Welcome to my World

I suppose I should begin my blog with some background as to why I am interested in sharing my life with the world. I am not a celebrity, nor am I anyone special. I am only one of thousands of cattle ranchers who work every day on the land and with their cattle. We do it because it is a way of life that we love, and we do it to make a living.

My 18-year old daughter wrote an essay detailing the gap that exists between people who produce the food and people who consume the food. Beef does not come from a store, it comes from the land. As cattle producers, or more appropriately, BEEF producers, it is difficult to take the time to tell city folk about my life. I am busy living it! But I realize that if individual ranchers don't take the time to write a blog, post a video, or give a speech about their lives, most consumers will not have the opportunity to know about life on a cattle ranch.

I do not judge anyone for their choice of living arrangements. Duane and I chose to live near a town of less than 500 population, on a piece of ground that my nearest neighbor is my mother-in-law about a half a mile away. We chose to send our children to a small school where there are less than 30 kids in a graduating class. We chose manual labor over video games for our family. I am not judging people who chose to live in a city. If more of them chose to live in rural Kansas, there would not be a "rural Kansas!" I just want to share a bit of my life with them so they can feel secure in the knowledge that when they buy beef at the grocery store, it is a safe, environmentally friendly, nutritious product.

Last week, over the Independence Day holiday, we had relatives visit for three days. They live near Denver, Colorado and have not lived on a ranch in their entire lives. We are very lucky, though, that they are part owners in some of the land that we manage and are interested in the environment and the lifestyle of our family. They asked many questions about the wholesomeness and safety of the beef they buy in the store. They shared with me that many of their friends are not buying beef due to concerns about global warming and the wholesomeness of it! I was thrilled for the opportunity to tell them the good news about how beef is produced and the safety of our product. But those questions spurred me to create this blog to share that information with more people.

So.....I am a mom, a wife, a cattle rancher, an environmentalist, and ultimately a beef producer. Please read my blog as a way to share my life in rural Kansas with you. Thanks for taking the time to find me.