A new USDA initiative was recently launched (thanks, SlashFood) designed to reconnect consumers with their food and to stimulate local food economies. The $65 million dollar “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” program aims to break down some of the barriers that keep local food systems from thriving.

It’s great to see the USDA getting involved in embracing local food, rather than seeing it as a threat.   Wild Type Ranch produces pastured beef to sell locally, but half of our business is raising top-quality breeding stock, most of which is used as parents of more conventionally-produced beef.   I often feel that I’m one of the few who don’t see the two businesses as antagonistic.

I hear both sides of this issue, at the farmer’s market, at cattle sales and around town.  Getting consumers in touch with producers has got to help with understanding some of the conventional production systems that sometimes unfairly come under criticism.  Having the USDA embrace local food economies has got to help conventional agriculture see that anything that promotes ag, helps keep farmers on the land and farming and educates consumers is good for all agriculture.

Kudos, USDA!

About six weeks ago, Wild Type Ranch (our family business) harvested its first European-style, pasture-raised, milk-and-grass-fed veal.  It’s been a lesson in the workings of ag-bureauracracy.

99% or more of the veal harvested in this country is “milk-fed veal”, meaning it is primarily from dairy bull calves removed from the cow at birth, fed only milk replacer (or sometimes milk) and confined.  This produces the very pale, very tender veal Americans have come to expect. 

Pastured veal is left on its mother and is free to graze alongside her in the pasture up to the point of harvest.  Pastured veal is darker and has more flavor than confinement veal, but is still very sweet in flavor and very tender.  The first of our own veal loin chops we tasted were some of the best, most elegant meat I’ve ever had.

For our first harvest, I was told by our local inspector (with whom I have a positive relationship) that I could not use the word “veal” to label the cuts on the package. The chief inspector for the state said veal had could not be raised on pasture, based on the FSIS FAQ on veal, which talks only about the commonly available veal.  Never mind that the USDA specifially defines 4 classes of veal, including “non-special fed veal” that includes pasture-raised.  So, that first harvest got labelled “ground beef”, “beef cutlets”, etc.  At each farmer’s market I had to explain to each customer buying the veal that it really was veal, and that they should write on the label (I’m technically not allowed to add anything to the approved label), to make sure they didn’t get it mixed up with their beef.

Not willing to give up, I persevered and ended up speaking to a woman in D.C. at FSIS.  As it turns out, FSIS has approved a national label for Strauss Free-Raised veal, which is very similar to ours.  She kindly backed up my assertion that our pre-weaned calves were indeed veal.  I thought my problems were solved.

Round 3:  I have submitted my “production protocol” that documents our veal is veal and have been granted permission to use veal cut names on the label.  The catch:  Now that it is veal, I can no longer use my “Wild Type Ranch pasture-raised natural Angus beef” label.  The reasoning: This is veal, so it can’t be beef.  So, now I have to go through the time and expense of designing, submitting for approval and printing a new label. 

What was beef 6 weeks ago because it wasn’t veal now isn’t beef because it is veal.

In another 6 weeks, maybe I’ll get to label it as such.

See our previous post on veal for background information. 

The latest E. coli-related beef recall has prompted me to stop unpacking moving boxes long enough to post.  Obama Foodarama is urging people to “avoid beef like the plague“, pointing out that the recall is voluntary, so there is no guarantee that the recalled beef is actually being pulled from the shelves.  On top of that, of course, is the issue of traceability and identifying exactly where all the contaminated beef ended up.   The identifying establishment ID and processing time stamp do not usually appear on the final consumer package in ground beef and most individual cuts, and certainly not in any cooked products. 

There’s no reason to avoid beef if you know your producer, who knows the date, time, steer and processor from which the ground beef came.

