Hoag's Land

We'll take what we can get!

2013-03-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Its been a dry year... to say the least. With over 75% of the country in drought conditions, its hard to complain about a little snow, or even a lot of snow!

So when it started coming down a couple weeks ago we bundled up, went outside and did a little dance. Afterall, snow is moisture and the earth rejoiced. But then it kept coming, and coming, and coming! With a day in between the two biggest storms, the guys had just enough time to push their way through the drifts to get big ol Bertha down the road.

As with every time we have severe weather, our cattle are on the forefront of our minds. But when we have little babies hitting the ground every day, 12 inches of snow makes matters even worse. Luckily, cows are notorious for hiding their babies out of sight and out of the wind so 9 times out of 10 the little babies wake up after the storm dry and warm and ready to go sledding!

And, with the passing of every storm, there is always the promise of yet another day. Another sunrise, another sunset, another day to give Thanks.

Who are you calling a Heifer!?

2013-03-19T08:47:00.000-05:00

Keeping with the theme of playing, "What went on on the ranch"....

Running a registered herd is quite a bit different then running a commercial herd. With our Black Hereford herd, we are quite anal about keeping meticulous records. From very specific birth weights, weaning weights, calving ease even down to specific dates of vaccinations. This helps us build up data on our herds so we have everything we need to present to our buyers and prove what an amazing group of cattle they are!

So, just like the bulls, we have to get yearling weights on our little heifers. It's a pretty quick but necessary step of their lives but, like most women, the heifers would rather look away from the scale then have their weight shouted throughout the barn. We use this data to calculate their average daily gain, something we are very proud of with our Black Herefords.

Nonetheless, its always pretty incredible to see how quickly our little girls have grown from 70-90 lb little newbies to 900 lb teenagers. It brings a tear to my eye... they're all grown up!

Neighbor to Neighbor

2013-03-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

You know those people who stand outside the grocery stores? The ones who are ringing bells, handing out fliers, trying to give or get something from you? Are you the type of person who stops and listens to what they have to say or one that skirts on by "promising" you'll stop on the way out only to take the back exit and walk a 1/4 mile just to avoid the conversation?

If you're the latter, stop and listen just for a moment. Ms. Katie and I will be posted up outside of Dillons on Saturday morning promoting the Neighbor to Neighbor food drive. We will be collecting food and money for our local families of Leavenworth County who dont have enough to eat.

Being a farmer and a rancher, we already are providing food for the nation but as Kansas' largest industry, employer and economic driver; there is always more we can do.

“The Neighbor to Neighbor food drive can help us reduce hunger in Kansas but it also gives us a chance to say thank you to our state’s farmers and ranchers,” Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman said. “Today’s farmers and ranchers work 365 days a year to raise food to feed your family and mine. They work to continuously improve their practices to raise safe, wholesome food. About 30 years ago, one farmer fed approximately 56 people on average. Today, one farmer feeds 155 people. I hope all Kansans will join us in this important effort to help our neighbors and will also take a minute to say thank you to the men and women who raised that food.”

So, come by and see us. We'll be at the Dillons in Leavenworth from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm She is quite possibly the cutest pregnant lady you'll ever meet and I just want to shake your hand for helping us help those in need. After all, it's going to be a beautiful day!!

In other news...

2013-03-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Other reasons why I've turned into a bad blogger? Too many commitments! One little job after another means I need a big marker board to keep things straight... ( Need, dont have, that's why I'm always feeling crazy!!!)

So, here's my little two cents that goes in the Kansas Stockman each month. Basically I just write a few words about what's going on with the Black Hereford Association so people are always thinking about us!

April's Issue:

The sales are wrapping up, the snow is melting and the baby calves are quickly making their debuts! If you’re a spring calving operation that uses live cover for breeding you should be seeing at least 65% of your babies by the end of your first 21 day breeding cycle. That makes for a very busy first couple of weeks. If your numbers are much less than that, you may want to consider looking into your cow nutrition or your herd bull battery. Your heifers should be 65% of their full adult weight upon breeding and 85% of their adult weight at delivery of their first calf.

Although the snow is less than desirable during the thick of calving season, we hope it will provide some much needed relief from the drought we’ve all be suffering through. The uncertainty of Mother Nature has made for smaller herds for this upcoming year but if you find yourself needing a bull as the rain (hopefully) continues to fall, please contact me at(913) 727-1266.

we got oursleves a 'twofer'!

2013-03-11T16:32:00.000-05:00

You know that perfect pair of boots? The ones that go with every outfit; that were broke in just right; that you just couldn't imagine living without? Well that's the way we viewed cowboy John. Dependable, hard working, versatile.

So you could imagine our heartbreak when he got an offer he couldn't refuse. He decided to move out west ( central KS, dont get carried away) to become a partner in another cattle operation. We were heartbroken but really excited for his opportunity. Afterall, we couldn't expect him to stay with us forever, right?

So just when we felt like all was lost and we'd never find another cowboy quite like him, we found Brandon ... and his brother in law, Brandon. Yep, you read that right. Two Brandons, One Family. It's the things dreams are made of. For the sake of confusion from this point on, we'll call them North and South. ( dont tell them this, they're from Texas and I'm sure North would not appreciate nickname)

South ( always in a baseball cap) started with us while John was still here, learning the ropes, getting in the groove, and that poor guy got thrown in right before sale time hit. Talk about a crash course during one of the hardest times of the year. The only thing worse than starting right before sale time? Starting right at the beginning of calving... poor poor North.

