Raising cattle is what we would call an active job. You don’t sit a whole lot, unless you consider riding horses a form of sitting, and on the rare occasion, it sometimes involves unintentional running. But some ranchers choose to run for fun. Yup, we said it: run for fun. It’s a crazy thought, we know, but one that Angie Newbold, Arizona beef rancher, embraces.
Photo by Hazel Lights Photography.
An active, healthy lifestyle is one that Angie and her husband Cole have always embraced, and, with their current occupations, this goal has mostly worked itself out. Angie and Cole Newbold are both first generation ranchers, meaning they are the first in their family to work on cattle ranches. This couple currently resides and works on the M-K Ranch owned by Oddonetto Family north of Globe, Arizona, where they help to raise registered Santa Gertrudis (purebred breed of cattle who are recorded in a registry) and commercial (cross bred cattle who are not registered) cattle. Cole is the full-time cowboy at the ranch while Angie works in town during the week and helps on weekends and on other busy days at the ranch.
Photo by Hazel Lights Photography.
While ranch life is active, a town job isn’t. As an active child, Angie could be found team roping daily, practicing for swim team, along with any number of other outdoor activities so it only makes sense she picked up another physical activity as an adult when life required more sitting. Running was her activity of choice, outside of ranching, because it’s a free sport that you can basically do anywhere and anytime you choose. With miles of dirt roads surrounding the ranch, it’s a logical option to expend energy she builds up from her office job.
Photo by Hazel Lights Photography.
For her husband Cole, living and working on the ranch gives him plenty of opportunities for physical activity as the work is never done. Just like all cattlemen and women, Cole and Angie, and the owners of the M-K Ranch, care about the cattle in their care and about the land they use to raise those animals. Just like how Angie is focused on keeping herself healthy, also of importance is keeping the land healthy. This is done in many ways such as pasture rotation, water development, and picking the right breed of cattle for the land. One example is the implementation of the registered herd of Santa Gertrudis cattle. These animals are known for their hardiness, meaning they can do well in hot, dry climates, such as that around Globe. They require less resources than other breeds might.
Photo by Hazel Lights Photography.
While Angie might not run with a local running club like many who live in town, she does have an avid group of running companions. These members of her running club all have four legs and bark more than they speak but are the perfect companions on the back roads as they offer some entertainment and protection. Angie jokes that the president of her running club is Josie, a small Cairn Terrier. These dogs not only run with Angie but also work on the ranch to help with gathering cattle which, in many circumstances, can relieve pressure on the cowboys and horses.
Josie, a small Cairn Terrier, is the president of Angie’s running club! Photo by Hazel Lights Photography.
Cole, Angie’s husband, was a runner in high school and helped encourage Angie to start running. “He said, just try a 5k and see if you like it,” reports Angie who then mentions it was all down hill (or uphill, depending on the course) from there. Being a competitive person, Angie couldn’t stop there and has three marathon finishes to date with goals of more. She has recently discovered trail running and is actively competing in races around the state of Arizona. With a busy schedule at work and on the ranch, adding training runs into her schedule can be challenging but Angie states it’s a good mental break. In addition to multiple runs a week, Angie cross trains with weights on a regular basis and tries to stick to a healthy, balanced diet. Her fuel of choice includes lean beef, pinto beans, and fresh veggies and fruit, along with eggs and whole milk.
Photo by Hazel Lights Photography.
When asked for her advice on staying active with running, Angie emphasizes cross training, whether that is with weights or ranch work, if you have that option. Angie’s favorite distance to run is 6 miles because it serves as a great way to stay in shape and offers her a mental break from her office job and from recording cattle information such as birthdate, location, health records, progeny reports. The power of rewards is an important part of training too. After every race, Angie always has a good old fashion cheeseburger with all the trimmings and the good cheese. A big side of fries is always welcome! She says that during training her go-to beef meals are fajitas and pasta with meat sauce. Both are easy, filling, and packed full of the nutrients her body needs to get her down the back roads and back home.
