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Show Me – Determining Value in Yaks

theYakRanch — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:00:19 +0000

Why do golden yaks produce so much more fiber?

Recently we have been getting a good deal of questions about what determines value in yaks. I would have to say the number one thing to avoid is exaggerated claims. Yaks are multi purpose bovines that can be used for fiber production, dairy, packing, and meat. They are not optimized in any area as with the more familiar cattle breeds. I would guess that the Wool Market attendee quoted above had spoken with, or read something by, someone interested in selling golden yaks at premium prices. Spending a fair amount of my youth in Missouri, I would have said, “Show Me”. Is there statistical data? Hair Follicle Density Studies? Any sort of proof? In any case claims like “most”, “best”, “highest this or lowest that” or “healthiest” are red flags for me.

In my opinion there are some key things to look for in yaks:

Confirmation
Health
Fertility
Disposition

Talk to more than one breeder about your needs. Talk to the breeder’s past customers. Ask for breeding histories. Look at a lot of yaks! Handle a lot of yaks.

Yaks are new to most people and even to most people who own them. There is a lot of room for various opinions about what makes a great yak and very little substantiated data. You won’t find many yak breeders providing EPDs for yaks so homework is key. IYAK is a great source for information about yaks and and yak breeders. IYAK is in the process of completing a meat study that should go a long way in providing some relevant data. Stay tuned……..

Yak Wool – Hub Pages

theYakRanch — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:01:59 +0000

Just in time for the Estes Park Wool Market. Learn a bit more about how soft and warm yak wool is and schedule some time this weekend to come see us at the Estes Park Wool Market.

Yak Wool on Hub Pages

HB 10-1193

theYakRanch — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:27:23 +0000

I received the following letter from Amazon today. Let me know your thoughts.
Dear Colorado-based Amazon Associate:
We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to inform you that the Colorado government recently enacted a law to impose sales tax regulations on online retailers. The regulations are burdensome and no other state has similar rules. The new regulations do not require online retailers to collect sales tax. Instead, they are clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to “voluntarily” collect Colorado sales tax — a course we won’t take.

We and many others strongly opposed this legislation, known as HB 10-1193, but it was enacted anyway. Regrettably, as a result of the new law, we have decided to stop advertising through Associates based in Colorado. We plan to continue to sell to Colorado residents, however, and will advertise through other channels, including through Associates based in other states.

There is a right way for Colorado to pursue its revenue goals, but this new law is a wrong way. As we repeatedly communicated to Colorado legislators, including those who sponsored and supported the new law, we are not opposed to collecting sales tax within a constitutionally-permissible system applied even-handedly. The US Supreme Court has defined what would be constitutional, and if Colorado would repeal the current law or follow the constitutional approach to collection, we would welcome the opportunity to reinstate Colorado-based Associates.

You may express your views of Colorado’s new law to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter, who signed the bill.

Your Associates account has been closed as of March 8, 2010, and we will no longer pay advertising fees for customers you refer to Amazon.com after that date. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned prior to March 8, 2010, will be processed and paid in accordance with our regular payment schedule. Based on your account closure date of March 8, any final payments will be paid by May 31, 2010.

We have enjoyed working with you and other Colorado-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.

Best Regards,

The Amazon Associates Team

This e-mail was sent to eddy@outofcircle.com, based on Associates ID gruyakran-20.

Please note that you must use this e-mail address to access your account in Associates Central or when contacting Associates Customer Service.

To manage your e-mail preferences, update your account settings.

Message Category: Important Notice from the Amazon Associates Program

What Does Yak Meat Taste Like?

theYakRanch — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:30:03 +0000

“That Depends!”

Yak is a bovine, so from a technical standpoint the meat is called “Beef”. As with any meat, flavor is dependent on a number of factors. Breed, genetics within a breed, diet, age, environmental conditions,and the process used to “finish” the animal all play an important role in the end result. Yak meat is fairly rare at this point and each ranch or producer provides a unique product.
At the top of the “what does yak meat taste like?” question is: “Are you tasting 100% yak or a cross with a domestic cattle breed?”. Yaks are crossed with domestic cattle for various reasons including hybrid vigor, growth characteristics, hardiness, etc. Crosses will produce very different results as you are introducing genetics from any of dozens of breeds of domestic cattle.
Within domestic yaks, there are varying characteristics as well. Full-blood yaks are typically less marbled than production beef cattle with most of their fat being carried on the outside of the carcass. This produces a lean product that has a jump on even grass-fed beef.
Finishing may have as much to do with flavor as anything. There are various methods and philosophies. Grain finishing: corn, wheat screenings, various rations, all produce different results. Grass finishing has just as many variables.
Add in age of the animal, environmental factors including stress, the butchering and aging process, etc. and you are dealing as much with art as you are science. Consistency in the flavor of the end product is elusive.
Oh yeah, someone has to cook it! or not…….
The great thing about yak meat is that you are starting with a naturally lean, high protein, meat with a great balance fatty acids that is tender and delicious.
Any good yak meat discussion should end with a little “cheese, “Once You Go Yak, You Will Never Go Back!”

