The Gold Medal Industry

The summer Olympics are easily my favorite sporting events to watch.  Even if I know nothing about an event, it is still easy for me to root for Team USA.  Regardless of how little I actually know about each of the athletes, the letters USA on their uniforms gives me a sense of connection to each competitor down in Rio.  With each gold medal, my sense of pride in my country grows, but I seldom take into account the hours of practice and numerous sacrifices that it takes for any Olympian to compete at that level.  It is so easy for me to focus on the end product without taking into consideration the years that each athlete has spent pounding on his or her craft. 

If I step back and take a look at the world around me, I notice many similarities to the Olympics.  This summer I left the family farm to work for a show cattle operation.  Although there are many noticeable differences between the two, one thing that they both have in common is striving to produce the best possible beef for the consumers.  Just like the athletes who train for the Olympics, farmers and ranchers are constantly striving for excellence in order to have a positive impact on the industry.

The Olympics are full of a variety of events, and sometimes I wonder how some of the events could even be considered sports.  However, I occasionally find myself having the same thoughts with agriculture.  Growing up on a commercial cattle operation and even showing calves at my county fair, I would have never dreamed of washing as many calves as I have this summer.  Many of the ranchers that I grew up around would have just scoffed at the thought of washing and blow-drying their cattle, but as I have experienced over the course of this summer, it is in fact, a part of the agriculture industry, and both parties have very similar end goals. 

Although Kansas lacks the beautiful beaches that make Rio so special, the farmers and ranchers, as well as the athletes in the Olympics, do have their similarities.  There may not be medals for those who work in agriculture, but we are still faced with the challenge of feeding nearly 10 billion people in just a few decades.  In order to fulfill such a demand, it is vital that those who working in each industry of agriculture strive for excellence.

Until next time,

Lane

A Quiet Christmas

I awoke to the soft sound of a gentle rain falling against the windowsill.  It was my first day back home on our family farm after another semester at Kansas State University.  I eventually looked over at the clock, and after blinking twice noticed it was already 8:30 in the morning.  I nearly leapt out of bed to get dressed to help feed the animals before church.  But before I did, I noticed something. Other than the soft rain, the farm was quiet. 

As my brain resumed functioning, I remembered the decision our family had made to sell our livestock before winter hit.  Outside, only a single barn cat roamed the corrals once home to 80 meat goats and about a dozen cattle. 

This decision didn’t just come about overnight, but had been considered for a number of years.  The primary driver of selling our livestock was our small family farm did not produce enough to be profitable with the amount of labor it required.  As my older brother and I moved off to school, the brunt of the farm labor fell upon my mother, who put in hours a day taking care of the livestock.  During high demand times like kidding and calving seasons, the required work hours increased drastically.  In comparison with the earnings my mother could make working an hourly, entry-level position, running the family farm became unprofitable. 

 

I know this story isn’t just specific to us, but has been shared by thousands of small family farmers throughout the US in the past century.  Ever since the industrialization era, men and women have left the farm to find jobs and different lives in our quickly expanding cities.  Just as it was in the early 1900s, farming and ranching both produce commodities subject to the large variations of market prices.  A bad year in the market with low prices can do great damage to an agricultural producer, and if they do not have enough resources to last through hard times, they may have to sell out or face defaulting on loans. 

Because of these factors, relying solely on a system of small family farms to provide our entire nation’s food supply is unrealistic.  I am a full supporter of family farms, as they have provided me with great experiences that I will never forget and hope to provide for my own children someday.  As well, it is hard to beat fresh sweet corn picked from our own garden or a local farmers market.  But the belief that our entire food supply can be produced entirely by small, local farmers is unrealistic economically, unless America is willing to pay substantially more for their food.  Because larger farming operations are also great stewards of the land, I am a full supporter of them.  Larger farms have the resources necessary to survive market fluctuations and produce safe, plentiful, and inexpensive products raised as efficiently as possible.  There is room for all types of agricultural production systems in America, but we need to get over some of the economic fantasies presented in the media.

This Christmas, I did not have to run outside after a big Christmas dinner to feed our livestock in the cold.  I was missing the animals a little bit, but know that there are others that made the sacrifices to provide all the fixings for our Holiday celebration. 

