Environmental Sustainability: How do I care?

Sustainable = The ability to endure

While I believe with all my heart that our farm’s ability to sustain is intrinsically tied to its capacity to endure, I also recognize that good planning and an attention to detail is critical to our success.

Sustaining is not just something that happens if you get lucky—it is the result of careful planning and diligent implementation.  It is the art of taking what Mother Nature gives to you and turning it into a usable and beneficial resource.

Recent Sustainability research conducted by the Beef Check Off demonstrates that there are three components of sustainable beef production (raising cattle to grow beef): environmental responsibility, economic viability, and social diligence.

Because I care, I have the responsibility to minimize the environmental footprint of my farm.

While every decision that Matt and I make on the farm affects its environmental footprint, the following list denotes the key concepts of how we practically care for the farm’s environmental sustainability.

• A detailed manure management plan that includes both soil and manure sampling, and makes use of a computer program to help figure the healthy balance of nutrients on crop ground.  The plan also ensures the proper handling of the manure as it is transported from the feed yard to a neighboring crop field.
• A lined holding pond allows us to use the water that drains off of the feed yard during a rain storm for both irrigation and fertilization on our crop ground.  The heavy plastic liner of the pond prevents the leaching of nutrients while the water is being stored.  This helps us to both recycle the liquid for later use, and to protect the ground water (Ogallala Aquifer) that is under our farm.
• A careful rotation plan for our crop acres reduces erosion and helps to build and sustain soil health.
• A careful pen cleaning schedule allows for timely and effective solid manure collection.  This helps to ensure good cattle pen conditions, and the effective use of the natural fertilizer that our animals produce.
• The procurement of genetically high quality cattle which destines them to produce tender and flavorful beef while using fewer natural resources (feed) to make that beef.
• The dedication to high quality holistic care practices which reduces stress and improves the comfort of our cattle.  Comfortable cattle make healthy and flavorful beef using fewer natural resources!
• The use of technology to increase the efficiency of our animals.  For instance, I use both growth hormone implants and a beta agonist feed supplement at the end of the feeding period to help my animals maintain efficient feed conversion until the time of harvest.
• The use of crop farming technology to increase the efficiency of our crop ground.  For instance, Matt’s tractors are equipped with GPS systems to ensure that seed is placed accurately into the ground at planting.  He also uses soil probes and other mechanisms to ensure that he is using irrigation water efficiently.

Matt and I have many “tools in our environmental sustainability tool box”.  We believe that it is our obligation to both our farm and to you to use them responsibly and with diligence.  Our farm has sustained for more than 60 years.

It is our goal that our grandchildren will one day care for it with the same reverence that we do today.

Sustainability: Pass It On…

Sustainability: Pass It On…

The ability to endure is strengthened by an individual’s ability to “think outside of the box”.  I am notorious for stopping my daughters’ mid-sentence as they claim that they cannot do something and simply stating three words: Problem Solving Skills.

I believe that any challenge can be solved with creative thinking, hard work, and a positive attitude.  One of my favorite Mother Theresa quotes speaks to this.  It states:

Often, under the pretext of humility, of trust, of abandonment, we can forget to use the strength of our will.  Everything depends on these two words: “I will” or “I will not”.  And into the expression of “I will” I must put all of my energy.

I believe that our farm can be sustainable both today and in the future.  It is ever evolving and changing in order to endure.  My favorite farmer and I believe that “We will” accomplish our goal of sustaining.  Where there is a will, there is a way.

We must balance environmental responsibility and economic viability with social diligence.

Matt and I accept our responsibility and do our best to always be stewards.  We believe that a culture of sustainability can be created when we teach our children to creatively look for ways to conserve our resources and limit waste.

What follows below is a fun family illustration of how we

Pass It On!

My girls learned their numbers prior to starting school by helping me to read bunks at the feed yard.  One would call out the pen number, another would assess the feed bunk and make a call, and the third would notate the information.

