Uninformed ignorance

While out here in Denver we were shopping around and stopped into a leather and fur shop where I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely vegetarian (insert sarcasm). So this lady was telling us how she is a vegetarian because she does not agree with how animals are slaughtered and killed. At this point there were a million things going through my head. I asked her what about slaughter she doesn't agree with and she told me that they slice their throats and let them bleed to death. I was in shock and ready to retaliate. I calmly asked her if she has ever been to a slaughter house and where she saw that happen. She said she saw it in NEW ZELAND. really? I then told her she needs to go to a slaughter house in the USA because we have some of the most humane regulations on slaughter and the USDA enforces them very strictly.

At this point the lady really didn't have a response. I then asked her if she is a vegetarian and against slaughter then why is she working in a leather and fur shop? She says that she justifies it by saying that obviously the best animals are used and they have a very good life.

This makes it very evident to me that she really didn't know what she was talking about and by forming such a strong opinion perhaps you should get the facts straight before u start throwing out accusations. Slaughter houses welcome tours and visitors all the time so if you are questioning practices go see for yourself!

National Western Stock Show Update

Good afternoon from DENVER!!!!! I am so excited to be out at the stock show and see the amazing scenery of Colorado. There are some great things going on out here and I'm excited to see ABS's bull Brilliance continue to be at the top in the ring and take the purple ribbon!!!!

A group of us are out here and it is quite the educational experience for my cousin who has no idea about the cattle world, bless her heart. Here are just a few things we have educated her on 1.) you don't wear leggings to a stock show. No matter how fashionable they are in Chicago it won't go over as well out here
2.) we explained to her the different cuts of steak at lunch
3.) she wondered why all the purple? Because purple is the color of champions......clearly!
4.) and we are taking her to her first rodeo tonight!!!

I'm sure there will be many more exciting stories so stay tuned.......

cow's and women.....I tend to mix the two

With so many of my friends getting pregnant and having babies I thought I would share some info on the similarities and differences between cattle and humans with pregnancy.  Working in the cattle industry I see calvings and pregnancies ALL the time, I mean it's my job.  So I tend to mix the cattle repro when people are discussing human repro.  For example, when women talk about being cystic I don't understand why the doc doesn't just give them a shot of GnRh and go on with life?  That's what we do in cattle and it works like a charm!  These are questions I clearly am going to have to ask my doctor. 

But to share some similarities and differences here ya go.  Both cattle and humans go through 9 months of pregnancy.  Just like humans cattle are fed a specific ration to help maintain health and weight throughout pregnancy.  Most of the time it doesn't change as much until closer to calving.  As humans are expected to eat healthily to have a healthy baby and take your vitamins!!!  The repro tract of a cow and a human are also quite similar except for the uterine horns in a cow are quite a bit larger than the fallopian tubes in a woman.  I have added a diagram to show the difference.

As you can see in the picture the top is the females repro and the bottom the cows.  The uterus in the cows is much smaller than in a females.  Some of you may be curious as to why I am comparing the two but this is my life and I deal with the repro tract of a cow on a daily basis so I thought it would be interesting to share with some of you that have never seen or heard of the differences.  And with both cattle and humans they both love and nurture their babies.  Some cows even get pretty protective and defensive when you try to get close to their young....as I'm sure some females do as well :)

Well that is all for now.  I'm off to Denver this coming week for the National Western Stock Show so be prepared to get up to date info on what's going on out there and I will definitely be getting in some skiing!
Enjoy!

Reflections of 2011......what I learned about myself and life in general

So as i was looking at everyone post the best of's for the year I thought it would be fun to reflect on what i learned about myself and life in general from 2011.  Now some of these i didn't just realize in 2011 but they were definitely brought to my attention more this year.  So here ya go...........