This blog post is made possible by the generous support of the Arizona Cattle Industry Research and Education Foundation.
Where are you located: Gisela and Roosevelt Lake, Arizona
Q. Tell us about yourself, your family and about your ranch:
A. I am a first-generation agriculturalist (in other words, I am the first in my family to be a farmer or rancher). I grew up a city kid even though my family had what most would consider a hobby farm. We raised typical backyard farm animals and participated in 4-H and FFA. I showed rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, sheep, steers, and horses. I have been riding horses since my mom was pregnant with me, so I like to say before I was born. Growing up, I loved competing with my horses in breed association horse shows, 4-H competitions, and high school rodeos. I always wanted to be a real cowgirl and dreamt of one day marrying a real cowboy.
My dream came true just after high school when I married my husband Jared, a sixth-generation cattle rancher. We have been married for 18 years and have four boys: Elias 14, Haskin 11, Tate 8, and Pratt 5. They all love to ride horses and help at the ranch, and we hope they will carry on our family legacy as 7th generation cattle ranchers. Of course, I started out all my boys on horses the same way my mom did (while they were in my belly), then hanging on behind me, and as soon as my kids can reach the stirrup of a kids saddle, they take the reins and ride their horse all by themselves.
Photo by Hazel Lights Photography
A little more about our ranch: We have a cow-calf cattle ranch on the north shore of Roosevelt Lake in Arizona and co-own and operate an additional ranch with my husband’s parents in Gisela, Arizona. Between the two ranches (Hat Ranch and Bar L Bar Ranch), we run just over 300 head of cattle on over 50,000 acres of public land. We raise commercial Angus-cross cattle (Angus breed because that is what the market desires and a touch of Brahman breed because of its adaptability to the Arizona desert environment our cattle forage in). We sell our calves to the commercial market, which means the beef you buy in the grocery store or eat at your favorite fast-food restaurant starts at a ranch like mine. We also direct-sell beef to consumers by the individual cut or by whole, half, and/or quarter beef. With an increase in people wanting to know where their food comes from (how it was raised and making the connection to their food), we too are growing in the number of beef we raise for consumers from start to finish right on our ranch.
Photo by Hazel Lights Photography
Q. What is the best part about ranch life? What are the struggles?
A. I really have a hard time picking favorite things and best parts, so I will narrow it down to my top favorites. Family makes the top. Getting to be with and work alongside my family every day is one of the best parts. I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say there are “those days.” There is a saying in the cattle community, “Sorry for what I said, we were working cattle.” So yes, there are days when you may need to go to town for “groceries,” aka “a minute away,” but we all have those days in every profession. It truly is a blessing to get to help each other out every day, to depend on one another, knowing the inside and out of the work stress of your spouse. The opportunity to be a team in your home life and work life, as one and the same, is irreplaceable. The whole family, kids, and parents, working together toward the same goal and learning together along the way is priceless.
Another favorite of ranch life is the opportunity it provides to teach my children to have a strong work ethic. Animals are depending on us, come rain or shine, school activities, or sports to provide for them. My kids know that even when we have a late-night or a holiday, chores still need to be done. They are taught to work and work hard until the job is done no matter what, something our society is missing these days.
Photo by Hazel Lights Photography
Another great thing about ranch life is the time spent outdoors. Our whole family loves the outdoors, and yes, ranch life offers a lot of that. A long day riding my horse under the big blue sky, as large fluffy clouds dance across the horizon, with my four boys horseback following me, while we gather cattle from the mountain range, is sometimes surreal. I often pinch myself to remember I’m not dreaming. I consider myself so very lucky. I love the opportunity we have to be outdoors, caring for the land and for God’s creations. To watch a calf be born and trying to take his first steps, their cute noses, and soft coat. These top my “best part of ranch life” list too.