Karyn’s “bunk reading” position…

One morning my two favorite blondes noted that a couple of the feed yard pens did not have pen number signs.  This was problematic for my youngest daughter because she could not call out the pen number if there was no sign to read.  Megan was inspired to action and left this note for Jared, one of my feed yard crew.

Jared has great welding skills, and was able to fashion two pen signs for Megan out of left over scrap iron.  Megan happily painted the signs, and they are now proudly denoting Pen 21 and Pen 25 at the feed yard.

Recycling materials on the farm is common place. I was proud of Megan for automatically thinking of a way to use materials in the scrap pile to build what we needed.  I was also proud of Jared for doing a great job helping Megan to bring her idea to life.

A job well done!

I smile every time that I drive past the new pen signs.  They are a constant reminder that in addition to helping our farm achieve sustainability, recycling materials can also be a fun learning project for the next generation.

March Madness…

It’s March.  In Nebraska, this is the month known for wind, basketball, preparation for crop planting, and more wind.  My favorite farmer is following the basketball tournaments with enthusiasm, while also developing a certain personal sense of March Madness as he begins to do field work and prepare for planting.

Here the tractor is “packing” the soil so that it is smooth and level to plant seed into…

As the calendar warns of spring, Matt’s internal clock starts to crank up a notch as low key winter chores turn into higher energy preparations for the growing season.  One of the winter chores that we are wrapping up is hauling manure out of the feed yard pens to be used as fertilizer for our farm ground.

Good soil health is critical to the sustainability of our farm.

Taking soil samples from a field that will be tested at a local laboratory. The results tell Matt the nutrient levels in the soil.

It is what ensures that our land will be productive year after year.  According to my favorite farmer, the four key components for soil health are: balanced nutrients and moisture levels, active soil biology, and tilth (the composition of the soil relative to solids, liquids, and air).NRCSsoildocument

The by-product of my cattle (manure) plays an important role in both creating a healthy balance of soil nutrients and an active soil biology.  While some people may view manure as “icky”, to Matt it is a valuable resource.

The tractor and box scraper cleaning a home pen…

We harvest the manure by using a tractor and box scraper to lift the manure off of the surface of our feed yard pens.  We pile this manure temporarily in the pens before Matt’s crew hauls it to farm land that has been identified through soil testing as needing fertilizer.

A pile of manure in a home pen ready to be hauled out to farm ground and used as fertilizer…

Being diligent in cleaning the manure out of the pens serves a dual purpose.  It not only provides Matt with a valuable resource for our crop ground, but it also ensures good living conditions for our cattle.

The manure truck transports the fertilizer from the feed yard to the appropriate field, and then spreads it on the land at an agronomic rate (determined by the field’s soil nutrient count and the nutrient levels in the manure).

Cattle comfort is a priority to me because it is important for good animal welfare, but it also plays a role in reducing the environmental footprint of my feed yard.  When my cattle are comfortable, they are more efficient in converting their feed into pounds of beef thereby making it more environmentally friendly.

Comfortable cattle in a clean home pen…

Harvesting manure “on farm” also allows Matt and I to have a more balanced and sustainable farm.  We grow crops that are fed to animals, our cattle provide primary products (like beef) and secondary products (like manure).  The manure is taken back to the farm ground to replace the needed nutrients that were taken out with the initial crop growth.

While this is a very simplified flow chart of resources on our farm, it gives you an idea of how all of the different facets work together to form a Sustainable Spring (when mixed with just a little bit of March Madness!)

National Ag Day…

If you had asked me 20 years ago what the letters Ag stood for, I would not have been able to tell you.  Those initials represented a community of people that I seldom ran across in the swimming pools of South Florida.

This week our country celebrated National Ag Day and many social media posts thanking farmers permeated the cyber sphere.  I have no memory as a child of being any more aware of National Ag Day than the term Ag.  Today, I wonder how many people outside of farmers celebrated this special day?

Sometimes you just have to take the plunge…

As I think about our farm and what Matt and I have worked for over the past 16 years, I feel a myriad of emotions.  Most of all, I marvel at the maturity and the insight that I have gained.  I find myself struggling to remember the 22 year old young woman that moved to Nebraska and set out to learn how to be the Boss Lady at the cattle feed yard.