• Kindness is easily taken advantage of 
• People don't hesitate to ask for favors but hesitate to return them
• Losing weight is 90% diet and 10% working out
• Everyone will eventually get cancer. early detection is key
• Everyone i know is pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or already has children
• Traveling is my passion
• Agriculture is my life
• Cattle, turquoise, and cowboy boots are my obsessions
• No matter how hard you try it is inevitable u will wrinkle
• The government has no idea what is going on or how to fix it

So those are just a few things that i either realized this year or was brought to my attention much stronger than usual.   Now it is on to the resolutions....now they say that you are to make a resolution that is achievable.  you can always try the weight loss thing but that just drives me bananas trying to keep track so i will just continue to work out weekly and (try) to eat better with the help of  my amazing trainer Michele. I tried the whole have a better attitude towards my job and coworkers but that lasted only a solid 3 hours.  So I am going with give back monthly.  I thought it would be a grand idea to give back in some way be it to a charity or pay off someones layaway that appears to be in need, work at a soup kitchen....you get the idea.   So that is my goal!  I will be updating monthly on my give back so if you don't see one then i clearly failed.

Happy New Year all and i hope 2012 is a prosperous and happy year for everyone!

Yellowtail is back in fridge!.....following withdraw from HSUS support:)

Well Christmas is over and a new year is about to be among us.  I find it so interesting that all the work and stress and running around and last minute shopping is all over in a matter of hours.  The family time is well worth it as well as the delicious food but I am coming to realize that perhaps I should not worry so much about the little details because I'm pretty sure no one will even notice.  Next year I'm thinking it would be fun to make home made gifts for everyone.  This year my husband and I made homemade boot racks for my sisters and they were a hit!

Now on to the important issues.  I get so annoyed with the commercials for support of HSUS and as i was going through the archives of one of my favorite beef blogs: Beef Daily Blog I was so happy to see that Pilot and yellowtail have withdrawn from supporting HSUS after realizing their true antics.  I had stopped drinking yellowtail wine for the mere fact that they supported HSUS and they have delicious moscato so now I will go back to enjoying it.  Nice work Pilot and Yellowtail!

The Beef Daily Blog also posted many of the companies that support HSUS and if at all possible you should avoid!  I was very surprised and not at the same time to see Bank of America because they do a ton of business with the livestock industry and we in the livestock industry all know the truth behind HSUS.  It was also sad to see that Microsoft supports them.   If they only knew the truth!  Find the list here: HSUS list of supporters.

Just for fun I'm going to now share with you some of my favorite gifts received this Christmas!

My new purse from Southern Jewlz.  If you have never visited this site it is a MUST!! You will be addicted!

Christmas Gift Ideas.....Give Beef!!!

Christmas is just around the corner and there is still a little time left to order gifts and go out and make those purchases.  While their are many different ideas for christmas gifts one of my favorites that i purchased this year was an Omaha Steak package that I took to a christmas gift exchange. 

Omaha Steaks has a ton of options for gift ideas from steak to chicken or pork and even side dishes and desserts.   They always have a deal of the day which is a great value.  I got the bacon wrapped filets and they were an absolute hit!

This season think outside the box and support your livestock producers and #GiveBeef!!!!!!

The advantages that FFA and 4H give youth

Tuesday I joined in on #agchat twitter discussion that is held every Tuesday. It was about the involvement of youth in the agriculture industry. It is very interesting seeing the point of view from people all over the country. But most everyone had the same thoughts.......youth involvement is CRITICAL!!!!!

One of the questions was "do you think being involved in 4H and FFA gives youth an advantage for their future?". Having been involved in FFA I can easily say yes to that question. FFA shows you so much responsibility and shares a wealth of knowledge you won't learn in any other high school course. I feel employers do find it impressive to see when these youth receive their state and American degrees. It shows that they know the meaning of hard work, dedication, and responsibility.

It is frustrating to see that with so many states cutting funding to the schools and education many of the VoAg classes are being cut as well. This is very sad and we should do our part to keep the administration informed of how important this course is. So to all you parents out there encourage your children to take this course and if you are a student try the course and you will not be disappointed!!!

Well that's my thoughts for the night. Be sure to joint the #agchat discussions on Tuesday nights! If you have a twitter account add them @agchat. I'm off to ice my foot....fell in a hole and did something to it. No bueno!!