Ag Technology
Carbon Confusion
There is talk about large corporations pledging to become net zero or carbon neutral by a certain year. While this can be confusing, we may be asking ourselves, “what do these commitments mean to me, the consumer?” Nebraska...
Facts not Fear: Meatless Movement
As a registered dietitian and chef, I am often asked about plant-based diets and the rising popularity of the meatless movement. With new meat substitutes now more readily available in grocery stores and the development of public campaigns that discourage meat...
Soil Investor: Stop that Soil
If people could see one thing about our farm, I wish they could see how much we care. I think about our crops all the time. I think about it at the gas station when I fill up my tank with E151. I think about our corn when I diaper my 11-month-old daughter. There are...
Recycle, Repurpose and Reuse!
The agriculture industry has always been concerned about waste. I think it boils down to the fact that as farmers, we are efficiency-minded and economically oriented. We reuse parts of machinery and always have a stash of parts that may or may not have any future...
Caring for Cattle Through the Seasons
As farmers, we care about our cattle, and their welfare is very important to us. We want our cattle to be healthy so they are productive and aid in our goal of providing high quality beef to tables across the state. The weather is a big factor in how often our cattle...
The Three Rs: How They Keep Our Farm Healthy
R is for resolutions and Ready (my last name) as well as “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Those three Rs are our resolutions for this year and every year on the Ready farm. Not only are they our resolutions, but they also lead to a fourth R, and that is “regenerate.” Reduce:...
What to Expect, When You’re Expecting – Sheep Edition
There isn’t a “What to Expect, When You’re Expecting” book for sheep producers, but we have started to create our own book. On our farm, we practice an accelerated lambing program, which means we are lambing every eight months. Since we are lambing more frequently, it...
Food Labels Q & A
My husband, Beau, and I are the fourth generation (raising the fifth) to farm the Klug family’s land in Columbus, Nebraska, where we raise cattle, and crops. My husband works alongside his dad and brother every day to ensure livestock are properly fed, watered and...
Celebrating Earth Day 2022
The world is focused on the environment and carbon reduction as never before. CommonGround volunteers Kelly Witte, Joan Ruskamp, Wendi Emanual, Rene Blauhorn, and I were onsite at Earth Day Omaha in Elmwood Park Saturday, April 23, to meet and greet...
What the New “Bioengineered” Label Tells You about Food.
Labels: we use them to organize and identify what is in a container. Sometimes we cut them out of the neckline of a shirt because they are itchy. In math or science class, it is important to put the label with your answer to a problem. There are so many types of...
GMOs Q & A
I have spent my entire life in agriculture! Growing up on a Nebraska family farm, we raised corn, soybeans, alfalfa, cattle and hogs. Lots of things have changed through the years, but the passion to grow and raise quality agricultural products remains. Today, my...
Animal Housing and Antibiotics Q & A
Have you ever looked out the car window at one of those big white chicken barns or pig barns and thought, “What is going on in there?” My husband Jason and I, with our four children, raise 40,000 chickens in a large barn, and I help my dad raise pigs in a barn on his...