JUST RELEASED! Results of our annual livestock marketing survey, featuring answers to the toughest questions for...
Posted by Ranch House Designs, Inc. on Monday, September 14, 2015
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March 17, 2013: Planting 2013 Garden I have been looking forward to spring ever since it left last year. Of course, I was born to love the springtime since I am a May baby. However, I am also a huge fan of springtime because of fresh vegetables, gardens, sunshine and hopefully rain showers. Last year I spent the spring in Denver and let me tell you their springs are COLD and you can't plant gardens until May because it freezes in April, which kind of blew my mind. However, this spring I am back where I belong in Texas and enjoying the beautiful weather (even though today's high is 95 degrees, which I do prefer over snow and freezing temps). Along with this beautiful weather, the guy and I planted our 2013 garden and all we can say is we're going to have a lot of veggies. So...just to give you a good idea of why we will be up to our ears in corn and other veggies (hope you caught that pun) this is what we planted. We planted onions, beets, potatoes, swiss chard, jalapeno peppers, banana peppers, bell peppers, four different kinds of tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, zipper peas, sugar snap peas, pole snap beans, bush snap beans, lima beans, green beans, corn, okra and eventually will plant watermelons. Now all we need is some much needed rain. Not only does our garden need rain, but the pastures, the rivers, the lakes, the aquifers, the crops, the cows ALL NEED RAIN. Pray for some March and April rain because God knows all the South Texas farmers and ranchers need the relief. Well... I will keep you updated on the garden project and hopefully we will have plenty of veggies to can for Christmas presents. Well I have started a new chapter in my life! Thank you to everyone who has made this transition possible. This past year I had the opportunity to work for some fabulous people at National Cattlemen's Beef Association, as well as meet a lot of great people while residing in the colorful state of Colorado. Change is a good thing and makes you stronger, which is why I packed up my belongings two weeks ago and headed south for the place I have always called home, TEXAS! I took a new job in San Antonio, Texas (closer to family, friends and of course the guy). GOD BLESS TEXAS! It is true that you don't appreciate things until they are gone or in this case too far away. I do not regret living in Colorado or working for NCBA, to be completely honest, it tested me beyond what I ever thought I could be tested. It made me strong. It made me appreciate my family. It made me appreciate love. It made me appreciate the ability to load up my dog for a weekend trip to see family and friends. However, God never presents us with something we can not handle and O boy did I handle it with a lot of tears and airplane rides. I thought I was tough before but until you are 1,000 miles away from everyone you love you will never know how tough you actually are. After 11 trips to Texas in just 11 months, I can say I racked up 8,700 miles in Southwest Rapid Rewards and have become a pro at the Denver, San Antonio and Dallas airports. However, I can safely say that during my time in Colorado I gained the best gift from God, LOVE. Not long after moving to Colorado I met a guy and no I didn't meet him in Colorado. I met a guy who lived about as far as he could from Denver and I met him of course at "My Best Friend's Wedding". The ultimate love story, a bridesmaid and a groomsman. Long story short we fell in love after some breakfast tacos, flowers, several phone conversations, trips to the post office, packages in the mail, saran wrapped double chocolate zucchini "squash" bread and McDonald's wifi FaceTime. Yes, I fell in love long distance style. Technology and the USPS are wonderful. So after living in Colorado for one year I gained appreciation, frequent flyer miles and love. Now I am onto a new adventure and I know that God will not disappoint me. WELCOME TO SOUTH TEXAS JERALYN, put those wool sweaters into storage and find a shade tree to park under. If you're from Texas you understand that shade is a priceless commodity, guard it with all your might. Oh and I forgot to mention what my new job is, I am the Communications Coordinator for Beefmaster Breeders United. Which basically means I write/distribute new releases, update the website/social media, design advertisements/brochures, take photos, edit video and whatever else needs to be done to promote the Beefmaster cattle breed. Thank you again to my family, my boyfriend, his family and my best friends for helping me begin this new chapter. Read more... ### SAN ANTONIO (Feb. 11, 2013) – Beefmaster Breeders United (BBU) has added a new team member; Jeralyn Stephens will be serving as the Communications Coordinator. Stephens will serve the BBU organization by promoting the general functions of BBU with an emphasis in media and website promotion, as well as advertising development. Her responsibilities include managing the bi-monthly newsletter Beefmaster E-News, managing electronic media including social media platforms, writing news releases and assisting with video development. Additionally, she will serve as the liaison between BBU and the agriculture trade media in an effort to increase breed recognition with beef cattle industry publications. Stephens grew up in McKinney, Texas where she was active in her local FFA and 4-H chapters. She was involved in each program through exhibiting market goats and breeding beef heifers while also participating in several leadership programs. She received a Bachelor of Science in agricultural services and development with an emphasis in agricultural communications from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. While at Tarleton State University she served as a member of the meat evaluation team, Sigma Alpha agricultural sorority, agricultural ambassadors and several other leadership organizations. Stephens has an extensive communications background and has worked on multiple marketing campaigns, website development projects and beef cattle communication efforts. She comes to us from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) where she served as a public policy intern in Washington, D.C., and as the manager of web content in Denver, Colo. “We are blessed to have such a qualified person heading up our communications and media services. Jeralyn has all of the skills needed to advance the breed’s recognition in the industry,” said BBU Executive Vice President Tommy Perkins. “Ms. Stephens has excelled in every facet of her life, including high school, college and professionally. We could not have written a job description more perfect for the outstanding attributes that she brings to the job.” For more information or to contact the BBU staff members call the office at 210-732-3132 or visit www.beefmasters.org. On October 9, 2012, I had the honor to work a live show for NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen where we took calls live on the air to answer drought questions, as well as allow viewers to call in and join NCBA, ask questions about the 2013 Cattle Industry Annual Convention, etc. My task was to answer the phone and sign people up to become members. Although I did not get any new memberships, I had an interesting conversation with a gentleman from Pennsylvania. The night was entertaining and I enjoyed interacting with U.S. cattle producers. Take a look at the video below to catch a few glances of me manning the phone lines and becoming "almost famous". I will say most of the shots on camera were of me acting, but it was fun while it lasted. Thanks to anyone who called into the show, NCBA appreciates the support. Enjoy the video (I am the one between the lady in the pink jacket and the gentleman with the beard). This sign can be purchased from The Gift furniture and gift shop in Ivanhoe, Minnesota. You can visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheGiftMn, online at http://www.thegiftmn.com, by phone at (507) 694-1144 or by email at [email protected].