The inside of a muscle or cut of beef is relatively sterile.  It’s only the surface that typically harbors bacteria.  Ground beef is particularly susceptible to food safety issues and recalls for a couple of reasons.    In ground beef, any bacteria on the surface of whatever is being ground gets thoroughly mixed in during the grinding process.  Part of what goes into ground beef tends to be scraps and trimmings, which have lots of surface area and have been handled more than say, a rump roast.   In addition, most ground beef is ground in batches containing meat or trimmings from a large number of cows.  More cows = more chance that one of them will be contaminated. 

And to add a final couple risk factors:  Ground beef is often not ground at the site where the animals are slaughtered, but at a secondary processing plant, further obfuscating the trail to the source.  Even in the few grocery stores that grind their own ground beef, it is a common practice to grind cuts that are nearing their “use by” date.

BUT, rather than go without your hamburger on the 4th of July, you can minimize your risk by purchasing ground beef through local producers.  Our own Wild Type Ranch ground beef, for instance, is ground from a single animal and is packaged and frozen within a short time of its being cut from the side of beef.  When we sell a package of ground beef, we know which animal it came from, when it was processed (and can usually tell you its name and pedigree, if you ask).  This is fairly typical among the producers you meet at the local farmer’s market, or through Local Harvest or Eat Wild.   

Ground beef produced like we do ours does not have that kind of icky smell (reminds me of sour feet).  I was so sensitive to that smell after growing up on home-grown beef that I became a vegetarian while I was away at college!  And the flavor is as different from grocery store ground beef as a homegrown tomato is from a grocery store tomato.

If you can’t get to the farmer’s market, the next best alternative is to purchase roasts (chuck, rump, etc) and grind them yourself using a grinder attachment on your mixer.

The Washington Post recently ran a great article on Affordable Summer Grilling. (thanks Beef Daily Blog!)

You can grill great on a budget by using some of the lower-priced cuts such as such as flank, skirt, Texas-style boneless ribs (chuck ribs), Seven (chuck) steaks and sirloin steak.  Part of the secret to getting top quality out of value cuts is marinating.  Another is grilling properly:  Cook hot and hard for 2-3 minutes, then back the heat off and cook a bit slower to the desired doneness.  Tougher steaks should be grilled only to medium rare–never medium-well or beyond by this method.   If you like your meat past medium-rare, then I recommend you braise (cook slowly in liquid) first until tender, then grill for the final flavor.

If you are able to buy your meat directly from the producer, you have some extra advantages in selecting value cuts that cook like more expensive ones.  In the case of our own Wild Type Ranch beef,  we DNA test and select for tenderness, and also harvest each beef individually at the right blend of marbling and backfat.  Our sirloins, for instance, stack up favorably against commodity-grade (i.e.typical grocery store) ribeyes on tenderness and surpass them for flavor.

Because I know the identity of the steer from which each steak I sell comes (and we’ve eaten a steak from each one before we sell any), I am also able to give my customers cooking tips specific to the day’s purchase.  We’ve got some beeves from which even our stew beef cubes are suitable for kabobs!

Fire up the grill, visit your Farmer’s Market and enjoy some great eating!

Just when I finally got myself trained to remember to take my reusable “green” grocery bags to the store (at least most of the time), I read a report on “food safety threats” from them!  Apparently, reusing the bags can result in the accumulation of coliform bacteria and molds.

Before you trash all those bags, however, please keep in mind that the study was funded by the Environment and Plastic Industry Council (I read that as a vested interest in plastic bags).  And it appears that no E. coli or salmonella were found in the tests.

Still, common sense should come into play:

• Put potentially leaky items, such as meat, or dirt-bearing produce in a separate bag before placing in a reusable bag.
• Wash your bags after multiple uses, turn inside out and air dry, preferably in the sun to allow UV rays to help the sterilization process.
• Replace your bags if they become moldy, smelly or stained
• Wash all foods placed in direct contact with a reused bag

No reason not to keep using those bags.  In many industrialized countries, green bags are the norm, not the exception.

