I’ll admit, I’m a huge fan of the Hunger Games novels. And I’m going to see the movie tomorrow…totally thrilled! For those of you unfamiliar with the Hunger Games series, there are 12 Districts, each of which has a specialization. Even though Katniss, Gale and Peeta are all from District 12, I’m a fan of […]
#agblog
Today’s Agriculture
Modern agriculture. Kind of hard to really “show” all of modern agriculture and the new technology farmers & ranchers use in a fair/trade show type of setting. But Pennsylvania did it. At the 2012 Pennsylvania Farm Show, the “Today’s Agriculture” exhibit put together an “experience” – an innovative display that brings the farm to families. […]
Taking credit for attacks on agriculture
Unfortunately, there was a lot of news this week about how Harris Ranch in California was attacked by animal rights activists in which fourteen of their trucks were set on fire. K-State friend and agvocate, Brandi Buzzard, Buzzard’s Beat, took this story from a great perspective and I wanted to forward on her thoughts. She […]
Wrap it up and move on | 2011 & 2012
As we wrap up 2011 and look what may happen in agriculture in 2012, I wanted to share a few excerpts I read on Corn & Soybean Digest online by David Kohl and Kent Thiesse. 2011 Year in Review by Kohl: Interconnectedness and convergence In the early part of 2011, it appeared that the U.S. […]
More young people in ag
I read an article today that made me smile: “More young people see opportunity in farming”. That’s optimism talking. All too often in agriculture, pessimism comes out a lot stronger… Prices are too high. Prices are too low. Food just isn’t safe to eat. Meat is made in factory farms. Costs are outrageous. No young […]
Healthy food: Eat less dark-green, more orange
I want to point out an article from Feedstuffs FoodLink about the cost of healthy foods and what we can expect to pay this year for healthy food. The article states that diets normally are a diverse makeup of foods — some that are more healthful and some that are not as healthful — and […]
Consistency in Beef
Part 9: I find this beef innovation particularly interesting and important – mostly because I enjoy a great, juicy steak and am glad I can rely on the grading system of beef to provide that! From the beginning, beef was more about protein than pleasure and used as draft animals or for milk until they […]
A “Screwy” Success Story
Part 8: A part of history that is not as common – or not talked about much – is the eradication of the screwworm that caused a lot of damage to the cattle herd (and humans!) in the past. For all of the reasons listed below, the story of screwworm eradication is one of the […]
Branding Cattle in Colorado
I’ve had some questions about branding cattle, so I thought I would share some facts along with pictures from our recent branding cattle work with weaned calves. What is a brand for? A brand is a permanent identification marker. Each ranch or cattle-owner has their own unique brand to identify their cattle. My state doesn’t […]
Squeeze Chutes | Stone to Steel
Part 7: I know that squeeze chutes make cattle work more efficient and less stressful for the cattle we are handling. Just this Thanksgiving, my family branded and doctored over 200 head in a few hours and this was possible because of our squeeze chute.Temple Grandin will also tell you the animals prefer this method […]
