Animal Health
High-tech Chicken Barns? You Bet!
While most of us are aware of the latest and greatest technologies available for our homes, such as Wi-Fi thermostats and video doorbells, would you believe that a lot of this same technology is available in modern livestock barns? When we decided in 2016 to...
New Year: Protein Front and Center
Happy New Year! A new year can often bring hope for changes in our health, finances and relationships. I don’t know how many times in my life I’ve made New Year’s resolutions to exercise more and eat healthier foods. When I think about eating...
Upcycling: Cows Do It!
“Upcycling.” Most often we think of this word in connection with home furnishings or clothing. On our farm we think of upcycling whenever we get our cow herd out on cornstalk fields after harvest. As soon as possible after our corn is harvested, we put up temporary...
AI in Dairy Farming: What it is, and Why it’s Important
Artificial insemination, or AI, has been a topic of conversation within the dairy industry for years, both by farmers as well as those who often don’t understand the practice. My family has been in the dairy industry for over 75 years, and throughout most of those...
Meatless Meat Debate Q & A
As a mother of three, and a cattle feeder near Howells, Nebraska, the beef industry is very important to me. I have been working in the beef industry actively for over 15 years. Beef plays a huge role in my life, both as a career and as a healthy way to feed 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...
How We Care for the Land and Cattle
Being ranchers in the Sandhills of Nebraska, my husband, Kerry, and I are all about being good stewards of our land and our livestock. We do what we can to improve our land and water to ensure the health, safety and well-being of our cattle. We do this to provide...
Food Myths Q & A
As a farmer, I not only think about purchasing and preparing food but producing it as well. I’m Ruth Ready, and my husband, Sid, farm near Scribner, Nebraska. In addition to farming, Sid is also a high school science teacher. We have four children and four...
It’s a Family Thing….
From Behind the Wheel of the 'Burban Our 'Burban has seen in all: With more miles on it than the odometer will admit; with a gas tank you better have filled before heading out to the cows because the fuel gauge has been broken for years; the dent in the driver-side...
#LambLovers Month on the Farm and in the Kitchen
Lambing: My favorite time of the year on the farm! I love to watch all the babies frolicking in the corral. On our farm, we are almost through with the first lambing season of 2021. It is a busy time, but we enjoy this season. While there is much work to be done...