DS Family Farm
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Wildlife Tank Escape Ramp – 5 minutes
A grazing neighbor asked for help making wildlife ramps for some new livestock tanks he was installing. If you don’t know what a wildlife tank ramp is, it is simply a device to help wildlife escape from a livestock tank if they happen to get stuck in the tank. All kinds of critters will end up in a tank in search of water. Below is a short list that I have witnessed in tanks:
- Birds
- Squirles
- Rabbits
- Snakes
- Turtles
Turtles? Yes, even turtles end up in some stock tanks. Turtles in tanks is something unique to the Nebraska Sandhills where the tanks are different than a typical 2 foot tall farm store galvanized tank. In the Sandhills of Nebraska, Wildlife Ramps are generally referred to as Turtle Ramps.
In my work with NRCS, the first wildlife ramps I saw were heavy-duty fabricated steel ramps. What I show below is not as heavy-duty, much easier and cheaper to make. In addition, they should meet local USDA requirements for wildlife ramps if they are required for your area. Check with your local office for guidance on the ramp requirements for your situation. National Guidance for tank wildlife escape structures will be found in the Watering Facility (No.) (614) Conservation Practice Standard. I suggest you build 3 ramps and get your local USDA Office to approve them before making any additional ramps.
How To Make A Wildlife Tank Ramp in 5 Minutes For $5
Below are some details from the North Dakota “Wildlife Escape Ramp” document. This image gives an overview of the dimensions for a ramp to fit in a 2-foot-tall tank.
Note in the above instructions that they want a 28-inch by 28-inch piece of wire meshing. Something that is rigid and porous so critters can use their claws to crawl up the ramp. Note also that they want the wire mesh to be at least 14 gage material.
A number of years ago I installed some stonework using Galvanized Steel Lath. Using a search on the MENARDS website, I found the product, and it is 27-inch by 96-inch Dimpled Self-Furring Galvanized Steel Lath. One 96-inch panel sells for $15 in our area (after the typical 11% rebate). I can cut, three 27-inch by 27-inch squares from one panel.
Step 1: Tools
Acquire the tools you will need. Tape measure, steel cutting snips, and a piece of 2X4 around 30 inches long or longer.
Step 2: Measure
Measure along the 96″ length of the panel to find about 27.5 inches. In the picture below, I pull the panel out the back of the bed of a pickup truck so 27.5 inches of the panel is hanging over the end of the tailgate.
Step 3: Cut a square piece of lath
Using the end of the tailgate as your guide, making sure the cut will be square, use the steel snips to cut the lath.
Below is the result of your cut. Basically a 27-inch by 27-inch square piece of steel lath.
Step 4: Bend the lath
Arrange the cut piece of lath so you see a baseball diamond, not a square. Place the 2X4 extending from Home Plate to Second Base on the ballfield diamond piece of lath.
Holding the 2X4 firmly in place, bend one side of the ball diamond up 90 degrees.
Repeat the above bend process on the other side of the ball diamond.
Step 5: Place ramp in tank and secure
Below is the finished ramp placed in an empty stock tank. There are numerous ways to secure the ramp to the tank so I will leave the final step to your own ingenuity.
Tire Tank Ramps
The above instructions are quick and result in a cheap ramp for a straight-sided two-foot-tall livestock tank. If use old large equipment tires for livestock tanks, you will need to modify your cut or add extra cuts to account for the curvature of the rounded tire tank side walls. With a little trial and error, you should be able to cut the lath with a curve to account for the rounded side of a tire tank. It is key that the ramp tight fit against the side of the tank as the trapped wildlife will swim around the edge of the tank in search of the escape. As the critter swims, they need to run into the ramp (not be allowed to swim under the ramp) to find the ramp and climb out of the tank.
Junk Food
We have all heard the term “junk food” before. It is used to describe an ultra-HIGH-processed “food like” item such as chips. The poster child for junk food would probably be Doritos and or Pringles. I used to be able to sit down and eat a half bag or can of these “junk foods”. There is nothing natural about these items, yet they are found in every grocery store.
While doing some recent reading on health and food, one writer pointed out there is no such thing as “junk food”. It is either junk or food. How true! If I do eat a Dorito, not only am I eating “junk”, I am also probably eating some kind of toxin.