So here we are, North ( the cowboy hat type) has a wonderful little family with two boys a little older than lil Hoagie so he has someone to get in trouble with. And our young pup, South, who seems to be cowboy John 10 years ago, Mr. "fix it and if I dont know how I'll learn". Always good to have on the ranch.

They're a little camera shy in their new habitat but I'm sure I'll break em in soon!

I think I can

2013-03-07T22:20:00.001-06:00

It's been a while. Ok, it's been forever. And I wish I had a better excuse. One better than my world got rocked by some 8 lb 9 oz lil cowboy who, with every day, changes the very world I've come to know and love. And of course, for the better. But have you ever been blindfolded, spun around and then put on a runaway pony?? Because that's my world now.

But, after 8 months, I feel like I have control. No, scratch that. I've succumb, submitted, surrendered to the idea that I have NO control and I'm learning every day to be ok with that. I'm ok. I'm ok. .... Ok...

A lot has changed since the last time I left you and I'm going to do my best to catch you up on it. Over the past few months I've found myself missing this blog. Missing being able to put out into the universe what goes on here. Believable or not, it is our life.

Confession time: I think what had me stuck last time I left was I was trying to make this blog too educational. Seriously, who wants that. So I'm going back to my roots. Writing about the everyday here at the ranch which inevitable is funny, challenging, covered in poop, and ever changing....just like lil Hoagie!!

I won't promise you I'll be here every week. I will promise you I'll do my best to keep you on the forefront of my mind the next time I'm shin deep in a pile of muck laughing to myself that nobody would believe this!!

Until then !!

Always yours , The Hoags

S&P easy as 1,2,3!

2012-09-06T06:41:00.001-05:00

So my theme for meals these days has been ' the easier the better' and sausage and pepper is as easy as it gets. No dishes, no heating up the house and all fresh ingredients!

You can eat this deliciousness as a sandwich or freestyle or even over some penne with a little evoo... The sky is the limit!!

Start by slicing up a variety of bell peppers, whatever mix you like but definitely a mix. I use 5 peppers. Then slice one medium onion ( I like to do red and yellow to keep the flavors interesting) a couple cloves of minced garlic and you're set!

Into the grill basket! Now, I generally sprinkle this with some red pepper flakes because I use sweet Italian sausage. If you choose spicy, I'd skip that step. The goal is to have a sweet and spicy combo.

A little drizzle of evoo, salt and pepper and a good shake! Throw your grill basket and one packet of sweet Italian sausage on the grill. Veggies over med-high. Sausage over medium.

Meanwhile, throw a loaf of bread in the oven if you'd like.

Once cooked; layer sausage, peppers, a slice of mozzarella on the split loaf and broil till cheese is melty

Bon appetite!!

Because Maui wants you to !

2012-09-04T09:51:00.004-05:00

And honestly, who could resist that face! This year, Hoag and I are running in the 5K to support our local no kill shelter, Wayside Waifs. We're not much for running but for a cause as good as this one, we're willing to suck it up!

I dont normally do this, but we'd love your support so we can support them.

On behalf of all the animals who find love, care and a temporary place of respite at Wayside Waifs, I am excited to represent this incredible organization by participating in the 22 Annual Strutt With Your Mutt on Sept. 22. I am proud to run/strutt in support of Wayside Waifs, Kansas City's largest no kill pet adoption center. I hope you will consider making a gift on my behalf.

Did you know:

· Wayside Waifs is responsible for placing 1/3 of all animals adopted from Kansas City area shelters

· Wayside Waifs offers 10 Humane Education programs to children in schools from all over the metropolitan area, including No More Bullies, an anti-violence program

· 25% of the animals at Wayside Waifs are purebred

· Wayside Waifs has a FEMA certified Animal Rescue and Response Team, trained to respond to natural disasters, hording situations, and puppy mill rescues on a regional level.

We will all be running the 5K September 22 in brookside and we'd love your support! Please visit our donation page to help us reach our goal! No gift is too small ( or too big for that matter!)

Thank you for your help in supporting those who take on the task of housing KC's homeless pets. And be sure to check your local shelters before visiting the breeders !

Lil Hoagie

2012-08-29T13:59:00.000-05:00

Well, he's finally here. Actually its been 7 weeks... but for those of you who have kids, you understand how those first weeks are a total blur. Hoagie arrived on July 11, 2012 leisurely in the afternoon. Hoag and I have been totally enamored with this little guy every second while still trying to maintain some sort of work ethic.

I realized, a few days ago, that the whole concept of this blog is going to change. Seeing how I've barely been involved in the ranch since he's been here ( more involved with avoiding the pee sniper, blowouts and mastering the art of doing everything with one hand) I feel like I've almost lost touch with the outside world. I know, with time, things will kick back up again and I'll be involved. With a little more head control, a lot of confidence from me and the understanding of our cows returning from the hills... things will be at a different pace.

I want to share with you the experiences of a ranch mom and how I'll be coping with it. I fully intend to still educate and inform, hopefully humor and wet your taste buds a bit; but I'll be finally adding to the sad and empty tab on the blog known as Hoag's Kids.

