what in the heck i have been up to

Hello fellow blog followers, long time no read!  Unfortunately for me, I have been doing plenty of reading, writing, and thank goodness, much more exciting things.  I apologize for the lack in my blogging skills over the last month, but I have to be honest, I have been one busy woman!! I decided to add pictures of my accomplishments to this post so you too can see just how busy of a bee I have been.

One of the most important things I have been doing  over the past few weeks is finishing up writing my thesis.  I am currently at 144 PAGES of diagrams, materials and methods, literature review, and statistical analysis...yuck!!  These last few days have really been crunch time for me as I defend my research on the 21st.  On top of writing and preparing for my masters defense, I have also been practicing for the Reciprocal Meats Conference masters student poster competition as well as writing reports for the annual Nebraska Beef Report.  Now I know as exciting as all of these things sound, I thought I would spare myself as well as you the sight of all this jargon. 

Now on to more exciting things!  Chasen and I have planted a fairly successful garden; despite the lack of rain this summer.  We have planted green and red onions, peas, peppers, green beans (4 rows!!!), tomatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, romain lettuce, and of course watermelon!! I am so excited to have fresh produce this summer.  I love to eat out of the garden!  At one of my bridal showers I was given the gift of a pressure cooker, which I am extremely excited to use!  I also hope to make lots of homemade salsa, and pies/jam from our apple and pear trees! Yum!!

(Guess I should have taken a picture from the east side.  This photo doesn't exactly exemplify my hoe-ing abilities.) 

On the north side of the garden we also have a patch of sweet corn that has taken off. We strategically planted the corn so we have some ready right after the wedding and then again after state fair/wedding season has come to an end. Did I mention we have 7 weddings this summer.  It truly is a year of mass nuptials! 

In a few weeks, it looks like we are going to have to get our coon fence up. Roxie isn't the best guard dog.

I have utilized my green thumb further yet by planting lots and lots of hosta, mums, sedum, gladiolus and much more "farm flowers" as I like to call them.  I love love love the big pine trees we have around the house.  But I hate hate hate mowing underneath them/getting decapitated weekly.  Flowers are prettier anyway :)

Aside from school work, gardening, and other uses of my green thumb, I have found time to use my "wedding thumb".  In the last few weeks I had my hair and makeup trial, first dress fitting, met with the photographer and florist, and most importantly finished my brooch bouquet.  I would have liked to include a picture of my hair/dress but I want everyone to be surprised :)  The picture below of my bouquet does not do it justice!!  It is so beautiful! And heavy!!  I should have Holly start lifting weights ASAP.

On the wedding note, I also had my final two bridal showers in May.  I cannot begin to explain how fun each shower was and how much I enjoyed getting all the ladies together for brunch, especially the mimosas!  We are so blessed to have such caring women in our lives!

Moving to the farm side of things, in the last month we have finished planting crops, baled hay, vaccinated calves, and bred cows (didn't think you wanted to see a picture of this either).  The weather sure has been cooperative for a majority of the work done, but like the majority of the Midwest we keep praying for rain!  Needless to say we have been busy, busy, busy.  During this time Roxie has had many a four wheeler/ranger rides!  It cracks me up how cute she looks in this photo.

Most importantly over the past few weeks I have been living this wonderful life God has blessed me with.  I have spent lots of time with family and friends and will cherish the many memories that are here and yet to come for the summer of 2012.

Until next time....hopefully its less than a month :)

ahead of the curve

While catching up on my morning emails, I stumbled across this article from MeatingPlace: 

GNP Launches Chicken Sausage Line.  I literally laughed out loud, then called GNP out for stealing my novel idea, and reverted to myself as a genius clearly ahead of my time!  

All of these clearly rational thoughts and ideas, as you may remember from a previous blog, are a result of the product I developed in my processed meats course this semester.  Myself being innovative and consumer driven decided to put forth efforts in creating a Cajun Chicken Sausage.  A product that would provide flavor and a healthier alternative to pork and beef RTE products.  So now, only after being out of class for one week and basking in successful product development, I am baffled that my idea paralleled that of a national company in providing poultry products: Gold 'n Plump.

Behind their innovation GNP developed a few lines of chicken sausages: Parmesan Italian,  Hot Italian Chicken Sausages, Chicken Brats and Apple Maple Chicken Breakfast Links. **Note the absence of a Cajun sausage--guess their is still room for the initiation of my product to the marketplace! Products should soon be available in the fresh meat sections of grocery stores nationwide selling for $4.49 to $5.99 per package. A price similar to what I "projected" my product to be sold for.  

Behind the development of their product, GNP wanted to produce a healthier to pork and beef selections of brats and sausages, but wanted to maintain good flavor, variety, and convenience.  Their product is made from 100 percent, boneless, skinless thigh meat, again similar to the product I developed (you see where I am gathering the genius notion from).  Because of the lean meat ingredient, the chicken sausages contain 50 percent less fat than most pork varieties, according to the company. The products contain 4.5 to 8 grams of fat and 100 to 180 calories per serving, meeting the needs of GNP customers.  Further the new sausages are also gluten-free and nitrate-free, and three of the four are also dairy-free providing a "natural" type product that is limited of allergen causing agents.  Now I must admit that GNP provides an "edge" to their product in this realm of production.  But that doesn't mean there is room for my product in the marketplace!!!

The most comical thought from this whole situation is the fact I told Chasen I wanted to start raising a few chickens-mainly to gather eggs everyday.  But now, after this whole ordeal, I am thinking I need to raise broiler chickens (I'm talking hundreds), get a large meat grinder and stuffer and start marketing my own line of poultry processed products!!  Although I am a beef girl at heart, one can honestly see there is money to be made here!!  


