Where does your beef come from: Commercial, crossbred and purebred Cows

I have mentioned before that the Boy and I raise Hereford cattle. This year one of our bull calves was born on our Florida cousin's birthday, so we named him Parker after the birthday boy. One of the first questions Parker asked us was would we keep Parker or would we be eating him. This is a question we get quite often so I came up with a few pictures for you.

In the cow business there are two types of cattle: commercial (sometimes called crossbred) and purebred (sometimes called seedstock). Commercial cows are made up of multiple breeds of cattle and are typically bred to purebred bulls. If the cow has a bull (boy) calf 99% of the time the calf is castrated and turned into a steer. These steers are then weaned and fattened and will eventually enter the food chain. (Commercial cattle can be any color).

If one of those commercial cows has a heifer (female) calf that heifer calf will likely be used as a breeding female, as long as she is the quality the farmer or rancher is looking for. She could stay in the farmer or rancher's herd or be sold to another cattlemen for him to use as a breeding female. 

If the quality isn't there or the farmer or rancher isn't keeping females that year the heifer calves could also enter the food chain. Clear as mud?!

Purebred cows are made up of one breed, and lots of them have a registration paper with a pedigree similar to a purebred dog. If the calves from a purebred cow are the quality that we are looking for the heifer calves are used as breeding females. The bull calves will also be used for breeding. However, if the quality isn't there then they may enter the food chain just like a commercial calf. 

The cows that you see at most cattle shows are purebred cattle. Some people buy cattle from purebred breeders like the Boy and I to exhibit at shows before those animals become breeding animals. 

What is boils down to is that most of the beef you are eating is from commercial cattle. Even more important is whether the animals are commercial or purebred they are both quality beef for your family. And finally to answer the initial question Parker the bull is not going to be eaten!  

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I am Not a Mommy Blogger but I have Influence

I am not a mommy blogger. I think that exact phrase was first coined by Brooke Clay on her blog. It is no secret that through my blog I want to give people a glimpse of what life on a farm is really like. It's hard, and frustrating, and some days we make money and some days we lose a lot of money. And many days I have cow poop on my shoes or clothes, but I also am probably wearing MAC lipstick. That is what farm life is.

I am a multigeneration farmer. I have been doing this my while life. I have two degrees in agriculture. I know my stuff. But yet somedays I feel like I don't have credibility.

Awhile back Trent Loos interviewed me about my blog and path to share agriculture's story and he asked me if I communicated much with mommy bloggers? My response was, "No."

You see it seems like until you have kids other people just don't trust you as much when you are talking about food. It is was even worse when I was single. At least now I am married. That somehow seemed to give me more street cred. And I am not alone in my thinking.

Dr. Jude Capper, an amazing rancher and scientist and lady behind the Bovidia blog, wrote a post asking "Do Moms Have Instant Beef Credibility?" Dr. Jude is expecting her first child and she confirmed what I have always suspected. She and other mothers are more credible than me, and all those other young women that are either too busy chasing their dream or just plain not interested in having children.

However, that doesn't mean I don't have influential. If you have heard me speak before there is this great book out there called The Influentials. And in it discusses how one in 10 Americans tells the other nine what to vote, where to eat and what to buy.

You have influential no matter what stage of life you are in. And you have to decide how you are going to use that influential. I hope I can influence you to believe that farmers no matter how big or little their farm is, whether they use GMO seed or only do organic, if they use antibiotics or not, they are all good people that care about the food they are producing. And if you are confused about why and the world would a farmer do that you would ask one or ask me and I'll help you find the answer. And two if you are going to invest in a longwear lipstick it should be MAC Pro Longwear Lipcreme.

One of the Hereford heifers we raised. 

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We leave a lot up to Mother Nature, and Mother Nature never takes a day off.

Other than updates from the Boy I have been pretty removed from the farm this past week. My agriculture office job has taken me to Kansas City and Fresno, California this week helping market the products I represent (they are a vitamin and mineral supplement for livestock cattle VitaFerm and Sure Champ.)

The Boy has been fighting against the weather as they try and finish up the last little bit of corn harvest. Another inch of rain has delayed things again today. Although, Mother Nature is creating an inconvenience she isn't in threatening mode yet. 

