barrels outside during the warmer months. We have 2 barrels going so one is working while the other is brewing. We usually brew a batch off the bottom of the previous batch, just add more molasses and water. Every so often I add 1/2 c. original EM culture to keep it true. In the colder months, I have to brew the EM in 5 gallon buckets in the house.. uggh.. so then we'll go back to making more wheat grass and fermenting the wheat grass root masses along with kitchen compost with EM Bokashi. They'll get more of that and less of the straight EM. Meg PS We've also done some experimenting with adding EM/molasses to the water for the goats. This has been working really well.. every day we add 2 c. molasses/EM 1/2 & 1/2 to their 15 gallon water and refill the water. They love it! You've got to be sure to keep replenishing it, though, or it can go funky on you. As for the cow's water, I want to get into doing this as well, but so far we have just kept it clean with a single EM ceramic at the bottom of their 100-gal tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 13, 2004 Report Share Posted August 13, 2004 I skimmed through the EM web site, but I'm still very confused. I understand EM is a probiotic, but does it come in a powder, a disk that you set in water and use the water? Do you get it from the SCD place in Kansas? You also mentioned feeding compost to your cows. Do you mean kitchen scraps? Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 14, 2004 Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 I've just started composting with bokashi. I've been brewing and consuming EM concoctions for my own health and well being. The possibilities are nearly endless with it. TonioMore than just a probiotic, it's mineral-rich and antioxidant. It helps themget the most of their other feed. It comes as a liquid starter and I usethat to brew batches with molasses and water. I use some of the previousbatch to make the next batch for several consecutive batches, then go backto adding some of the original. Yes, I get my starter from SCD world.The compost gets lacto-fermented with Bokashi, which is something that Imake myself using wheat bran and my EM (I also add extra mineral and flaxmeal to the mix since it's for animal feed). It is a moist granular materialthat I layer between my kitchen compost and wheat grass root masses in a5-gallon bucket. When the bucket is full, I put a tight lid on and leave itat room temp for 4 days. All of the toxins that might be in the peelingsbecome neutralized and bad bacteria/mold disappears. It becomes anice-smelling easily digested feed for the animals, or you can dig it intoyour garden or feed earthworms with it. Neat stuff.Meg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 14, 2004 Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 Boy-- all these things that I have never heard of! My head's spinning But it sounds like this stuff is basically sillage on a small scale but made with kitchen scraps (maybe it should be called scrapage!) Lynn > I've just started composting with bokashi. I've been brewing and consuming EM concoctions for my own health and well being. The possibilities are nearly endless with it. > > Tonio > > More than just a probiotic, it's mineral-rich and antioxidant. It helps them > get the most of their other feed. It comes as a liquid starter and I use > that to brew batches with molasses and water. I use some of the previous > batch to make the next batch for several consecutive batches, then go back > to adding some of the original. Yes, I get my starter from SCD world. > > The compost gets lacto-fermented with Bokashi, which is something that I > make myself using wheat bran and my EM (I also add extra mineral and flax > meal to the mix since it's for animal feed). It is a moist granular material > that I layer between my kitchen compost and wheat grass root masses in a > 5-gallon bucket. When the bucket is full, I put a tight lid on and leave it > at room temp for 4 days. All of the toxins that might be in the peelings > become neutralized and bad bacteria/mold disappears. It becomes a > nice-smelling easily digested feed for the animals, or you can dig it into > your garden or feed earthworms with it. Neat stuff. > > Meg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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