But on second thought, I guess I could sell my "secret Cajun recipe" to the folks at GNP and get paid for less involvement....or I could just print off my recipe for the sausage and serve the Cajun goodness to family and friends while sharing my "fishing story" of Cajun chicken sausages persay.  And after thinking rationally for a moment, I think I may just do that!

may day

Yesterday marked the first day of May, which may not be a shock to most of you, but for this girl it was.  For some reason this year continues to fly by faster and faster as the months go on....maybe it's because we are getting married in 86 days, or that I defend my thesis in 45 days, or that I will graduate in a little over 3 months.  Regardless yesterday was the first day of May, and also marked the celebration of May Day. 


Other than it being the first day of May, I did not know of "May Day" until last spring when my one of my friends presented me a May Day basket.  Now I am not complaining one bit considering the basket was full of Mike & Ikes (my favorite candy) and popcorn, but I must admit I was quite bewildered that I had never heard of May Day before!  Was I missing out on a great American celebration, a day off from work, or a reason to send friends and families cards?!?  So I did a little researching and here is what I found:::

May Day is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival from Celtic and Germanic origin.  In Europe it is celebrated as a public holiday (lucky them!). Traditionally May Day was a summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. February 1 marked the first day of spring, and May 1 marked the first day of summer; hence the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) marked mid summer.  Because of Roman Catholic tradition celebrating May as Mary's month, small "May baskets" evolved as a tradition.  These baskets full of sweets and flowers were commonly left anonymously on neighbors doorsteps, or in my case presented with a card asking to be a future bridesmaid haha. 


Essentially this holiday has a much larger presence in European cultures with parades, festivals, and most importantly days off work!  However, the beginning of May, in my personal opinion, can still be celebrated in the US because May is National Beef Month!  In the next few weeks as you travel to the grocery store, remember that beef is a naturally nutrient-rich food providing protein, iron, zinc and B-vitamins and makes a great meal for a young and growing families.  Also when you are looking at the wide variety of high quality and safe beef products offered here in the US, envision the individual beef producers that made that product available to you.  Today's farmers and ranchers are the original environmentalist that work to conserve soil and water quality, using natural resources optimally to preserve the land for future generations.  Today's cattle producers also care deeply for their cattle and make sure they are comfortable and provided with adequate nutrition daily.  I am so proud to say that I grew up with a great cattleman and am looking forward to starting a new life with another :)

Consequently, May is also national Egg month, so again in my personal opinion, makes a perfect occasion for steak and eggs-Chasen's favorite breakfast (If he reads this post, I guess I have my work cut out for me this next weekend!).  


So if you didn't have the opportunity on the first of May, celebrate tonight!  Fire up the grill for some delicious beef, and be thankful for the producers that supplied you with that high quality and safe product!

quick as a whip

Last week it was announced that a 10 yr old dairy cow in California was diagnosed with BSE.  Due to the high surveillance system cattle producers currently practice here in the US, the animal did not enter the food chain, thus eliminating the chance of developing illness in humans.  However, due to the reaction from media attention, some consumers both domestic and international, had some concerns in regards to the safety of the product.  These concerns are mainly a result of mis-information or consumers that are uneducated about BSE.


BSE, defined as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (yes I know it is a mouth full), also known as the derogatory "mad cow disease", is a degenerative neurological disease in cattle that is caused by misfolded proteins (called prions) that build up in the central nervous system (CNS) in cattle and eventually kill nerve cells.  Because BSE is a degenerative disease it causes the animal to lose control of normal locomotion, thus causing the animal to move in an un-coordinated fashion and makes the animal look "mad".  BSE is in a class of TSE (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies) and could be compared to Scrapies in sheep, Chronic Wasting disease in deer, and Kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.  


These diseases are ONLY transmitted when CNS tissue from an infected animal is consumed.  By consuming the nervous tissue, the prions present cause proteins in a healthy animal to become misfolded and distorted.  Once this mode of transmission was discovered, the feeding of animal proteins to livestock was banned in the US in 1997.  Because of this ruling, the USDA has claimed this an atypical case of BSE and assumed the prion naturally developed in the animal; likely a result of genetic mutations.

Because of the ability for the prions to be transmit among species by consumption, humans are also able to develop degenerative symptoms.  This is the main reason why consumers become leery during a BSE diagnosis.  In humans variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease can be a result of consuming beef contaminated with BSE, but is more likely due to corneal transplants, other tissues, or blood transfusions from infected donors.  Since 2006 there have been 3 vCJD cases in the US and none of those cases have been linked to the consumption of beef contaminated with BSE. 

Those things considered, this past week the USDA as well as the US beef industry have assured consumers that US beef remains safe because: 


1.  The animal did NOT enter the food chain
2.  TSE's are ONLY transmissible through the consumption of nervous tissue, not meat or milk
3.  The animal did NOT enter the food chain
4.  In US packing plants all CNS tissue is removed from beef carcasses immediately after slaughter and sorted into in-edible product
5.  The animal did NOT enter the food chain


I have to commend the USDA and the beef industry for handling this situation with poise.  I received an email notification of the BSE diagnosis announcement at 1:00 last Thursday afternoon.  When I checked my Twitter feed at 1:45, "mad cow" was already trending, and to my surprise it was all positive, educational comments from credible sources.  


