😎🧊Keepin' Cool on CT Ranch: How Our Animals Beat the Texas Heat

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September 6, 2023

As the sizzling Texas summer continues to blaze, we're working hard to ensure our animals stay cool and comfortable. Every creature on our farm is finding unique ways to beat the heat, and we thought you'd be interested to hear how they're hangin’!

Splish-Splash in the Pond

Our cows have found their favorite spot to chill - the pond! Just like us humans taking a dip in the pool, our bovine buddies enjoy a refreshing soak before lounging under the shady trees. They repeat this cool-down routine throughout the day, only taking a break when it's time for milking. Yes, they know when to come in for milking without us calling them. They really are living their best life this summer!

Our Cows Got It Made In The Shade!

When they're not in the pond, our cows love to lay in the shade, often leaning against a tree or laying next to the pond. It's their version of lounging on a pool chair, and it's equally effective at keeping them cool.

Ice, Ice, Baby

Frozen treats aren't just for humans! Our chickens and pigs are enjoying these icy goodies, which not only offer them relief from the heat but also provide a fun activity.

Wallowing Pigs

Speaking of pigs, have you ever seen a pig wallow? In the scorching summer heat, our pigs create and lounge in mud pools, which serve as a natural sunscreen and insect repellent. We haul barrels of water to them on tractors every day when it's super hot, ensuring they can keep wallowing to their heart's content.

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Water Troughs

Hydration is key in this heat, and we make sure fresh water is always available for all our animals. We fill the troughs twice a day, and during dry spells, we are extra diligent about ensuring all of our animals have ample access to fresh cool water.

We're dedicated to our animals' health and well-being, and we'll continue to adapt our care routines to suit their needs as the summer heat persists. Stay tuned for more updates from the ranch!

Stay cool,

Nicole

& The CT Ranch Farm Fam

The Truth About Fats: Part 1

How Seed Oils Took Over Our Tables 🧑‍🌾 A New Series from CT RanchWelcome to the first part of our three-part series, The Truth About Fats. Over the next three months, we’ll be walking through how our food — and our health — changed when the world turned away from traditional animal fats and toward industrial seed oils. It’s a story that goes back much farther than most people realize… all the way to the 1800s. 🕯️ From Candles to the Kitchen It all started in 1837 when two enterprising men, Proctor and Gamble, began making candles out of cottonseed oil instead of animal tallow. It was a clever use of a cheap byproduct of the cotton industry, and for a while, it worked — until the lightbulb came along. When Edison’s electric company lit up homes in 1882, the need for candles plummeted. Suddenly, Proctor & Gamble had barrels of leftover cottonseed oil and no place for it to go. But instead of throwing it out, they looked for another way to sell it — and that’s where everything began to change. 🥣 The Birth of Crisco By 1903, scientists had figured out how to hydrogenate cottonseed oil — changing its color, texture, and smell to resemble animal fat. A few years later, in 1911, Proctor & Gamble launched their new product: Crisco. It was marketed as “cleaner, lighter, and modern.” Ads showed smiling homemakers and happy families gathered around golden-fried foods. It was cheaper than butter or lard, and before long, kitchens across America were filled with tins of Crisco instead of jars of rendered fat. By 1933, the company switched from cottonseed to soybean oil, an even cheaper option — and the rest is history. 🌾 A Shift Away from Tradition Over time, the oils that were once considered cheap industrial byproducts became everyday staples. And somehow, the fats that nourished generations before us — butter, tallow, lard — were labeled as “unhealthy.” But if you trace the story back, you’ll see that this wasn’t about health at all. It was about marketing, money, and convenience. The result? A nation that lost touch with the natural, stable fats that were part of God’s good design for nourishment. 🔍 Time to Look Deeper Today, the debate continues — seed oils vs. traditional animal fats. But when you start digging into the history and science, the truth speaks for itself. In the meantime, check out below of the traditional fats we offer here at CT Ranch to bring real nourishment back to your family table. Beef Fat (Suet)Butter And be sure to keep an eye out for next month’s newsletter, where we’ll dive into Part 2: The Hidden Side Effects of Seed Oils — what they do inside the body, and why returning to time-honored fats can help us heal.

Farm Dogs: The Real Bosses of the Ranch

Farm dogs don’t clock in—but they DO have very official roles that conveniently come with zero paperwork and unlimited union breaks. While every farm runs a little differently, most hard-working ranch mutts and pedigreed pros share a familiar list of “job duties,” whether they live here at CT Ranch or somewhere across the country:

“Shots, Germs, and Terrain:” Unpopular Opinions and Controversial Topics.

Out here at CT Ranch, we keep things pretty simple. When it comes to our animals, the only shot we give our calves is for brucellosis — and that’s just once, when they’re little. Why? Because in our experience, brucellosis is a very real risk, and the vaccine does a good job of minimizing it. We haven’t yet found a better way to handle that particular threat, so we use it. Beyond that, we put our trust in strong terrain, good forage, clean water, and plenty of sunshine. That got me thinking about the bigger picture: vaccines, germs, and the theories we’ve all been taught to accept as gospel.

Save with a $40 Farm Membership for the remainder of 2025!

Forgot to order before the deadline? No Problem! Orders placed after our standard deadline date may qualify for expedited processing with a Rush Order Charge.
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😎🧊Keepin' Cool on CT Ranch: How Our Animals Beat the Texas Heat

Splish-Splash in the Pond

Our Cows Got It Made In The Shade!

Ice, Ice, Baby

Wallowing Pigs

Water Troughs

More from the blog

The Truth About Fats: Part 1

Farm Dogs: The Real Bosses of the Ranch

“Shots, Germs, and Terrain:” Unpopular Opinions and Controversial Topics.

Meet Our Family

Learn

CT Ranch

Join Our Farm Family!

Follow Us

Save with a $40 Farm Membership for the remainder of 2025!

***Forgot to order before the deadline? No Problem! Orders placed after our standard deadline date may qualify for expedited processing with a Rush Order Charge. *** Please email orders@ctranch or text 903-268-0522 to verify RUSH ORDER availability.

😎🧊Keepin' Cool on CT Ranch: How Our Animals Beat the Texas Heat

Splish-Splash in the Pond

Our Cows Got It Made In The Shade!

Ice, Ice, Baby

Wallowing Pigs

Water Troughs

More from the blog

The Truth About Fats: Part 1

Farm Dogs: The Real Bosses of the Ranch

“Shots, Germs, and Terrain:” Unpopular Opinions and Controversial Topics.

Meet Our Family

Learn

CT Ranch

Follow Us

Forgot to order before the deadline? No Problem! Orders placed after our standard deadline date may qualify for expedited processing with a Rush Order Charge.
Please email orders@ctranch or text 903-268-0522 to verify RUSH ORDER availability.