So why I am really brining up Mother Nature? Because of this video I saw today about a new movie called Farmland. It gave me goosebumps. I hope that's not just because I am a farmer, but because this story will resonate will all people. Even though you might not live on a farm or even know someone that lives on a farm trust me agriculture still impacts you. 

I hope you'll take a minute to watch the Farmland trailer. And this spring maybe we can all have a virtual viewing party. 

 Photo credit Don Holtz

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Winter is Coming - Time for Silage

With the crazy winter weather our friends to the north of us had, I think in Iowa we are all aware the winter could come anytime now. During the summer our cows get to graze on grass. However, in the winter that grass is dead and covered with snow, and trust me cows don't do so well on snowballs.

Two types of feed that famers commonly feed their cattle in winter are hay or silage. On our farm we feed some of both. Hay is grass that was cut during the summer, dried and then baled into round or square bales. For the first time last year, we also fed our cows silage. Silage is the corn you see in the field chopped, leaves, corn, the whole darn plant, into small pieces. It is then packed into a pit of a bag where it "cures" so that during the colder weather it will be ready for the cattle. Silage can also be made made out of other times of crops. 

The boy and a silage crew worked on putting up the silage for our cows this week. This is a neat YouTube video he made showing just a little bit of the process. 

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Momma don't let your calves grow up to be bulls

For the past couple of weeks I have been seeing all kinds of posts about kiddos headed back to school. I think there has been a mix reaction of relieved parents and bittersweet moments as moms and dads watch their babies grow up.

On the farm our baby calves are also growing up, and that means it is time to wean them from their mommas milk. This can be a stressful time for the calves and their moms, so the Boy and I try to do whatever we can to make the transition easier.

Introducing the Quiet Wean. That piece of plastic in that bull calf's nose is called a Quiet Wean. When the calves are ready to be weaned we place those clips in their noses. The Quiet Wean prevents them for nursing, but still allows them to eat grass and grain. This means that the calves get to stay with their moms (which reduces stress) while they become used to not nursing.

It also prevents the bawling (crying) that lots of people associated with weaning. It is much quieter around our house since the use of the Quiet Weans.

Someone on my Instagram feed asked what is the cows reaction? Using the Quiet Weans means less stress for the moms too. Even though the calves can't nurse, and their udders do become swollen for the first couple of days, the cows seem to eventually forgot about that and start grazing again. Food solves most problems for cows ;)

After the Quiet Weans have been in for 4-14 days we take out the clips and separate the cows and calves. And that is it. Those little babies are on their own and the moms are focusing on the new calf that is growing inside of them.

We spent Labor Day removing the Quiet Weans and now we have a nice group of calves behind of barn. I guess these guys can call me mom now.

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Why We Use Antibiotics on our Farm

There has been a lot of talk about antibiotics in the news again lately, especially with Panera's horrible EZ Chicken marketing campaign that implies those farmers that use antibiotics are taking the easy route.

A couple days ago we noticed one of our cows, Cici, had a swollen eye, that way very irritated. Her symptoms implied that she likely had pinkeye. Pinkeye in cattle can occur when the eye is irritated by long grass, dust or flies, and if not treated it can lead to blindness.

Just looking at Cici's eye you can't tell that it is hurting her? If you were in pain like this or a family member was would you opt for an antibiotic treatment? 

Cici's treatment was a two step process. First we gave her a injection of Penicillin. Since Cici is a cow raising a calf right now so she won't be entering the food chain. However, if she was, we would have to wait 10 days withdrawal period (these instructions are found on the bottle and this Beef Quality Assurance chart) for any antibiotic residues to leave her system so that the any meat entering the food system would be safe.

Next we prepared a patch for Cici to wear so that nothing (wind, flies, dirt, grass) would continue to irritate her eye. 

Old worn out jeans make the perfect cow eye patches.

Cici the "Pirate" cow is now on the road to recovery. 

I don't think any of what the Boy and I did to Cici was lazy or irresponsible. Instead we are making sure the animal health and welfare of our herd is closely watched. There is tons of misinformation and fear tactics that groups like Panera try to use to market a product. If you have questions about antibiotics ask a farmer or vet for some help sorting out the answers. We are the ones that are raising the food that is feeding our family and our communities. 