Why was it difficult for me to stop eating this junk?
As explained by Mark Schatzker in his book The Dorito Effect, these food like items are usually high in calories and low in nutrition. As your body consumes these items, a signal is sent to your brain that says “keep eating!” Keep eating because I am receiving a signal this item is good for me, but it is not satisfying me. The food industry uses additives/flavors that “trick” our biology into thinking we are eating something good, yet as we continue to eat the item with little to no nutrition, we simply are not satisfied (satiety). This trick is great for the processed “food” industry, but not so good for our biology.
Make America Healthy Again (MAHA)
The recent political slogan, MAHA, has brought a number of agriculture and health topics into the national spotlight. We have been posting about some of these same topics over the past decade. I don’t have a lot of enthusiasm that the recent national discussion will result in major changes, but if as a result, a few more people “wake up” to do their own research, that would be great.
For example, just the other day on a morning national news talk show, there was a discussion about health problems linked to artificial food coloring. Take another look at the food label above. If my count is correct, there are 6 different food dyes used in the manufacturing of Doritos. Will our oversight government bodies actually do something to further regulate artificial food coloring? I am doubtful. BUT if enough people stop purchasing items that include significant amounts of food dyes, hopefully companies will respond by removing the dyes. Over 6 years ago we posted about a farm visitor working for a larger food company that had a priority to remove food colors and dies. Hopefully that farm visitor wasn’t working for the manufacture of Doritos or Froot Loops, read on.
Something more sinister going on?
Over the past couple years on social media, I have noticed similar graphics such as the one below created by The Food Babe.
These graphics point out that questionable items are being added to processed foods in America that are not allowed in other countries. Wouldn’t it just be easier for Kellogg’s to make one formulation for Fruit Loops to meet the most “restrictive” country requirements? Why would the ingredients be reformulated to add questionable items, such as artificial food colors and BHT, to be fed to our entire countries population?
Why am I hopeful?
As explained in previous posts, at one time I was forced to reexamine my eating habits. I took the advice that often times we can achieve more progress toward a goal by eliminating or stop doing things (via negativity). Refer to Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s book Antifragile. The number one thing related to my diet that I eliminated was the use of seed oils. Seed oils are a more exact name for what is advertised in grocery stores as “vegetable oils”. Specifically corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, margarine and other similar “healthy oils”. The only oils I use today in cooking are coconut oil, olive oil and animal fats (lard, butter and tallow).
Another item I eliminated in my diet was High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). Not only did I stop purchasing items that included HFCS, but so did a lot of other people. How do I know this?
- I saw major food companies try to advertise that HFCS was OK by showing mothers serving it to kids.
- These advertisements were not convincing.
- Today at the grocery store, I can find a number of items that make it a point to indicated “NO HFCS”.
Will the recent national discussion about food dies, seed oils and other suspect ingredients in processed foods put companies on notice? Again, I am hopeful but in the mean time, I will continue to do my own research.
Curious how to do some research on foods?
If you are starting your journey on investigating our food system and how to improve your health through your diet, I would encourage you to do your own research. You can start by reviewing some past posts on this blog, specifically:
Tom Ziglar, son of Zig Ziglar, encourages his audiences that there is even a faster way to reach goals than just through via negativity. Tom says, “The fastest way to success is to replace bad habits with good habits.” If during your research, you conclude that clean protein from pasture raised animals is something you would like to “ADD” to your diet, reach out to us. Maybe replacing grocery store beef with local farm raised pasture grazed beef will help you reach your health goals faster.
2024 Grassfed Beef
How to identify a quality eating experience grass finished beef
The image below points out some things to look for on the “hoof” of a grass finished beef. Looking for these few items should get you a long way in making sure the “grassfed” beef you are purchasing was properly “finished” for a fine eating experience.
Annual Line Up of Pasture Grazed Beef
Below is the annual photo shoot of our grassfed – grass finished – Pasture Grazed Beef. These are all steers. Most of these animals were born on our farm with a few of them sourced from a neighbors farm that follows the same type of regenerative grazing practices we utilize here at DS Family Farm.