Cheers,

Kyle Apley

There Are No Snow Days in Agriculture

Let me start by saying that I am no fan of cold weather.  Absolutely hate it.  As icy and cold as it’s been across our state lately, I’ve been thinking about how especially thankful I am for farmers and ranchers that brave the elements to take care of their animals and the land.

Growing up with a dad who managed a large cattle feedlot, I learned early on that a change in weather could flip our family’s life upside down.  The worst such occasion was a horrible ice storm that crippled southwest Kansas in late December 2006 and January 2007.  My family had just gotten to Texas to visit my grandparents after Christmas when Dad got a phone call that the weather was getting a little western.  So we turned around and sped the entire ten hours home, only pit stopping in Oklahoma City to buy a few electric generators.

We arrived back in Garden City to find the roads completely iced, powerlines and trees down, and snow and ice everywhere.  Before it was all said and done, we ended up with three inches of rain, topped with over four inches of ice and some snow on top of that.  To be frank, it was my dad’s (and every farmer or rancher’s) personal version of hell on earth. 

Over the course of the next few weeks, I rarely, if ever, saw my dad.  He and the feedlot crew were working around the clock, 24/7.  As you can see in these photos, machinery was constantly running to clear snow and slop out and dump sand in pens.  The cattle still had to be fed, so alleys, roads, and bunks (what cattle eat out of) had to be shoveled and cleared so feed trucks could get the feed where it needed to go.  On top of that, power was out so they ran the office and the mill off of generators for seven days.

The feedyard employees are using equipment to clear mud out

of the pens and haul in sand to keep the cattle comfortable.

At Garden City Feed Yard the goal always, and especially during those times, was to keep cattle comfortable and take the absolute best care of them as possible.  That’s exactly what they did.  Were they able to make the conditions ideal?  Absolutely not.  Were the cattle feeling like they were living in paradise?  They sure weren’t.  But how would the cattle have fared without their human caretakers?  If they could, I’m sure that the cattle would have said “thank you” to the guys for caring about their wellbeing. 

There are no “snow days” when you are caring for other living creatures—these guys sacrificed time with their families, warmth, and often sleeping in their own beds to do their part.  That’s just how it works in this industry.  Putting your animals ahead of almost everything is simply a way of life.  The next time I feel myself getting ready to complain about how much I despise how cold it is, I’m going to stop myself and remember how thankful I am that farmers and ranchers, like my dad, are toughing it out so that I can have something on my plate to eat.  I hope you will remember that too.

Thanks for reading,

Lindy

Sometimes All You Need is a Foot in the Door...Or the Barn

My name is Annie Clark, and I was raised in Overland Park, a suburban area outside of Kansas City. I want to share with others who grew up in non-rural areas like myself how I not only got involved in agriculture, but became an advocate for and plan to make a career for myself in an industry I am passionate about.

I am fortunate and proud to say that although I grew up as a “city kid”, I have roots to agriculture through my dad’s side of the family. My dad grew up on a Minnesota dairy, beef, and crop farm that is still operated today by my grandpa and two of my uncles. When I was growing up, visiting  “the farm” was always my favorite summer vacation. Feeding the baby calves in their calf hutches and walking the milking parlor with Grandpa are some of my favorite memories. I’ll never forget seeing a cow give birth, as I watched wide-eyed for hours, and the pride I felt when they named the calf, “Annie”. Although I wasn’t raised doing the daily chores like my cousins (who I envied, they thought I was crazy), I had an appreciation for the hard work and lifestyle that raised quality meat and milk for consumers.

However, it wasn’t until I got to K-State, enrolled in the animal science program, that I was really able to articulate that understanding and grow that passion. I knew I was drawn to study agriculture because of my interest in animals, particularly in livestock, but the more I learned, I realized my draw to agriculture was because I was invested in the effort to produce food for people by raising healthy and efficient animals. While I was never against large-scale farming or confined animal feeding, I lacked exposure to these practices compared to some of my College of Ag colleagues because of where I was raised. Fortunately, I had some experience from family vacations, which is more than many students from urban areas can say. The more information I gained from my coursework and extracurricular activities, the more I tried to share with friends and others around me who were not involved in agriculture. I became determined to make a career in this field, and I am now pursuing a Master’s in swine nutrition, with the same ultimate goal of producing healthy and efficient pigs to provide safe and abundant pork to consumers.