He teaches me compassion and compels me to understand his needs…

While I am sure that parts of me (namely the stubbornness and determination) are still relatively prominent, I look at the world very differently today than I did when I moved to Nebraska in 1997.  As I remember the girl with unusual dreams and stars in her eyes, I marvel at her confidence.

I have loved him more than half my life…

Youthful optimism is a powerful mental tool—Just as I never doubted that Matt and I were meant to build a life together, I also never doubted that I could learn to be a good cattle caregiver.  As I became successful at the feed yard, I began to broaden my spectrum and to work in a volunteer status to improve cattle care practices through the Beef Quality Assurance program.

My belief was so strong that I never looked back…

Quite honestly, it never occurred to me that I would fail.  That is the beauty of youthful passion and faith.   Through the years, it seems as though maturity has replaced that youthful confidence. Today, as I look at agriculture from the eyes of a 38 year old mother of three, there are days that I can no longer find the stars that used to inhabit my eyes.  A myriad of challenges threaten to replace those stars with doubts.

• Mother Nature
• Volatile commodity markets
• Pressures from both increased government regulations and activist groups
• Lack of unity within the agricultural community
• Lack of trust between farmers and urbanites

In particular, the last three weigh heavily on my “not so youthful” optimism. Quite frankly, I worry about this at night when I should be sleeping.  I find myself imploring both farmers and non-farmers to open up the needed conversation regarding food animal production practices.

Caring for our animals is much easier for us than sharing how we care with you–it is the nature of the cowboy to be introverted…

I feel the tremendous need for this conversation at the same time that my heart is concerned that it may be too late, or that we will not be able to see through the emotion clearly enough to respect each other and have a meaningful conversation.

When I look at her, I see the optimism and confidence of youth…

As I celebrate National Ag Day in 2013, I look to my faith and to my children to give me the needed strength to keep moving forward.  I look into my girls’ eyes and draw on that optimism that so closely resembles what I used to see when I looked in the mirror.  I recharge my soul with the knowledge that this challenge is too important for us to not be successful.  I pray that we can come together as a country to find a sustainable and appropriate blend of food production systems in order to ensure the security of our future.

We must always look for the beauty in one another…

Today, in honor of National Ag Day, don’t just thank the farmer—ask questions and help start the conversation.

Empowering Myself as a Woman Entrepreneur…

I remember vividly as a child listening to my grandfather say, “Anne, strive to be unemployable!”  My grandfather’s definition of a successful entrepreneur was someone who owns and operates a personal business.  He wanted me to be my own Boss Lady.

December 2012 at age 91 with my girls…

Last week when I was speaking to a group of young women involved in the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Nebraska, I was asked to define a successful entrepreneur.  While my grandfather’s words circled around in my head, they were not the ones that came out of my mouth when I answered the question.

Answering questions at the panel discussion…

While I have most definitely followed my grandfather’s advice by running my own business, that is not what drives me as a woman.  Consequently, I found myself giving the group of young women entrepreneurs different words of wisdom.  I told them:

Figure out what your talents and strengths are, then, go out and find the best way to share them in order to be a positive contributor to your community and your country.

I continued with:

When my life is over and I leave this world, I do not want to have any part of myself left.  I want to have used all of my gifts and talents in order to have made a positive difference.

This is my goal in life and my definition of success.  It explains why I spend so much of my time working on volunteer projects while also owning and managing a small business.  As one of only a small number of women who owns and manages a cattle feed yard, it is likely that others would define me as a unique entrepreneur, but that’s not all that makes me tick…

I often speak my mind but it is only because I want to invoke positive change…

I am indeed proud that I am the boss lady at the feed yard; however, I am most proud of the work that I do to both advance cattle welfare and make improvements in the beef community at large.  I do this while simultaneously being an active member in my community and raising my children with the core values that they will need in order to be positive contributors.

That’s what really makes me tick…

 In my heart, I am a determined woman who believes in making my life journey be one of hard work and outreach.   That’s what makes me get out of bed in the morning.

