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Blog Feed
Jul
2
It’s haying season
Filed Under Animal Welfare, Conservation
Blog 7 - 01 - 08
The neighbors have started cutting hay today nd we will start in the few days.
Stored Sunshine
The rich and luscious carpet of verdant sunshine, water, air, and earth will be cut, dried, cured, raked, baled, and stored for the cattle to eat during the winter and spring.
Nutrients are preserved in the baling and stacking process. The outer crust of each bale, and the outer bales of each stack keep the interior contents from oxidizing and deteriorating. Our grass hay keeps the cattle healthy and happy through the winter and spring months.
But we do a lot of winter grazing
While we still put up a lot of hay, it’s not nearly as much as we used to. By timing and planning our grazing and haying we can leave standing dormant grass in the fall that has almost as much nutritional quality as the baled hay.
It’s cheaper to graze than to feed hay
It takes a few minutes of Mike’s or Gilbert’s (our employee) time and a few dollars worth of powered, electric fence to turn cattle into a pasture or meadow with tons of standing, dormant grass.
Conversely, to put up hay in bales costs at least $30 / ton and with diesel prices this year it will most likely be more like $40 / ton.
Drought reserve / Extreme winter
As I said, we do still put up our share of hay, even though it’s only about 1/3 the amount we used to. We always have to be prepared for extreme drought or extreme winter.
Technically, on the Valley floor, we are classified as arid with an average annual precipitation of only 6″, and have some of the driest climate on the continent, so it is almost always dry. Thankfully a lot of water flows into the Valley from the adjacent mountains that normally have the highest snow-pack in the state.
Our grass crop is totally dependant on the snow pack, as we only flood irrigate with surface run-off and have no irrigation wells. So when it is dry in the mountains our production declines substantially, and we don’t produce as much grass as on a wet year. The drought of 2002 - 2003 nearly devastated our operation, and we had to make the choice to buy hay (which was terribly expensive because the drought was so prevalent throughout the west) or sell cattle. We made the choice to sell cattle. Thankfully we have been able to restock and are almost back to our normal operating level.
With the past couple of good wet years we were hoping to build up a lot of carry-over hay for drought reserve so that we didn’t find ourselves in a position of ever having to sell cows again. However, with the extreme winter that we just came out of (in mid June) we used up far more hay than we had anticipated so we still haven’t built up the drought reserves we had hoped to.
Haying on the 4th of July
We always try to take the 4th off, but the weather dictates if we hay or not that day. (As you can imagine, it often stays dry and droughty until haying starts, then the skies let go with moisture, diminishing the quality of the hay).
Have a good 4th of July weekend
Depending on where you live you still have an opportunity to order our Diamond F Brand 100% Grass Fed Beef Sirloin Steak Special, and have arrive in time for the 4th. Click here to read our special 4th of July article about steaks.
Have a great holiday weekend. Take a moment to contemplate and appreciate the ideals upon which this country was founded. (Sigh!)
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Jun
26
You can afford steak dinner for a large gathering this 4th
Filed Under Act, Benefit, Buying Grass Fed Beef, Celebration, Consumer, Home food prep
If you’re feeding large numbers of people at your 4th of July BBQ, you can serve elegant Sirloin Steak for 16 to 20 people, with our 4th of July Special on 8 boneless Sirloin Steaks for only $50.
These steaks are boneless and there is very little fat or waste tissue. Each steak weighs approximately 16 ounces each* and easily feeds 2 to 4 people, depending on the appetite.
Because they’re boneless, and because the muscles are held together tightly, Sirloins are perfect for slicing uniformly. That way your guests can take as much or as little as they please
Order now to take advantage of our 4th of July Sirloin Steak Special!
You can read more about steaks in our web site article; “Celebrate the American Way“
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Jun
24
The best steak for large grilling get togethers
Filed Under Benefit, Buying Grass Fed Beef, Celebration, Consumer, Explore
If you’re feeding large numbers of people at your 4th of July BBQ, you can serve elegant Sirloin Steak for 16 to 20 people, with our 4th of July Special on 8 boneless Sirloin Steaks for only $50.
These steaks are boneless and there is very little fat or waste tissue. Each steak weighs approximately 16 ounces each* and easily feeds 2 to 4 people, depending on the appetite.
Because they’re boneless, and because the muscles are held together tightly, Sirloins are perfect for slicing uniformly. That way your guests can take as much or as little as they please
Order now to take advantage of our 4th of July Sirloin Steak Special!