In agriculture we may be slow to change, but we learn from our mistakes.  From the "pink slime" controversy we have become aware of the importance of social media and educating our consumers, and we have turned that into positive progress for our industry!

winding down

As a part of my coursework this final semester I had the opportunity to develop a processed meats product.  I took a similar class at Iowa State, and appreciated the course for teaching the science behind product development and eventually providing us the opportunity to apply what we learned in the classroom.  Throughout this semester we made a wide variety of products: franks, brats, hams, snack sticks, summer sausage, and bologna.  Out of all the products we made I enjoyed the brats the most and bologna the least.  There is just something about it I don't like.  Maybe it is the fact that my sister Holly used to eat "bologna rollups": a rolled up piece of bologna with peanut butter in the middle.  These disturbing concoctions were an after school treat or sometimes lunch for the kiddo. For me they were just gross, which is really saying something since I have a deep abiding love for peanut butter....just not with meat.


After spending weeks in the meat lab learning how to use choppers, grinders, stuffers, mixers, injectors, macerators, tastifiers (ok, that is not really a piece of equipment, but it should be!) we got a chance to get our hands dirty developing a new product. Originally I had planned to make a Cajun Chicken Snack Stick, because I like Cajun food, chicken and snack sticks.  But as the semester progressed, and I tasted my first batch hot and fell in love, I decided to make a Cajun Chicken Sausage.  And let me tell you, is it ever delicious!  Aside from be delectable, the sausage was very easy to make.  In fact, if I get a Kitchen Aide mixer (hint hint) as wedding/bridal shower gift I would be able to make this specialty in my own home! 


I chose to utilize chicken thigh meat for my meat block.  Not only are thighs more flavorful than breast meat, but they also contain a higher proportion of fat (a partial reason for the increased flavor).  After removing the skin, the lean was placed in a grinder using a 1/4" grinding plate.  I then moved the ground product to a mixer, or for smaller batches I mixed the product by hand.  After weighing out the amounts for my "secret" Cajun spice blend, it was added to the mixer and the meat was mixed with the spices for 5 minutes.  I utilized Nitrite and Sodium Erythorbate in the production of my sausage to impart cured color, flavor, and aroma.  These ingredients also have the ability to lethalize Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium Botulinum--which in producing a safe and quality product are large concerns.  


After the product was thoroughly mixed and adequate protein extraction had occurred the product was stuffed into natural casings.  The natural casings I utilized were derived from the mucosal layer of pig intestines.  Now I realize that sounds utterly disturbing (kind of like the bologna roll up) but I can assure you these casings are safe from microbial contamination, off-flavors, etc.  In fact natural casings are highly sought after in the marketplace.  Natural casings provide a unique curved shape to product and offer a distinguished snap when consuming the product.  I then linked each sausage and hung them on a rack to be cooked.  I wanted to offer a pre-cooked product to provide further safety from microbial contamination. 


I made the final batch of my product this Tuesday, all I have left is to design a label and acquire nutrition facts from the Department of Food Science.  I have decided to name my company Iowa Indulgences because I am from Iowa and who wouldn't want to indulge in a Cajun Chicken Sausage.....my point exactly.  Now that I have my company name down, I need to come up with a saucy name for my product, "Iowa Indulgences Cajun Chicken Sausage" just doesn't do it for me.  We will have the opportunity to serve our products to faculty and staff from the department next week.  Hope they like it as much as I do-they won't even need ketchup for it!


Before that time I need to get a final product report, final product presentation, and final product poster completed.  Yowzers!  It is crazy to think I have 2 full weeks of class, and finals week remaining in my graduate student career.  The thought of having less than a month of graduate school makes me extremely excited, but at the same time fills me with fear.  This past year and eight months have absolutely flown by, which again is good and bad.  Good because I have enjoyed my time here at UNL: I learned lots, made professional networks, and some amazing friends!  Bad because I have realized how fast time really does pass, and from what I have been told, it only goes faster from here on out!  Which in these next three weeks I do not need to happen!  

easter excitement

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend!  


As usual, mine went to fast, but it was great to go back to Iowa and see family and friends once again.  On Friday evening Chasen and I went to church in Melcher and picked up supper on the way back to the field.  I never thought I would say it, but thank God for Casey's!  I ate lunch super early on Friday and was famished by time we got some pizza.  When hungry, it truly is beautiful how there is a Casey's in every small town in Iowa; and if your lucky there may be two!


It rained Saturday morning just enough to keep the men from doing fieldwork.  Got to love Iowa springs!  So most of the day was spent moving cattle, prepping field equipment, and for me cleaning the house.  I was quite sure after spending most of Saturday elbow deep in Fabulouso I smelt like green apple blossoms.  I guess there are worse things in life!


Chasen's grandparents came up for lunch on Easter Sunday.  We had a terrifically tasty lunch and I enjoyed wedding conversation with the grandmas-it is hard to believe that the big day will be here in 110 days!


After lunch Chasen and I checked cows; they only have 22 head left to calve.  He spotted a heifer that had just begun to push so we decided to move her up to the barn.  While moving cattle there was a brief moment of time, when I was actually proud of my dog:

• She stayed out of the way when we got cattle into the lot (running frantically from the bull). 
• She was quiet and stayed out of the way as we pushed the heifer into the barn (the bull went into the barn with the heifer).  
• And she helped me push out a heifer that had snuck into the lot (of course after the bull had left).  

Despite her weaker moments in fear, she did a terrific job; a working progress I'd say.


After a half hours time Chasen decided he was going to pull the calf.  So he put on some sleeves and began to position the calf inside the heifer for the pulling process.  Once that was settled, him and cousin Kyle began to pull out the little fella by his front legs.  First the hooves appeared, then his tiny nose, and eventually his eyes, head, shoulders, and then he slipped right on out!  I did all I could to help: mainly providing motivational support and some lubrication around the birth canal.  He was quite a lively little thing and was up within 5 minutes of being pulled.  It was probably one of the coolest Easter gifts on record (my condolences to the Easter Bunny).


