I was most interested to see the cattle and dairy cows being raised by the Martz and Drendel families. At both farms the animals have individual medical charts, are attended by vets and dieticians and given antibiotics when ill. With regard to the antibiotics each farm and related industry requires multiple rounds of testing to assure that animals receiving antibiotics are not entering the food chain.
I was fascinated that at Larson farms they developed a chute, scale and ultrasound machine to measure the cow and look at the rib-eye portion which is only 20% of the carcass weight and 40% of the value. Read more +
They use measurements of back fat, marbling and muscle depth to determine (upon arrival!) what USDA grade that cow will likely fit in, the optimal weight for sale, and how many days to feed it before sending it to market. So it was surprising to learn how much they knew up front, but it was equally surprising to see how much effort they put into the quality of life of the cattle and the little changes they can make to produce better beef. Who knew standing on padded mats could impact the taste or cost of the steak you grill today? I previously had a much more simplistic idea of how beef was produced. Read less -
Hormones in milk and meat
I was relieved to get a little more information on the use of hormones in our meat and dairy. Read more +
I think the idea of hormone use gets a bad reputation because honestly it makes you think that cows are being grown to unhealthy proportions, like steroid use in athletes. I learned that some cows are given hormones to improve their daily weight gain (or improve their milk production for Dairy Cows). This is important because it speeds the time to market, therefore reducing production costs and retail cost to the consumer. It also is worth mentioning that there is a related environmental impact of having the cows take longer to market; more grain to grow for feed and more waste to dispose of, in simplistic terms. There is a slight increase in the estrogen levels presented in the beef treated with hormones, but it appears to be such a small amount that to me it is almost insignificant. In treated beef the amount in a serving of beef is 1.9 nanograms. A nanogram is one billionth of a gram so this amount is very small. But what makes it even less significant to me is that untreated beef for the same size serving still has 1.3 nanograms. So without even comparing beef to a vegetable like cabbage that has naturally occurring estrogen, the amount in discussion is only .6 nanongrams. Literally this takes me into math that has too many zeros for me really to understand! I think my concern over things being added to my food is probably better spent on preservatives, chemicals, or fats that I know are not good for me. Read less -
How weather affects beef production
I never knew that weather affects beef production. Read more +
I realized, obviously, that it affects crops and how they grow, survive or when they can be harvested. However despite bad weather, products made of corn and beans still show up on my table so I hadn’t thought about how bad weather can have a domino effect and then impact feeding and producing cattle. Cattle are sometimes sent to market early for lack of feed (Texas). I also didn’t realize that cattle can die in open range situations either from the cold itself or from suffocating when huddled together! Read less -
How food is marketed
I definitely will be spending more time noticing how food is marketed to me. Read more +
I finally learned about the USDA grades of beef and the fact that some meat is not good enough to be graded, but good enough to be eaten. However it is unsettling to me that some beef seems to be using USDA Inspected as a selling point, when in fact all beef sold in US stores in USDA inspected. Furthermore after discussing organic vs. conventional dairy farming with Dale Drendel I asked why different types of milk have different pricing. He thought I meant Whole, 2%, skim milk. I clarified that at my Jewel there is Whole, 2%, 1% and Skim milk in at least 4 brands that ranges in price from ~6.99 (organic) to ~2.99 Shoppers Value. The increased price for organic is obvious but he could not come up with an explanation for the others. Lindale Farms milk is mixed with milk from four other farms then sent to a co-op and sold from there. He didn’t think there could be a reason outside of branding that one brand of conventional skim milk would cost more than another at the same store. Read less -