I'm sure that you understand, whoever you are out there, that there will not be many pictures of our precious baby's face. I can assure you he is every bit as cute as your imagination is leading you to believe he is. But, the sad truth is there are some people out there that don't read blogs to learn, laugh or dream and they are why I have to take this route.

I can't wait to get back to photographing our daily lives, exploring from a child's eye, and teaching our little Hoagie how to be a wonderful keeper of the earth and her animals. And even more importantly, I can't wait to share those stories with you.

In the meantime, please let me know if there is anything this year that I can teach, clarify, or defend for you. And if you must see our little man and you are not a facebook friend, please feel free to email me!

All the best,
The proudest and happiest mama in the world.

It's blue green water and it ain't the sea

2012-08-23T16:17:00.000-05:00

It's no new info that we are in a serious drought and with the lack of rain and excessive heat, we are all facing a multitude of new challenges. We all know it takes rain to grow crops, crops to feed cattle and cattle to feed the consumer. But the challenges our consumer doesn't think about is how hard no rain can be on the cattle from the get go.

The natural cycle for the 94% family owned and operated ranches is generally the same. Cattle go out to pasture in the spring where they are fed by grass all summer long and then sold to the feedlot somewhere after labor day. For our operation, we send both our beef cattle and our registered cattle out to the flint hills in the spring where they feed on the wonderful natural grasses and are watered by the natural springs and ponds that are in each pasture. Problem is... you need rain to keep those ponds full and the springs running.

Without the rain to fill our ponds, the water level is low, warm and stagnant creating the perfect environment for Blue Green Algae. This algae is the latest threat to the nations cattle herd and is prominent in the areas most affected by the drought.

The blue green algae occurs naturally in most ponds but when the conditions are right, it can multiply and take over small bodies of water. The rain is what normally breaks up the scum and continues the natural cycle but without our rain, this algae is growing in abnormally high concentrations. Not only does this kill the plants and organisms living in the water by sucking out all the oxygen but it also is highly toxic to all animals. "Livestock affected with the nervous system toxins may
show signs including muscle tremors, decreased movement, and difficult breathing. They will collapse and go into convulsions. In the field, many cases show no signs except sudden collapse and death." according to South Dakota State University

So, as you can imagine, everyone is on high alert. As if the lack of water and grass wasn't hard enough on us all, now we have to take special care to keep an eye on the water we do have.

Bottom line? Start doing the rain dances because our consumers may not think this affects them but it will take a toll on the supermarket prices!

Remembering what's important this 4th of July

2012-07-03T10:00:00.001-05:00

Now I love America more than the next guy! And being a red blooded American, what better way to show our appreciation than to blow a bunch of stuff up.. am I right? Right? Wrong.

This year, we need to take care of our current America... and she is thirsty, dry and ready to light up with the smallest match. According to National Drought Mitigation, 72% of American is categorized as "Abnormally dry" or worse. This is compared to last year, with what we felt was a terrible year, where 32% of the country was in this category. The fear is this drought is going to rival or surpass the drought of 1988 which put the agriculture business back $78 million.

Now were all painfully aware of what the residents of Colorado are currently facing.

There is no doubt that these fires are uncontrollable and fueled by dry lands, high winds and excessive periods of no rain. How is that any different than any of the midwest?

Besides the obvious effects of the land burning under our feet, this drought has the possibility of affecting each and every one of us where it hurts even more... our wallets. With the lack of rain our corn and soybean crops are deteriorating rapidly. With higher corn prices comes higher feed costs, lower margin for error resulting in higher beef costs.

I know this is not my normal cheery blog but I want us all to be painfully aware of the situation were in. It's not to be taken lightly. Some big cities have banned fireworks which is great for this year but for those of us that live outside the city limits, rules seldom reach us or are enforced.

So please, use your heads, play with snakes and smoke bombs. Keep a hose close by in case something does spark and be mindful of your neighbors. Some of us are trying to grow food for the nation and we need every blade of grass we can get!

Happy Birthday America. We'll do our best to take better care of you from now on.

KISS Kabobs with Cheesy Garden Orzo

2012-06-26T10:17:00.001-05:00

Keep it Simple Sweetheart. That's what my junior high band director used to say... although I think he had a different word for the sweetheart. Either way, summer veggies are here and what better way to celebrate nature's bounty then by letting it be the showcase piece! These Kabobs are easy, quick and allow for any variation you please!

Start out with a bucket of veggies. These are just peppers and onions but tomatoes, squash, eggplant... the possibilities really are endless. Toss them with a little evoo, s&p and I like to do a little sprinkle of sugar to help them caramelize on the grill. you can also throw a woody herb in there like rosemary or oregano to add a little kick!

Then its the meat. I chose a top sirloin and did my normal marinade of evoo, balsamic, dijon mustard and garlic. Let that sit for an hour or so to really get yummy!

Skewer away and dont leave a single piece of anything behind! I always wind up with extra veggies but who doesn't love roasted vegetables as a snack!

In the meantime, boil some water ( I trust you to do this by now!) and cook up a pound of orzo. This little pasta goes fast so don't wander too far! Drain it and throw it back in your hot pan with 2 generous tablespoons of butter, a big handful of parm and whatever other cheeses you have on hand. I also put goat cheese in mind but Gruyere, mozz, jarslberg, they'd all be delish. I mean its cheese, right?

