Sunday, February 15, 2015

National Scrapie Eradication Program

The National Scrapie Eradication Program (NSEP) tags came in!  This is a great program, and my favorite perk is the free ear tags, free applicator, and free shipping.  Each tag contains a code for our farm and an individual number for each animal.

We write the animal's name on the back of the tag to make
sure the tag we use for each animal matches our records.

Ordering the tags is simple.  I went to the NSEP website and called the number 1-866-USDA-TAG.  We played a little phone tag (no pun intended), but the lady with the USDA was very nice and helpful.  Plan ahead, because it takes a few weeks for the free tags (all you need) and free applicator to arrive in the mail.

The NSEP requires that records are kept on each marked animal such as its tag number, from whom it was bought, to whom it was sold, sex, breed, dates, and other data.  In developing a registered flock, we were already keeping these records in a much more detailed manner than is required by the program.  Win!

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Welcome

Your host for this blog is a veteran woman with a (soon-to-be) doctorate.  But I'd rather spend time tending animals, spinning yarn, knitting dish clothes, milking a cow - or goats, gardening, drinking coffee, and cooking (and eating) than doing most anything else.  I love to learn how to do things by hand or from scratch.  This blog is a catalog of lessons learned, hard-found best practices, and amusing anecdotes.