Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 5, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.)

Medical needs

I don’t often have to call a vet, but establishing a relationship with a large animal vet is crucial.  If you don’t have a relationship, you will have a terrible time getting help when you need it.  It’s worth it to spend money with the Veterinarian.  I use them for my cats and dogs, as well as my cows.  We are on a first name basis now.  I needed them when my first cow went down hard with milk fever.  I know how to prevent that now.  I needed them when one of my cows got hoof rot, and when I needed horns removed, or needed blood testing done, or a general health check or pregnancy testing.  Most recently I needed them for when my cow couldn’t deliver a calf.  Because I use their services fairly often, I can call them any time and they will provide me with whatever supplies I need.  I called them a lot when I first started, but I can troubleshoot most things by myself now, and have been able to stockpile some medical supplies.

Finding really good neighbors and establishing relationships, are critical too.  Last year when I was hospitalized, I was overwhelmed with kindness.  Two different neighbors milked my cows for me until I was well enough to do it myself.  Priceless.  I learned that I need backups for myself, being that I am the only milkmaid on my small farm.Continue reading“Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 5, by SaraSue”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

We had a prodigious week here at the ranch. Despite a few chainsaw frustrations, I was able to cut up a used 35-foot power pole and haul it for use as fence corner posts here at the Rawles Ranch. That pole came to us courtesy of our local power co-op.

Lily and I finished constructing the interiors of our pair of Layen’s Horizontal Hive insulated bee boxes. That included mounting plastic hex-grid foundations in the frames, and power-screwing a plywood divider into the middle of each box. I also used screws to mount protective steel corner reinforcements on the bee box exteriors.  I had already mounted four carrying handles on each box, after Lily laboriously painted them.  Our bee swarms are due to arrive today!

We did a lot of manure shoveling and hauling this week. Just as in politics, it tends to pile up, so it must be dealt with, regularly.  I suppose that we ought to call our manure pitchforking days “election days”.

I packed and mailed out some Elk Creek Company orders. Many folks are taking advantage of the recent jump in the spot price of silver to pay for their order with pre-1965 U.S. silver coinage.  We are now taking “junk” silver at 54.5 times face value, in trade. (The FRN-to-silver divisor changes frequently, as the spot silver price fluctuates.)

To celebrate our wedding anniversary, Avalanche Lily and I did a high country driving tour in the Selkirk Mountains. We saw some peaks including Chimney Rock (pictured) and a some beautiful cascading snowmelt waterfalls. (The Zumi Creek crossing was one of them.) This was supposed to be a hiking trip, but we kept running into snow. Lily will fill you in on the details.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote:

“Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,

A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak!

Understand therefore this day, that the Lord thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the Lord hath said unto thee.

Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee.

Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the Lord.” – Deuteronomy 9:1-7 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 15, 2026

On May 15, 1896 a tornado — now estimated as a F5 — killed 78 people in and near Sherman, Texas.  This was part of a multi-week tornado outbreak in the South and Midwest.  Pictured above is the first-ever photograph of a tornado, taken in 1884.

—

May 15, 1911: The U.S. Supreme Court dissolved Standard Oil and upheld the Sherman Antitrust Act.

—

And on May 15th, 1942, gasoline rationing began in 17 Eastern states as an attempt to help the American war effort during World War II. The main concern behind the rationing scheme was conserving scarce imported rubber, rather than fuel. By the end of the year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had ensured that mandatory gasoline rationing was in effect in all 48 states.

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”! So this is your “last call.”  The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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).
  2. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  3. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  4. Heaven’s Harvest is providing one of their Original Heirloom Seed Kits (a $139 value.)
  5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
  5. More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 124 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Take Note: Any article received after our editorial calendar is filled for May will be considered guest articles are not eligible as contest entries. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 4, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 3.)

Calving

I have been very fortunate that all my cows have calved without assistance until this last one.  I’m praying that disaster does not happen again.  I could not have saved that calf by myself, and there was only one available Veterinarian on call at the time.  She also could not have done it by herself.  I am thankful for good friends who would drop everything to come over and assist.  While we saved the heifer, we lost the calf.  The heifer has recovered beautifully due to our intervention, and she’s doing well.  I have three more calves coming this year, and only one of them will be a first time heifer.

Generally speaking, it’s only the first time heifers you have to watch closely.  If the cows are in proper condition and well maintained, calving time should go well.  I try to time calving around good weather.  Basically, any time except for winter.Continue reading“Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 4, by SaraSue”

Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. Today, a map showing the world’s trillion dollar  economies.

The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

(Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)

Economics & Investing News and Links of Interest

Economics & Investing Media Tips:

Please send your economics and investing links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

The Editors’ Quote:

“We must distinguish between a man of polite learning and a mere scholar: the first is a
gentleman and what a gentleman should be; the last is a mere book-case, a bundle of letters, a
head stuffed with the jargon of languages, a man that understands every body but is understood
by no body.” – Daniel Defoe ‘The Complete English Gentleman’ (written in 1728.)