Next, mix in some chopped fresh spinach and tomatoes. Again, anything can go in here, even those extra roasted veggies you have leftover from your KISS Kabobs!

Grill your Kabobs turning frequently until cooked through. 160 degrees for safe and savory with your beef but you can tell if it only has a little give to it.

BON APPETITE!

Ranch Style Spaghetti and Meatballs

2012-06-21T17:36:00.003-05:00

Hello again! I'm busy trying to stock my fridge up with good, easy and nutritious meals for when the baby gets here that I know Hoag will love and want to make. So, here's my quick ranch version of spaghetti and meatballs!

* now obviously, this isn't THE recipe for meatballs because I think a few people would have my head for using block mozzarella, canned breadcrumbs and just one meat but hey.. you do with what you have, and we always have beef!*

So, we'll start with 2 lbs of ground beef. This made about 6 servings of meatballs so cut down as you see fit! Add 6 cloves chopped garlic, a large handful chopped parsley and basil, 2 Tbsps of Fennel, 1 Tbsps of red pepper flake and mush together.

I add one egg for each 1lb of meat and 1/2 cup breadcrumb per egg... you do the math :)

Mush Mush mush... salt and pepper and voila!

ok, so here's another short cut, blocked mozzarella, albeit lacking in taste and texture, can stay frozen in your freezer until just the right time. I'm just sayin.. these things are important when it takes 20 minutes round trip just to drive to your grocery!

Cut up your Mozz and make meatballs about the size of a golf ball. Usually I just do half, stick the cheese in there, take the other half and round it out. It's like a little, delicious, ooey gooey surprise in your meatball that you'll thank me for.

The size is up to you :)

As a cook, one of my biggest shortcomings is patience... also why I call myself a cook and not a baker!! For perfect, round meatballs you have to stand and shake your pan to prevent too much browning or flattening on one side. But, I think it all tastes the same so just don't forget about them.

While these are browning, ( you'll have to do it in batches) you'll want to be working on your Sunday Gravy so you can plop the browned meatballs in the sauce.

Another important thing to note here is you do not need your meatballs cooked all the way before they hit the sauce... That is, if you started this in the afternoon. A good sauce with meatballs will cook together for about three hours at least. If you didn't get started ( honestly who has that kind of time) you'll want to make sure they're cooked almost completely but still allow at least 1 hour for melding!

Dish it up over your favorite cut of pasta with a little fresh grated parm and you're good to go! A fresh sprinkle of basil would be nice too but mine is struggling a bit with this heat. Bon Appetite !

While were away

2012-06-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends!!

Hoag and I will be spending a lot of time in the Hills until the baby is here so until we return, here are a few of our favorite shots to let you know who and what we're enjoying with our few last weeks!

It's like riding a bicycle...

2012-06-06T09:45:00.000-05:00

Well, were on the homestretch of this first pregnancy with a little over 4 weeks left and I guess I've entered the "itchy" stage. Instead of basking in the glow of my pregnancy and trying to relish all the lovely changes I've started thinking about all the things I miss about my non pregnant self. So, here are a few of the things I'm looking forward to.. hopefully they all come back to me!

The first 2 million are pretty obvious baby boy Hoagland related so I'll save you all the sappy, mommy love facts and get straight to the nitty gritty

In no particular order.. ( lest you know wine and beer would be at the top!)

Runny Eggs

Cold beers on front porches after long summery days

Sleeping next to my husband ( I don't mean I have kicked my poor Hoag out of bed but the fortress of pillows that surround me make it feel like he's in the next room!)

Seeing my toes

Not having to roll off the couch with a sundry of old man noises

size 6 jeans with no belly band

Eating whatever I want, whenever I want and not worrying about if I have met my quota for fruits, veggies, and protein.

Not having to pee every time I get off the gator to open gates

Not having to pee every time I move

Cold Pinot Grigio

Girls nights that don't involve "virgin" anything

Oysters

Napping because I get to not because I have to

Seared Tuna fresh off the boat

My whole wardrobe

riding my horses and not worrying about.. well ... everything

Getting back to being motivated to doing recipe blogs and not just rushing through cooking because I have the energy.

Wine with cooking ( I think this is the main reason my cooking has gone down hill!)

Shaving my legs without fear of toddling over

My relatively hormonally balanced self.. ( did I make this up? have I always been this crazy??)

This list really could go on and on but the copious amounts of laundry await me and I must get back to wiping down the inside of the dishwasher. - nesting anyone?-

But, most importantly, I wanted to thank those of you who have stuck with me through this off and on blog while I navigated my way through this pregnancy. I'm hoping now that I'm back on the ranch full time I will find at least one nap time a week to get back up to speed!

Talking a lot of Beef!

2012-06-03T12:08:00.001-05:00

What a great way to spend a Thursday afternoon!! The Leavenworth County Beef Improvement Association linked up with the Missouri Beef Industry Council and Nutritionist, Dieticians and Chefs from across the country for an inside look about the beef cattle industry!

We started out with a great lunch at Bichelmeyer's where we cattle ranchers spread out to answer any questions our guests had, and man, they came prepared! Hoag and I luckily were at a table together and we talked about everything from antibiotic use to artificial insemination to why we chose to raise Black Herefords even down to how much beef we eat on a weekly basis!