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the famous Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyo.! If you are not familiar with Cheyenne Frontier Days it the largest outdoor rodeo and western celebration event held annually and has been voted by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) as the best outdoor rodeo several years and running. This rodeo is always centered on the last full week of July, so if you are ever in the neighborhood make sure to stop by for a good time. Since I am now a resident of Denver, Colo., my friends and I thought what a better way than to spend a July weekend in wonderful Wyoming. After watching an action packed, four hour rodeo we headed west into Wyoming (of course after eating dinner at Little America and running into the cast of 8 seconds, if you do not know what 8 seconds is than you are un-American) to visit friends in booming metropolitan area of Encampment, Wyo.! The rest of the weekend was spent riding four wheelers throughout Medicine Bow National Forest and of course grabbing breakfast at the Bear Trap Café and attending cowboy church in the town park. All in all Wyoming is a beautiful state and if you ever get a chance to visit or you are even as close as Denver, Colo., make sure to hop over the state line and enjoy the magnificent views of rolling hills and cattle ranches that will take your breath away. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that while driving back to Denver we drove through Poudre Canyon which was the location of the huge High Park fire that engulfed western Fort Collins with flames for most of June and July. It was a humbling view to see the devastation that a natural disaster can cause. We saw several homes that were saved and several that were lost, but most of all there were signs everywhere thanking the brave fire fighters. My Wyoming weekend was a humbling experience amongst the tragedy that has surrounded Denver the past few months. We all must remember that even though there is tragedy all around us, God provides glorious views of nature to provide comfort, warmth and most important love. Here are some photos I snapped during my Wyoming weekend, enjoy! On June 21, 2012, the Senate passed its version of the Farm Bill and the NCBA team, as well as cattle producers across the nation, is pleased with this version. NCBA is now turning its focus on the U.S. House of Representatives' markup scheduled for after the July 4th recess. On July 11, 2012 at 10:00 am the House Agriculture Committee began debate on their version of the Farm Bill. Late in the evening of July 11, the Agriculture Committee completed consideration of 109 amendments and passed their version of the Farm Bill (35 - 11). NCBA was successful in eliminating the livestock title, sustaining the conservation title – specifically the 60% EQIP allocation and helped to strengthen the research title. Look for more updates on the National Cattlemen's Beef Association website, www.BeefUSA.org, in the next two weeks on the Farm Bill as NCBA continues to work closely with the House to finalize their version. Okay I am sure you have seen the media massacre of the "deadly" red meat that is housed in your freezer and if you have not, you live under a rock. I love beef and beef loves me. I am also health conscious and regulate what goes into my mouth. This to say, red meat will not kill. The thousands and thousands pounds of fried food, which is typically vegetables will kill you faster than red meat. My rule of thumb is "everything in moderation," but I know it is hard for Americans to accept that WE WILL DIE one day. We will not live forever and no matter what we eat, WE WILL DIE. Eat anything you want as long as it's in moderation, I know veggie’s that died of cancer at an early age, if you carry a cancer gene more than likely you are going to die of cancer. Pretty common sense, you're born to die and can't live forever. While you are on this earth, live for what makes you happy and if you're happiest eating red meat then go for it. Why deprive yourself of what makes you happy on your limited time here on earth? There has also been news coverage of Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB), often called "pink slime." To set the record straight the photos being passed around the internet of the Pepto-Bismol colored slime is actually what your chicken nuggets are made of. Also, 70 percent of meat in the grocery store is not "pink slime," only one meat company utilizes LFTB, which is still real beef, in their ground beef. The ammonia being used to disinfect the beef has been approved and used in the meat industry for over 40 years and is SAFE. So bottom line, LFTB, often called "pink slime" will not kill you and eating red meat will not kill. We are all going to die sooner than later, so fire up the grill and enjoy a thick juicy steak. Stick a fork in me, I am done. Resources and videos: www.PinkSlimeIsAMyth.com www.MeatMythCrushers.com American Meat Institute - Questions and Answers about Lean Finely Textured Beef National Meat Association - Fact Sheet on Lean Finely Textured Beef http://www.marksdailyapple.com/will-eating-red-meat-kill-you/#axzz1p7WFaJGm http://learningtosubmit.com/2012/03/14/sloppy-science-and-sloppier-reporting-in-la-times-red-meat-article/ http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2012/03/red-meat-premature-death-harvard-study.html February is I Heart Beef month and it’s time to proclaim your passion for beef! What’s more, Americans are keeping the protein flame alive - nearly half of people surveyed can’t imagine ending their relationship with beef. Tell us why you love beef?
In 2012, take your love for beef to the next level by exploring this sizzling protein in new and delicious ways.
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Disclaimer: the opinions expressed on this blog are my own opinions and do not express the views of Beefmaster Breeders United. Enjoy!Archives
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