Factory Farmer or Faithful Farmer?

I asked around a bit in social media circles last week looking for a definition of Factory Farm as it pertains to cattle.  I was curious given that I had just read Fast Food Nation and had Mr. Schlosser’s description pretty clearly imprinted on my mind.

An aerial view of my feed yard…

Here is a list that I gathered of the general specifications of a cattle factory farm:

• The cattle live in dirt pens.
• The cattle are fed by a tractor or some other type of machinery with the feed placed in feedbunks.
• The cattle are fed corn or some derivative of corn in addition to forages.
• There are more cattle per acre than in a pasture grazing situation.
• The higher concentration of cattle produces an odor or smell.
• The farm is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation).

My feed yard fits each one of those specifications.

I am concerned that an ever growing number of people believe that any animal that lives on a Factory Farm is abused and has a terrible life.  Additionally, many also believe that a Factory Farmer (someone who works on a factory farm) either has no integrity or is being unhappily forced into working there.

Dartmouth College graduation with my husband and my brother: just a week before becoming a “factory farmer”…

I certainly hope that I have not spent the last 16 years of my life sacrificing my integrity, abusing my animals, and teaching my children to hate our farm…

I feel a God-given need to offer good care to my animals.

I feel a relentless drive to raise safe and healthy beef which I feed to my family as well as to yours…

I feel a responsibility to care for the natural resources that make up our farm: to use them wisely so that our land can be both productive and beautiful…

I feel a passion to work for constant improvement so that my animals prosper and do their job of growing beef…

I feel a desire to share my hard work and values with my daughters so that they learn to appreciate their food and what it takes to grow it…

I believe that my life is one of beauty and devotion.  Perhaps if those that coined the term Factory Farming really understood me, my family, and my farm I would instead be called a Faithful Farmer…

What do you think?

Winter Chores…

“Mama always prays for a nice, pretty, brown Christmas”.  These were the words of my middle daughter when she was about 4 years old.  She was solemnly telling a friend that her Mama did not like it to snow on Christmas.

It is hard to believe that she used to be this little!

In Nebraska during the winter, there is a choice of two colors outdoors: brown and white.  While the white can be very aesthetically pleasing, snow brings extra work.  While the brown color is not as pretty, it makes chores a lot easier to do!

Six years later, she spends many sunrises with me helping to exercise calves at the feed yard…

During my years in New Hampshire at Dartmouth College, I loved the snow.  As a native Floridian, it fascinated me.  When I moved to Nebraska, my perception changed. Snow no longer represented simple beauty, it’s presence brought added work!

My winter “outfit”…

Being the boss lady, it is my responsibility to ensure that our cattle receive good care every single day.  In particular, the feed yard is busy during the fall and winter months when animals are moved off of grass pastures as the natural growing season comes to an end.  As the days get shorter and the temperatures get colder, good animal care takes more work.  Providing fresh feed and water, along with good living conditions for the cattle, is a priority for me.

Our goal is exceptional care—every single day…

Last week I was asked by a reader to talk about “winter chores”.  Here is a quick run-down on what my crew and I do each day during the winter as we don our coveralls and layers of clothes in order to care for our cattle.

Cattle huddled up and waiting for the feed truck on a cold winter morning…

Reading bunks and feeding cattle:  My foreman (Doug) and I both read bunks about 6:00am every morning in order to determine how many pounds of feed each animal will receive on our farm that day.  Feed trucks are running by 6:30 and breakfast is delivered by 9:00am.  My daughters call our afternoon feeding linner (a cross between lunch and dinner), and it is delivered between 2:00pm and 4:00pm.

The Breakfast Wagon!

Exercising calves:  I exercise and acclimate newly arrived cattle at the feed yard for the first 4-7 days in order to help them become accustomed to living in a new setting.  I do this in the morning before the cattle receive breakfast—during the winter it is usually dark outside! The following video shows the beginning of an exercising session where I ask the cattle to leave the home pen and enter the alleyway.

