Ranch with Your Heart

There is a rejuvenated interest in our food, and that is exciting. As a society we are beginning to ask more questions about how our food is prepared and how it was raised on the way from a farm to our table.

We have all heard the term “Farm to Plate” but few people might understand it as well as Pat and Alli.

Pat is a cattle rancher and his wife Alli is a well-known chef. At first glance I viewed their professions as existing at opposite ends of the food supply chain with Pat growing food and Alli preparing it for the table. But as our conversation continued and I learned more about this Kansas couple, I began to realize they aren’t opposites; they work in harmony along the supply chain to ensure a delicious and healthy product reaches the table of their family, friends, and home cooks everywhere. That is to say, ranchers and chefs are joined together with a common bond of giving an incredible culinary experience.

While chefs like Ramsey or the Pioneer woman get their fair share of media attention these days, one common theme you hear is that great food starts with a great product. That begins with Pat. He says “I take ownership of the food I produce which means raising a good quality calf that will grow up to be a good quality product in the meat case, or good heifers that produce strong calves for other ranchers."

As he saddles up each day, Pat says “I enjoy the opportunity to ride through each herd, quietly observing the cows and their calves, checking the interaction between mamma and calf, as well as looking to be sure there are no injuries or illnesses.”

Now I have to make a quick confession. I’m a little addicted to the show “Master Chef.” It’s our family’s guilty pleasure. I also hope Steven, the quirky Southern Californian, wins this season. But one thing I hear the panel of celebrity judges tell each contestant is to “cook with your heart.”

Ranch with your heart could also be true.

If you can tell if a chef cooks with his or her heart, I am sure you can tell when a rancher uses his heart to care for their cattle. Just as every chef knows about every ingredient in their plating, Pat knows everything about his cattle and says, "I enjoy making sure our cattle are well-cared for. From checking to see that they have plenty of [vitamins and] minerals to good feed and hay in the winter months when they are home. I enjoy taking care of them and because I want them to produce good quality livestock, I give them quality care. "

And a huge part of his heart for raising livestock is producing safe food that both professional and home chefs can elevate to the next level. Speaking of food safety, Pat stated “The food we produce is what we feed our family. We know what our animals are fed and how they are treated. We do not mass medicate, but instead administer meds only to animals at the time of an illness to get them back in step with a healthy lifestyle.”

After all, the beef he sends off to the market is the very beef that ends up in Alli’s hands as she prepares meals for their family or her clients.

Alli is passionate about cooking and knowing your ingredients. One of those ingredients is quality beef, personally prepared, produced, and raised by a Kansas cattleman who ranches with his heart.

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Scott Stebner is an agricultural photographer who specializes in farm and ranch photography. 

What Does Compassionately Raised Mean?

Many people are far removed from agriculture and view the relationship between the farmer and animal as distant one. That couldn't be further from the truth. Agriculture revolves around the compassion and connection between the farmer and the animal, a commitment to sustainability and humane practices. It's an age old connection that continues to this day, although usually far removed from daily life of the urban and suburban consumer. The only thing standing in between this gap is experience, a voice, or an image. 

I think that is the biggest thing that concerns me about the rhetorically-driven advertisements of chains like Chipotle or Panera bread; without human experience driving your decisions, you are left to trust the merits of the content creator. When the purpose of the content creator is to increase sales through product differentiation there could be an inherent problem. 

So please let me introduce you to farmers you might not hear about in media or advertisements who represent the vast majority of US farmers and ranchers. 

Meet Manuel. He's a hard-working and compassionate dairy worker here in the United States. He daily monitors all the cattle in the herd to make sure they are healthy and is present for nearly every birth at the farm. There is a quiet joy he portrays when slowing down his day to make sure that each newborn calf is fed. You can see the compassionate and tender touch and heart he has for his animals. 

When Manuel sees a sick calf or a sick cow, he probably isn't concerned about the Chipotle and Panera advertisements that demonize the use of antibiotics. Instead, he makes note of the cattle, observes them, and uses antibiotics as needed to make sure the cattle are healthy and comfortable. When a cow is given antibiotics, she is isolated from the rest of the herd to prevent the spread of any sickness but also to prevent her milk from getting into the food supply. Instead, she is milked separately, and her milk is given to the newborn calves like the one you see above.

The sick cow is monitored and treated daily. Her milk is tested and when she is clear according to USDA standards, she is put back in with the other herd to continue producing high quality and safe milk. 