However, helping with the pull solidified the fact I will not be having kids for quite some time; or at least I see a scheduled pregnancy and c-section in my future.  In fact I told Chasen that is the only way to go.  He agreed with me and questioned, "why else do they still make 1-piece swimsuits?"  And I have to admit, he has a great point:::

dude, it's beef

After a run-around with the media, the truth about LFTB is available for consumers to grasp.  Over the weekend BPI held a grill-out for producers, consumers, and industry people to share information on the incorporation of LFTB in ground beef.  Articles have been published in various newspapers, and specials have been held on morning talk shows and the evening news.  I hope and pray this big and ugly mess can turn itself around.  Beef producers are already losing $7 per market animal: which may not seem like a lot, but more times than none that is all the profit one makes when feeding cattle.


Regardless, as an animal scientist and consumer, it still amazes me how many people have not heard about the pink slime scandal.  At Iowa State University Governor Tom Branstad and Nancy Degner from the Iowa Beef Industry Council are planning to hold a meeting: "The TRUTH about LFTB" next Tuesday afternoon.  I wish I could make it over to Ames for the meeting, but a 3 hour drive stands in my way :(  It is the public appearances such as these, and the easy to read diagrams (below) that will continue to shed light on the inclusion of LFTB in US ground beef.  

This diagram has picked up some popularity over the weekend and I must agree it was quite informational.  One of the big misconceptions about the production of LFTB is that ammonium hydroxide is injected into the beef and remains present in highly toxic levels.  But as you can see, minuscule concentrations of ammonium hydroxide are present in beef, 1/2 of what is in the bun and 1/4 of what is found in cheese!  Now I must make it clear I am not passing the blame onto other commodity groups.  Ammonium hydroxide is a naturally occurring substance in our own bodies, and it is a fairly accurate measure to prevent the growth of bacteria such as E Coli.  


LFTB is a safe, economical, and lean addition to anyone's diet!  


We need to remember these ideas and most importantly that beef is beef.  And with that being said, I really need to remember to quit blogging before lunch, this chic is starving, and that cartooned hamburger is making me realllllllllllllllly hungry--sad and strange as that may sound, ha!  I guess it is true that real women eat beef! ciao!

too little, too late

Why does it always seem in the fight for agriculture production we are always 10 steps behind the media and their false allegations???  This is a question that has been running through my head ever since I attended the Farm Animal Integrated Research conference in early March.  It was one of the topics brought up in one of the break out sessions I recorded; and after these past 3 weeks it definitely has made me stop and ponder for awhile.  

Yesterday, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad & US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack held a joint press conference on the production of lean finely textured beef in the US.  Beef Products Inc., being an Iowa Based company, and this issue of LFTB in ground beef a national topic, I feel the conference was a necessity, but again may be too little too late.  Follow this link to listen to a recording of the press conference. 

Through the press conference, Gov. Branstad and Secretary Vilsack resound these three main ideas::


LFTB is


1.  safe
2.  a lean product
3. an economical product


Three truths to the production of LFTB.  HyVee, an Iowa based grocery store has announced they will continue to offer ground beef with LFTB. This product will contain a special label of course, and according to my estimates will be roughly $0.40 less per pound when compared to 93:7 ground beef without LFTB.  So not only will the LFTB product be cheaper, but it will also be safer - a result of the microbial inhibition interventions utilized in producing LFTB; whether that be the inclusion of ammonium hydroxide or sodium citrate.  Needless to say, buying product with LFTB has my vote!


In continuing to advocate for our industry, I think it is imperative that producers and consumers alike recognize that roughly 1.5% of Americans are farmers.  On average one farmer feeds 155 people annually and as a result most consumers are 3-5 generations removed from agriculture production systems.  So there is a definite lack of understanding for agriculture.  We as producers know and realize that.  So how can we, as producers and industry leaders, reach out to these confused, mis-lead and uneducated consumers???  There are forms of social media such as blogs, tweets, facebook pages, etc.  But just as many forms that provide accurate information lead consumers astray.  And on top of that most consumers don't want to read or hear about agriculture, they want to see it.  


Fair Oak Farms Adventure Center is a large dairy operation located off of I-80 in Indiana.  It has become a recent hot-spot for Chicago and Indianapolis school field trips (with a live calf being born every 15 minutes, I am sure you can see why!)  Students are given a tour of the facilities from the free stall location, to the milking parlor, even to the observatory for calving!  Did I also mention students get a grilled cheese for lunch?? Heck, now I wanna go!  At the end of this year FOF will be adding a pork operation including observations of gestation stalls, farrowing crates, and nurseries.  I believe this will be a great addition to the farm and will truly show consumers how their food is produced: in safe, clean, and well-managed systems.  


I wish every state had a farm location like Fair Oak Farms.  In fact if I ever win the lottery, I would build one of these in a heart beat!! Now I would just need to think of a name.....

beefy smiles

With the recent media attention on the production of US ground beef, I have discovered a legitimate reason to consume beef; other than it's high protein and iron content, great flavor, lean value, etc.


According to a study done at Deaken University in Australia, the consumption of beef makes women happier.  Scientists found that women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety when they consumed less than the recommended amount of beef of 3-4 servings/week.  Researchers took into account the patient's diet, weight, age, physical activity and socioeconomic status and the result remained the same.  Scientists involved in the study say there was no relationship between other forms of protein, such as chicken or fish, and mental health. 


