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It all started in 1986--I went to Japan to promote Kansas beef in the Daiei supermarkets and I was hooked! Through the years, communication has changed and consumers have changed. I often hear criticism for the "Millennial" consumer, and I vehemently disagree! These young people are interested in many of the things that farmers and ranchers also care about:  protecting the environment, caring for animals and making things better! What a perfect opportunity to answer questions about how food is raised. 

I have been involved in connecting with consumers for many years--both in person and digitally. A few examples are below. In addition, I routinely host people to visit my ranch and a few blog posts about their visit are also listed below.

Presentations available online:

• My testimony to the US Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry committee:  Climate Change and the Agriculture Sector, May 2019.  https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/hearings/climate-change-and-the-agriculture-sector

• State of NOW Twitter Conference #140You in July 2013 in New York City at the 92nd Street YMCA,  Title: Have No Fear, Empower Yourself

• Podcast: The Truth about GMOs, Farming and Monsanto:  Schweid and Sons, 2016. I'm a guest on this episode
• https://player.fm/series/like-bite-share-podcast/the-truth-about-gmos-farming-and-monsanto

• National Farm Mom of the Year, 2012: Farm Moms and City Moms have the same concerns

Posts by Visitors to my ranch:

• Life Done Well: How my visit to a small farm led to a food attitude change

"Truth is, my perspective was way wrong.  I have been digesting all that I learned and have so much more to do.  There is much more to come, but for now, I will tell you to please get the big picture and your own information.  It is always important that you do your own research, so you can form your own opinion based on fact." --Dana Zucker

• The Kitchen Pantry Scientist:  Farm Science

"Not long after piling into Debbie’s pickup truck with my three kids and mom, we were lucky enough to roll down our windows and witness the birth of a calf from about 5o meters away."  --Liz Heineke

• Life Done Well: Sustainable Farming from Kansas to Belize

"The perception I had of ranchers like Debbie was not of them having herds that looked like a calm group of cows just hanging out.  If they are poked and pushed and not treated with a gentle hand, why didn’t they just run to the open field when the gate opened. Truth is, these herds are treated well, very well.  They are fed before the family and when everyone else is tucked into bed on a iced over day, the family is out making sure the herd has food and water."  --Dana Zucker

• Recipe for Beef Roulade and Ranch Recap by Ashley Prescuitti--Ranch Tour participant

 "The family ranchers’ dedication to caring for their cattle and their land was mind-blowing. They said several times how they look at it a “gift from God” which explains their dedication and hard work. Their compassion and love of their way of life shined through every single person that we met." --Ashley Prescuitti

Relevant Blog Posts on KidsCowsandGrass by topic:

• Supermarket Beef is Raised by Farm Families

"I believe that we have a responsibility to treat our cows and calves with respect--that means we provide everything they need to have a good life including space to roam and abundant food and water."

• Dear Superman's Mom: a letter of thanks and comfort to the mother of an organ donor

"I am so grateful that you chose to allow your special person to become my hero. I cannot imagine the pain of losing your child, but I came very close. You are in my thoughts every day, and I want you to know that my boy is doing his best to live a good life to honor your child."

Who am I?

I'm Debbie Lyons-Blythe. I am a cattle rancher in central Kansas, in the heart of the Flint Hills. My husband and I both grew up raising cattle. It is an excellent way of life, not just a way to make a living!

We have been married for more than 29 years, and have five kids: Meghan, age 27; Allie, age 25; Trent, age 24; and Tyler and Eric, age 22 (yes, they are twins!).

We have about 250 mama cows raising calves, and 350 heifers (cows that haven't had a calf yet). We sell bulls and heifers and sometimes feed out our steers at a feedyard. But usually our product is the genetics that other ranchers use to produce beef.

My job is to raise the cattle and kids. My husband works in town and helps on the ranch in the evenings and weekends. We love our ranch in Kansas. It is a beautiful place to raise cattle and a family.

I post to this blog to share with people around the world what life is like in rural Kansas and how my family works every day to ensure a safe, nutritious supply of beef to consumers.

I am also on social media as DebbieLB most places. Look for me:

• Facebook at KidsCowsandGrass
• Instagram at @DebbieL_B
• Twitter at @DebbieLB
• Pinterest at @KidsCowsandGrass

Ohhhh boy, what have I done now?

Well, I really stepped in it! I don't know what to think about it, but I did it! I moved to self-hosted and even changed the name of my blog that I have been posting for more than 5 years! I still have the same goals and the same plans, but I think my new name is more descriptive of my blog and how it has evolved.

So, if you still follow me at Life on a Kansas Cattle Ranch, you need to update your bookmarks to "Kids, Cows and Grass!"  That's www.kidscowsandgrass.com!

I began blogging in 2009 to tell some stories of what happens on a ranch and to answer questions from people who don't live in rural areas. I think the conversation is changing and growing in the past 5 years. There are many more people involved in agriculture that are willing to answer questions. I also found that my blog posts are about three major topics:  Kids, Cows and Grass! Those are my passions.

Small Town Gal

I have had lots of opportunity for travel lately and I do enjoy seeing different places across the nation. From New York City to New Orleans, and from Denver to El Paso; but I have to say I prefer my little town in Kansas.