You can read more about steaks in our 4th of July grilling article, Celebrate the American Way
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Jun
19
Expand your breakfast horizons
Filed Under Consumer, Explore, Home food prep, Household Tips
As Americans our expectation of breakfast food can be limited. What we expect in a hotel “continental breakfast” would be laughed off “the continent” with its limited choices of little wrapped, prefab pastries, bagels and breads. Don’t forget the Kellogg’s Cereal with skim milk! If it’s an unusual hotel you might be able to get a hard boiled egg, but probably not, so forget any protein other than the skim milk.
European breakfasts have much more diversity
Le petit déjeuner is standard in almost any hotel lobby in France where they offer up real food like a multitude of sausages and cheeses, as well as breads, fruits, vegetables, hard boiled eggs, chicken legs, rabbit, pâté, rice, pasta, and the list goes on. Of course there’s always real cream, milk, and butter as well.
We can’t find a breakfast like that in the U.S. (the USDA wouldn’t allow it - they can’t accept things like sausages hanging in the open air or sitting out without refrigeration), but you can have a wide variety of food for breakfast at home.
Duck is a great breakfast food
Along with many other meats, duck is one of my favorite breakfast foods in a variety of sauces and especially with wild rice. Plain old chicken is also one of my favorite breakfast meats.
Once again, be sure to get enough protein
As I stated earlier in the week, a high protein breakfast can stick to your ribs for long time, keeping your blood sugar stabilized and you feeling comfortable and highly functional.
Read our web article
You can read more about the importance of a good breakfast in our web article: Let Breakfast Carry You Through the Day.
Special on Breakfast Burritos
For the week of June 16th we have a special on our Grass Fed Beef Steak and Egg Breakfast Burritos.
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Jun
17
Another easy and healthy breakfast
Filed Under Act, Consumer, Home food prep, Household Tips
Make your first meal one of your best
Since we are like most and often rushed in the mornings, with the bulk of our work happening before noon, something we often do for a quick and healthy breakfast is…Leftovers! That’s right, leftovers for breakfast! Don’t laugh.
Usually, whatever I make for lunch or dinner, I almost always make extra so that we can get another few quick easy meals to reheat, and often have them for breakfast.
Here are some of my favorite breakfasts:
- ◊ Spaghetti (sauce and meatballs served on spaghetti squash with red pepper
- ◊ Stroganoff (served with either pasta or potato) and your choice vegetable
- ◊ Roast beef with steam broccoli
- ◊ Pork chops with waldorf salad
- ◊ Tacos
- ◊ Stuffed peppers
The old standards will always be a favorite
But of course many of us still love the old standards like bacon and eggs (from hogs and hens raised in open pastures, without hormones, antibiotics, or confined feeding). And every now and then nothing beats a breakfast of bacon with wild rice pancakes. But those kinds of breakfasts only happen from time to time on infrequent leisure days.
Read more about the importance of a good breakfast
You can read more about how critical good breakfast is to good health in our web article: Let Breakfast Carry You Through the Day .
Special on Grass Fed Beef Steak and Egg Breakfast Burritos
For the week of June 16th you can get 4 packages of our Diamond F Brand 100% grass fed beef - Steak and Egg Breakfast Burritos. They come 6 burritos to a package and you can get 4 for $50.00
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Jun
16
Easy Breakfast
Filed Under Act, Buying Grass Fed Beef, Home food prep, Household Tips
You know you need to eat a good breakfast, but you don’t have the time.
We’ve got a solution!
Eat a good wholesome breakfast that you can fix in less than five minutes. Simply microwave one of our Grass Fed Beef Steak and Egg Breakfast Burritos, and top with avocado slices, salsa, chopped cilantro, and pickled jalapeno peppers for a way to spice up the day. The burrito takes about 2 minutes to microwave and it takes about two minutes to slice the avocado and chop some cilantro.
Aren’t into hot? The Steak and Egg Breakfast burritos are mild, and go very well with all different manner of fruits such as berries, melon, mango, apple, banana, orange, and many others.
Read more about the importance of eating breakfast
You can read about more handy breakfast tips in our article Let breakfast carry you through the day.
For the week of June 16th through June 22nd we are having a special on our grass fed beef Steak and Egg Breakfast burritos
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Jun
10
The Best Burgers For Dad
Filed Under Act, Buying Grass Fed Beef, Celebration, Consumer, Household Tips
Give him steak on a bun
Fire up the grill and treat dad to the best burger he’s ever tasted when you serve him a Ground Sirloin Tip and onion burger made from Diamond F Brand 100% Grass Fed Steaks.
Ground Sirloin Tip has a unique and robust flavor that is unparalleled and when you taste it you can immediately discern that it is of the highest quality. It truly is ground steak!
You can click here to read more about our Diamond F Brand 100% Grass Fed Beef Ground Sirloin Tip in our web site article “The Champagne of Hamburger“.
Until July 4th, 2008 we are having a special on Ground Sirloin Tip for members and non members. You can get the champagne of ground beef for the price of hamburger. Click on either link to order Ground Tip special.
