Author: Tiffany

Every summer, the Arizona Beef Council along with agriculture groups and the University of Arizona plan and execute the Summer Agriculture Institute (SAI) program, a five-day tour designed to teach K-12 teachers about food and fiber production and help them incorporate that knowledge into their classroom curriculum. SAI combines hands-on learning about agriculture with practical curriculum development. In fact, today marks the final day for the 2016 program and although survey results aren’t in yet, we think it was another successful year.

Each year the program focuses on a certain part of the state with this year’s focus being central and northern Arizona with many stops scheduled to cover all aspects of Arizona agriculture. We are excited to note many stages in the beef lifecycle were covered this year, giving teachers a better understanding of how cattle are raised in Arizona.

Groseta Ranches, a beautiful ranch in Cottonwood, Arizona working on its fifth generation of ranchers, was the first cattle stop of the week. The teachers heard from Andy Groseta about how the ranch works (For more info on cow-calf ranches, click here) and then covered the many issues they face. A delicious Fiesta Beef Salad lunch along with many yummy desserts was also provided by the Yavapai Cowbelles and Andy’s wife, Mary Beth.

The next stage in the beef lifecycle was demonstrated at Heiden Land and Cattle, a family farm which has been operated by the Heiden’s for 60 plus years, led by Paul Heiden. This is the stage after cattle have reached a certain weight and arrive at the feed yard to put on weight while maintaining their health. Many steps go into ensuring the safety and health of the cattle at the feed yard including the utilization of veterinarians to advise on proper health care along with a cattle nutritionist who studies the feed products available and determines which combination will be the healthiest for the animals. This stage of the beef cattle lifecycle is important to the marbling and quality of the beef at your grocery store.

The final stage of the lifecycle was shown at Perkinsville Meat Processing. This segment is where cattle are turned into beef. A slaughterhouse can cause some a sense of apprehension and anxiety. However, Lori Aquilone, a teacher on this year’s tour,  approached us today at the wrap-up lunch, stating she didn’t eat meat before this tour because of concerns including safety, cleanliness, and humane treatment. She was excited to announce her fears were put to rest and she now felt safe and comfortable consuming beef and other meat products after visiting and learning the process. If you are interested in seeing the actual process from start to finish, check out Temple Grandin’s Glass Walls Project. Please be warned, this video could be considered graphic to some.

This week-long journey is exhausting for both teachers and volunteers but one which is important in our society which is so far removed from the farm. Currently, the average citizen is 3 generations removed from any sort of agriculture work so it’s understandable how some might not understand how things work. The teachers who participate in this tour are able to see many aspects of agriculture, first-hand, and take that important information back to their students. We are grateful they take a week out of their schedule to spend time with us!

This week, we are excited to reuse an insightful and wisdom-packed post from one of our personal favorite Facebook pages, Jolyn Smith at Arizona Ranch Reflections. If you don’t already follow this page, we highly recommend you start because she posts some of the most beautiful photos from southern Arizona and then adds incredible knowledge and insight. Learn more about Jolyn below and then enjoy her post!

Jolyn Smith is a fourth-generation Arizona rancher who along with her husband Shane have a cow-calf operation raising Brangus cattle in the Dragoon area. Ranching for her has been the best way to raise up a family, and she feels blessed beyond measure to have been able to teach her children how to be stewards of the land, to appreciate the beautiful things that God has created all around them, and how to be cattlemen. She is proud to be able to enlist the help of her “top hands” when needed and loves it, even more, when the 6.5 grandchildren tag along learning that when you do something you love, it doesn’t work.

Originally posted March 6th, Arizona Ranch Reflections

Found this little guy out in the pasture last week. He is extra tiny, I thought possibly a little premature or a twin judging by the hair on his hide. He was barely able to walk, and he was really weak and dehydrated. We brought him home and have been nursing him night and day.