Though struggles, there are many. The top would be government regulations and consumer misinformation. As time goes on, these two struggles are getting harder and harder and are forcing many production agriculture operations out of business.
Q. In addition to ranch and mom life, in what other things are you involved?
A. I wear many hats, and I am not just an ordinary mom, I guess (even though I really think I am). Not only do I do routine household chores, but also bake from scratch, garden, and do canning or home food preservation. From my ranch Facebook page, many know I am completely involved in the day to day operations of the ranch from fixing fence and helping calve to being horseback gathering cattle and even hauling calves.
Other activities I give a lot of time to include:
PTO
4-H project leader
Volunteer to help youth with projects including livestock, horse, working ranch horse, cooking, sewing, canning, robotics, photography, public speaking, S.T.E.A.M., shooting sports, leadership and more
Cattle community organizations such as my county and state cattle growers’ associations. I’ve served as Gila County Farm Bureau President and served on the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation State board.
Volunteer with the Arizona Farm Bureau Agriculture in the Classroom
Serve on the Northern Gila County Fair board
Young Women’s President of the Tonto Basin Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Q. Why do you commit so many hours to volunteer in your community?
A. I have thought about this question time and time again, and I never feel I have a right answer. I always say, “I don’t know, I just do.” As I have really taken the time to ponder, it is because serving makes me happy! Putting someone else’s needs before my own, helping to make a difference, seeing the joy of others because of the time I was willing to give are the reasons why! As a selfish reason, maybe validation. I absolutely love inspiring youth and advocating for agriculture. The warm fuzzy I get inside when someone says thank you, couldn’t have done this without you, is a fantastic feeling. When someone asks me where I find the time to do what I do, I tell them you make time for the things you love. Investing your time in people is time well spent. And anything worth having takes hard work!
Photo by Hazel Lights Photography
Q. What would you like to share with someone who is not familiar with raising cattle?
A. As cattle ranchers, my family and I truly care for the land and natural resources. John James Audubon once said, “A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his father but borrowed from his children.” We want to pass our ranch(es) and our ranching legacy down to future generations, to see our grandchildren and even great-grandchildren and on, productively and sustainably raising cattle on the same land we raised cattle on. We study the land in cooperation with the University of Arizona and the U.S. Forest Service collecting data and analyzing forage trends. We provide water for wildlife. There are significant misconceptions around western cattle ranching and grazing on public lands. It is essential that if people have questions, they ask a real rancher, visit the ranch and get first-hand information. It seems agriculture is always under attack, but don’t fall for the latest headline getting media attention or the product labeling jargon. Know your farmers or ranchers, and you’ll know your food. Stop fighting against agriculture and start making friends in agriculture because without them, who will feed you and your family?
Q. If you could describe in one word the life of a rancher, what would it be?
A. I don’t do good with picking just one, and as I weigh the good days with the stressful days, the words I come up with seem to cross each other out. Things I considered are the beauty of riding under an indescribable Arizona summer sunset and still cattle ranching like the old-time western movies (wide open spaces, riding horseback to gather cattle, working as a family, and homemade meals together at the table). This is then compared to the fall of the cattle market prices, drought-stricken parched land or losing your best mother cow because she was torn to pieces by a reintroduced protected species called a Mexican Gray Wolf (this is reality for many of our ranching family friends Northeast of us). The hard work, blood sweat and tears and, the joy of summer rains, and a good calf crop. The highs are high, but the lows are low, so my one word would be: ineffable!
Photo by Hazel Lights Photography
Q. Lastly and of course, most importantly, what is your favorite cut of beef, and how do you like to prepare it?
A. I am going to pick Lyman Ranches #ranchraisedbeef Rib Steak. Bring steak to room temperature. Heat BBQ grill to high heat, liberally apply (course ground) salt and pepper each side of steak, sear each side, reduce heat to low and cook till internal temp is at least 130⁰ but no more than 145⁰ (needs to be pink still). Garlic butter sauce or melting blue cheese crumble on top to serve!