Pasture Pork v3.0
2025 marks our third year venturing into pasture raised pork raised without corn and soy in the pigs supplemental feed. Based on the reviews from our past customers, we feel there is a definite need to provide this flavorful healthy pasture raised meat for more folks.
Increasing efficiency in our mobile pork process has been our main goal over the past two years. You can read about our first year experience with four pasture pigs in these posts, May 2022 & October 2022. Our original mobile pork pen (2022) was labor intensive but gave great piece of mind that the pigs were contained. After gaining experience with the pigs, we found efficiency by moving eight pigs in 2023 using a single portable poly wire. In the previous two years (2022 & 2023), we hauled all the feed to the pigs using 5 gallon buckets. Five gallon buckets are wonderful and a must in a pasture pig operation. With the increase in the number of pigs, efficiency in feed delivery was our focus in 2024… here is what we came up with.
Mobile Bulk Feed
Our Corn and Soy FREE feed is purchased in bulk “Tote Bags”. In the photo below, we are filling a mobile feed wagon using a front end loader, feed simply flows out of the tote bag.
- Feed wagon is a flared side grain wagon purchased for $300.
- We added a wood frame and steel roofing panels to protect the feed.
- The “roof” has a “door” that is opened to add the feed.
- The feed wagon will hold 4000+ lb. of feed.
- A hydraulic cylinder raises the front of the wagon so feed will flow to the back opening.
More than mobile feed
Animal impact on our pastures is a very important part of our management but vehicle impact on pasture is always kept to a minimum. Rather than pulling the feed wagon with a tractor or pickup truck, that would impact our pastures in a negative way, we invested in a side by side. The side by side is rated to tow 2,000 pounds. In the photo below the side by side is towing the wagon filled with 3,000 lb. of feed. The side by side handled this load well on level ground but struggled on an uphill slope. The side by side has been a great addition for doing a number of other tasks on the farm.
Final setup of the portable feed wagon includes water and shade. In this pasture pig post from 2023, we highlighted how pigs enjoy the forested portions of the pastures and delivery of water with 3/4″ plastic poly pipe. Pigs and trees are great, pigs provide animal impact and trees provide shade! In the photos below, the portable feed wagon serves the important role of providing shade to the pigs. With portable shade, we can move pigs to areas of the pasture that currently does not have trees for shade.
Dispensing feed
If you know anything about pigs, they are extremely curious and NOSEY! How would we be able to get the feed out of the wagon without the pigs basically attacking the operation? This is accomplished with the addition of two wire panels. These panels are easily moved and setup prior to pouring feed. Three 5 gallon buckets are placed under the back door of the wagon. As the door is lifted up, feed flows into the buckets. Any spilled feed will be cleaned up by the pigs when we pick up the panels prior to moving the wagon. The three buckets of feed are easily carried to the three nearby portable feeders.
When the wagon is full, feed readily flows out the back of the wagon. The steel panels prevent the pigs from messing up the process. When feed no longer flows out the back door, we plan to use a scrapper of some kind to reach into the wagon and pull feed out the back door into the buckets. When we can no longer reach the feed, the front of the wagon can be raised with the hydraulic cylinder and feed will be piled up at the back door.
How do we raise the wagon using the hydraulic cylinder without driving a tractor through the pasture?
For an additional $300, we have purchased a 12V DC Hydraulic Pump with the proper fittings. We will bring the pump out in the side by side when needed to raise the front of the feed wagon.
Precision Ag – Mobile Pork Animal Impact
Training our pigs to a single electrified poly wire was key in providing better flexibility in pig moves last year. Moving pigs and feed together, to any portion of our pastures, not relying on trees for shade, should give us increased efficiency and better pasture management opportunities during the 2025 growing season.
Beef Mineral Testing Results
In previous posts we shared the Fatty Acid test results and Heavy Metal test results from our participation in the BioNutrient Beef Study. In this post we display the results of the Mineral tests. The charts below show the average testing results for 78 Grain-Fed samples, 251 Grass-Fed samples and 3 samples from DS Family Farm beef. These results were from data received in January 2024. The beef samples we submitted were from our 2022 growing season.