Agriculture is charged with the daunting task of feeding an ever-growing and changing global population, and we need the support of consumers to continue to produce food. Therefore, I challenge any readers that may be in backgrounds similar to myself to start asking questions. Find out where your food comes from. Visit local farms and learn about animal production. Educate yourself and make decisions based on science. What you find may not only surprise and impress you, but also leave you wanting to come back to the barn, farm, or pasture, just like me. 

How Beef Goes From Pasture to Plate: A Video

It takes a lot to produce beef - not just in terms of hard work or lots of time, but also with reference to the number of people that dedicate their lives to taking care of livestock in order to produce healthy, safe beef.

The following is a video hosted on FactsAboutBeef.com that highlights the intricate lifecycle of a beef animal.



Additional questions about beef production? Shout 'em out below!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Thankful for a Life Around Cattle

Hey FFT Blog readers!  My name is Lindy Bilberry and I’m a new face on the Food for Thought scene.  I am currently a sophomore studying Agribusiness at Kansas State University and grew up around cattle—both in a beef feedlot and on our family’s cow-calf operation.  Growing up, I lived for the mornings that my dad would let me tag along on Saturday mornings to check cattle at the feedlot with him.  A lot of us are probably unfamiliar with what exactly happens in a feedlot, so I am going to share about my experiences in our operation.  Hopefully it helps us all to understand a little bit about how the cattle in the pens eventually become the hamburgers and steaks that we like to see on our plate!

Growing up, spending time around cattle was my way of life.  That’s me in the leopard print jacket with the calf.

One summer in high school, I had the chance to work as a ‘pen rider’ at Circle Feeders in Garden City, Kansas.  Basically, this meant that my job was to get on my horse every morning at 6:00 and ride through pens of cattle, checking to make sure that none were sick.  If we did find an animal that was sick, we would take it out of the pen and to the hospital (yes, we call the barn where sick cattle are treated hospitals) where the employees who are trained in animal health treat the animals for their ailments.  Circle Feeders had a capacity of holding about 13,000 head of cattle.  At that time, I was riding about one-third of the pens and on an average day I would pull maybe four or five cattle out for treatment.

Last summer my dad and I did some work at a feedyard outside of Garden City, Kansas.  This is a picture of what a large-scale beef feedlot looks like.

There is a lot of talk right now about antibiotic use in livestock and the fear that we are ‘drugging up’ animals in order to make them bigger.  I have had the chance to spend time in a lot of feedlots and around a lot of beef producers in my day, and I have never once found this to be the case.  People who are raising cattle, whether it’s in a feedlot, a cow-calf operation, or whatever, ultimately care about the health of their animals.  When I was working at the feedlot, I would pull animals out to send to the ‘hospital’ because I was worried about their well-being.  They weren’t treated with medicine to bulk up or get muscles, but rather to treat an illness.  They’re going to an animal doctor, just like we go to the doctor to get medicine if we have a sore throat or the flu or a fever.  Cattle are treated so that they can get back to feeling normal so that they can continue to eat and grow!

Questions, thoughts, comments, or concerns?  I would love to hear them!  As we approach Thanksgiving, I can’t help but think about how thankful I am to have grown up around cattle, feedlots, and producers who truly care about the well-being of their animals!
 
Until next time,
Lindy

3 Ways Anyone Can Agvocate

Start with keeping up on current issues in agriculture. From GMO labeling to conventionally raised vs. grass-fed beef, you want to be informed about the industry and what it is you’re trying to communicate. You can share as frequently or infrequently  as you’re comfortable with. Try starting with baby steps.

1. Share, like, reblog:

            Perhaps the easiest way to get information out is to pass on what researchers, professionals and agriculturists have published. If you like something you read, feel free to share it with your friends and followers! You can ignite more interest by adding your own opinion or perspective in a few short sentences.

http://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/story/dinner_plate082714.aspx​

2. Post your favorite recipe or dish

            For me, the main reason I follow Kansas Beef Council or Kansas Pork Association on Facebook and Twitter is the recipes and pictures of yummy food they post daily. It’s a quick, easy way to share fun, new ways to prepare your favorite foods (hello, Maple & Bacon Donut Fries)!

http://ow.ly/DHYoA

3. Original content

            There are many ways you can share your own agriculture story with others. If you’re willing to take a step outside of your comfort zone, there are opportunities everywhere, from social media to real life conversations (gasp!). Next time you sit next to a stranger on an airplane or bus, strike up a conversation—who knows, maybe you’ll be able to teach them something! However, if you’re not as comfortable with that method, there is always the wild and wonderful worldwide web. Try telling a short story along with posting a picture on Facebook or Instagram. Tweet about a newsworthy event related to agriculture that you’re interested in. Whatever you do, represent the agriculture industry as best you can.