Perhaps one of the oldest photographs I still have, this image is of a rancher who has a family history of raising his beef cattle while improving pasture lands. His family has installed watering systems that are safe and beneficial to wildlife in the area, including migratory birds. He weekly rides his pastures with his horse to monitor grazing patterns and herd health. He described himself not only as a rancher, but as a steward of the land. 

Unlike what people may have you believe, his ranching doesn't hurt the land...it improves it for not only his cattle but for the local fauna as well.  The Bureau of Land Management states that proper grazing of cattle on public and private land are vital to preventing severe wildfires. 

This is also one of the oldest photographs I have from my work in California. This is Mary, a tender-hearted dairy woman out of the Central Valley of California. She was constantly in the nursery of her newborn calves making sure they were healthy and happy. In this photo, she brought up a bucket and just sat down to be with the calves. The calves were just as eager to be near this tender-hearted woman. This is the face of the dairy farmer - wise, experienced, kind, and caring. 

Thank you for reading. I always look forward to a great discussion about the hard working American farming and ranching families. 

A World in Harvest - Kansas Harvest Photography

One of the greatest sights to behold is the wheat harvest on the plains. 

This day was particularly interesting. In the morning, I was serving as an assistant moderator for a focus group with a group of Nigerian flour millers during their stay at certain grain program. Before the focus group began, they talked to me about how much they pay attention to American wheat production. 

A few hours later, I was watching the modern marvel of the wheat harvest. American families join together for the success of their small business to reap the hope they had sown in the previous fall. They watched with anticipation and reservation as the winter gave them brutal winds, chill, and little promise. 

The spring came, rains come, hail was reserved from the skies, and the fortunate farmers will get a harvest. It hasn't been an easy year for many of Kansas' wheat farmers, but when they begin to harvest their crops, it's a beautiful thing. 

Within days, the entire state's wheat will be harvested, counted, and ready for distribution across the world. 

Although the message of "farmers feeding the world" doesn't resound in the ears of America anymore, I can guarantee you that message still holds tremendous meaning for people like the flour millers I was able to meet with in the morning. 

America's wheat is cheap, high quality, and benefits people from a family pouring their daily Cheerios to a small African towns' flour mills. 

The cheap price of Agricultural products such as wheat means that you and I only have to spend approximately 15% of our income on food compared to the 30-50% found in other countries. That additional 15-35% savings is spent supporting the rest of the economy. 

To me, that is why American agriculture is a beautiful thing. It is sown on the hopes of American families, for 90%+ farms are made up of small family farms. Their hopes travel across the world.

The American wheat harvest is a sight everyone should see, for in a few days, the risks and hopes of a few make the dreams of many a possibility. 

Scott Stebner is an agricultural photographer based out of Kansas. 

Is Grazing on Public Land Good for the Environment? Ranch Photographer

The American rancher does more than raise cattle

He is: a steward of the land, a conservationist at heart, and a manager of the range; for under his careful supervision, the cattle benefit from the land and the land benefits from the cattle, and man benefits from both. I photographed this cattle rancher as he tended to the grazing pastures while I hiked to the iconic Maroon Bells.

Grazing on public lands has been in the news recently for reasons unrelated to the environment. However, the sustainability of cattle operations is always a hot topic. Is grazing on public lands good for the environment?

According to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), cattle grazing on public lands can positively impact the ecosystem by

• Increasing the viability and number of native perennial grasses
• Decreasing the amount of invasive plant species
• Reducing the severity of wildfires
• Supporting healthy watersheds and wildlife habitats
• Supporting carbon sequestration

Livestock grazing on public lands helps maintain the private ranches that, in turn, preserve the open spaces that have helped write the West’s history and will continue to shape this region’s character in the years to come (http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/grazing.html)

Cattle (and sheep) grazing on public and private lands is a good thing. Bison, elk, and numerous deer once roamed the countryside and naturally grazed perennial grasses and fertilized the soil along the way. The bison are gone, but thoughtful and responsible grazing mimics this natural process all while creating a nutritious and environmentally-conscious product. 

Most ranchers now practice rotational grazing where they divide their pasture into several "cells" and closely monitor the foraging habits of their cattle. Once the perennial grasses have been eaten down once, the cattle move on to the next pasture thereby allowing the old cell to rest and be restored. 

Scott Stebner is an agricultural photographer and videographer based out of the mid-west. To contact Scott, click HERE