Month: May 2026

Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 3, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 2.) Winter housing When I bought this farm, there was an existing small barn and a two car garage sized shed that the door had broken off of.  The property was completely fenced, and cross fenced, and there were even a couple of water troughs, which had to be replaced because they leaked.  But, all in all, there was some structure to start with.  Back then, I had no plans to obtain dairy cows, but I probably would not have gone with large livestock without adequate fencing and buildings.  There is no water or electricity to the …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column: Even more Agentic AI risks. An Agentic AI Destroyed a Company’s Database and Backups The Telegraph reports: AI ‘agents of chaos’ run riot inside companies. Could Claude Mythos …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — May 13, 2026

On May 13, 1916 the Lafayette Escadrille, a volunteer American air force unit under French command saw its first combat at the Battle of Verdun. — May 13, 1958: The trade mark “Velcro” was registered. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is the final round of the contest. There will not be a “Round 125”! The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value). American Gunsmithing Institute …


Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 2, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 1.) Feeding and Condition This year started out in drought, so I will feed hay until such time as the fields are abundant in grass.  Last year, I did not have to feed hay year round, but the year before I did.  I don’t know how this year will go, but so far the cows have plentiful hay available to them.  When I first started with dairy cows, I fed the cows square bales, but soon found that to be a lot of work and not cost efficient with more than one cow to feed.  I purchased …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Video: Rep. Chip Roy: Government-Mandated Kill Switch in Cars Violates the Fourth Amendment. o  o  o For those of you with Smart Phones, I heard about an interesting new inventory control app for preppers: PPantry. o  o  o



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — May 12, 2026

On May 12, 1215, English barons served an ultimatum on King John. This eventually led to the creation and signing of the Magna Carta. –– May 12, 1942: A German U-boat sank a American cargo ship at the mouth of the Mississippi River. In 1942 and 1943, German submarines sank 56 ships in the Gulf region and damaged another 14. To prevent panic, the U.S. Office of Censorship limited press coverage of the sinkings. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is the final round of the contest. …


Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 1, by SaraSue

I believe I’m going into my sixth year raising dairy cattle on a very small scale.  Every time I think I’ve got this figured out, something surprises me.  I thought I would share an update, a general overview, of things I’ve learned so far.  Remember that I have a very small farm, and knew absolutely nothing when I started.  This is not a “How To”, as there are far more experienced folks than I am. My dad was an engineer and my mom was a school teacher, so I grew up in suburbia.  In my grandparents’ generation, the fathers were …


SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. Redoubt News Links Yellowstone’s first bear attack of 2026 leaves two hikers injured and a swath of the park in lockdown. Glacier National Park’s First Fatal Bear Attack Since 1998 Underscores Anomaly of Lethal Encounters. JWR’s Comments:  Folks often ask me if I carry Pepper Spray when I leave my ranch house. Yes, sometimes I do. But I far more often carry Lead Spray. Thankfully, open carry and …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — May 11, 2026

On May 11, 1910, Glacier National Park was established. — In the second week May of 1921 a solar storm began, dubbed The Great Geomagnetic Storm of May 1921. — Starting June 2nd, we will be switching to a weekly posting format for SurvivalBlog, with most posts on Tuesdays. — There are just 20 days left in THE FINAL ROUND of the SurvivalBlog Writing Contest. This is your last chance to get your entry in and win a prize.  After Round 124 ends, we will only be posting staff-written articles and guest articles from readers.  


Nosler Whitetail Country 140 Grain SBSP in 6.5 Creedmoor, by Thomas Christianson

Nosler Whitetail Country 140 Grain SBSP in 6.5 Creedmoor is an accurate load designed for hunting deer-sized game. It has a ballistic coefficient of 0.495 which helps it to maintain energy at longer ranges. The solid base soft point (SBSP) bullet is designed to expand reliably while maintaining structural integrity at a wide range of velocities. The ammo is made in the United States. A 20-round box cost $34.81 at nosler.com at the time of this writing. That is a quite fair price for a load with such a premium bullet. If you hunt deer with a rifle chambered in …


Recipe: Lemon Marinated Pork

The following recipe for Lemon Marinated Pork is from SurvivalBlog reader Mrs. Alaska, who writes: In a one-gallon zip-loc bag, combine the following: Zest of one large (or two small) lemons, juice of one  or both lemons, ½ cup olive or other oil, one tablespoon each of two herbs of choice, such as thyme and rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper or cayenne, five cloves of garlic, chopped. To the marinade, add less than two pounds of pork chops or pork loin, cut into steaks.  I generally use 5 or 6 pieces of 1/2 inch meat for this …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

The week’s graphic shows the results of a US opinion poll on which rights someone would rather lose. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) JWR’s Comments: This poll illustrates two things: 1.) The visceral reaction of liberals, and 2.) The failure of liberals to realize that we can always “vote from the rooftops” (or, more tactically, vote from behind the treelines.) The thumbnail image below is click-expandable. — Please send your graphic ideas to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.