From there we went to the Tailgate ranch in Tonganoxie where their ranch manager and one of our fearless leaders, Kirk Sours along with a Nebraska Feedlot owner (pregnancy brain lapse, I can't remember his name) and Patti Dollarhide from Cargill all sat on a panel to discuss the full cycle of beef production.

As we trickled into the ranch, everyone looked around checking out the pens, the horses, talking about their experiences and enjoying yet another steamy May day in Kansas!

Katie Yunghans chatting it up

Cale Weihe talking with Ms. Patti Dollarhide

The lovely group of America's finest

Our panelist

We spent about an hour listening to the panelist discuss the cycle of beef production from breeding and raising the cattle on a grass ranch to the feedlot and finally to the processing plant. Tons of great info for a lot of people who've never been on or seen anything like this.

Unfortunately the heat got to me and I had to leave before the Q&A started, ( always my favorite part as it gives us a great opportunity to practice our agvocacy) so I can't report on that. But I can only imagine that these lovely ladies were enamored with the industry and went home feeling 100% confident in their beef production team as a whole :)

LV County 4-H comes to the ranch!

2012-05-03T10:02:00.000-05:00

I Promise, PROMISE! I'll try to be more timely with these posts but as you all know, life just happens. :)

A couple weeks ago, we were offered a great opportunity to show the Leavenworth County 4-H group around the ranch. While this isn't the first time we've done a field day/open ranch day, it was the first time that Hoag and Cowboy John ran the show!

Ms. Katie ( on the far left) was the 4-H leader and she brought a group with kids ranging in age from 12-18. This group was interested in everything from showing cattle, cattle nutrition, raising their own herds to you name it but today they were learning how our feedlot operates. Cue Cowboy John.

While he's not much of a talker, he sure knows his stuff and the kids really listened. We started with explaining how we get the feed to the cattle. This is the tub grinder where the hay is chopped up and blown into the hay barn to be used later.

Even Hoag was intrigued :)

Then we were off to the Silage pit where Hoag and Cowboy John explained the rations, how they're put together, how we keep track of it all and who gets what!

Next stop, Big Bertha! A peek inside the old feed truck to see how everything gets mixed once it's all combined.

Then it's showtime. The kids asked all their great questions while we waited for Bertha to mix and make her way up the hill. These are clearly cattle kids.

More questions and then it was time for cookies and punch.

It's always such a treat to get to share what you love to do with anyone that will listen. But talking to the next generation of farmers and ranchers... that's just an honor.

Embryo Transplants ( Part Deux)

2012-04-27T18:16:00.000-05:00

I wrote this blog a year ago and its fun to see how far I've come! We once again embarked on ET day here at the ranch so instead of writing another blog on the same topic, I thought I would just enhance my one from last year. Adding and correcting where necessary! If you have any questions, dont be shy!!

One of my goals for this blog was to make take all the ranch lingo and make it user friendly. To remove all the mystery out of what goes on behind the big red gates and bring it to the front page... or something along those lines.

Here's the problem with that. I still know very little about whats going on here. Still true today, in the grand scheme of things, but I've come leaps and bounds over the last 365 days. I mean, don't get me wrong. I can gather, vaccinate and ship with the best of them. But when it comes to the logistics of it all, I sorta enter my own little world and end up picking out the cutest calf and giving them their own little stories.

So when I heard we were doing Embryo Transplants, I thought this was the golden ticket to cross that bridge and really get the 'know how' about what, why and how this was all going down. Camera in hand and my list of 200 questions, (this is good for me, usually I'm in the 450 range) we went to the pens.
P.S. My 400 questions quota has not and probably will not change. But luckily, Kayla with SEK was nice enough to humor me. I mean who can't humor a pregnant lady out at the pens?!

After further investigation and another 250 questions, (putting me at my usual quota) I think I have it figured out. We take a few of our older, awesome cows that are ending their natural child rearing years and give them a super ovulation hormone. Then, instead of fertilizing her and creating another "Octomom" we flush those eggs out, fertilize them, and freeze them. Finally, we take the lucky cows that dont have to deal with the cranky bull, watch their heat cycles and implant them one week after they come into heat. (you really dont want to know all the details of this) This is a great opportunity to increase our genetics in our herd without having to purchase new bulls. Since the Black Hereford herd size is growing, we find ourselves having to introduce new Hereford bulls into the mix to increase our genetic pool. With this Embryo transplant, we can create a future calf using genetics from other breeders therefor maintaining our herd size while getting new good future herd bulls.

Also, the details of this are pretty amazing. SEK Genetics, "the dream team", come out loaded to the max. They have a sonogram machine, the implanted embryos and more. One of the dream team members first sonograms the heifer or cow to see which side she is ovulating on. ( this is a direct result of the seeders we put in to get the girl's heat cycles regulated) Once that's established he feeds the embryo which is a straw the size of a pen tip into her lady area, past her cervix and directly into her uterus. It's so incredibly fascinating that he does this all just by feel! Now I know why they're the dream team!

After that, back to flint hills grass and 9 months later, Bam! Great mom + Great bull X healthy young cow = awesome baby.

"Am I glowing?"

This is beneficial for us because we can use cows from our herd that maybe carry a gene we dont want passed down OR we can use commercial cows since none of the genetics are transferred.

