Tomorrow is Earth Day. It is also a perfect day to remember to #WasteLess food. Although beef is one of the least wasted commodities produced in the U.S., at around 20 percent of edible product going to waste, consumers can help improve beef sustainability by 10 percent simply cutting that waste in half. How do we waste […]
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 […]
As a kid who grew up on our family’s ranch, it was easy to take things for granted. I knew where the beef in our freezer came from; I knew why we needed to feed the cattle; I knew why we were taking the calves to the sale barn. But then again, we only raised […]
Beef agvocacy (agriculture + advocacy) does not take any special skills, science or art. It takes your effort to share about what you are doing as a beef producer and explaining production practices that make it easy for food-eaters to understand. As agriculture, we’ve come to a point in time where it is not enough […]
As a rancher, mom and main chef in my household, we have two whole shelves in our freezer dedicated to ground beef. It is such a versatile, easy protein to add to any meal – and healthy! We get a 90/10 blend (90% lean beef/10% fat) from our local butcher, and I hardly ever have […]
Today is Food Day. Not office “food day” or post-birthday leftover food day (which is what I’m really celebrating). But food day that is being celebrated differently than most people in agriculture might think. Food Day was founded by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Their goal is to help inspire Americans to […]
Sustainability. The environment. Producing more with less. These are all buzzwords in agriculture that are important not only to the consumers demanding sustainable, environmentally friendly food and co-products, but to the farmers and ranchers producing their food and co-products. Farmers and ranchers care so much about this, that they invest dollars into research and education, […]
“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 […]
This is Part 2 of 3 of “Making safe, affordable and abundant food a global reality”, Jeff Simmons and Dr. Chris Ashworth from Elanco. Read more at PlentyToThinkAbout.org. In the Part 1 blog post, Simmons summed up that the role of technology in developing safe, affordable and abundant food enables three rights: food, choice, sustainability. […]
