The romanticized view of a family farm or ranch is a small acreage, a menagerie of farm animals and a large garden with abundant produce to feed the family for an entire year. Many of our ancestors farmed and did what they could to keep only their family sustained. Today, two percent of the population […]
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 […]
I subscribe to the Humane Society of the U.S.’s email blasts – mostly just to watch what they are saying. Like when they tried talking about saving coyotes and free-range chickens in the same sentence!? That one made me laugh. Anyways, most of them I just glaze over, but yesterday’s email brought out my inner […]
“Locally produced” is one of the hottest terms in the food business today, according to an article posted recently on CattleNetwork. I’ve discussed “local” before with expanding our definitions of local, food trends and even “big beef”. But I guess I’ve never really defined (on the blog) my own definition of “local”. Local to Me: […]
One of the sites I was most looking forward to while in Washington, D.C. over the Memorial Day weekend was the FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950–2000 exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. I had read about this exhibit from an ag blog (which I should have noted and cannot find now) […]
An update to my blog post last night. If you didn’t see or hear about the Dodge Ram “So God Made a Farmer” Super Bowl commercial, it is creating quite the conversation. The video features Paul Harvey’s voice sharing the poem with “tear-jerking with pride” images of the people across our country who raise our […]
“Beef’s Raw Edges”: a series of 16 stories that ran over three-consecutive days recently in the Kansas City Star. This series raised plenty of serious issues including beef safety, nutrition, the use of antibiotics and growth promotants and the environmental impact of feedyards. These issues are all important to their readers – however they have […]
Have you ever been able to tour inside a beef packing plant? Quite the opportunity if you get the chance. Of course there are undercover videos all over the web about the inside of the packing plants and show the mistreatment of animals – and they are horrible or setup. But that is a rarity […]
During the widespread heat of summer, how do cattle in feedlots stay cool? To answer that question, this video is from my friend, Joan, who owns and operates a beef feed yard in Nebraska. She told me that there is always plenty of room for the cattle in the yard to move around, but they […]
My childhood nickname is Bird. And if you were around my family today, you wouldn’t hear my first name used at all. I like the nickname. It’s simple and easy – but you know what’s really funny? It doesn’t describe me at all! I received the nickname from my Grandma who said I ate like […]