Click here to get Yak Meat.

Some links from around the web offering their opinions.

Weird Meat – Yak in Yunnan

Weird Meat – Raw Yak Meat

Real Food Mama – Ground Yak

Moscow Food Co-op – Yak

San Diego Reader – Yak Burgers and Steaks

Yaks Meat. from andre 3000 on Vimeo.

On the way back from Seattle, we stopped at a little place that had Yak on the menu. I decided I must try some. Didn’t taste different from beef, maybe it would in a steak cut.

Filmmaker Choephel tells tale of Tibet

theYakRanch — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:02:23 +0000

October 30, 2009

Filmmaker Choephel tells tale of Tibet

By Sally Pollak, Free Press Staff Writer

Ngawang Choephel was 2 when he and his mother fled Tibet, the place of his birth, after its occupation and control by the Chinese. The two traveled by yak across the Himalayas to India, where they lived in a Tibetan refugee camp in southern India.

Years later, in 1995, Choephel returned to Tibet with a video camera, seeking to learn about and record Tibetan folk music. Choephel’s plans to make a documentary about the music of Tibet were disrupted when he was arrested and imprisoned by Chinese authorities.

He remained in jail for nearly 6 1/2years. On his release, Choephel was clear and determined about what he intended to do: finish his film.

The movie, “Tibet in Song,” will be screened at 3 p.m. today at Palace 9 Cinemas in South Burlington. The documentary is showing as part of the Vermont International Film Festival.

Choephel, its writer, director and producer, was in Burlington earlier this week, for Wednesday night’s screening of “Tibet in Song.” The filmmaker and musician, who lives in Queens, N.Y., said he was able to keep his idea alive during imprisonment by believing in his story.

“It’s basically a human passion toward art, and art is something that is very emotional,” Choephel said. “Especially music.

“We have achieved a lot of great things in the world,” he said, talking by phone Thursday morning from the airport. “But music is something that expresses human emotions in a way that has the power to change the minds of the most intelligent people in the world.”

Choephel’s first visit to the United States was in 1993-94, when he was a Fulbright scholar at Middlebury College. At Middlebury, he studied music and English — and came to believe that there is no place better than Vermont to first experience the United States, Choephel said.

“Vermont is the best place to start,” he said. “There’s a culture here, and people care about each other. It’s a good representation of not just people in America, but your roots from Europe.”

After leaving Middlebury, Choephel returned to India before traveling the next year to Tibet, the country of his roots.

Choephel, 44, is a musician who plays a six-stringed instrument called dramnyen. He visited Tibet to listen to music, interview folk musicians, film people and record their songs.

“They sang for me on the spot, with the camera rolling. They had no time to prepare,” Choephel says in a film synopsis on the movie’s Web site (www.tibetinsong.com). “I felt like there was no camera between us — it was very natural. They really understood what my concern was and what I was hoping to capture.”

He had been in Tibet for two months before he was arrested. About half his footage had been sent home to India with a friend; another 16 hours of footage and his notes were confiscated by authorities, according to his Web site.

Choephel’s imprisonment gained international attention. Those speaking out against his confinement and seeking his release included musicians and politicians — including Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

His mother was also instrumental in the effort. In January 2002, he was freed. Choephel’s time in prison, “definitely intensified my passion to tell the story,” he said. “It’s how much you believe in the story, and your passion, that’s what kept me going.”

“Tibet in Song” won a special jury prize for a documentary at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and best documentary feature at the recent Calgary International Film Festival.

“I have learned so much in the past six, seven years, working on this film,” Choephel said.

He is working these days on the film’s distribution, hoping to get it shown in theaters, on television and at film festivals.

Movies, like music, have always been an important part of his life. He grew up watching Bollywood films, often the first kid in line the day big pictures came out.

“Those were our modern identity,” he said. “I used to like them a lot.”

“Tibet in Song” is Choephel’s look — through his twin passions of music and film — at the cultural and historical identity of his ancestral home and people.

Additional Facts

Hollywild Baby Yak Named

theYakRanch — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:26:21 +0000

Zoo in South Carolina announces winner of name the baby yak contest.

http://www2.wspa.com/spa/news/local/article/hollywild_baby_yak_named/28712/

Feathered Jewels

theYakRanch — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:19:16 +0000

Bob and Bev have visited a few times and we were able to tour their pheasant houses when we delivered yaks to them. The pheasants are incredibly beautiful. The Merrits are great hosts and Bob delights in showing off the sheep – just ask him! They own a beautiful yak bull named Inky.

http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/10/25/life/local/doc4ae388846865f749597765.txt

Alumni find calling on yak farm

theYakRanch — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:15:18 +0000

A great article from The Daily Princetonian about Vermont Yaks.