So with that being said, I have found the perfect recipe on Pinterest to try this weekend that will leave me smiling ear to ear:::

A good looking burger and onion rings, I already am smiling.

I definitely need to put one of these babies on my registry.












I love making hamburgers like this with cheese in the middle-kinda like a hamburger-oreo.
















I know the study did not show the same effects with pork, but  bacon makes everybody happy!










And now time for the grill.   Mmmmmmmmm I can hear the sizzling....I think I'm going crazy.







Wow that looks good!


Now time to add a little bit of greens to make one not feel so bad about eating all that bacon and cheese!








This recipe sounds and looks amazing except for this step.  I would probably just smother the burger with BBQ sauce.






And I may or may not put an onion ring on top :)








Gooey, melted cheese, YUM!!!!










Wow!  Is it the weekend yet??!!  I am sure now you agree with me that this burger would do anything but put someone into depression!  In fact, I think I will be deeply satisfied and succumbed to a food coma....can't wait!

With summer right around the corner now is the perfect time to be buying beef items, whether steaks or ground beef, to throw on the grill.  Check out these websites for new and exciting recipes to try, remember it will leave you feeling happy and satisfied!

http://www.beefnutrition.org/recipesearch.aspx

http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/recipes.aspx

http://www.beefretail.org/recipesphotos.aspx

the truth about pink slime

As I am sure by now most of you have heard the term pink slime through the evening news, daily newspaper, morning shows, and perhaps in regular conversation by now.  An accusation was made on the ABC evening news that "pink slime", (properly known as  Lean Finely Textured Beef or LFTB), is "highly toxic" and due to the fact it is "included in roughly 70% of ground beef sold in the United States", measures were necessary to remove this product from the food chain.  


As a result of this evening special pink slime and the lies behind it have spread like wildfire.  #pinkslime has been trending on twitter for a few weeks now, and just look at the search volume index over the past few months.  








Unfortunately most of the tweets and information available on google are full of further misinformation and false facts.  As a result of upset and misinformed consumers, rash decisions and comments forced Beef Products Inc. (a company that produces LFTB) to close three of its four locations in the United States putting thousands out of work.  One of the plant locations that closed was actually at the Tyson, Inc. plant I interned at in the summer of 2009.


It is absolutely terrifying to know the power behind a consumer's voice.  In less than two weeks many major grocery stores have pulled LFTB products from their shelves, and restaurants from their menus.  So what are the implications of these trends to the beef industry?  How will this impact the future supply and demand of beef in the US?  Worldwide?   There are a lot of questions with limited answers for now.  So before I get to those, I feel I need to explain how LFTB is produced.


During the fabrication of beef steaks and roasts, meat is removed from bones and connective tissue by workers using knives.  From my personal experience this is very challenging!!  For example, when you enjoy a nice T-bone or Porterhouse steak are you able to remove all of the meat from the bone?  And that is even a cooked product!!  As a result of this inefficiency and the physical structure of muscles, it is difficult to capture all of the lean from bones, fat and connective tissue.  Historically this product was utilized in cooked beef products and resulted in the production of tallow (a product that has little use in today's consumers diet) and the value of the lean trim was lost.  In the 1980s Eldon Roth invented a technology that utilizes high pressure processing to remove the lean firmly attached to bone and fat.  This lean trim that is removed provides the same nutrition benefits as regular ground beef, because well it is still beef. 


Consumer concern has been generated because of the use of ammonium hydroxide in the production of LFTB.  Now yes I do realize this chemical has a very toxic and harmful connotation that exists.  But I also realize the power and intentions behind this part of the production phase.  Ammonium hydroxide is used during the production of LFTB to prevent microbial growth, such as E Coli 0157:H7 (which can cause death in the elderly and young children if food is not cooked to 160F).  Did I also mention that the USDA has recognized the use of ammonium hydroxide as Generally Recognized As Safe.  Aside from it's microbial advantages, it is reassuring to know that ammonium hydroxide also is a naturally occurring compound found in many foods and utilized in the processing of many cereal grains.  


As a result of the LFTB technology and the utilization of ammonium hydroxide, the US beef industry has been able to be self-sustaining in the production of ground beef.  Without the incorporation of this product, imports of beef trimmings and ground beef are going to increase; I mean the average American does eat 2/3 lb of ground beef daily!  With increased imports I am sure you as well as I can foresee a price increase for beef in the US, with a decrease int he value of the beef carcass.  Margins will get tighter for all production phases, and eventually beef producers like my dad and Chasen will feel the effect.


So I guess what I am asking of consumers is to educate yourselves on the products you are buying for your family.  I wouldn't buy a house or car from a salesperson without doing a background check on the company from a RELIABLE source.  I also would not tell a car salesperson how to do their job, because I don't know anything about that!  When false accusations and lies are made about agriculture corporate companies, you also affect hard working Americans like my family and family-to-be.  


We have the safest and highest quality food system in the WORLD!!!!  Did I also mention that we spend the least of our annual income on food--only 10%!!  So please be grateful for the American farmers that feed 155 people/year, because they do it cheap and they do it the best!

my spring break

Spring break is typically the time of year when college students hit up the southern states/countries in search of warm weather and hot sun.  Luckily this year, many students didn’t have to travel far from home as this March has been one for the record books weather-wise. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining about the weather at all or the fact that spring break exist, I am simply sharing my sob story of how I spent my entire spring break: thesis-izing (yes that is a word I totally just made up). 