For the most part, we use commercial colored heifers because they sell at a discount at the sale barn. We generally buy a bulk of heifers ( around 2 years old) and sort of the black ones from the colored ones ( ranging from red, gray, tan, yellow, brindle you name it) Since we are going to be keeping the calf we have the option of either reusing this ET cow or selling her after the calf is weaned and most of that depends on how good of a mom she is!

I hope that helped clear up any confusion from last year but as I mentioned, feel free to ask questions! Kayla and I decided it's the only way to learn!

The inevitable truths of a rancher's wife

2012-04-17T21:49:00.003-05:00

As I venture into my fifth year here at the ranch, I have learned that there are so inescapable, unavoidable truths that go on here at the ranch. They're not bad, and they're not all good, they just are. And if you're going to make it in this mucky, beautiful, exhausting and verdant business as a rancher's wife... you better tighten your chaps and deal with them!

The sun will always rise too early, and as hard as he tries, your ranching husband cannot manage to get out the door without some assistance from you.

If it is spring and you have your garden just right, you will find a cow or ten making their mark in it no later than May. This has been the case every year for the last 5!

There is never a day when there isn't laundry to be soaked, Oxy clean to be bought and floors to sweep. ( Hoag adamantly disagrees with this since he re-wears his jeans... although the rest of his clothes manage to be clean and waiting for him each morning)

If you are pregnant, you will undoubtedly use mother nature's outdoor ladies room more often than your own. There is no time for potty breaks when you're at the pens with two determined cowboys wanting to get work done. It's amazing what good hiding places you can find and how your modesty with the cows just goes right out the proverbial window!

You spend a lot of your days looking at this.

You will never have clean carpets again, dog or not. Maui is the best dog in the whole world but one trick we've yet to master is wiping our paws before we come in the house. Again, thank God for Oxy Clean.

If there is an electric fence that you Don't want the cattle going through, they'll go through it. It wont matter, either, that it's hot. Then, they'll go back and forth, back and forth, until their legs look like they're wrapped in mummy bandages and those "heavy duty" fence posts you put in are all snapped like toothpicks.

If you don't have cold beer you better have good whiskey.

You will learn how to "doctor" all your animals after the first year. One of the beauties of having a vet room and teaching vets is they're happy to not make the trek out to your house for something as easy as bute, antibiotics or achy hooves. Our cat swallowing a sewing needle was a little out of my realm, I must say.

Nothing will make you happier or laugh harder than watching baby calves run at full speed with their tails in the air like they might just fly. It's just magic

Spring Time Burning... or not?

2012-04-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

So this would normally be the time of year where we'd start talking about burning our pastures and all the entails. Its an exciting, scary, amazing time of year with lots of photo opps and heart racing moments.

But! With the amount of drought we had last year, the animals ate down the grass so well that there isn't as much of a need. Generally we would pull the cattle before it got to that point but with the shortage of rain, there really was nowhere else to put them. Plus, with the lack of moisture we've had over the winter time, the risk of burning is much higher than normal around this time of year.

So instead, we are letting nature take its course. Even though prairie burning is done as a replication of what mother nature generally does on her own, I imagine, even she, took a year or two off from setting the hills ablaze.

I'm happy to leave with you with some nostalgic pictures from last years burning to tide you over for a bit! Also, Pioneer Woman just did a great blog on why and how we burn the hills if you'd like even more info!

Lean, Finely Textured Beef and the FACTS. A must read!

2012-03-29T09:58:00.001-05:00

Ok, people. This has gone on long enough. All this fear mongering, media hooplah and general misleading of our nation is really starting to irk me. I guess it's time to bring out the big guns.

This blog wont be filled with pretty pictures, it wont be all that humorous either but will it will be is educational and chalked full of information that I urge you to share with your friends and family that may be on the fence about the whole Pink Slime deal.

We recently received an email about a monumental upcoming event that proves that Beef Products Inc, BPI, has nothing to hide about their LFTB (Lean, Finely Textured Beef). They are organizing governors tours of their plants in South Sioux City, NE. "Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and Texas Gov. Rick Perry will visit the one Beef Products Inc. plant that’s still in operation to combat misconceptions and misinformation about the company and its “lean, finely textured beef” product, company spokesman Rich Jochum said. They’ll be joined at the South Sioux City, Neb., plant on Thursday by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy and South Dakota Lt. Governor Matt Michels." -Associated Press-

The point of this tour is to bring in these elected government officials, who the people have obviously put their trust in to, to see for themselves the process of LFTB and what it all entails.

Here are the main points I want you to take home to combat misconceptions about LFTB :

When the larger roasts and steaks are cut, it creates the extra meat that then becomes the ground beef you all buy and love. BPI uses a process to remove much of the fat from that trim to create a healthy lean product for you.
Ammonia is then applied to this meat just as it is to multiple other products in the food industry to prevent EColi and Bacteria from growing on the meat. "Ammonium hydroxide is naturally found in beef, other proteins, and virtually all foods. It is widely used in the processing of numerous foods, such as baked goods, cheeses, gelatins, chocolate, caramels, and puddings. One result of this food safety system is the dramatic reduction in the number of potential pathogens that may be present in foods, such as E.coli O157:H " Beef Products Inc
Watch this : Why Ammonia is used
The US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection are aware and approve of this process as a safe and effective way to protect consumers
If you were to compare the nutritional profiles of LFTB and ground beef they are virtually identical. LFTB is 90%-95% lean which is actually BETTER than most people are willing to buy in the super market and it still contains 10 essential nutrients.

