We use antibiotics as a tool, but we do so carefully. And over time, we make sure to improve using the latest technologies and medicines to give our cattle the best care. Our family, and our industry, has taken steps to reduce the need for antibiotics. Here’s a list: Our herd health plan helps prevent […]
Protecting consumer confidence in beef. That is the the main goal of the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program and I had the opportunity to become BQA Certified last week. BQA is an educational training for producers to build awareness of industry standards based on recommended national guidelines and research from USDA and the beef industry. […]
In conversations about animal care and welfare, antibiotics and hormones often get bundled together. They are often associated with one another. But the truth is, they are two very different tools that ranchers and beef producers use. Let me explain the differences. Hormones First and foremost, hormones occur naturally in beef. Hormones are products of […]
On our family ranch, we use antibiotics as one tool to keep our beef cattle healthy and well-cared for in order to produce great, quality meat. And we don’t just use antibiotics to use them. We have a herd health program where our cattle get regular medical care, including checkups, that starts with vaccinations to […]
My mom and I had the awesome opportunity to “appear” together in a video about how we care for our cattle. In being a CommonGround volunteer and speaking about farming and food, the national coordinators of CommonGround brought a camera crew out to the ranch on a snowy, COLD December day to get a glimpse […]
Subway heard from agriculture. And I was one of them. I went to my local Subway restaurant on Thursday and spoke to the two managers on duty. I think I shocked them a little bit as neither one of them had heard about Subway’s announcement last Tuesday of sourcing meat never given an antibiotic starting in […]
I posted previously about how ranchers prepare for a snowstorm. I posted a picture of this heifer who was getting ready to calve. And yes, she thought the snowstorm was a perfect time to have a calf.Thankfully, we got her into the barn before the foot of snow dumped. She and the heifer calf are […]
We have a big snowstorm coming for the Plains today, but our cattle are ready for it. This is how we prepare for a big snow storm. 1. Cattle are in protected areas. We rotate our cattle in a holistic, rotational pattern moving them paddock to paddock (paddock = fenced-off pastures), but in the winter, […]
I think I now realize where people’s perceptions of farm animals come from. Kids toys. Books. Puzzles. More toys. Do you know how many kids toys there are revolving around farm animals! Now that I’m a mom to a busy one-year-old boy, I realize the extent to why kids love farm animals. Because they are […]
Nestlé, the largest food company in the world by revenue, has announced industry-leading changes to its animal welfare program intended to eliminate “many controversial-yet-currently-standard practices within its worldwide food supply chain.” Not surprising, but the the “Big Business” has pledged to overhaul the following practices: “confinement of sows in gestation crates, calves in veal crates […]