It’s Sunday morning at Wild Type Ranch.  We returned late last night from 2 days at an Angus cattle sale in Fredericksburg, TX.  Everyone else is having a well-deserved lie-in, but I’ve already gotten too used to the summer early rising schedule to sleep in.  [Between needing to leave early for farmer’s markets twice a week and the need to get out and work before it gets hot here in Texas, our summer schedule typically starts at dawn and involves a mid-day shower and siesta]. 

While we were away at the sale, we’ve had a blessed 1.5 inches of rain.  Judging by the flattened sweet corn patch we also had quite a bit of wind accompanying what is likely to be one of the last cool fronts of the spring.  Quiet and cool are two things I don’t get much of, especially lately.

The economy is affecting us almost as much as the drought has.  Cattle prices are down, customer purchases at the market are smaller, breeding season has been delayed by poor grass and hay quality.  We’ve been making lemonade out of lemons as much as possible, but it’s still too easy to get discouraged, over-worked and lose sight of why we are here.

Cup of coffee in hand, Tess, our blue heeler, and I set off across the wonderfully wet grass in the refreshing cool breeze–I’m actually wearing a sweatshirt this morning!  A quick check of the cattle we purchased this weekend and those we brought back home because they didn’t sell for a price higher than what we could get if we harvested them for beef, shows all to be well. 

Tess and I cross into the paddock where our heifers are, to check if any are in heat (ready to be bred) or any appear by the silver scratch-off patches on their rumps to have come into heat while we were gone.  It is a well-known fact when trying to A.I. (artificially inseminate) cattle, the most likely time for them to come into heat is whenever it will be most inconvenient to breed them.  Looks like we got lucky while we were gone.  Now I park myself in the middle of the paddock, having successfully climbed over the fence with a full coffee cup, and watch. 

Emmy Lu, one of our heifers, comes up for a scratch.  Evangeline, her full sister (they are the product of embryo transfer, so were born of foster mamas at the same time) can’t stand to be left out and gives my knee a lick before Tess decides I need protecting.  A game of tag ensues between Tess and Emmy Lu, neither taking the other seriously even though they usually take on the roles of predator and prey. 

It’s Sunday.  I’m lucky to make it to church once a month, since our church is 80 miles from the ranch.  Sometimes I feel like this life I chose, expressly to live in line with my values, leaves me little time to reflect on said values.  This morning, I’m feeling a part of the web of life.  I feel that deep sense of peace that comes from believing that things will work and that I’m in the right place. 

I’m thankful to my parents, both devout Catholics, who were wise enough to teach me that sometimes the most holy thing you can do on a Sunday morning is to go sit in your garden, or go take a walk.  I remember a sign that was posted at the entryway to their wildflower garden:

The kiss of the sun for pardon

The song of the birds for mirth

One is nearer God’s heart in the garden

Than anywhere else on earth

Namaste

Life has been pretty hectic at Wild Type Ranch lately.  My husband has had to make two emergency trips to Australia since the beginning of the year, each time leaving my boys (ages 7 and 9) and I to take care of the ranch while attending school an hour away.  Considering spring is our calving, breeding, embryo transfer and gardening season, we’ve been a little harried.  Add to that attempting to get our “in town” house packed up, cleaned up and ready to sell in preparation for moving out to the ranch full-time at the end of the school year, and you can see why the blog posts have been few and far between.

Y’all have been on my mind, though.  I’ve written dozens of posts in my head while making those hour-long commutes between town and ranch.  I’ve also realized this is a kind of therapy, so I’ll stick with it for a while if you will….

I had a guest at the Farmer’s Market today.  I’m not sure she was really thrilled to be there, but she did manage to lay an egg nonetheless.

Saturday’s market starts at 8:00, which means leaving the ranch well before sun-up.  I usually get everything loaded and my car hooked up to the freezer trailer, so all I have to do is unplug the trailers and drive off about 5:45 am.  On Friday I knew I would be getting home after dark, so I left the lights on in the workshop where the trailer is parked, so I could easily back in and hook up.