If you are looking for more information on common questions like antibiotics, GMOs, hormones, corporate farms, etc, check out this awesome website called Finding Common Ground. Tons of great resources! 

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Your thoughts on Panera and Antibiotics

Panera, you just had to go there. Using slick marketing terms like Chipotle to try and convince the consumer that you are doing the "right thing" in terms of the food you are serving in your stores.

Completely confused about what I am talking about? For awhile Panera has used the statement that they serve antibiotic free chicken in their stores. This statement in itself is confusing as all the meat that you consumer, whether it comes from a farmer's market, Wal-Mart, McDonalds or Panera, is antibiotic free. There are strict withdrawal times that farmers and ranchers must adhere to. It is illegal to sell meat that has antibiotic residues.

Now there is a difference in how livestock can be raised. On our farm we only administer antibiotics when a calf or cow is sick. I don't want to see them suffer and I don't want them to infect other calves or cows.

Now back to Panera and their claims. Yes, what they are posting on their menu upsets me, but what infuriates is their new marketing campaign. Introducing Ez Chicken.

EZ Chicken is the new character that Panera Bread has created. He portrays that farmers want to take the easy route aka too lazy to do its Panera's "right way." 

As blogging friend and dairy farmer Dairy Carrie points out...

She/he seems to be guilty of sloth. I mean who knew that they even made chicken sized hammocks? Of course chickens aren’t really out there holding up pharmacies to get drugs. Even if they somehow pulled off looking intimidating, chickens can’t get the pill bottles open. While you can order some chicken fingers with your fries, chicken thumbs aren’t on the menu. It doesn’t take a genius to understand what you’re really saying here.

But wait you say, Panera isn’t calling all farmers and ranchers lazy! They are just calling the ones that use antibiotics lazy! I used antibiotics to help a sick calf get better last week, my friends the organic farmers had a cow with pneumonia and they gave that cow antibiotics to make her better. They had to sell her, but she lived. Does that mean we are lazy? Is it lazy to take care of our sick animals?

Panera let me tell you one thing: Even though the boy and I choose to farm conventionally (use antibiotics) we are not lazy! I hope you will read Dairy Carrie's entire blog post about Panera, the Ez Chicken and antibiotics as she makes some really good points. And as consumers I hope that you continue to seek farmers out and ask questions about where your food is coming from and what these marketing campaigns really mean. 

Update (7/25/13): Thanks to Carrie Dairy kicking off this speak up campaign and all those who followed Panera Bread started removing all the references to Ez Chicken on their Facebook page and deleted the Twitter account! When we speak up together we are heard. 

Update: (7/25/13): Carrie Dairy was promised that someone from Panera Bread would contact her and that has not happened. They almost have only removed a couple of the Ex Chicken pictures. If you want to show support to farmers of all kinds use the hashtag #pluckexchicken whether you are on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Let's continue to make our voices heard! 

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Fresh Prince Fresh from the Farm

Remember those good old Kansas farm boys, the Peterson Brothers, that made headlines with their I'm Farming and I Grow It video? Well they are back and this time they are sharing a little more about what happens on a typical farm. The Boy and I rap all the time like this too ;)

Now this is a story all about how 

Our life is spent wiping sweat off our brow

And we'd like to take a minute just to stop and say

What goes down on the farm in a typical day

So you might not see a musical performance like this from the Boy and I, but with Instagram now hosting video you certainly will see more video from see. Can't wait to get home and start making our cows even more famous. To find me on Instagram search CrystalCattle.

p.s. To watch more Peterson Brothers video click here. 

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I have fluffy cows too!

Have your heard the Fluffy Cow buzz? It started of Reddit, and then stories showed up on Yahoo.com, and Today.com.

This is the orginial Fluffy Cow. He is actually a bull named Texas Tornado owned by Lautner Farms in Iowa. 

My family also owns some Fluffy Cows. 

This heifer (female cow that hasn't had a baby yet) is named Symphony. We sold her to some people in Tennessee in an auction last February. If you've heard me talk about Parker the Bull Calf, Symphony is his aunt. Yes, cattle can have aunts and uncles. 