So what exactly does a thesis entail??? Answer: lots and lots of information of course!  First there is the title page, and as you may have guessed this was the first document I completed.  I have been saving each component of my thesis as a separate word document to enhance my writing experience and data space on my computer.  Next there is the acknowledgements portion.  This is the time to thank all of those who have been involved with one’s grad student career:  family, friends, colleagues, professors… you get the jist.  I tried not to make mine read too sappy, but there were a lot of emotions flowing when I wrote that part!!  From there, the table of contents follows, and then by the introduction, which is basically a statement of purpose, or why the research was done.   The next portion has probably been the most fickle part of my whole thesis-izing experience: the literature review.   This component can be compared to a giant book review.  I have a few topics that I focused on: history of US beef fabrication, tenderness, alternative fabrication, and international market opportunities.  With that being said, I have spent hours in the library and on my computer looking up past manuscripts, books, and articles on these topics.  I say this part has been fickle, because it has been challenging and frustrating to write, yet I have enjoyed researching the topics and have vastly increased my meat science knowledge.  Currently I am at 15 pages for this part of my thesis….including my sources, or bibliography haha.

Now we get into the heart of it all: the actual research, how it was conducted (materials & methods) and what the results (manuscripts) were.  The materials and methods portion is a very detailed description of how the materials were collected, measure, analyzed, etc.  This was by far the easiest part to write, and probably the reason why I have over 20 pages!  Too bad the other segments of thesis-izing were that easy!

The next and most significant portion of a thesis is the manuscripts.  For my particular thesis I will have 5 manuscripts; I have 2 done and 3 to go!  Go Me!!  A manuscript is a short write up (10-20 pages) of the actual research.  Each manuscript contains an abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, implications, and tables/figures component (if desired).  These documents are typically submitted to scientific Journals for publication, and are thus included in future thesis and literature reviews.

If you can’t tell I am currently riding the high of scientific writing or am losing my mind due to lack of sleep. I am currently at 55 pages and counting.  My goal is to have the final copy of my thesis to my advisor by the end of April, and revisions made by the end of May.  With this timeline I can defend my thesis (I will explain this in another blog) in June and graduate in August!  With that being said this is probably going to be the busiest/craziest/fastest summer of my entire life.  And I must admit, I am quite excited for it to get here :)

march madness

I love March Madness.  The Cyclone win last night was absolutely amazing and solidified my deep and abiding love for the NCAA basketball tournament.  However, I only love March Madness in reference to basketball.  These last few weeks of my life have been quite mad with chaos.  It's hard to believe that this month is past the half way point:: I don't know where the time has gone!  And according to my color coded calendar, my time in Lincoln is further limited from off-campus meetings and trips to Iowa.  I guess "time truly does fly when you are having fun"!


This past week the University of Nebraska hosted the National Meat Animal Eval contest.  I was a member of the ISU MAEC team and was pumped that I was able to help out with the contest this year.  Wednesday I spent a majority of my day at the Dunlap Salebarn taking pictures of livestock and students competing; probably qualifying as paparazzi.  After an amazing steak dinner prepared by the Harrison County Cattlemens, Michelle (a fellow grad student at UNL) and I headed up to Dennison for the evening.  After a few short hours of sleep we rolled out of the hotel and into the Tyson plant to transfer tag numbers to carcass id.  I have to admit, I do not miss being in the packing plant before the sun comes up AT ALL!  But we were able to get our job done within an hour and were back on the road by 6:30 am.  Needless to say yesterday was a looooooong day and my nap in the afternoon was greatly appreciated :)


With today being Friday, this afternoon I am headed back home, all the way to Cascade.  I have not been home since Christmas break, so needless to say I am very excited to head east!  Tomorrow afternoon I have my first of four bridal showers.  It should be a great day spent with family and friends.  I heard through the grape vine a few shower games are planned--I don't really know what to think about these games, but I guess I better get used to it!


Then early Sunday morning I head to Ames for the Midwest Academic Quadrathlon contest.  Before I explain exactly what this is, I need to make it clear the Academic Quadrathlon was probably the funnest competition I have ever done!!!  The contest invites teams from major Midwest universities and they compete against one another in four areas of Animal Science: lab practicum, written exam, oral presentation, and quiz bowl.  Because of this, the contest is extremely competitive, and probably that is the reason why I enjoyed the contest so much). I volunteered to run the meats station, a part of the lab practicum portion, and have been busy this week making the test and gathering materials.  


The AQ contest is held in conjunction with the Midwest ASAS meetings which are annually held in Des Moines. This year I have the opportunity to present a poster on part of my thesis project. I must admit my poster looks pretty sweet and I am excited to share with people the data we collected and how we analyzed the results.  Between designing this poster and writing a final report for the Nebraska Beef Council I have gained motivation to get this thesis wrote and done.  Something about sharing information to producers/consumers/industry personnel about changes in beef production to improve profitability/comprehension/yields thrills me.  Annnnnnnnd with that being said, this kid has got a literature review to write.  So until next time, go STATE!!!

calving update

This last week has been an absolute blur!  And for that reason, I must apologize for the absence of blogging.  Since my last blog, lots of babies have been born and Chasen has been doing a fantabulous job of sending me pictures of most of them. 

This little girl was born in the field.  It was a nice sunny day, so I guess she decided it was time. Chasen found her while feeding the cows in the afternoon and then brought her up to the barn so she could get out of the wind for the night.  The next morning he went to check on her and she was no longer in the pen with her mom.  She had escaped (somehow) underneath the calving pen gate and was chilling in the cooler/wash room--Chasen thinks she is a natural show heifer in the making haha.  I think she is just a curious adorable little thing!