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/10/23/24250/

Passionate Yak Burgers. Apologies to Lucinda Williams

theYakRanch — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:01:35 +0000

You wanted to know about yak burgers read this post by The Passionate Foodie.

The Passionate Foodie: Yak Burgers

Thanks for the great article.

The Yak: All-Purpose Animal

theYakRanch — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:55:16 +0000

Yaks are synonymous with life at high altitudes. They are strong creatures capable of carrying heavy loads, but more than this, they are the ultimate all-purpose beasts of burden. In Nepal, you are likely to encounter them on the Everest Base Camp Trek where they are used as pack animals on the trail. They are easy to spot: they can be two metres tall at the shoulder and up to a metric tonne in weight, looking like the cow equivalent of a hairy mammoth, or perhaps a buffalo with a Beatles’ mop-top haircut.

The herds of yaks you will see in Nepal are domesticated and have bells around their necks. As they are herded down the Everest Base Camp Trek trail, they fill the mountainside with a distinct enchanting sound. What is less enchanting is when a herd of sturdy yaks blocks your passage on an Everest trek; you will probably have to step aside, deferring to their massive horns.

A Yak by Any Other Name

In English, the word yak (which is worth eight points in Scrabble) is used to refer to the whole of the species; however, to a native of the Everest region of Nepal the term ‘yak’ only means the male animal, with the word ‘dri’ or ‘nak’ referring to a female.

Although you may see the domesticated variety, Bos grunniens, while Everest trekking, the wild Yak, Bos mutus, is considered extinct in Nepal and Bhutan. Yaks are quite closely related to the African buffalo, the American bison, and the European bison, except they are adapted to living between 4,000 and 6,000 metres above sea level. They can still be found at these altitudes in Tibet, and there are some isolated populations in China, too.

The type of yak you are most likely to see at the start of an Everest Base Camp Trek is a hybrid: half yak, half cow. Locally, these are called Dzo (male) and Dzomo (female). They are smaller than yaks, and their shorter hair means they are better at handling warmer climates at lower altitudes. As you ascend on your Everest trek, you will notice that Yaks replace their hybrid cousins as they are extremely well adapted to higher altitudes. As well as having a higher concentration of red blood cells, they even have an extra pair of ribs to accommodate their larger sized lungs.

Food & Fuel

Of course, apart from a form of transport, another use for the yak is for food. Yak meat is high in protein, containing only one sixth of the fat of beef, and makes a fine Everest trekking meal when served with noodles. Nothing of the yak is wasted in Nepal; the horns are used as cutting implements, and even the head of the yak is sometimes served for dinner, especially as part of New Year celebrations.

The yaks themselves eat grass, and often have to burrow through several feet of snow to reach their food. They have learned to eat snow when they are thirsty and unfrozen water cannot be found.

Yak milk (or rather, dri milk) is full of goodness, with twice the fat of cow’s milk. It is yellowy in colour and is mostly used for butter and yogurt. These make good energy foods to keep you fuelled-up for your Everest Base Camp Trek. It is so fat-rich that it can also be burned as lamp oil.

You’ll eat the majority of your meals along the Everest Base Camp Trek at Nepalese tea houses. These provide convenient rest stops where trekkers can put their feet up, eat, sleep and acclimatize to the mountain environment.

Some of the tea houses will cook meals over a traditional yak dung stove. Although you may shudder to think of your food being so close to manure, this is in fact a brilliant, environmentally friendly way of cooking. Trees are sparse in Nepal and considered too important to burn, and so the dung of yak is dried and used as a convenient source of renewable fuel.

Hairy Bovines

The other way yaks can provide warmth is with their fur. Yak fur can grow to as much as two feet long, and might be used for clothing along with yak wool, and can also be made into ropes and sacking. It is even used to make hairy tents. The yak fur allows smoke from inside the tent to escape, while the oil in the fur keeps water from penetrating inside.

When you add up all the benefits that this local beast can offer, from transport, baggage, shelter, clothing, tools, food, drink, and fuel for heating and lighting, I am sure that you will agree that on your Everest base camp trek, the yak is more useful than a Swiss Army Knife – by far!

About the Author
Kirsty Parsons is the Marketing Coordinator for Everest Base Camp Trek, an adventure website which features the classic Everest Base Camp Trek, as well as several alternative Everest trekking routes in the Himalayan region.

Article source: http://keyknowhow.com/travel/the-yak-all-purpose-animal.html