When I travel, I like to fly out of Manhattan, Kansas (we call it the "Little Apple")--my ticket says I'm boarding at Gate 1, which is good since there is only one gate! From Manhattan, you can fly to only two destinations to connect a flight to your target city--Dallas/Fort Worth or Chicago. Either is fine and I've had no major problems through either one. But I like to fly to DFW because the plane goes right over my house that is 45 miles southwest of Manhattan! If it is a clear day, you can actually see our house and ranch. I've been able to pinpoint ponds and fields, although we are too high to actually see people or cows.

As I land in whatever city I'm traveling to that day, I also like to watch the landscape as we come in. The different country is interesting to me and I wish I could power my phone on to take pictures as we land--but you know that pesky rule about electronics.  I need to remember to take my camera one time--with the big lens!

It is fun to do the tourist-thang and check out the other sites. I do like to taste the regional favorites and when traveling, I try to never eat anything that I can get at home! So far, my favorite was the gator sausage gumbo at Red Fish in New Orleans. Mmmmmmm.....

Usually when I'm giving a speech, I am able to take one extra day to look around the city and take in the atmosphere. Sometimes I don't have any extra time, though.  But no matter whether I've had time to sightsee, or not, I am always happy to be flying over the pastures and small towns of Kansas as my plane comes in for a landing on the prairie.

As John Cougar Mellencamp says, "I got nothing against the big town, still hayseed enough to say look who's in the big town. But my baby's in a small town and that's good enough for me!" and then..."Yeah, I can be myself in this small town, and people let me be just who I want to be."

25 things you might not know about me

Even though I write about my life and my kids and my cows...(you get the picture)...I don't usually write about "Me!" Because of a writing prompt in Everyday Mama's Blog Hop, I decided to find 25 things you might not know about me! So here we go:

1. I used to be a perfectionist--having five kids in 4 1/2 years changed all that! There is now no such thing as perfection in my life.

2. I have one sister...that's it! I figured that 2 kids would complete my amazing life--until Baby #3, then #4 & #5 came along! Wow! I had no idea big families were this fun.

3. My favorite color is green--I like various shades of green, but green it is!

4. Sitting still is hard for me, so on year, on vacation I taught myself to tat lace. Seriously!

5. I finished college in 3 1/2 years--I met this amazing guy who graduated and moved away and I was anxious to get on with my life, so I took 23 hours a couple semesters and hustled up my college experience. We've been married for 22 years now. :)

6. I love to cook, but I hate doing dishes. Online recipes are my newest passion.

7. My desk is always piled up--I am a "piler" not a "filer." Which often causes problems because my husband is Filer.

8. I wear flip flops all summer long--and I don't know how to walk quietly in them! "FLIP--FLOP!"

9. My friends say I have a terrible poker face--whatever I am thinking is written on my face. Oh, and I talk with my hands. Don't sit too close to me!

10. My favorite drink is lime margaritas on the rocks with salt on the rim...okay, you may have already known that. But it is important!

11. I love to camp and snow ski--not together, but those are labor intensive activities for the mom and I LOVE them.

12. I used to work for a radio station...which worked nicely with my loud, deep voice. As a kid my mom used to shush me saying, "shhhhh, your voice carries!"

13. My hair grows very fast--you might see me with long hair one day and short hair the next. I cut about 8 inches off it about every 5 years. I get tired of ponytails.

14. I don't lie--I can't stand liars. I might share too much information, but it is never a lie.

15. I paint my toenails--usually dark purple!

16. I love cowboy boots--dress boots, work boots, everyday boots...I have them all and wear them lots!

17. I am a techie nerd. I taught myself HTML programming years ago to make a website for my parents' ranch. I even scrapbook digitally--I can't sit at a table with a cricut or whatever it is...I do it in Photoshop!

18. Speaking of scrapbooking, I only have one book started for my five kids. The photos are all stuffed in a set of drawers or on a hard drive and one day I'll have time to put them all together...yeah, right!

19. I was born in Ohio at the university hospital. So I'm a Buckeye deep down, although on the surface I'm a Kstate wildcat...I do bleed purple!

20. I love to read, but don't have much time so I listen to the bestsellers on audio book. Have you read/heard The Help on audiobook? AWESOME!

21. I love to make Christmas presents. We once had a totally "homemade" Christmas and I loved it!

22. I cry at weddings--and funerals--whether I know the person, or not!

23. I am a huge Harry Potter fan! I re-read all the books and watch the movies all the time.

24. Lattes are my favorite--Starbucks/McDonalds/Caribou... or even homemade from my own kitchen.

25. The most difficult 12 weeks of my life were when I was pregnant with the twins and I was on total bedrest. I had 3 toddlers and couldn't even stand up to cook them supper. I had help all day and night to care for them while I did what I needed to do for my twins. They were born 5 1/2 weeks early and were perfectly healthy at 6 lbs 2 oz, and 6 lbs 4 oz. Identical boys and we are so blessed I could carry them so close to term.

So there you have it....25 things you may not have known about me! Your turn....