To learn more about the Lyman family visit their website here.
This blog post is made possible by the generous support of the Arizona Cattle Industry Research and Education Foundation.
For Arizona’s ranching families, the land is not just where they raise cattle; it’s also where they raise their families. They have a personal stake in the quality of their environment – so they are always looking for new ways to improve the air, water and land on and near their property.
Families and ranching go hand in hand. 98% of farms and ranches in the United States are family owned and operated and many of those are passed from generation to generation. The land isn’t just where ranchers raise cattle, but where they raise their families, provide open space and create wildlife habitat.
In fact, today’s cattlemen are significantly more environmentally sustainable than they were 30 years ago. A study by Washington State University in 2007 found that today’s farmers and ranchers raise 13% more beef from 30% fewer cattle. When compared with beef production in 1977, each pound of beef produced today:
Produces 16% less carbon emissions
Takes 33% less land
Requires 12% less water
There are no one-size-fits-all solutions to beef sustainability. Rather, farmers and ranchers balance the resources they have available to meet the goals of their operation: responsibly raise cattle, take care of the land, provide for their families, and produce food for others. Rainfall amounts, temperatures, soil conditions, and vegetation are just a few of the regional geographic variables that affect how beef farmers and ranchers sustainably manage their operations.
Arizonans rely on farming and ranching families to manage and maintain more than 26 million acres of land in Arizona. A healthy aspect of sustainable beef production involves grazing cattle on U.S. rangelands, about 85 percent of which are unsuitable for crops. Raising cattle on this land contributes to the ecosystems by converting forages humans cannot eat into a nutrient-rich food humans can eat — beef.
It’s the beginning of a new year, full of possibilities, but we can’t just forget about 2018. That was a good year! So here is our annual round up of the Arizona Beef Blog’s top ten most read posts. We visited with ranchers across the state to bring you more information on how beef is raised, delicious beef meals were cooked and shared so you can recreate them at home, and much more. Enjoy!
Coming in at number 10, a blog about how perspective can show much more than we think. This blog is an important reminder to think from all angles before sharing a photo on social media channels. It might look fine to you, but to someone else who may not have the background knowledge you do, it might mean something totally different.
This blog post was reposted from our friends over at the Diablo Trust. It was written by Sheila Carlson who has worked at the Flying M Ranch for the past 10 years. She wrote about how ranchers care for the land they are managing because it’s how they make their living and mistreating the land is simply not an option.
We put these recipes in one spot as a quick read to help with your holiday plans, but in reality, this can be a post you can refer to all year long. There are some delicious appetizers, main courses, and even a dessert recipe! We suggest you save this one to your Pinterest under your “Yummy Food” board.
Amber Morin, who was raised on her family’s ranch, contributed a thought-provoking read in this blog post. The divide between agriculture and urban life is large and is only getting larger but we are all more alike than we think. Amber explains how. If you didn’t read this already, read it now. If you did read it when it came out, read it again anyway. It’s that good.
The iconic photos of western life tend to feature older people who have lived this rough life for many years, and it often shows in the wrinkles caught on film. Seth Joel and Charlie Holland, a photography dynamic duo, set out to show the next generation of the ranching community. We did a question and answer session with these two and shared it on this post, along with a plethora of their beautiful photos and information on how you can order their book.
The writing of the 5th most read blog post was nothing short of an adventure. It took Tiffany, Lauren and Heidi down to the southern end of our state for a visit with the one and only Baxter Black. Stories were told, history was recorded, and there were many belly laughs. In this post we simply introduced (does he really need to be introduced?) Baxter and share some of his history. We also share a little bit about arrows and how Baxter uses those in his life.
The 4th most read blog post of the Arizona Beef Blog is a Meet Your Rancher feature. We were lucky to hear from Ashlee Mortimer and how her family handles things like drought. As many ranching families do, the Mortimer family faces issues that are out of their control but they find innovative ways to keep their cattle well cared for and fed.
