Archive for June, 2008:
Capture the Moment of County Fair-Summer Photo Contest
By: Leticia
Well it’s summer time again, which in my family means several things: Branding, checking waters, and of course….county fairs! Oh yes, while most kids got to enjoy their summers sleeping in and lounging around the pool, my brother and I spent long hours grooming, training, exercising, and managing our show steers. It’s sad to say that those days are behind me now, but in honor of the showing season and the lessons of good stewardship and animal welfare that kids across the country learn in their beef production projects, we have a summer challenge for you!
Here’s the deal. The plans are a little rough in the making, but bear with us. We want to focus on the idea that your participation in showing cattle really encourages good stewardship of your animal. So, our mission for you is to capture those little moments of you washing your animal, leading him around, or how well you take care of them. Let your photo show how your involvement with the beef cattle production project really encourages you to be aware of animal welfare. So what we want from you is your best photo. Send it in to us at our email, which is raisingthesteaks@gmail.com. Feel free to include a caption about your picture. The contest deadline is October 1st, so you’re sure to have the perfect moment for a picture. Be sure to include an email adress where we can contact you. Photos will be judged, and a winner notified. Check back for more details as we get this contest rolling.
We have decided on prizes and they are as follows:
1st place: Digital Camera
2nd place: Beef shirt
3rd place: Check off hat
Alright….so are we good to go? Great. Get those cameras flashing!
So let the cutest kid and calf win!
South Korea Rejects American Beef: Just one more fight
By: Leticia
December 23, 2003: I remember sitting in the living room, waiting for my dad to give me the day’s orders when the phone rang. On the other end of the line, a fellow rancher had called to tell us that they had found a case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or more commonly known was mad cow disease, in a Holstein up in Washington state.
All that I could think was, “What is gonna happen next?” Earlier that morning I had just fed a pen full of bulls that we were getting ready to send to the Santa Teresa Border Crossing. We had started these bulls on a conditioning program to get them up to par so that we could sell them at a sale that would send them to Mexico. These bulls, just like any other cattle in the US headed out, had to be rerouted to a location that would not send them out of the country. In no time at all, or at least it seemed to us, the American Beef Industry had been cut off to trade from the world. At some points in time, I doubted that things would ever be the same. Would we ever recover from this?
Fortunately, we have. Though progress may be slow, it’s still progress. Because of the efforts of the NCBA and several other cattle organizations, we have been able to regain trust in our product. Slowly, but surely, country by country we have been able to export our beef products to them once again. In fact, in late March of this year, the border was re-opened to our Southern neighbor to allow for trade of breeding cattle. On May 7, the Santa Teresa Border Crossing was back in business! For details on how the event went, click here.
But, just as my mom reminds me, the road to success is full of many bumps. After much work, South Korea had opened trade to American beef on April 18 of this year. Before 2003, beef imports in South Korea from American beef totaled $815 million. We were hoping that by reopening their border, this could grow to a $1 billion industry. However, this speculation was short lived. The South Korean public has chosen to reject beef.
The reasons? Well, there is no one specific reason. On one side, you have people who were outraged with their president. They saw this as just one more way of revolting against him. Then, on the other, you have people that really are concerned with the safety of their food. People were, and still remain, in shock and fear of mad cow diesease, when in fact, it presents no risk to public health. The fear of BSE, which has been nicknamed mad cow disease, remains in people’s minds making them more vulnerable to listen to claims made my people attacking the beef industry. Visit the Center for Global Food Issues on the truth about mad cow disease. Still, what ever the cause for South Korea revolting agains US beef, this truth remains: The American beef industy is still fighting to recover from 2003.
So what are we doing to see beef in the meat case at South Korean markets once again? Well, we have worked not only to assure South Korea, but other foreign countries as well, about the safety of our beef. Out industry leaders are working hard to ensure that the name of beef is not tainted.
We have seen a lot over the past years. From rising feed costs to beef recalls, there have been many trials for beef producers. I have no doubt in my mind that we can make it through anything. Our biggest tool we have to keep demand for beef up is diplomatic education. At our work, in the store, or in our day to day lives, it is up to us to spread the word about beef. The more educated we make our consumers, the more they understand our product and what we are about. We have to stand up and tell people about the product that we produce: Good, American beef!
Beef Up Your Health
By: Leticia
Looking back to my days in grade school, I can remember several adults coming in educating us about how important it is to have a healthy diet. Now, more than ever before, it seems that our society has become more health conscious. That’s a good thing. The bad side to this: Everyone seems to have their own opinion on what makes up a healthy diet. One diet that seems to be getting a lot of attention here lately is a vegan diet, which would mean cutting out all products that come from animals. Even Oprah has agreed to try out this vegan diet for 21 days. While I don’t claim to be any health expert, I do believe that we should have a balanced, well rounded diet that includes even beef. Now, just to show you that I am not just making these assumptions, I am here to provide to you some interesting health benefits, which are factual, about beef.
Let’s begin with the basics. The serving size for beef is 3oz, or about the size of a deck of cards. A lot of people would prefer to eat chicken over beef on the basis that chicken is just healthier. But actually, did you know that there are 29 cuts of lean beef? The good news is to be considered lean, beef has to contain less than 10 grams of total fat per serving. These cuts, on average, contain about just one more gram of fat than an equal portion of chicken. See for yourself how these 29 lean cuts of beef compare to chicken.
Still not bought yet? Well consider the role that Zinc, Iron, and Protein, or as we like to call it, ZIP, play in our daily lives. Beef is a good source for all of these nutrients, which, according to the American Dietetic Association, are very important to the functioning of our bodies. Each one of these provide our body with important functions. Zinc helps your body grow and gives you energy while iron helps deliver oxygen throughout your body. The protein in beef is really unique. Not only does it grow muscle, but it also provides you with nine essential amino acids. The essential amino acids can not be made by the body, so we must to turn to sources such as beef to get them. Bieber Red Angus Ranch has provided additional health information about beef.
Some of these nutrients that are provided to us by beef are lacking in American diets. The US health authorities report that 81% of American females and 65% of American males are zinc deficient-And this is just one example! Beef can help you get your body get these requirements. Just one serving size of beef will provide you with up to 39% of the daily requirement of Zinc! To get this same amount of zinc that you get in one serving of beef, you would have to consume 13 3oz servings of tuna! To see how beef stacks up to other foods in providing you with ZIP, click here.
Beef, just like fruits and vegetables, is an important part of our diets that we can not afford to cut out. I insist that you don’t just take my word for it, but to check out some of the links I’ve provided. It’s important that you find out for yourself, and not just listen to what public figures such as Oprah have to say about your diet. I know that tonight when I go home, I will participate in one of my summer events, grilling. The end result will be a healthy steak that I can appreciate. It’s nice to know that we can enjoy beef: Nature’s best tasting multi-vitamin.