Processing/vaccinating newly arrived cattle:  Newly arrived cattle are vaccinated, ear tagged, and sometimes given a growth promoting implant within the first few days of arrival at the feed yard.  My crew and I do this in the middle of the day to try and take advantage of the “warmest hours”.

Jared, cleaning a pen using the tractor and box scraper…

Scraping pens: At our feed yard, Jared is in charge of cleaning or scraping pens in order to keep the home pens clean and provide good living conditions for the cattle.  The manure that is scraped off of the surfaced is used for fertilizer on our farm ground.  During the winter months, each pen is scraped 1X per month or more frequently depending on weather conditions.  With 24 pens, that means that he is scraping a pen almost every day.

When it’s reasonably warm outside we use the horse to “ride pens”–when it is cold many times we walk through the cattle checking health instead…

Riding pens or checking cattle: My cowboy or I check the health of all of our animals every day.  Depending on how cold it is, we either ride a horse or walk through the cattle on foot to check individual cattle health.  If an animal is sick, it will be pulled out of the home pen for further evaluation and most likely treated with an antibiotic.  Somewhere between 2- 5% of our cattle require antibiotic treatment for an illness.  We have a consulting veterinarian who helps us to ensure good cattle health and responsible antibiotic use.

These red angus steers are a few days from shipping to the packing plant. I look pretty small next to them!

Shipping cattle: We ship cattle to the packing plant approximately once every two weeks.  My crew and I load the cattle onto semi-trucks to travel to the packing plant.

A semi-truck used to transport cattle…

Receiving cattle: We get new cattle into the feed yard periodically as other cattle are shipped to the packing plant.  The new cattle come from neighboring ranches in Nebraska where they were born and spent the first 8-18 months of their lives.  I am my own cattle buyer so I travel to the home ranch to help load the cattle onto stock trailers or semi-trucks to bring them to the feed yard.

Newly arrived cattle on “stock trailers”…

My crew and I (there are four of us total) each spend an average of 50-60 hours a week during the winter providing care to our animals.  We all love what we do and strive for excellence every day.

Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.

Karen Ravn

Caring With Greatness…

Greatness isn’t a product of luck or chance.

Greatness doesn’t occur by accident.

Greatness isn’t even a result of superior talent.

Greatness is simply wanting something more than anyone else and working harder than anyone else to achieve that goal.

Greatness takes immense amounts of dedication and desire to be achieved.

My favorite 7^th grader’s club basketball coach posted this last weekend.  He wrote it several hours after my daughter completed her goal of shooting 10,000 baskets (the basket tally began in November).  I do not know if he thought of AG when he wrote it, but I certainly thought of her as I read it.

My face mask has gotten additional use this winter…

My daughter is an Achiever —she comes by it honestly.  Her personal drive mirrors my own and is fascinating for me to watch.  This week, AG is basking in the glow of accomplishment knowing that she completed more basketball shots in the last couple of months than she ever dreamed she would.

You might be wondering—Is there another reward?

Apart from the confidence and skill gained by completing the baskets, my daughter is also enjoying the knowledge that her basketball coach will spend an afternoon running 5 X 1 mile repeats with her.  You see, that was the deal.

10,000 completed baskets = 5 X 1 mile repeats.  The fact that her motivation for shooting 10,000 baskets was the ability to run 5 X 1 mile repeats with her coach says a lot about my daughter… I think that her coach is envisioning a nice leisurely pace—I can assure you that AG is planning to run fast enough to reach the finish line before he does!

The drive to want to be better today than you were yesterday is a great gift…

We all search for greatness in our lives and we all have different motivations that drive us to pursue that greatness.  My genuine love for animals drives me to care with greatness on my cattle farm.  This is my vocation and I strive to achieve it each and every day.

Good animal care is a daily requirement at a feed yard–the cattle’s health and the quality of your beef depends on it.

Caring with greatness takes dedication.

Caring with greatness takes discipline.

Caring with greatness takes empathy and attention to detail.

Caring with greatness ensures healthy animals.

I am proud to grow your beef while caring with greatness.