Apparently, one of our more mechanically inclined hens had been hanging out in the workshop.  Because the lights were on, I suspect she didn’t realize it was night, and didn’t return to her coop for the night.  When I came home, hooked up and shut up the workshop, she was now trapped in the workshop.  This morning, I drove off in the dark with her nestled down on the trailer, between my two big beef freezers.

Once I got to market, I kept thinking I heard chickens, but figured I’d been spending too much time alone out at the ranch.  An inquisitive 8-year old  spotted her just before market started.  I knew I had to get her caught and contained before she recovered from her shock at being transported 75 miles in the early morning dew.  I had visions of having to let her loose inside my car.  Since we just went through a bout of stomach flu involving said car, I figured this was just the final sign that it was time to have my car detailed.  Fortunately, I remembered I had a milk crate full of bungie cords on the trailer, so we caught her and kept her in that for the day.

I’m not sure she was exactly happy, but she was safe.  And she did manage to lay an egg.  She’s back home and happy now.  My dilemma is what to do with the egg.  Given it’s trip to town and back, I don’t think it meets the 100-mile “local food” limit for the market…

Despite the nomenclature “swine flu”, the CDC assures us that there is no danger of contracting influenza from eating or handling pork.  Here’s some facts:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security:
•    People cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Most influenza viruses, including the swine flu virus, are not spread by food.
•    Eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe.
•    No food safety issues have been identified, related to the flu.
•    Preliminary investigations have determined that none of the people infected with the flu had contact with hogs.
•    The virus is spreading by human-to-human transmission.

 The CDC recommends the following measures to prevent the transmission of flu: 
•     Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
•    Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
•     Wash your hands frequently and use alcohol-based sanitizers.
•     Try not touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus.
•     Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
•     Try to stay in good general health.
•     Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

Detailed information and updates on the flu outbreak may be obtained at:
Texas Department of State Health Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

If you own swine, consider the following practices to enhance the biosecurity on your farm to prevent the disease from being transmitted to your herd:
•     Workers should shower and change into farm-specific clothes and shoes before entering swine facilities.
•     Establish, implement and enforce strict sick leave policies for workers presenting influenza-like symptoms.
•     Recommend that workers with symptoms be seen by a medical provider immediately.
•     Restrict the entry of people into your facility to only workers and essential service personnel.
•     Prevent international visitors from entering your facilities.
•     Ensure adequate ventilation in facilities to minimize re-circulation of air inside animal housing facilities.
•     Vaccinate pigs against the influenza virus.  Vaccination of pigs can reduce the levels of virus shed by infected animals
•     Contact your swine veterinarian if swine exhibit flu-like or respiratory illness, especially if the onset or presentation of the illness is unusual.

Functional Foods are defined as foods that, in addition to nutrition, offer distinct health benefits.

The term usually brings to mind “added” features, such as enrichment with probiotics, omega-3’s, or other components that are added through processing.

I was pleased to see that 4 of the 5 “best functional foods” listed by the New York Dietetic Association are whole, unprocessed and readily available.   Pro-biotic enhanced yogurt was the only processed food to make the top 5, and it came in at number 5.   As an added benefit, they all are on my list of favorite foods!

The other foods were

Number 1:  Salmon (Omega-3 content for heart and brain health)

Number 2:  Whole-grain Oatmeal (fiber for digestive health and lowering risk of heart disease, cholesterol, diabetes and cancer)

Number 3: Blueberries (antioxidants for protection against free radicals and anti-aging)

Number 4:  Low-fat milk (high levels of calcium and vitamin D for strong bones, regulating blood pressure and heart rate)

Looks like a breakfast of oatmeal cooked in milk and topped with blueberries, with a yogurt lunch and salmon for supper is a top rate menu for the day!