Food Essential to Cows and Humans

How to Counteract the High Price of Food

If you’ve pulled up to the pump, started a home construction project, or bought food, you may have noticed that prices are high. A news report from CBS News in April 2022 reported that USA inflation is at the highest level since 1981, forty years ago. Since March 2021, the price of energy went up 32%, Gasoline 48 %, and the price of fuel oil 70.1 %. In addition, food prices have gone up 8.8 % since March 2021. That increase in prices — the inflation rate — is the greatest 12-month increase in consumer prices in nearly 40 years. In addition, the USDA expects all food prices to rise between 4.5% and 5.5% this year. CBS News acquired its facts from a recent report from the Department of Labor.

So what to do? There is one category some of us may be able to do something about. If you have even a tiny yard or access to a community garden, you can grow some vegetables, herbs, or fruits. The cost of seeds or a seedling is minimal in exchange for some fresh produce for your dinner table. If you are following a plant-based diet, you will need a lot of vegetables. So, you don’t have to pay exorbitant prices for seeds, fertilizer, and your labor (free exercise) for fresh vegetables. Last year we published a video on using cow manure as the only fertilizer for our garden.

We at ISCOWP are reviving our garden for fall planting because it is too hot right now to grow much. Fruit in the supermarket has been particularly dismal; not many choices and the taste is poor. Therefore, we have some fruit growing like peaches, persimmons, plums,  citrus, and elderberry, most of which will be ready in the fall. We are making an arbor for plants whose fruits grow on a vine above ground. If these plants are allowed to grow on the ground, they will take up a lot of space. On our arbor, we plan to grow Bitter Melon, which is helpful for blood sugar levels.

Not Out of the Woods Yet

In last month’s e-newsletter, we wrote about how William E. Dove (Balabhada das), ISCOWP president, was recuperating on schedule after an operation to connect the bones in his big toe with metal. Dr. Toussaint operated because there was no cartilage between the bones in his toe, which caused pain while walking.

Unfortunately, when we went for the last checkup, Dr. Toussaint found that Balabhadra had fractured the metal in his foot. Most people would feel the fracture, but Balabhadra did not due to some neuropathy in his feet, possibly resulting from the Guillain-Barre Syndrome he contracted while traveling in Ukraine in 2011. Consequently,  Dr. Toussaint has to operate again. The second operation is on July 15, and we are all praying for a successful healing process, which takes about a month to two months.

Helping the Calves Learn to Eat Grain and Hay

Newborn calves usually do not have difficulty transitioning from drinking their mother’s milk to drinking water and eating grains and hay. But difficulties can arise when the relationship between a calf and its mother is disturbed. Since Subhadra’s breeder took her away from her mother the first day she was born, she did not know how to suck the milk bottle when we took her home. This difficulty transferred to not understanding how to drink water and eat grain and hay. It was rough for a while, but with a lot of effort, we were able to help her eat and drink correctly. This video shows how we coaxed Subhadra to eat.

Baladev Dauji’s breeder said his mother was recently found dead in the pasture, just one month after she gave birth to him. We took Baladev Dauji home the same day we spoke to the breeder. The breeder wanted to sell Baladev quickly because he was anticipating the extra work involved in feeding him a bottle. But it turned out he was already nibbling on hay, which was good because he was terrified of humans. Sometimes when we rescue an animal, due to their previous handling, they are very nervous, and it is hard to get close to them. There are different ways to calm them down. One way is by brushing, massaging, and providing a calm atmosphere. Such was the case with Baladev Dauji. In this video,  ISCOWP president William E. Dove (Balabhadra) is brushing him about two weeks after we rescued him.