We went out and found his mother the same day we found him, she wanted her baby but she is pretty tall, and he just couldn’t reach her bag, he’s seriously that tiny. I also confirmed my suspicions that he might be premature because the momma barely had a bag at all. I don’t think he was a twin. This momma has been a good cow and has had four healthy, perfectly normal calves before, so she’ll get another chance.

He has overcome his dehydration and his bowel issues, he is much stronger now, and he sorta chases me around the yard wanting more milk, he’s still very slow, but it seems like he might make it!

Of course, we have all loved him since we found him, problems and all. Two of my littlest Grandgirls are excited for him to go live with them, hopefully, this week. Poor guy, I can’t even imagine what his name will be! The littles went to the Zoo with their parents, and the older of the two got a giraffe stuffed animal and named it “monkey,” so it really is hard to say what his name will end up being!

It has been a challenge to help him overcome his weaknesses and the things he has struggled with in his short little life, had we not found him, he never would have lived out in the “wild.” Some would say it’s silly to spend the time and effort, but I guess that’s why God made a rancher. It’s just what we do.

I couldn’t help but think that this is how our Heavenly Father is with us. We each have weaknesses, problems, and bad habits. He’s not waiting to love us until after we have overcome these things, like us loving this little calf; He loves us right now, today, with a full understanding and knowledge of our struggles. He is here to help us along, day or night; we can’t survive out in this “wild” without Him.

And why yes, it’s all good that he sleeps in my kitchen at night wearing one of my shirts!

Have a blessed day and remember you are loved… just the way you are!

We are excited to introduce to you our current Arizona Beef Ambassador and also a member of the National Beef Ambassador team, Mackenzie Kimbro. Her Roots Run Deep (also the perfect name for her blog) in the Sonoran desert and cattle ranching so take a moment to enjoy her blog post. Be sure to check out her personal page Cola Blanca Productions, LLC..

I am proud to be the sixth generation in my family to be a cattle rancher. My grandpa, my mom and I ranch in scenic southeast Arizona, having one ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains and the other in the San Bernardino Valley along the US/Mexico border. Our landscape is incredibly diverse and is one that has been intensely and continuously sought after for scientific study; and therefore, it is no surprise that we are actively involved in conservation efforts.

Beginning in 1991, my grandparents Warner and Wendy Glenn helped found the Malpai Borderlands Group, an organization who stood to bring progress by getting ranchers and environmental agencies to sit down at the table together. The MBG’s mission: “Our goal is to restore and maintain the natural processes that create and protect a healthy, unfragmented landscape to support a diverse, flourishing community of human, plant and animal life in our borderlands region. Together, we will accomplish this by working to encourage profitable ranching and other traditional livelihoods, which will sustain the open space nature of our land for generations to come.” This organization has made leaps and bounds in the environmental and ranching communities worldwide, and has served as a great meeting place for collaborations as a good amount of grazing lands leased by ranchers are owned by state and federal agencies (so, working partnerships with ranchers/permittees and these agencies are critical).

The MBG’s website goes on to say: “Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this huge landscape is that fewer than 100 human families reside on it. Many of the families who live here have been here for generations. Except for two small wildlife preserves, this is cattle ranching country. As ranchers, we have been concerned about a key resource we depend on for our livelihoods and way of life – the diminishing quality of grasslands for grazing. Fragmentation of the landscape, beginning with the subdivision of some ranches in our area, has also been a looming threat. We formed a nonprofit organization to bring ranchers, scientists, and key agencies together, and today the Malpai Borderlands Group now carries out a series of conservation programs and activities, including land restoration; endangered species habitat protection; cost-sharing range and ranch improvements; and land conservation projects.”