Now I am not trying to be biased, but this is probably my favorite calf born yet!  I absolutely love love love blazed face cattle and am so pumped that this little girl is 1/2 Simmental!! I can't wait to see her when I go back to farm this weekend! 

The final calf picture is a picture of a special calf I named Leroy.  During his gestation, Leroy did not have enough space to develop his front leg properly.  So when he was born Leroy had trouble standing on his front leg and Chasen needed to "prop" him up on a bale so he could get to his moms udder.  Which by the way, calving pens are the coolest thing since sliced bread.  They are so helpful during the calving process, whether that be pulling a calf, or making sure they get their first drink full of colostrum.  Anyway, now that I got my sales pitch in for calving pens, Leroy now has a splint, with HOT PINK tape, on his front leg to help stabilize his pastern.  He is able to get around pretty good by himself, but we are going to keep him up at the house until he gets a bit stronger.  I wish you could see his face in this picture because he is about as cute as the blazed face calf....but not quite :)

Aside from calving and business on the farm, I myself have been quite a busy girl.  Last week I traveled to DC for the Farm Animal Integrated Research (FAIR) conference.  I had such a blast and hope to share my trip and conference experience with you sometime later this week. This is a picture of all of the grad students I got to work with at the conference.  They were all great and I learned so much from all of them!!  The picture was taken at the Agriculture Research Station in Beltsville, MD.  It was quite windy when we took the picture so you can find me by looking for the hot mess with wind tossed hair, haha.  Or at least that is how I like to refer to myself in this pic :)

in like a lion

Although the weather was quite all right yesterday (in Lincoln we reached 45 degrees) I still think an appropriate title for yesterday is "in like a lion". The beginning of March means different things to different people.  To me it is a sign that spring is soon to come, half of the semester is left, and now for 2012 it marks the date for new regulation in how fresh meat is sold in the US.   After yesterday nutrition labels are required on ground beef, pork, and poultry packages.  Nutrition labels are also required and on or near major cuts of meat and poultry sold in supermarkets (ribeye steaks, pork chops, chicken breast, etc.).  The theory behind this regulation is to confirm for consumers  "that lean meat and poultry products are an important part of a healthy balanced diet."    With this regulation consumers will be able to make their purchasing decisions based on the amount of calories, total fat, % protein, etc. available in fresh meat products.

It will be interesting to see if the required nutrition labels will have an affect on consumer purchase patterns for items higher in fat such as ground beef and pork (100 calories from fat out of 190 total).  Nutrition labels have been required for processed meat products such as bacon, ham, and chicken nuggets for years.  These products contain a higher amount of calories, calories from fat, sodium content, and cholesterol when compared to that of fresh meat.  But due to their convenience they have been able to survive caloric criticisms.  Nonetheless, with nutrition labels present on all meat products, hopefully consumers will become aware of how nutrient dense meat products are.  There are 29 lean cuts of beef, pork, and lamb that contain the same, or less, amount of fat found in a chicken thigh.  Meat has also been noted as the best way to satisfy hunger due to the high content and energy value of protein.  It is also just plain tasty!

In other news, this weekend I am headed to the Farm Animal Integrated Research (FAIR) conference in Arlington, VA.  I am going to be a graduate student recorder for the conference and must admit I am PUMPED!! The FAIR conference objectives for the 2012 meetings are to demonstrate the importance of animal agriculture to society and the impact of the global market place on animal agriculture.  Either way I am sure the introduction of nutrition labeling of fresh meat will be a topic of discussion.  And I will be ready to report when I return to the Midwest!

growing impatient

Here we are on the 27th of February, and we only have 5 calves on the ground!!    Needless to say I am growing quite impatient.  I love calving season!  It is such an exciting time on the farm.  New presents are "unwrapped" everyday, and Chasen does a pretty good job of sending me picture messages of these presents.  But as you may have guessed, I have only got 5 picture messages this month; extremely disappointing!!!

By now I thought we would have four times the amount of calves on the ground. The 30 heifers Stevenson Farms bought earlier this year were "due" at the end of February.  Only three of those mamma's have calved, and that was at the beginning of last month.  So either someone wrote down the wrong expected calving date, or these ladies want their calves to have the same birthday, or worse yet, they are waiting for three feet of snow/mud to be on the ground.  For Chasen's sake, and for the health of the baby calves, I hope it is option A.  

This weekend I stayed out in Lincoln, so it has been awhile since I have seen the cows.  But in my head, they all look like these mammas below: ready to pop at any minute!

I took that picture last year, and it cracks me up every time I look at it!  Another picture that cracks me up is the one below.  I mean, how often do you see a bovine sticking its tongue out at you??  But I guess I should get used to it.  I feel like all the calves are going to come out this way, taunting me with how long I had to wait until they arrived!!

judging a book by its cover

Over the last two weeks I have had the pleasure of over-wrapping close to 300 steaks for two different retail display trials we are running.  In fact I have gotten so good at this particular job, I feel I should be called Justine the Over-wrapping Queen, heck I would even settle for Justine the Over-Wrapping Machine.  Regardless of this respectable title I have fauxly created for myself, through the weeks I have developed an appreciation for the way beef is packaged and sold here in the United States.

There are several ways beef is packaged however I am going to share with you the three most common packaging systems in retail.  It is important to remember regardless of the advantages and disadvantages, all packaging systems provide a means to keep product safe from microbial contamination and allow consumers to visibly assess product quality.