So what makes Fluffy cows different from regular cows? Well Symphony was halter broke (broke to lead) when she was a baby so we could show her at the Iowa State Fair. We spent a lot of time washing her, blow drying her (with a giant hair dryer just for cows), adding conditioners to her hair and even giving her hair cuts. The people that now own Symphony are continuing to show her.

So why do we show cattle? 1. It is a great way for us to market our cattle. Obviously by showing Symphony and making sure she looked her best we were able to attract a great buyer for her. 2. Symphony is a breeding heifer so her purpose in life will be to produce other top of the line genetic offspring. 3. Sometimes we do eat Fluffy Cows, these are mostly steers that are shown in 4-H or FFA. These two youth programs teach a lot of responsibility and that hard work is one of the most important pieces to success. 

In this picture you can tell where the different cuts of beef come from. If you are looking for a great beef recipe we dug up this Beef Kabob one that we found last year. The combination of beef and vegetables with the honey & soy sauce glaze is amazing!

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What's that smell

On April Fool's Day the Calgary Stampede played a little trick via their Facebook page.

In our ongoing efforts to create a stronger bond between urban and rural Alberta, the Calgary Stampede will begin our new Rural Scent Program (RSP) this week.
Over the past year, the Stampede has been working with university researchers to perfect a series of 12 authentic fragrances that capture the essence of southern Alberta agriculture operations.
On the first Thursday of each month the Stampede will fog one of the scents from high atop the Grandstand. And Calgarians will be transported to the farm.

Depending on wind and weather conditions we expect residents from Varsity to Lynnwood and Lakeview to Temple to enjoy the tempting scents. On a good day the effect of RSP may reach the airport – creating an authentic western welcome for tourists and those southern Albertans returning home.

At first I thought this sounded pretty cool. Yes, not all smells from the farm are ideal. Manure smells. There is no getting around it. But fresh cut hay, a newly plowed field, silage (a wet grain/hay mixture we feed to cattle), a newly opened bag of mineral are amazing smells. Yes, I can show you through pictures and video what the farm looks and sounds like but it is hard to capture the smell through this blog.

I began to read through the list of smells the Calgary Stampede would be using in their Rural Scent Program. They included damp straw, ripe farm hand, barn manure and turkey farm among others. Wait a minute if I live on a farm and am not entirely found of these smells why would I want to force people living in urban areas to deal with them. Oh wait - April Fools.

Maybe having this scent technology wouldn't be so bad. That way I could share all the wonderful farm smells with you to compensate with those sometimes not too pleasant scents that like to drift in the wind.

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My #FarmVoice Celebrates Earth Day

There are a bunch of people celebrating Earth Day today. I don't know if this day feels any different than most to me, and I try and respect the land (which in my case includes pasture and farm ground) everyday. That's because I am a farmer. And when you sign up to be a farmer you are also signing up to be responsible for the land and the animals on it.

Farm On has been asking farmers to share their stories using the hashmark #FarmVoices. If you are on Twitter, Instagram or Vine check out the great posts from people around the world.

I've been using the #FarmVoices hashtag for a while now and thought I would share with you a couple videos and photos from our farm.

(To hear sound hover your mouse over the top lefthand corner of the video and a little sound button will appear. Click on that.)

I call this steer Big Ben because 1. he is bigger than all the other steers, and 2. he is really gentle. Our steers are getting close to the end of their lives. Since this fall they have been eating lots of corn and getting really fat. Soon it will be time to harvest them. We feed them corn twice a day. However, during the day they like to stick their heads in the hay ring or lounge around. Below is a picture of them from this weekend.

These same steers and the bull on the other side of the fence were a little restless this week so the Boy and I had some fence fixing to do. It is amazing all the farmgirl things you can do in a hot pink J. Crew shirt.




And finally, I had to go back in time a little bit and show you this video of a brand new baby calf. It is pretty cool to watch these little guys be born. We only have one cow left to calf. All the babies and their moms have been moved out to the big pasture. They are wanting that combination of sun and moisture as much as I am, as they are ready to start eating some green grass!

Happy Earth Day to you all, and remember to thank a farmer for taking care of the land everyday.

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Where in the world is Crystal Cattle

Did you think I fell off the face of the Earth? Shipped back to Canada? Swallowed by one of the mud holes in our pasture? Nope, I just disappeared from the blog a little because things have been busy!