Conservation is key to the continuity of the beef community and is an integral facet in the way we raise quality beef. Ranchers across the country are everyday environmentalists and we take great pride in knowing that we work constantly to provide America with safe, wholesome, nutritious beef in the most sustainable way possible. As said by the Bureau of Land Management, “Besides providing such traditional products as meat and fiber, well-managed rangelands and other private ranch lands support healthy watersheds, carbon sequestration, recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat.” Plus, about eighty-five percent of US grazing lands are unsuitable for producing crops, so grazing cattle on this land more than doubles the area that can be used to raise food. A study done by Oklahoma State University students stated, “[Cattle] can also convert low-quality feeds into high-quality protein from land not suited for cultivation, thereby reducing soil erosion and enhancing soil carbon storage.”

Ranchers and everyone else involved in the beef community work hard so that we may continue to reduce our carbon footprint and raise delicious and nutritious beef using fewer resources. Ranchers specifically have a working relationship with Mother Nature. A few examples of that partnership include providing livestock waters that are utilized by wildlife, maintaining open spaces for ranching and simultaneously preserving wildlife corridors, and grazing cattle strategically which helps prevent wildfires.

All in all, cattle ranchers are proud to be stewards of the land, working to conserve open spaces and sustain the land and the ranching way of life for future generations. We care about our cattle and we care about the environment, not just because they are both integral to our family business, but because we care about preserving this land and our nation’s resources so that future generations are able to appreciate them as much as we do.

To learn more about the beef community’s relationship with the environment, visit FactsAboutBeef.com.

To find out more about the Malpai Borderlands Group, visit www.malpaiborderlandsgroup.org.

Bas Aja, a rancher and native Arizonan and Executive Director of the Arizona Beef Council provides us with some thoughts about the food continuum and how it includes not only the people who raise food but everyone, including the consumers.

My, have times changed down here on the ranch. Our previous generations of ancestors were concerned about floods, droughts, fires, losing livestock to predators, markets, and the condition of their animals. Well, we still concern ourselves with all of those items but we now include the 3-C’s: Conservation, Care, and Consumers.

After 100 years in the livestock business in Arizona, we have grown and we need to grow even more. With my family spending that many years in the same area, with the same type of animals, and 7 million Arizonans asking about our food animals and the land, we are bound to be affected by the need for growth and transparency. We now find ourselves answering questions about items we once took for granted. Sure, we took care of our animals, but now we ask: What can we do better? Sure, the beef and protein we produce is safe and nutritious, but now we ask: What can we do better? Sure, we took care of the land, but now we ask: What can we do better? This type of introspection was difficult at first. Somehow thinking that our grandfathers and grandmothers were not doing the best job is a difficult place to be. But once we understood that they were doing the best they could with the information they had, it easier to ask these questions.

We are all part of the Food Continuum – my family, your family, every rancher, every farmer, every gardener, every grain elevator, every grocery store, every hunter, every farmers market, every crop and soils scientist. All of us are part of the food system. It was not always seen this way but for us here on the ranch, that’s how we now see it. We have a triple bottom line that we must meet to be successful: 1) We must be environmentally resilient; 2) We must be socially sustainable, and 3) We must be economically sustainable. The food system under which we produce must meet these three goals in order for us to maintain our ranch, maintain food production, and maintain consumers.

My family is very important to me so I understand how your family remains vigilant about the food you feed your family. We recently rounded up and worked our cattle with family. Of the many experiences from that day, the way in which we handled a calf that had a hernia in its lower abdomen stood out. We sorted off a 450-pound calf and it did not go to market with the rest of our high-quality animals. We took the animal to the farm, individually restrained it in a chute, performed a palpation and medical review, finally determining that it was going to be difficult and medically dangerous for the animal to grow until it reached 1,200 pounds. The animal was purchased by a local person who determined they might harvest it and best use it for themselves. It was healthy and wholesome, but for us it didn’t fit our program, it had a hernia and it would be better for its quality of life if it was harvested sooner rather than later.