Everyone loves a good list and when it’s life lessons from someone like Baxter Black, do you even need an explanation why this is so high on our list? We don’t think so.
Brooke from Brooke Appetit shares delicious recipes over on her Instagram and we just couldn’t get enough. So we asked her to come up with something delicious for the Arizona Beef Blog. While she shared this delicious fancy night in dinner, she also showed off her family’s dairy farm and the impeccable care that is given to their cows.
The top most read blog post of 2018 is about a family who has been ranching in Arizona for a long time. They might be old hat at the ranching game but this family isn’t stagnant. They are always looking for ways to improve how they raise cattle, how they manage and care for the land, and keep a constant pulse on what the consumer wants. This family truly is the epitome of our slogan, “Arizona beef. Raised by families for families.”
We hope you enjoyed this round up of the most read blog posts on the Arizona Beef Blog of 2018! Cinch up your saddle and get ready for the ride because 2019 is going to be a fun one.
Brooke from Brooke Appetit recently took over our Instagram. She shared a recipe with us and also a little more about the dairy that she and her husband live and work on in Buckeye, Arizona. Her husband, Clint, is a fourth generation farmer at Saddle Mountain Dairy. Clint and his dairy focus on keeping their dairy cows comfortable even during the hottest of months. Special misters are installed in their cow barns which keep it down to a cool 85 degrees Fahrenheit even when it’s 110 degrees outside.
Not only is temperature a focus but proper nutrition also sorts itself to the top of the priority list. A mixture of hay, grains, vitamins, and minerals is fed to their cows to ensure they are healthy while producing healthy milk for us to use. To get the full recap of the day, head over to the Arizona Beef Instagram page and check out our highlights. In the meantime, we wanted to make sure you could make Brooke’s delicious creation at home so here is the recipe!
Fancy Night In: Filet Mignon with a Mushroom Wine Sauce
Ingredients
6 Tbsp butter, divided
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
16 oz baby bella mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 small or 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme ( reserve a few sprigs for garnish)
4 Beef Filet Mignon steaks (about 2” thick)
1/2 cup a good Cabernet or Merlot you would drink
1 1/2 cups low sodium beef broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method
1. Place a large cast iron pan over medium/high heat and melt 3 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp oil. Add mushrooms and cook 3-5 minutes until soft. Stir in onion and cook another 3 minutes. Press in garlic cloves then season with salt, pepper, and freshly chopped thyme. Cook another 2 min, stirring constantly until garlic is fragrant, then transfer mushroom mixture to a plate. Wipe the skillet clean with a wet paper towel.
2. Pat dry steaks with a paper towel and season all over with sea salt and cracked
pepper.
3. Place the same pan over medium/high heat and add 3 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp
oil. When butter is hot and finished foaming, add seasoned steaks to skillet,
turning over once with tongs, about 3-5 min per side for medium-rare. To best determine doneness, use an instant-read thermometer and utilize these helpful tips. If steak is browning too fast, reduce heat to medium. Use tongs to transfer steaks to the
plate with mushrooms. Also, keep in mind thinner steaks will cook faster and thicker steaks can take longer.
4. Add 1/2 cup wine and boil until reduced by half (3 minutes), scraping the bottom
with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan. Add 1 1/2 cups broth and boil until about 2/3 cup liquid remains (5-6 minutes). Add 1/2 cup of cream and boil until sauce thickens slightly (2 minutes). Return mushrooms and steak to the pan and heat until warmed through (1-2 minutes)
Season sauce to taste with more salt & pepper, if desired. Serve immediately. Plate the steak and sauce over some creamy mashed potatoes and a side of steamed asparagus.
Enjoy, friends!
Brooke will be back with us again soon! Stay tuned!
Enjoy, friends!
Arizona Beef Blog 