Try our Ground Tip and Onion burger to make any BBQ extra special. Click on the link for the recipe.
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May
20
Cut asparagus at ground level to promote healthy growth
Filed Under Act, Home food prep, Local-regional food
If you’re lucky enough to have wild or cultivated asparagus to pick you want to make sure that you pick it in such a manner as to promote its health and future growth.
All the asparagus experts I know (mostly our retired employee, Dale, who worked here for over 40 years - to whom we still provide a home and utilities, as well as retirement benefits) say that the best way to pick it is to cut the spear off, at an angle, at ground level with a sharp knife.
When spears are tall it’s tempting to simply snap them off at the point where all you’re getting is the part of the spear you would want to eat, but supposedly that does not promote future regrowth.
The method seems to work, as our asparagus patches continue to be extremely productive year after year. I would like to hear from an asparagus farmer to see what they do to pick it.
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May
19
It’s asparagus season (in theory)
Filed Under Act, Explore, Home food prep, Local-regional food
The wild asparagus that grows on our ditch banks and at the edge of our meadows so prolifically is normally up by mid May. However, this spring has been so cold that as of May 18th I haven’t seen even one spear start to peak its head through the soil.
On May 1st it was 13 degrees F in the morning and it hadn’t warmed up much beyond that until this past weekend (May 17th -18th). This is the latest we can ever remember having to keep burning wood to heat our home!
Now that it’s finally warmed up some I’m hoping we’ll see asparagus appear in the next few days.
My May and June ritual is to try to go pick it about every 3 or 4 days. If I’m able to stay on it, and not let it go to seed, it can continue to produce until well into July. But if something comes up and I’m not able to get to it for more than a week most opportunity is lost, as the majority of plants have gone to seed, and once they do that they won’t produce any more spears for that year.
This year, I’m really excited to pick because our most productive patch is so much more accessible and easy to get to. Our best asparagus grows in one of our meadow called the “Cowden” (named for the family who owned it before we did, 80 years ago). Because the Cowden is always so wet this time of year with irrigation water, and it has no built up roads, it’s impossible to drive on. So in the past I had to walk a mile and a half one way, in irrigating boots, to pick that asparagus. Don’t get me wrong, I love the walking, and it’s great exercise, but it does take up an awful lot of time.
Now, however, I can drive right to the asparagus in the Cowden! Last December we purchased land from a neighbor that is contiguous with the Cowden, and the great thing is, it has a built up road that goes straight to the east end of the property which is just over the fence from my best asparagus patch.
I guess in the past I could have asked the neighbors that we bought if from for permission to use the road when they owned it, but honestly, it never occurred to me, for whatever reason.
My goal this year is to pick a minimum of 50 pounds of asparagus, and freeze at least 30 pounds of it to eat throughout the year.
There’s a new article on our web site about asparagus, its health benefits, how to freeze it, and a beef and asparagus recipe, as well as a cream of asparagus soup recipe.
If you live in a northern climate where it is intermittently wet and dry, or near irrigated agriculture (or both) you may have wild asparagus growing in your area. If you do it could well be worth it, for the sake of your health and enjoyment, to cultivate relationships with landowners who may let you pick it on their property.
It’s easy to tell that asparagus cleans the kidney, with distinct evidence I won’t go into, but some people are even claiming that a daily regimen of asparagus cured their cancer! At any rate, asparagus is packed with an abundance of great nutrients, and if you eat with the seasons, (in northern climates) it’s the first fresh vegetable available in the Spring.
In our Grasss Fed and Healthy Tip of the Week this coming Wednesday I will share a way to fix asparagus so that even little kids will love it. In fact, when I discovered it, our daughter was still in Jr. High, and I got her to try it, her response was that it was better than French Fries. That’s quite an endorsement coming from a 12 year old.
If you think there might be wild asparagus growing in your area, you owe it to yourself to find a way to get some. One word of caution though, if it’s on a public roadside make sure that the county or state doesn’t spray the roadside with herbicide for weed control. You don’t want to ingest herbicides and undo all the good things you’re doing for your health by eating the asparagus in the first place.
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May
15
Mike just turned irrigation water onto the meadow behind our house and now, as usual, there is a cacophony of singing frogs! I love hearing them, even though they are very loud, and it’s one of my favorite little things about spring.
However, I have to wonder: Where were they before we turned the water on? Were they dormant and burrowed into the soil? Do they come from the river with the irrigation water? I’m not a biologist and I’ve always wondered.
With all of my conservation work I am around wildlife biologists frequently, but we’re always so caught up in whatever our project or discussion is that I forget to ask them my question about the frogs.
I would love to hear from a biologist who might know the answer to that question.
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