One of my favorite things to do is feed cattle with my grandpa. Rain, sleet, snow or shine, it’s always great to spend the day on the ranch when I go home. These cattle know the sound of the feed truck and wait their turn for lunch while we feed the pen across the road.

If you’re looking for some new reading material or pages to follow, some great examples of agvocating can be found here:

 
http://www.kidscowsandgrass.com
http://www.agweb.com/livestock/beef/
http://bovidiva.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frederick-Harvesting/202187356497627
https://www.facebook.com/KStateRE
https://gmoanswers.com

Thanks, y’all!
Kenzie

Baseball and Cattle By-Products

www.gettyimages.com

Even though I am not a Royals fan, they sure have been fun to watch this season. They have been especially fun to watch this post season. Their excitement and drive to not ever give up on a game is something that all of us need to keep in mind.

As I was watching the game the other night, I began looking at the baseballs and fielding gloves. I was wondering how much of these things that are needed in order to produce these items used to make high quality entertainment.

The University of Nebraska Agriculture Research and Development Center put together a nice bulletin that describes some of these processes that can be found here. One hide from a cow will produce 144 baseballs. One hide will also have enough leather to produce 12 baseball gloves.

For example, a typical baseball game will go through 100-120 baseballs in 1 game. By products from 1 cow hide should cover this. But each team has 25 players on their post-season roster which each of the players having at least 1 glove, resulting in the need of a little over 4 cow hides needed to produce these products.

While only 5 hides may not seem like a lot, take into account that is all that is needed for that 1 game. That is not taking anything into account for all the other games played throughout the year, players in the minor leagues, or any other products used from cattle by-products. The meat from cattle is used for food source, but also car seats, medical products, soap, shampoo, and lubricants are just a few examples of products that all contain cattle by products in them. The number of cattle needed to produce this high level entertainment grows exponentially.

For all of the Royals fans out there, I hope they continue to excel through the rest of the playoffs. They sure have been fun to watch!

Until next time,

Miles Theurer

Checking Cows and Summer Rain

Hello, everyone!  My name is Cassie Schmidtberger, and I am a veterinary student at Kansas State University.  I’m from the small town of Victoria in western Kansas where my family runs a cow/calf operation consisting mainly of Red Angus cross cattle.  Now, if you’ve heard anything about western Kansas, you have heard it compared to the desert.  We’ve been in a significant drought for a long time.  However, this summer we were blessed with rain!  A lot of rain!  It was great!  It was also muddy.  As the principal “cow checker” over the summer, I had the job of going around to our multiple pastures and making sure the cows, calves, and bulls were all well and healthy, not to mention in the pasture where they were supposed to be.  With all the rain, there were several roads that got slimy, and some that were just plain impassable.

Lots of rain leads to flooded roads

That meant I got to check cows on a four-wheeler (ATV) for probably half the summer.  This led to a great farmer’s tan, but also some pretty great opportunities to interact with our cattle.  You’ll notice in the picture to the right that I’m on the four-wheeler, and those cows are headed straight for me.   

 

Curious cattle!

They literally ran up to sniff and lick on the four-wheeler.  I’m sure it tasted like mud, but oh well.  It was a great moment for me.  To see our animals happy, with green grass, fresh water, and playing with me really drove home just how much I love what I do and the career I’m going to enter. I want every producer’s animals to be just as happy, healthy and full of life as our cows are.  Now that I’m back in Manhattan and no longer checking cows, I like to think on that day to remind me that my hard work in veterinary school is worth it, and that not all the happy cows are in California J.

Best,

Cassie

What Do Cows Eat?