The note for each mineral was provided in our test result spreadsheet from the BioNutrient Institute. Below each chart we calculate the amount of each mineral you would consume in milligrams if you ate a half pound of our beef. At the bottom of each chart we list other food sources for each mineral based mainly on the information found at MYFOODDATA.
BioNutrient Institute Beef Study Results – Minerals
Three minerals tested showed ZERO or near zero testing level resutls:
- Mn – Manganese = 0 mg/100 g
- Se – Selenium = 0 mg/100 g
- Sr – Strontium = < 0.02 mg/100 g
Mineral testing results displayed in the following graphs.
We are happy to share our testing results from participation in this beef study. As more details from this study are shared with us we will post further information. We are specifically still waiting on the following testing data:
- Amino Acids
- Energy Metabolites
- Organic Acids
- Protein Fat Proximate Analysis
- Phytochemicals (Antioxidants)
- Vitamins
If you make any interesting observations from the posted data/charts, please share those comments on our FaceBook post. Thank You.
Beef Heavy Metal Testing Results
In a previous post we listed the Fatty Acid test results from our participation in the BioNutrient Beef Study. In this post we display the results of the Heavy Metal tests. The charts below show the average testing results for 78 Grain-Fed samples, 251 Grass-Fed samples and 3 samples from DS Family Farm beef. These results were from data received in January 2024. The beef samples we submitted were from our 2022 growing season.
Heavy Metal Poisoning
Exposure to heavy metals in our environment and food can result in poisoning symptoms such as abdominal pain, feeling weak, nausea, diarrhea or numbness in your hands and feet. Heavy metals can bioaccumulate over time in your body, resulting in these listed symptoms or others. From the information provided below, you will see that the beef tested as part of the BioNutrient Study are safe for the heavy metals tested. Many of the beef samples tested are from smaller farming operations.
BioNutrient Institute Beef Study Results – Heavy Metals
Two heavy metals tested showed ZERO testing level resutls:
- Ba – Barium = 0 mg/100 g
- Pb – Lead = 0 mg/100 g
Additional testing results displayed in the following graphs.
I have read that if your body is severely limited in essential minerals, it may try taking on heavy metals in place of a mineral. For example, if your body is severely low in Zinc, it may take on Cadmium as Zinc and Cadmium have similar chemical characteristics.
We will follow up this post with the Mineral Testing Results.
FIRSTBORN Version 2
Eleven years ago, in 2013, the beef herd experienced the arrival of our FIRSTBORN calf. On Easter Day 2024, we are excited to announce the arrival of the FIRSTBORN lamb to the sheep flock.
Revitalizing a prairie using animals
Over the past decade the cattle herd has reformed the pastures from a stagnant, over rested grassland into a functional prairie. The return of large roaming ruminant animals have provided the animal impact that prairies need to function properly in this part of the world. The cattle are considered a keystone species for the prairie ecosystem. The four basic ecosystem processes of all working landscapes are:
- Water cycle
- Mineral cycle
- Energy flow
- Community dynamics
The cow herd alone was able to jump start these four processes, but only having cattle impact, year after year, is somewhat similar to only raising corn in a crop field year after year. One species of animals or plants managed well will not provide the diversity and resulting abundance of the creation we have been called to steward.
Multi-species grazing
Pasture chickens do provide some impact to our pastures on a limited scale near our facilities. The addition of pasture pigs two years ago has also provided new animal impact on portions of the pastures. Now with the sheep flock, we are able to impact all of the pasture area with a different grazing species. Grazing sheep provide diversity by:
- Graze plants differently
- Sheep nibble on plants, cattle pull, tug and rip on plants
- Sheep manure has a different nutrient profile compared to cattle manure
- Sheep preferably graze/browse forbs and shrubs compared to cattle
Each additional animal species added to the pasture provides a unique impact to the land. This impact trickles down through the ecosystem enhancing diversity and resulting in abundance as designed by our Creator. We can actually add sheep to the pasture without having to reduce the size of the cow herd significantly. The two species compliment each other and harvest different parts of the prairie.