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — May 14, 2026

On May 14, 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to draft the Constitution of the United States.

—

May 14th, 1686 was the birthday of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, who invented the thermometer.

—

We are running a two-week-long sale in all of our percussion revolvers at Elk Creek Company, with deep discounts. This sale will end on Monday, May 18th, 2026. Please note that there are cartridge conversion cylinders available for many of these guns — particularly the Ruger Old Army revolvers and the Pietta and Uberti brand clones of the Remington Model 1858. This provides a great opportunity to acquire un-papered handguns in many otherwise restrictive “Blue” states.  (Be sure to consult your state and local laws before ordering.) Take note that we recently raised our silver divisor to 60! So you can take the total for your order and divide by 60, if paying in circulated pre-1965  U.S. silver coinage.  That makes a $1,200 order just a $20 silver order.

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:

  1. 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).
  2. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  3. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  4. Heaven’s Harvest is providing one of their Original Heirloom Seed Kits (a $139 value.)
  5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 124 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Take Note: Any article received after our editorial calendar is filled for May will be considered guest articles are not eligible as contest entries. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

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 barn or shed, but I’ve made it work.  After acquiring my first dairy cow, I built a lean to next to the shed for milking the cow in, and I strung a long electric power cord from the house to the milking area to run the pump.  That has worked out well, but it can be chilly in the winter.

I live in the South, so our weather is mild compared to my northern neighbors.  However, we still get below zero temperatures and blizzards in the winter.  The barn is small, but it has a nice run-in portion that the cows can take shelter in, and they do.  I upgraded the barn this past year with layers of crushed rock to raise up the level of the floor, and created ditches on the outside to prevent and divert Spring flooding. Then I laid down heavy rubber barn mats.  On top of the rubber mats I spread straw.  It’s much easier to clean out now, and the cows appreciate a comfortable, clean, location to get out of the weather.  They do so in the Winter and during the hottest parts of Summer.  Additionally, the small barn has 3 stalls, which is very useful for when a cow or calf needs to be separated from the herd for whatever reason.  You’d be surprised at how many different areas you need when raising a small dairy herd.Continue reading“Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 3, by SaraSue”

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 Actually Destroy the Internet?

SurvivalBlog staffer Tom Christianson suggested this article over at The Ringer website: Could Claude Mythos Actually Destroy the Internet? Here is an excerpt:

“Zero-day vulnerabilities are the biggest quarry in cybersecurity because if bad actors find them before developers do, they can be exploited indefinitely without anyone being the wiser. If you know that someone stole your bank password, you can change it and minimize the damage; if you don’t know, whoever has your credentials can watch your transactions for as long as they want and transfer all your money out whenever they feel like it. National governments search for zero-day vulnerabilities and stockpile them to use against their enemies. An AI agent that gave the same power to anyone who had access to it could upend the entire paradigm of cybersecurity. Discovery would no longer be the bottleneck because the agent could analyze seas of code in the blink of an eye. All the zero-day vulnerabilities would, in theory, be exposed almost at once, to be fixed or exploited, depending on who was in control.”

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote:

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which
means at the point of highest reality.” – C.S. Lewis, as quoted in in Chapter 31 of Cyril Connolly’s ‘The Unquiet Grave’ (1944)

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:

  1. 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).
  2. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  3. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  4. Heaven’s Harvest is providing one of their Original Heirloom Seed Kits (a $139 value.)
  5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 124 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Take Note: Any article received after our editorial calendar is filled for May will be considered guest articles and not eligible as contest entries. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

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 a hay ring and had round bales delivered.  To give you an idea of size, a regular square bale of hay can weigh 40-50lbs, whereas an average round bale of hay weighs 1,000 – 1500lbs.  I have the facilities to store square bales, but do not have the facilities to store round bales.

I am fortunate to have developed a relationship with my hay provider to have round bales delivered upon demand.  I always keep an eye on the weather to make sure that the roads are passable, and if I’m expecting torrential rain that would make the ground too soggy to drive over, or a blizzard.  I have the round bales of hay delivered before it’s needed, and I store square bales for the year in the barn as a backup.  Sometimes hay is wasted due to an early delivery.  But it is better to have too much hay than to run out.  I purchase round bales and square bales for the year, which some people don’t do.  But, that gives me the assurance that I will be given priority, and the rancher who provides it gets paid in advance.  The square bales are useful when cows have to be separated and do not have access to the round bale.Continue reading“Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 2, by SaraSue”

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

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote:

“The life so short, the craft so long to learn.” – Hippocrates (c.460-357 B.C.), from ‘Aphorisms’ sect. 1, para. 1 (translation by Chaucer). Often quoted in Latin as Ars longa, vita brevis.