I understand that this onslaught of misinformation from the media about LFTB can come as a surprise. That's why the media is so effective in what they do. They are why we buy certain products, why we watch certain channels and why our lives take the certain directions that they do. But, as I'm sure you all know, the media can have adverse effects on our lives as well. Consider the damage this smear campaign in doing to your fellow Americans and how it's going to weasel it's negativity into your life.

Since the beginning of this Pink Slime smear campaign, over 650 people are out of work for an indefinite amount of time. These are the workers for BPI who are trying to help produce healthy and nutritious beef for you. These are your neighbors in Amarillo, Tx, Garden City, KS and Waterloo, IA.
After last years drought in the southern states, the US cowherd is at an all time low. By removing the capability of utilizing the LFTB, we not only will be wasting hundreds of millions of pounds of LFTB but we also will not be using the cattle to their full potential essentially wasting the product.
How will that affect you? America's farmers and producers are already under tight watch, restricted land and diminishing resources. Now the media is forcing us to produce more cattle on our already limited resources to meet the inevitable demand that will come from wasting all this LFTB. If this is not possible by American producers, we will then have to turn to imports. YOU HEARD ME, WE WILL HAVE TO RESORT TO IMPORTING OUR BEEF FROM OTHER COUNTRIES. People are already complaining about the price of ground beef being too high as it is, can you imagine what this will do to your supermarket bill?
And finally, the economy is on some what of a recovery. If you don't care about the cattle, and you don't care about the bills, at least care about the lives and families this will affect. Not only the thousands of people in the plants that will lose their jobs and the whole trickle down affect that will have all the way back to the farm.

I challenge you to spread the word. There are endless resources out there for you to get all the information you could possibly need. Your local Livestock Association would be more than happy to chat with you or go to www.beefisbeef.com to get very user friendly tips and information on how to combat these lies and smear campaigns.

It's up to you, America, to decide whats going to happen here. Make the right decision.

What your local Kansas Livestock Association is up to!

2012-03-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

We had a great meeting the other night for our Leavenworth Co KLA group. It's always full of great information, motivation and camaraderie.

Since Hoag has gone full time on the ranch, we're feeling even more inspired to get involved in any way we can. Of course, time does not always allow that and with baby Hoag on his way, it takes careful planning and consideration when signing up for committees. So these meetings always help us come up with great things we can do locally and immediately to help the AG industry.

It takes a great team to put on these meetings. Cale Wiehe is our Co director but he is one busy busy guy so he enlisted Ms. Katie Yunghans to help run the show. It all came together without a hitch!

As with all good meetings, we got some good grub from Bichelmeyer's and more information than we knew what to do with!

( And don't worry, I'll be sharing more about all these hot topics as time goes on)

First up, Dave Webb. He spoke to us about Brand History and a great program they have online to tell the history of your ranches. Super interesting. He also does a lot of land auctions around the area to help ranchers who are looking to expand their places get the fair prices they deserve.

Next was Mrs. Audrey Monroe with the Kansas Beef Council who was hot on the case of beef nutrition and all its benefits ( you know I'll be hitting this one hard) The most intriguing study they did was a case comparing 4 different diets but essentially the "twig and berry" diet that was high in nuts, grains and very low on meat lowered LDL ( bad cholesterol levels) the same as a diet with 4 1/2 oz of lean red meat every day!

After that we heard about one of my favorite topics, Ag advocacy from Mrs. Scarlett Hagins. She always gets me so fired up about using social media to combat HSUS and other enemies of Ag. I think once baby Hoag gets here, we'll be getting much more involved in the schools here locally and doing ranch tours which will be a huge advantage. One great aspect of living here is we are so close to KC, MO with the intercity kids. If we can reach out to them to teach them about ranching, nutrition and how it all plays together, I feel like we'd reach more people than we'd ever imagine. More to come on that as well!

Finally, Ryan Higbie who is the director of Membership marketing and services for the KLA came to chat with us about the benefits of being members ( if we weren't ones already) the programs the KLA are providing for us and how we can get even more involved. Tempting, Mr. Higbie, but we'll see what Baby Hoag has to say about all that.

Spring has sprung!

2012-03-22T09:50:00.000-05:00

It's always a happy time of year.

A time for new beginnings

New babies

Back pond swimming

Family time

Open barn nights

Foggy, heavy mornings.

More babies

Ranch to Ranch visits... Hi J.P.!

I hope you enjoy spring as much as we do here. It's a chance to start fresh, dust off the snow and make big dreams happen. Happy Spring, everyone!

Pink Slime and You

2012-03-13T16:11:00.001-05:00

It's hard to avoid; The media onslaught of the attack of the "Pink Slime". Apparently this somehow inedible part of the cow has been treated with poisonous ammonia and snuck into your food right under you very nose! But WAIT! Before you give up beef for good, let me help you with a few things.

God bless the people who created Pink Slime is a Myth website because they basically cover everything I was going to talk about today. So instead. I'll take my favorite article they wrote, copy and paste and encourage you to read on.

It's easy to get wrapped up in the media. There's a certain amount of trust we instill in our undercover reporters and investigators but unfortunately, they really dropped the ball of facts with this one and focused only on the slimy non-truth.