The Good Shepherd
We are trying our best to steward God’s creation here on earth with the resources he has provided. We are constantly amazed by the abundance designed into creation. All we do is try to mimic nature in how we manage animals and the land. The results we turn over to the Good Shepherd for what He provides, good and bad, as we experience a journey to steward soil, plants, animals and our overall community. On this Easter Day, we thank Him for ALL He has done.
Bionutrient Fatty Acids
Polyunsaturated Beef!
In this post we share fatty acid results from our participation in the BioNutrient Institute’s Beef Study. We have written a number of times about the beneficial fats found in pasture raised beef. Annually we share the our fatty acid analysis data by reporting the Omega 6:3 ratio of our beef. Below we show how the beef we raise and harvest from our pastures compares with 251 other “Grass-Fed Beef” samples and 78 other “Grain-Fed Beef” samples participating in the study.
The one thing that jumps out right away is DS Family Farm Pasture Grazed Beef is significantly higher in TOTAL “Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids”. This includes all Omega 3 and Omega 6 Polyunsaturated fats. DS Family Farm reported values are an average based on 3 ribeye samples from our 2022 beef harvest.
DS Family Farm Beef Polyunsaturated Data Notes
- Beef harvested from our pasture average almost twice as much total polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to all averaged samples for grass-fed and grain-fed in the study. (9.5% vs. 5.7% vs. 5.0%)
- DS Family Farm beef has the highest Omega 6 fatty acids.
- DS Family Farm beef has the highest Omega 3 fatty acids.
- DS Family Farm beef has the lowest (beneficial health marker) Omega 6:3 Ratio at 1.83:1.
- A lower O6:3 ratio is considered beneficial since the Standard American Diet has a high O6:3 ratio.
- The omega-6:3 ratio is important because an imbalance, especially a high omega-6 intake relative to omega-3, can promote inflammation and is associated with a higher risk of chronic diseases. A balanced ratio supports optimal health and reduces inflammation-related health issues.
Fatty Acid Summary Charts
We will share Mineral results from the BioNutrient Beef Study in a future blog post.
Tears : Sorrow to Joy
We started our pasture based farm partly because of Doug’s personal health issues. Over the past eight years of raising and selling pasture grazed beef, we have had hundreds of folks try our beef during their own personal health crisis and journey to healing. Below, one of our customers, Alina, was gracious enough to share her recent journey to healing.
Doug met Alina about a year ago when she introduced herself through tears of sorrow. Read on, and we hope that her message will encourage us all with whatever issues we may face in the year to come.
Alina’s Story
In December of 2021, my husband and I found out we were pregnant. The following February of 2022 we had miscarried that baby. That was the most painful, both emotionally and physically, experience I have ever gone through in my life. At the time I did not know anything about pregnancy or miscarriages. All I knew is I had the best thing happen followed by the very worst. I did not know how common it was and how many women go through miscarriages. Beyond what I could understand at the time, I had an even less awareness for those battling infertility. These are all things I never in my life thought that I would go through, but to my rude awakening, it has become a part of me that I will carry for the rest of my life.
We were given the go-ahead to keep trying again, right away if we wanted to. Which, of course, I did. We tried for several months with no success before bringing it up to my doctor. She tested me one time for a handful of things and told me I wasn’t successfully ovulating. The doctor put me on medication to force ovulation and told me that our chances were now great! Those medications did nothing for me. Fast forward, after nine months of meds, along with many different procedures, still no luck, only to be diagnosed with unexplained infertility. According to the best of conventional health care, my body was doing great and there was no explanation why I was unable to get pregnant. We were told that we had basically done everything and if we wanted to keep trying, our next steps were Intrauterine Insemination and/or In Vitro Fertilization. I was in no way, shape or form ready to proceed with those treatments. I didn’t understand how I could be told I was “healthy” but not able to get pregnant. I knew there was something they were not looking at.
At this point we are about a little over a year into our infertility journey. I had several people in my life I knew who worked with functional doctors, and I began my research in finding a natural fertility treatment. I began to learn that food is medicine and how much our lifestyle can affect our overall function, going beyond infertility. I dove deep into researching an ancestral nutrient-dense diet, toxic-free living, and finding a doctor who would be willing to test my body as a whole and not just a handful of random labs. I began with eating organ meats, drinking raw milk, making bone broth, and fermenting foods along with cutting out all processed foods. Unless something came from the ground, I was not willing to eat it. The hope that I could start ovulating again, by nourishing myself, gave me so much motivation.