Caring for our animals is very important to us, so much so that we don’t hesitate to delay. The thought of doing what is best for our animals isn’t a conscience one. It is so ingrained in our way of life, we just jump into doing what needs to be done. It’s the right thing to do. As we fulfill our role in the food continuum, we naturally keep conservation, care, and consumers top priorities.

Gathering cattle with my family in Rainbow Valley, Arizona.

This week’s feature is Dave Schafer, Resident Director at the University of Arizona’s V Bar V Ranch located in Rimrock, Arizona. Learn how Dave got into the ranching business, low-stress cattle handling and why it is important for a productive ranch.

Arizona Beef: How did you get involved with beef cattle? The University of Arizona ranch, the V Bar V?

Dave Schafer: I grew up on a farm in NW Missouri and we raised cattle but it was not until I entered college that I found I really liked working with beef cattle and wanted to make a career of it.  I obtained a B.S. Degree from Northwest Missouri State University then went on to Colorado State University (CSU) to obtain a M.S. and PhD degrees in Animal Breeding/Genetics with emphasis in beef cattle.  When I finished my M.S. degree, I was hired by CSU to manage the cattle records and activities for the CSU-Beef Improvement Center, the San Juan Basin Research Center and Four Corners Bull Test.  Upon finishing my PhD, I accepted a two-year postdoctoral position at the San Juan Basin Research Center and then assumed management of that facility at the end of my post-doc.

Dr. Roy Ax approached me in 1999 about the possibility of coming to Arizona to run the V Bar V Ranch.  I saw many possibilities and a great opportunity so I applied and was fortunate to get the job as Resident Director.

Arizona Beef: What is low-stress cattle handling?

Dave Schafer:  Low-stress cattle handling is basically a form of communication between the animal and handler.  Animals are usually willing to do the activities we want them to but there is an obvious communication barrier.  Therefore, it is the responsibility of the handler to make the animal understand what you want it to do by utilizing the animal’s flight zone and point of balance** to move the animal.  Using these techniques, you build trust with your animals and they move more easily and are less frightened.

Arizona Beef: Why is low-stress cattle handling important to you and your ranch?

Dave Schafer:Stressed animals are more susceptible to sickness and their weight gains are affected.  As a producer, we want the animals to be healthy not only for the sake of animal but also the economics.  Stressed animals cost producers money.

Arizona Beef: How do you ensure low-stress cattle handling happens on your ranch?
Dave Schafer: We use the animal’s flight zone* and point of balance** to move them and do it in a quiet non-threatening way.  Another part of low-stress handling is having good facilities.  Good facilities ensure not only your workers’ safety but also the safety of the animals.  Designing facilities to work with the natural movement of livestock and understanding potential distractions around your facilities can help you move the animals quietly and efficiently.  We have tried to design our facilities to be as efficient as possible.

Arizona Beef: How do genetics play into this?

Dave Schafer: There is a genetic component to docility in animals.  Therefore, we can collect a chute score on an animal to assess their response to handling.  Some animals are naturally more nervous than others despite being treated the same.  We can make selection decisions using these scores to select the tamer animals and thereby reduce stress levels within the herd.

*This photo “illustrates the flight zone of a large flock of sheep, herds of cattle behave much the same way. Notice that the sheep are circling around the handlers while maintaining a safe distance and keeping the people in sight. Note that the sheep tend to move in the opposite direction of handler movement.” (Source)

** The point of balance is usually at the animal’s shoulder and it is determined by the animal’s wide angle vision. All species of livestock will move forward if the handler stands behind the point of balance. They will back up if the handler stands in front of the point of balance.

***This photo provides a bird’s eye view and allows one to see the point of balance. Where the handler is currently standing is called the point of balance because the animal will not move (if out of the flight zone). If the handler moves towards the back of the animal, behind the point of balance, the animal will move forward. If the handler moves towards the head of the animal, it will move backward.

For more information on the V Bar V Ranch visit their website here. To learn more about low-stress cattle handling visit Dr. Temple Grandin’s website.