A made a little 13 day trip to Oklahoma City for the World's Largest Youth Livestock Show. More than 14,000 of lambs, pigs, goats and cows were there being showing by 4-H and FFA members. And no I did not wear these shoes to the barn. However, in-between all that fun at the livestock show I did do go shopping! I can't wait to show you all my finds including these Jessica Simpson Snake-Print Heels. My fashionista friend, Catie and I had to build a whole outfit around these heels! 

While in Oklahoma I also celebrated my 28th birthday. I have some amazing girls friends in Oklahoma that treated me to a birthday night of fun. However, when I got back the boy surprised me and we headed to Dubuque, Iowa, for an overnight trip at Hotel Julien. It was fantastic. I mean when they give you a little banana bread to go after supper I say winning! But that wasn't the end of all the fun. The Boy also had a complete spa morning book for me at Potosa Spa. Best facial I have ever had.

My mom and dad sent this awesome bulb garden from www.proplant.com as an Easter/early anniversary gift. I have always wanted to plant some tulips, and this is getting me off the the right start. When the planter arrived the sprouts were just above the dirt. They are now huge, and trust me my thumb is not that green. 

Things have also been busy on the farm. This straw used to contain frozen bull semen, before it was used to artificially inseminate (A.I.) one of our cows named Teardrop (mother of Parker). We are super ovulating the cow to produce multiple eggs. Then the eggs are fertilized by A.I., and on Monday we will flush those eggs out of her ovaries. This is all done by a veterinarian. Those eggs can then be frozen and implanted into other cows. Very similar to when a women who can't get pregnant has some one else carry her baby. Except in our case we are doing these to propagate more desirable genetics from the donor cow. Clear as mud?

Finally, I snuck away last night when the boy was at bowling to buy some fabric for a secret project. I'll show you the finished results later on. I did learn a couple things. 1. I love fabric! 2. It is expensive. I can only image how much is cost to make a quilt. 

I hope you are all doing fantastic. Even though I haven't been blogging I have still been trying to read some of your posts and keep my Facebook and Instagram feeds going. 

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Introducing the newest babies

There are a few new babies in town, and there is going to be ton more throughout March. (So a ton for us is like 12, a ton for others is like 50). I've got a new little boy and new little girl to introduce you to.

This is the bull calf. The Boy so far has called him Paul Revere. Why you may ask? I asked this too. Well, this bull calf's sire (dad) is name Bailout. And Paul Revere bailed out the Americans by yelling "The Red Coats are coming, the Red Coats are coming!" Follow? Yes, naming is quite the process at our house. We'll see if the name sticks. I love the first moment when baby calves stand up. 

The next calf is really special to us. Her mom Fantasty ended up being a bottle calf when she was a baby because her mom didn't have enough milk. She even got to spent some time in the Boy's basement. The Boy pretty much raised Fantasy all while we were dating. Now, she has her own little baby heifer and Fantasy is a great mom. You'll also notice that I am keeping it real and there is some afterbirth on the cow. It can take a few hours for the cow to "clean" and expel all the afterbirth. 

This is a really quick video of Fantasy and Baby Fantasy. I've recently joined Vine, which is like the video world of Instagram. I've got a couple more calf videos posted on it, and let me know if you have jumped on the latest social media platform. If you are on Vine look me up - Crystal Cattle.

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Blizzard of OZ on the Range

It is snowing across a fair chunk of the Midwest this week. We got about four inches is what they are telling me, but Kansas got dumped on. When winter weather hits there are a couple big priorities for farmers and ranchers - get the livestock fed, break ice in the waters, and start pushing snow so you can get around.

I was sent this video by an Kansas rancher, Derek Klingenberg, last night and I wanted to share. The video is so pretty and music is so soothing that you kind of forget that he is probably going this in single degree temps (maybe even lower with the windchill). #thankafarmer



p.s. are any of you excited to go see the new Wizard of Oz movie? The name is slipping me right now, but the Boy really wants to go see it.

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Getting Inked Up

Some one got a tattoo this week. 

image from here

Do you have a tattoo? Have you considered getting one before? I was this close to getting one a few years ago on a trip to Vegas during the NFR. However, my girlfriend that I took the trip with was scared of needles, and said she just couldn't be in there to hold my hand. I was really going to need someone to hold my hand. And so, to this day I am sans tattoo.