In over-wrap systems steaks are fabricated from beef subprimals and placed on a styrofoam tray.  A soaker sponge (or Meat Maxi as I like to call them) can be placed between the steak and tray to capture purge loss during display.  It is important to understand purge loss is not "blood".  It is the extrusion of sarcoplasm which is rich in Myoglobin, the protein responsible for meat color.  Regardless of whether or not the Meat Maxi is present, trays are then over-wrapped with an oxygen permeable poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) film.  This film, unlike Saran Wrap, allows oxygen to interact with Myogolobin promoting the development of a bright cherry red color, or "bloom".  Over-wrap systems are the most economical way to package meat.  For this reason, over-wrap systems are common in small grocery stores were personnel fabricate steaks on site. However, due to the permeability of the over-wrap, product will lose color integrity and turn brown within 3-5 days.  Although brown colored beef is safe to eat, it is not eye appealing to consumers.

Another type of packaging system is Modified Atmosphere Packaging (often called MAP because of the lengthy and lofty name).  This type of packaging system is commonly used for ground beef.  Product is placed in a well tray, with or without a Meat Maxi.  There is enough "head space" within the package to modify the atmosphere (crazy, right??).  At UNL, we use a mixture of 80% oxygen gas, and 20% carbon dioxide gas.  This high concentration of oxygen allows the product to bloom.  Where the addition of carbon dioxide provides antibacterial properties, and promotes blooming.  Other gases used in MAP systems include: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and nitrogen gas.  Independent of the gases utilized, this packaging system is very attractive for consumers.  It also allows retailers to create different label designs for different product.  With this type of packaging system, expense is significantly higher, and shelf space is decreased due to the bulky package.  MAP packaged products have an expected shelf life of 10-60 days, depending on the gases utilized.

The final way product is commonly packaged at retail is via vacuum packaging.  This type of packaging system can be observed with the marinated pork tenderloins from Hormel.  In beef products, vacuum packaging is not typically utilized at the retail setting.  Often at the packing plant whole primals, such as the Ribeye Roll, are vacuum packaged and distributed to retailers for steak fabrication.  Product is placed in a protective, impermeable bag and has all of the air sucked out via a vacuum.  The open end of the bag is then sealed preventing exposure to oxygen.  Because of the lack of oxygen, vacuum packaged beef is a purple color.  For this reason, vacuum packaged beef is limited in retail settings; however, once the package is opened, product will bloom immediately.  Vacuum packaging product provides a means for "wet-aging" product and does an astounding job at maintaining product integrity.  Plus, running the vacuum sealer is pretty cool, ha!

Now that you have a basic understanding for meat packaging, take the time to check out packaging systems the next time you are at the grocery store, instead of just product quality.  And remember, just like a book, you can never judge meat by it's package!

ibe 2012

This past weekend provided an escape from the city lights, and was a time for family, friends, and cattle at the 2012 Iowa Beef Expo.  The Iowa Beef Expo is held on the state fairgrounds the 2nd-3rd weekend of February.  Breed shows and sales are during the week, and the IJBBA sanctioned junior show is held on the final weekend.  


Fortunately, none of the mommas decided to calve this past weekend allowing Chasen and I to head up to Des Moines Saturday evening.    I was particularly excited Chasen was able to get away from the farm so I could get my engagement ring back!  Because the ring is so unique we had to design a wedding band, and thus needed to approve the wax before they could create the band.  It looks soooo neat!!  After we picked up my ring we headed back to the east side of Des Moines to meet up with our close friends for supper at Okoboji Grill.  It's so strange how we now catch up with friends monthly instead of daily; I sure do miss those college days! Nonetheless good food and fellowship was shared by all.  To continue a night of meeting up with old friends, we drove to the ISF grounds and congregated in the bull pen.   I had such a good time!!


On Sunday morning we headed back to the fairgrounds for the commercial junior show.  Lacy, Chasen's younger sister, would be showing a heifer we raised at Stevenson Farms.     

In preparation for the show (fitting), it takes lots of helping hands.  First the calf needs to be washed and then dried with a blower.  Similair to blow drying one's hair, it is important to blow the calf's hair in a forward direction (towards the head). This helps make the calf look wider, and gives them an overall smooth look.  Much like a person, after the hair has been dried, the calf's hair needs to be combed.  Hair on the legs is "pulled up" and then sprayed with adhesive - a product comparable to hairspray.  Fitters (Kirn pictured below) then spray white paint on the calf's legs and tailhead.  This step helps the fitter notice hairs that need to be clipped off (which is the next step).  Clipping typically takes the longest time depending on how big of a perfectionist the fitter is.  

Hair is shaved off the animals topline, legs, tailhead, flank, shoulder, etc. to make the calf look its best and hide any imperfections.  After all clipping has been done, the white paint is covered up with black or red paint depending on the calf's color.  A spritz of Final Bloom, a perfumed hair conditioner, is then applied to the calf.  This is probably my favorite step because: 1. it smells amazing and 2. it means the fitting process is over, yay!!!  Now we are off to the showring; it was such a lovely day!!

The heifer weighing 870 pounds at check-in and therefore was placed in class 422.  The fitting process began around 7:00 am and was finished by 10:45-perfect for her class that began at 11:00. The judge was a gentlemen from Oklahoma; and in a class of 12 heifers, we placed 4th!  We were pretty excited about this accomplishment!!

In summary, growing up I was never exposed to the show cattle industry.  We raised feed lot cattle.  In the summer we preferred their hair was gone, and they only got "washed" when it rained.  When I started dating Chasen we traveled to quite a few IJBBA shows.  It was such an eye opening experience for me!!  But through the years, I have learned and experienced that showing cattle is a great way to spend time with family and friends.  And at the end of the day, we are all passionate about the beef industry and raising cattle.  Although I am still learning the ropes to showing cattle (and may never fully understand it all), I am truly loving every minute of it! <3