Top 7 Myths of “Pink Slime”

This entry was posted on March 11, 2012. Bookmark the permalink.

The media has been spreading a lot of myths about what “pink slime” is. The image spreading on the internet is actually mechanically separated chicken, not beef. Read more about the top 7 myths of pink slime below.

Myth 1:

Boneless lean beef trimmings look like pink slime.

Fact:

The photo many media have used to represent pink slime is not boneless lean beef trimmings. It’s actually mechanically separated chicken.
Boneless lean beef trimmings actually looks like this.

Myth 2:

“Boneless lean beef trimmings” or “lean finely textured beef” which have recently been called “pink slime,” are just “fillers” and not beef at all.

Fact:

As their real names suggest, boneless lean beef trimmings are 100% USDA inspected beef. Imagine trimming fat from a roast or steak. There’s always some meat that is trimmed with the fat. It is this meat, trimmed from the fat, which becomes boneless lean beef trimmings. When you compare the nutrition analysis of this lean beef with 90% lean/10% fat ground beef, they are virtually identical. That’s because boneless lean beef trim is beef – period.

Myth 3:

Ground beef produced with boneless lean beef trimmings is less nutritious than other ground beef.

Fact:

A side-by-side comparison of nutrition labels for 90% lean/10% fat ground beef demonstrates this lean beef has substantially identical nutritional value as 90% lean ground beef. Lean ground beef is low in fat and is a good or excellent source of 10 essential nutrients, including protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins.

Myth 4:

Boneless lean beef trimmings are produced from inedible meat.

Fact:

Boneless lean beef trimmings are 100% edible meat. These trimmings are simply the lean beef removed from the meat and fat that is trimmed away when beef is cut into steaks and roasts. The meat in these trimming is nearly impossible to separate with a knife so, historically, this product only could be used in cooked beef products when the fat was cooked and separated for tallow. But now there is a process that separates the fat from the fresh lean beef, and it is this fresh lean beef that can be used in ground meat foods like hamburger and sausages. No process exists that could somehow make an inedible meat edible.

Myth 5:

Dangerous chemicals are added to boneless lean beef trimmings.

Fact:

This is a reference to ammonium hydroxide, essentially ammonia and water, both naturally occurring compounds that have been used to make foods safe since 1974, when the Food and Drug Administration declared it GRAS or Generally Recognized as Safe, the highest safety attribution the agency assigns to compounds. Boneless lean beef trimmings receive a puff of ammonium hydroxide to eliminate bacteria safely and effectively. Ammonium hydroxide is a naturally occurring compound found in many foods, in our own bodies and the environment. Food safety experts and scientists agree it is an effective way to ensure safer ground beef.

Myth 6:

Food safety advocates are concerned about the safety of boneless lean beef trimmings.

Fact:

Scientists, advocates and plaintiff’s lawyers, who in many cases are critical of the beef industry, have all stepped forward to praise Beef Products Inc. and its efforts at food safety.

Myth 7:

Because ammonium hydroxide is an ingredient, ground beef containing boneless lean beef trimmings should be labeled.

Fact:

Ammonium hydroxide is not an ingredient added to the product – rather, the product receives a puff of ammonium hydroxide gas to eliminate bacteria safely and effectively. Ammonia /ammonium hydroxide is naturally occurring and used in processing many foods today, including baked goods, cheese, chocolate, and puddings. It is used in the production of each of these foods as a processing aid and not an ingredient, so not “on the label” of those foods either. It is safe and has been approved by FDA since 1974 and specifically approved for its food safety benefits in beef processing since 2001

Once again, the beef industry is under attack but you can rest assured that we stand behind our product 100% and will continue to raise healthy nutritious beef. So, Eat up!

It's Baby time round here!

2012-03-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

This was the beautiful amazing snow we had a few weeks ago. Beautiful because it was white, amazing because it only stayed around for 1 day which is just about perfect in my world when it comes to snowfall. As always, snowfall generally means I can't make it to my downtown job ( especially since this day the roads were so extra slippery that even cowboy John warned me.. and NOTHIN' scares him) so I popped in my truck to meet Hoag down in the timber pasture where our veteran Mamas spend their winter to have babies.

There had been a sighting of a calf during feeding but when I got the phone call from Hoag that he couldn't seem to find it, Maui and I had to use our female intuition to sniff this one out. These older Mamas know all the tricks of the land and can almost always find a great place to leave their Lil ones while they eat, drink and chew cud with the gals.

So that's what we did, and we found this sweet little nugget hiding under a log with a nice dry spot just sleeping while her Mama was away. Isn't she so cute?!

Even though her mom had done a great job cleaning her and getting her up and walking, Maui thought she still looked a little cold so she went to work while Hoag set up shop to weigh, tag, and iodine her.

So, Hoag gets his sling and wraps it under the calves belly and hooks the scale to the loops and uses his giant muscles to lift up the baby to get the proper birth weight.

" What is going on around here?! One minute I'm asleep under the log and the next I'm floating through the air!" After he gets the weights, he sprays iodine on the belly button where the umbilical chord was attached and then he tags their ear so we can keep track. The boys get a number that is the same as their mamas and for our records they'll have a Z in front of their name. The little girls get a 12 and whatever order they're born in, so she was 1203.