So God Made a Farmer

Surely ya'll remember Paul Harvey? He was a well-known radio broadcaster with a very distinguishable voice who was famous for his tagline, "The Rest of the Story."

In 1978, he was apparently a guest speaker at the 1978 National FFA Convention and he gave a speech called, 'So God Made a Farmer'. A family friend emailed me this video that has set pictures to the words of that speech. It's quite inspiring and makes me proud of my family's agriculture heritage and Hyatt's family's production background.

I think you'll enjoy it too.

Until next time, ~ Buzzard ~

Delving Further into Antibiotic Use

Happy Monday!


As a brief follow up to this post, I found a podcast about antibiotic use in food animals from the AVMA media website. In this podcast, Dr. Scott Hurd, an associate professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine at Iowa State University, discusses quantitative risk assessments of antibiotic resistance in humans. He does a really great job of explaining the issues and concerns in laymen's terms.

To listen to the podcast, click here. If you can help me learn how to embed podcasts in my future posts, please email me (bbuzzard13@gmail.com).

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Antibiotics Safe for Livestock Use

Just like we've been sayin' all along...
The Government Accountability Office released a report that stated there isn't sufficient evidence  to warrant a study into a link between antibiotic use in food animals and antibiotic resistance in humans. Did you get that? Here, I'll say it again.

GAO said "these data [collected by USDA] lack crucial details necessary to examine trends and understand the relationship between use and resistance."

Haven't pork producers been saying this for quite some time? In a www.meatingplace.com release, NPPC has noted that pork producers have long been in compliance with responsible antibiotic use with veterinary supervision in order to keep their animals health and pork safe.

Need some more info? Read the whole piece here.

image from here

And if you're new to the antibiotic use scene, here are some crucial facts to help you better understand antibiotic use.

Antibiotics are given strategically – administered when pigs are sick, susceptible or exposed to illness.

Using antibiotics strategically ensures that the safest meat in the world ends up on America's dinner tables.

Only antibiotics approved by the FDA are used to treat pigs.

Human safety is a key component when considering animal antibiotic approval.

•    Withdrawal times, or the number of days an animal must be removed from antibiotics before entering the food supply, ensure that antibiotics are not present in the animal’s system at the time of slaughter.

Do you have comments about this issue? Are you excited about this news (as I am) or does your opinion differ? Let's converse! Leave me a comment below!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Wordless Wednesday: Cute Babies

Spring has sprung in Australia and there are tons of these little boogers running around. How freakin' adorable are they?

At some point in this year, I'll get back to my regular posting schedule which is more than two posts per month.

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

Remembrance - 10 years later

I remember where I was this fateful day, 10 years ago. I was sitting in Oral Communications listening to Mrs. Hopper when our principal came in and whispered to her the news. I don't know what he said but I could tell by the look on her face that it wasn't good.
Next period. Spanish II. Mrs. Weldin switched on our classroom TV to show us what was going on. The clip of the first plane's crash into the North Tower kept replaying, over and over. I prayed I'd never see anything like that again in my lifetime. Then the clip of the second plane crashing in the South Tower was shown. Over and over.

As our country struggled to deal with the staggering blow that had just been dealt, a small southeast Kansas high school held a moment of silence for the families affected and lives lost.

"A date which will live in infamy" seemed just as fitting in 2001 as it did 60 years earlier.

Today, let's cast aside our differences. Be a proud and supportive American, even if you don't agree with the war, we can all agree that the 9/11 attacks were sinister and driven by a deep hatred of our country and as such, a forceful rebuttal was necessary.

A sincere message of gratitude to all past and present servicemen and women for all they have done, and will continue to do, for our freedoms and rights. Don't like the war? Fine. Be mindful and appreciate the fact that you can express that dislike publicly and not be imprisoned, exiled or shot.

God Bless the victims and families of 9/11 and God Bless America.

~ Buzzard ~

Airborne Beef Promotions

In light of all the questionable hype going on with Chipotle, I thought it would be nice to share a positive story about beef.

This past weekend, I had the honor of standing up with one of my best gals in her wedding. En route to the wedding, on one of many flights I've had over the past month, I sat next to a woman who told me she only ate beef when she ordered hamburgers. I thought this was odd, so I asked her why and she shared with me that her mother had served her overdone, tough and unflavorful flank steak for the duration of her childhood. I spent the next hour sharing easy, delicious beef recipes with her. I even told her where she could get a really good steak in Kansas City (Ruth's Chris Steak House, Hereford House). So, in honor of the anonymous consumer and Labor Day, I am posting a flank steak recipe that is so crazy easy, your toddler could prepare it.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak Recipe (via www.simplyrecipes.com)

Ingredients

Marinade Ingredients
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Other ingredients
2 pounds flank steak
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Method

1 Score the surface of the steak with 1/4 inch deep knife cuts, about an inch apart, across the grain of the meat. Combine the marinade ingredients. Place steak and marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag. Coat the steak well with the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl. Chill and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

2 Using olive oil soaked onto a paper towel, coat the grill rack of your grill with olive oil. Preheat the grill with high, direct heat. The grill is hot enough when you hold your hand about an inch over it and you can only hold it there for about a second.

3 Take the steak out of the marinade bag and sprinkle generously on all sides with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. The salt and pepper will help form a savory crust on the steak. Place steak on the hot grill. If you are using a gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Half way through grilling on each side, turn the steak 90° so that you get more grill marks.

4 Flank steak is best eaten medium rare; well done will make it too tough. When the steak has cooked to your preferred level of doneness, remove from the grill and place on a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil to hold in the heat and to keep the steak from drying out, and let rest for 10 minutes.

5 Make very thin slices, against the grain, and at a slight diagonal so that the slices are wide.

If you want, you can take the excess marinade and bring it to a boil, simmer for several minutes, and serve with the flank steak. Great also with salsa or horseradish sauce.

Hope everyone had an awesome Labor Day weekend with your friends and family.

Until next time,
~Buzzard~