Shortly after making diet changes, I began working with a functional doctor in Lincoln Nebraska. My new doctor specializes in running full panel labs to look at the body as a whole and not a handful of random pieces. Through him, we learned I had a lot of things going on in my body. My thyroid wasn’t functioning, I had bacterial overgrowth in my gut (Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth), my immune system was weak, I was deprived of key nutrients and minerals, my adrenals were not functioning well, etc. My functional doctor explained how all of these things work together and my body was currently struggling to survive. It makes sense, that when your body is struggling, those things that aren’t necessary for survival (in my case reproduction) quit working. After about three months of working with my functional doctor, my body ovulated for the first time naturally since our pregnancy. We could not believe it. We didn’t have to force anything but it all happened naturally through supporting my body and giving my body what it needed.
Along with the positive ovulation test, we learned two weeks later that after a year and a half, we had finally conceived and now are expecting our little girl in March of 2024. It was incredible to me because looking back it was so simple, but with the way our world lives, it feels almost impossible to be able to get to this place. The way we nourish ourselves matters so much more than we give it credit for. It is absolutely amazing to me the way a body can change when you give it what it needs. Our bodies really are made to thrive.
With all this being said, it would not be right for me to not also acknowledge the One who gives life. It was by God’s grace and kindness to my husband and I for hearing our prayers, providing us the knowledge to follow this path, the people He put in our lives and the means to do what we needed to do. To God be the glory. He gives and He takes away but blessed be His name. We are so grateful and hope we can use our story to help others going through the same trial.
Thank You Alina
Doug added the emphasis above to point out how Alina’s message echoes many of the points we have written about in our blog over the years. Stories like this encourage us to continue our mission of raising animals in nature’s image that results in soil health, land health, human health and our overall community health.
The last couple times Doug has met Alina, it has been with tears of Joy! We did very little in Alina’s journey. We provided encouragement, prayers, some organ meats and bones for broth. Beyond that, Alina, her husband and God get the credit. In Alina’s concluding thoughts above, she speaks the TRUTH. We do not create children, they are a gift and a blessing from God. After reading her closing comments, it reminded Doug of our past post about our Firstborn Calf back in 2015.
We hope Alina’s story provides hope for others. If you would like more details from Alina about her healing journey, please reach out to us and we will help you make the connection.
2023 Omega 6:3 Results
Since 2015 we have tested our harvested Pasture Grazed Beef fatty acid profile. The 2023 grazing season presented some challenges as we navigated, and continue to experience an extended drought. For much of the past growing season, our farm was in D4 (Exceptional Drought), according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. We were thankful for an unusually wet 2023 July that really helped our beef put on some grass fat leading up to harvest.
100% Grassfed and Grass Finished Beef
As you can see from the results in the chart above, DS Family Farm Pasture Grazed Beef continues to display an Omega 6:3 ratio that is expected from 100% Grassfed & Finished animals. We just don’t just guess, we test to make sure our product is as advertised.
Rest Assured With a Purchase From Our Farm
In addition to the annual testing of our beef products, you can be assured that we are raising animals with their welfare in mind.
- Follow us on Facebook or Instagram to see how our animals and pastures look throughout the year.
- Schedule a farm visit like some of these past guests to see first hand how we steward our resources.
Still not sure about our management and the meat we raise? In 2023 we went through the process to become the only farm in Nebraska to be “American Grassfed” certified. Read and learn more about the American Grassfed Standards that our farm meets to be certified.
What about beef and the environment?
Want to support your local community and the environment with your meat purchase dollars? In 2023 we completed the “Regenerative Verified” and “Regeneratively Grown” process. This testing ensures that how we manage our animals makes a positive impact on our soil, water, plants, and related resources. Beef are a keystone species for maintaining a tallgrass prairie ecosystem when they are managed in alignment with nature. We manage our natural resources in sync with God’s created order to the best of our ability.
Thank you for your interest and support of our farm in 2023 and we look forward to meeting new friends and renewing old friendships in 2024. Happy New Year!
