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 […]
Food. Blogging. Women. Warm Weather. What do these all have in common? BlogHer Food Conference! I had the opportunity to attend the 2016 BlogHer Food conference with support from the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, along with Leah Dorman aka Ask Dr. Dorman (animalantibiotics.org), a veterinarian and mom from Ohio. The common question among everyone […]
As a rancher and a mom, it’s just as important to have a health plan for our cattle as it is our kids. Animal welfare is a way of life for farmers and ranchers just like my family and me. On our ranch, we use a herd health program, much like a well-child check with […]
Locally grown. Locally served. You probably see these two terms on your menu when you’re at a restaurant or buying beef in the meat case, right? While local has a different meaning to different people, you can be confident that most of the beef you eat right here in the U.S. is “local” because it […]
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 […]
Semi-lately (new in relative terms) one of a farmer and rancher’s chore items is defending agriculture to the public. A recent AP article shows the efforts that farmers and ranchers are making to complete this chore: start up the conversation with their consumer counterparts about “what they do and why they do it.” Many of […]
McDonald’s is focusing on quality ingredients and the farmers who provide them in its new ad campaign. In December, they shared a 15-second preview clip featuring potato farmer Frank Martinez and his crops. Last night, I saw a commercial featuring Steve Fogelsong who provides beef to McDonald’s for their hamburgers. The ads remind me of […]
There has been a lot of follow-up and discussions about last week’s Food Dialogues in conjunction with the Town Hall style-meetings that the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance hosted. Findings of two national surveys about food and how it is grown and raised were released during these dialogues. The surveys focused separately on the opinions, […]