A few weeks ago I was at home, cutting what may seem like run-of-the-mill hay to the untrained eye:

But, upon closer inspection you may (or more likely may not, due to my photography skills) see what is growing in that field:

 

Still can’t tell? Here’s a close-up brought to you by Google images since I forgot to take one:

 

The dreaded crabgrass

You might recognize this as a weed that has plagued your neighbor’s lawn and is slowly encroaching on your own, the dreaded Crabgrass, and this field has it growing about 3 feet tall.  So if this weed is growing like crazy in the field, why am I swathing and baling it instead of spraying it with herbicide or working it under?  The answer is cows.  Cows can take this weed and turn it into delicious beef. 

This got me thinking about what else cows eat that’s unusual, then I looked at my shirt.  It’s made of cotton.  After cotton is harvested, the seeds are separated from the fibers.  Ranchers can buy those seeds or the seed hulls and mix them into a ration for cattle.  

In my lunchbox I had a sandwich and a cookie.  Large scale bakeries have products that have imperfections such as broken cookies.  Folks with cattle that live near large bakeries can buy these products and feed them to their cattle.  In the end the bakeries don’t have to throw away products that people don’t want to eat, and ranchers get a low-cost feed ingredient. 

The pickup I was driving that day had gasoline in it that was 10% ethanol.  Ethanol is made from distilling corn, and after the distillation process is complete, powdery corn leftovers are… well leftover.  In the cattle industry these are known as distiller’s grain.  Distiller’s grain makes for a great ration ingredient to add protein, phosphorus, and sulfur to a bovine diet. 

The moral of this story is cattle are great at recycling.  They take byproducts of everyday items and, with the help of their ruminant digestive system, turn them into food for people.  So what do cows eat?  Just about anything.  Thanks for reading, and as always if you see or hear of something that concerns you about where your food comes from, ask a farmer. 

Eat Beef,

Bruce Figger





Hormones in Beef: The Rest of the Story

Alright, so I want to talk a little bit about hormones in beef cattle.  I mean we all know a lot about them, mass media tells about them almost daily, about how they are bad for us and how they increase the risk of cancer.  But what has always puzzled me is why we only hear about hormones in the beef industry, and about how hormone consumption in beef is going to kill us.  Well I want to tell you a little bit of the rest of the story.  Yes, it is true conventionally raised beef does contain hormones.  It contains 1.9 nanograms per 3 ounce serving.  This is compared to all natural certified organic beef which contains 1.5 nanograms per 3 ounce serving.  That is a difference of .4 nanograms per 3 ounce serving.  That is decimal point with eight zeros and a four behind it (.000000004).  There is not much of a difference.  Now compare that to a food like soybeans.  Soybeans contain phytoestrogens which have been proven to be hormonally active in humans, per three ounce serving of soybean oil there are 168,000 nanograms of phytoestrogens.  Per three ounce serving of cabbage there are 2016 nanograms of estradiol.  Both of these foods contain no meat and are used frequently in vegetarian and vegan diets.

According to USDA numbers an average per capita 60 pounds of beef is consumed per person per year in the United States.  That works out to be 320-three ounce servings per year per person.  Which in turn comes to approximately 1077.17 nanograms of estradiol per year from beef consumption.

Now I want to compare that number to something that is practiced by thousands of women every day in the United States: birth control.  What I have here is a progesterone based birth control product.  It contains .035 mg of estradiol per pill and is based on a 28 day cycle so there are 21 active pills in a dispenser of this product.  If you consider a woman who uses this product for one year, that is 252 pills or 8,820 nanograms of estradiol per year.  Remember the amount estradiol per year from beef was 1077 nanograms per year. Approximately eight times more estrogen from progesterone based birth control than from beef. Now let’s consider a woman who takes an estrogen based birth control pill. They contain 35,000 nanograms of estradiol per pill which for the same 252 pill year works out to be 8,820,000 nanograms of estradiol per year.  That is approximately equal to 875,868 lbs of beef.  Or on a hot carcass weight basis, that is like eating 1100 steers per year per person.  That works out to be just a little over three steers per person per day.  So in summary for every one pill of estrogen based birth control consumed it is like eating 3 whole cows by yourself, daily. 

If you want to trim hormones out of your diets, beef should probably not be the first place you look. 

Thanks for reading and please let us know if you have questions and leave your comments below!

~ Nick Henning