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.

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May 13, 1958: The trade mark “Velcro” was registered.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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 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 professional men, and the mothers were home with the children.  In my great grandparents’ generation, most were farmers and did work associated with hard labor, often owning their own businesses.  One of my grandparents milked cows growing up, as many youngsters did during that time, but his experience, in his memory, was pretty awful.  When he reached young adulthood, he fled the farm.  “Dirty work!”, he said.  He did tell me, however, that during the Great Depression, everyone moved back to the farms.  There were many small farms back then to go home to, unlike today.  Most people had, at least, small plots of land  on which to grow food, or a relative did.  They would often barter for what they needed.  Continue reading“Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 1, by SaraSue”

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

Send Your Media Links

Please send your links to media from the American Redoubt region to JWR. Any photos that are posted or re-posted must be uncopyrighted. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.

The Editors’ Quote:

“Lead us, Heavenly Father, lead us
O’er the world’s tempestuous sea;
Guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us,
For we have no help but Thee.”  – James Edmeston (1791-1867), from Sacred Lyrics (1821) ‘Lead Us, Heavenly Father

Preparedness Notes for Monday — May 11, 2026

On May 11, 1910, Glacier National Park was established.

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In the second week May of 1921 a solar storm began, dubbed The Great Geomagnetic Storm of May 1921.

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Starting June 2nd, we will be switching to a weekly posting format for SurvivalBlog, with most posts on Tuesdays.

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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 6.5 Creedmoor, I recommend running a box or two of Nosler Whitetail Country through your rifle to see how well your rifle likes it. If your groups are good, you may want to consider this for your standard deer-hunting round.Continue reading“Nosler Whitetail Country 140 Grain SBSP in 6.5 Creedmoor, by Thomas Christianson”

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 amount of liquid.  Massage the marinade into the meat, flipping the bag occasionally.  Marinate for more than an hour – however much time you wish.

You can cook this in a 375 degree oven, covered, or in a frying pan, covered.  I bet you could grill it, too, but with the oven or stove cooking, you can moisturize the meat with the marinade.  Cooking duration depends on the thickness of your pork.  For my 1/2 inch pork loin steaks, I cook on very low for about 15 minutes, checking and flipping mid-way.  The result is fork tender.

NOTE 1:  If you would like enough marinade after cooking to flavor rice or potatoes that you serve with it, double the amount.

NOTE 2:  I have made this with both fresh and dried onions,  garlic, thyme.

NOTE 3:  Lemons freeze well, whole.  In the summer, we put bags in the freezer.  In the winter, we leave the bags in the unheated arctic entry for easy retrieval.

NOTE 4:  We tend to buy large pork loins on sale, slice them into steaks, and store them in smaller containers to thaw for a meal or two.

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About the Chef:  “Mrs. Alaska” and her husband live at a very remote Alaska homestead.  She blogs at Alaska Bush Life, Off-Road, Off-Grid, and she is the author of Log Cabin Reflections, available as an E-book on Kindle for $5.)  She can be contacted at Alaskauu1@gmail.com

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Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

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.

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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.