However, some one did get inked up this weekend, and it wasn't the Boy. He is sans tattoo as well. It was a big day for Goblin the bull. He really didn't have a choice, but I think he is happy with his look.

Tattooing is one of the permanent ways that we can I.D. cattle. Branding would be another. We are about to sell Goblin in a sale next week and his tattoo needs to match what is on his registration paper. When he was a calf he got 2Z put in her right ear, however he still needed JJB put in his let ear. It isn't necessary to do them at separately times, that is just how it happened this time.

First you take tattoo ink. FYI this stuff does not come out of clothes, and you have to scrub forever to get it off you hands. But it does its job - prepares the skin for the tattoo and then sets the tattoo. 

This is what the tattoo gun looks like. JJB is what we were putting in Goblin's ear. So after the letters or numbers are in place you slip the cow's ear in-between the slot and clamp down on it. 

See the little holes that the needles leave? The ink then fills these holes. The ink will eventually wear away and behind will be a the tattoo - a bunch of little dots that make the letter JJB. I'm ready to open my tattoo shop. Who's up? 

Oh, and did you catch the winner of the Country Outfitter Gift Card giveaway? Annie Culbertson you and your tweet one yourself a $150 gift card. I'll be in touch soon with all the details. 

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In Style with Winter Weather Gear

Winter is here in Iowa. I've got the pictures to prove it. (OK maybe it was here, and now most of that snow has melted. Although when we are out feeding cows in that cold winter weather I'm not too concerned about fashion it is fun to try and find cute winter clothes. Especially for when I am out in town or headed to some of my favorite winter events like the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo. 

I think this green ruffle coat would work quite well. Not only is emerald the in color of 2013, I am also a huge fan of ruffles. Plus, if you spend more than $50 at Cavendar's you get free shipping. Pretty important to this girl since the UPS man knows me so well. 

I have been seeing these faux fur vests all over Pinterest lately, and Suzie at UrbanCountryStyle had a really cute one on her blog, but it was sold out. However, after a little searching I came across this one. I think it would look great with some skinny jeans and boots. Here comes the really good news - it is currently on sale! 

I also like this pink Under Armour half zip. Nothing wrong with a little pop of color when thinks are a little grey out. 

What is your favorite way to stay warm when winter hits?

*This is a sponsored post brought to you by Cavendar's. The thoughts and reviews are completely my own opinions. 

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What a Winter Storm Looks like to Farmer

You are going to need more than a shovel for this one. 

Well, these pictures are long overdue, but I still wanted to share them. The week before Christmas we got a huge Winter Storm. I was kind of excited for it because we were completely bare previous to this snow. Guess you can't take the Canadian girl out of me!

This was the change we saw in less than 12 hours. 

The storm brought in almost 12 inches of snow. And it brought wind, tons of wind. In Iowa that means huge drifts. It would have been nice to stay inside and enjoy a snow day, but when you are a farmer someone else is depending on you - your livestock. So the Boy and I bundled up and made the trip to our farm where the cattle are.

This is what the drive looked like to the farm. 

I am sure the weather was a little deceiving for those that live in town. The snow plows were out, and since there was so much more shelter from houses and trees the wind wasn't making a mess of everything. However, as we exited town we were once again faced with ugly winter conditions. 

When we got to the farm we started to make the rounds. Checking on waters to make sure nothing was frozen, getting cattle their feed and making sure they had protection from the elements. This is our pride and joy Teardrop. She got to come into the barn, not because she needed to, but she is a our baby and we had the room. p.s. Teardop is due to calve Jan. 12 so #calfwatch2013 is officially on!

The alleyway was so full of snow. It was definitely a good workout walking through those drifts. 

The show heifers were happy to get their grain. You can tell that they are fat and happy because of the ice crystals on their back. That fat keeps them warm, and will slightly melt the snow on their back and then refreeze. 

There really isn't anything more rewarding than knowing that you helped take care of an animal especially in a situation like this. However, I hope the rest of the moisture that we desperately need comes in smaller amounts during the rest of Winter. 

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