Cha Ching!!

    We're rich, we're rich, we're rich!!! My family consists of 247,124 farms. My family employs 20% of the Canadian population. My family owns 12,460,000 head of cattle. The greatest thing about my family is, night or day, anywhere in the country you can count on my family to give you a helping hand. My family is the Canadian beef industry.
     My own family farm Miller Wilson Angus donates an entire beef to our local food bank at least once a year if not more. Every day I constantly remind myself how lucky I am to have such an amazing group of people that are always there to support me, as my family! 
    Sadly, everyday people are faced with many life challenges. One of my Canadian Beef family members Thomas Wildman has been diagnosed with Leukemia, so as the great family we are, we need to help! Donate now to the Red & Black Baldy fundraiser! It's a very important and much needed cause!

Guest blog by Daniel Schnieder

That John Denver is Full of S#@%!!!
Hark! My fellow peers! For today I come to you with a mission, a mission to cast back the deceptions cast over our minds by a golden haired bard. For too long we’ve been content to let the waters sit placid. Today I plan to cause a stir and reveal the truths hiding under the surface of this tantalizing tune.
“Thank God I’m a Country Boy” by John Denver

Don’t let his dutch boy haircut and complete lack of fashion sense fool you. This man and his most classic of songs are folk singers equivalent of a decepticon. Unassuming and quietly comforting at first, it eases into your life with its simple charming enthusiasm. But suddenly with a confounding “CHAKKA CHAKKA!” they transform and reveal the truth.

And so as a public service I will now uncover the truths for you. In a piece I like to call (if I could quote the great Llyod Christmas)
That John Denver is Full of S@#$!
let us begin …
-”Well life on a farm is kinda laid back”

These 9 simple words that open our song are the start of a cleverly plotted out lie woven together into a lovely tapestry made to cover over the truth of the matter. I’ve been laid out on my back before yes, but by charging cattle not by a swedish masseuse. And although the beautiful bovines do resemble Olga, I wouldn’t call this R&R.

-”It’s early to rise, early in the sack”
I gotta give old Johnny boy credit, the man knows the in’s and out’s of crafting a proper lie. Half truths hold together a better lie. Well before the sun has ever even had a chance to hit the snooze button, I’m treated to a soft rapping on my door and my fathers hushed voice
“Wakey, wakey, eggs and bacey”
Having not fully escaped my dream I believe these encouraging words and stumble downstairs. And just like any drunk waking in the morning eager to gaze upon his prized princess, I too with newly acquired sober eyes and mind realize it was all but a fantasy for instead of my princess, a crusty buttered up reality lies before me

But you continue on with your work day knowing that the promise of a speedy return to recreation was given. This small spark of hope instilled in you is enough to get you started and that is all they need. Cause after all since you’re already out there feeding cows, we might as well wash them all, and since we’re washing them it would be silly not to clip their hair, and now that we’re past twilight and our sight has adjusted to the lack of light we might as well develop a complicated lever and pulley system to stop gophers from digging holes in the pasture!

-”A simple kind of life never did me no harm”

Harm is definitely a mistress you flirt with everyday on a farm. Luring you in with a bat of her big brown doe eyes, letting you get comfortable and relaxed in her sweet innocent presence, and just when you make your move …. BAM!!!

In comes her ride home with rib cracking authority! You’d think this would be enough to learn your lesson, but like the sex addled brained teenager you’ll be tempted time and time again. It’s at about the time he says this line that I’m starting to think the only thing Mr. Denver ever farmed was ants
-”When the sun’s coming up I got cakes on the griddle”
This one is true in most cases … not so much mine. I like to compare my families eating habits to that of a family of Boa constrictors. Contrary to the 3 squares meals a day we instead preferred 1 over-sized oblong meal a week. We gorge ourselves on this one meal and let it slowly digest and sustain us throughout the rest of the week

-”Yeah city folks drivin’ in a black limousine, A lotta sad people think that’s a mighty keen, Well son let me tell you exactly what I mean”
This song is starting to sound like the opening pitch line from a cult recruiting center. We’ve already glorified the country life style and now we’ve moved onto guilt you about yours. I’m almost wondering if the only beverage served at John Denver concerts wasn’t Kool-Aid.

Why it’s hard for any poor soul not to resent their fancy smancy smooth running vehicular units, and envy the stop/start Chitty Shitty Bang Bang farm trucks after listening to this merry melody. But Johnny boy does promise to enlighten us about what he means …. only to distract and bedazzle our minds with another jaunty rendition of the chorus, just like any good leader. Promises of answers to life’s woes but in actuality they just want us chanting the chorus over and over, while we hand over our “mighty keen” “Black limousine”
I realize at this point I’m starting to sound like a ranting old man, sitting on his front porch shotgun in hand yelling at passing by kids that Santa doesn’t exist and I shot the tooth fairy.

In all honesty I love everything country. The life, the music, the style, the hardships and excitements of the everyday.
-”Well I wouldn’t trade my life for diamonds or jewels”
This line says it all. Contrary to what all my previous nagging would have you believe, there is nothing in this world that could entice me to leave this all behind. Not to say that I wouldn’t relish in the wealth if presented with proper amounts of bling, but I refuse trade who I am in exchange. The farm and country is a part of who I am. It’s where I grew up and is a big part of who I am today. Farms teach you the joy’s of life, death, birth and renewal. You learn about responsibility, for yourself, your fellow man, and most of all the land that provides for you. It’s freedom, a place where you aren’t afraid to run and scream as loud and hard as you want. Freedom to explore and discover the natural world. I’ll take my hairy cattle companions over bristly bustling crowds any day. At the end of the day me and John can set aside our differences and proudly agree on one thing….
Thank God I’m a country boy!



Big thanks to Daniel for the guest blog! Dan is a comic artist but he also does AMAZING western art! check him out at smash head studios!

Young Guns

     What does Alberta Beef Producers mean to me? I was recently asked this question. Immediately, a whole lot of ideas began swarming into my head but how do I describe them to you?
     Then it hit me, Alberta Beef Producers means "life" to me! Beef and Alberta are my grassroots. This beautiful cattle country is a reflection of me and my industry. It's what my life is revolved around!

    I'm living the dream! I get to wake up to that fresh country air, walk outside to see happy baby calves running around, I can hear the birds chirping out my window right now. Sure beats the heck outta only being able to hear the buzzing of power lines and cars zipping by.

     I'm actively involved in an industry that feeds the world! Pretty rad isn't it? Have you ever thought about where that burger, fries, even the milk shake you're slurping down came from? That's right! It comes from people like me!!!

    So my friends I have a mission for you. Thank a farmer! Thank an Alberta Beef producer! Appreciate where your beef comes from and all the hard work that goes into it!

My name's Dakota Wilson, I'm a young gunnin' Alberta Beef Producer!

Grey's 7 steps to freedom!

    Most people that know me, know that my sister and I like to have a A LOT of fun! However being born a slave to my parents/cows its rather laborious to free ourselves (alright so we have it pretty easy, my parents are work horses and usually allow us to have our freedom). but alas for those of you that think cleaning your room before you're allowed to leave is stressfull, well....Grow Up! The fact is, farm kids have it tough! Luckily, after many weekends of mach speed cleaning/chore sessions, I have a 7 step program to help the average farm kid obtain freedom a whole lot faster!
1-Depending on time of arrival instantly make a game plan:
          Johnny and I arrived home the same time after work and school. This is how it all went down.
Johnny: "We goin out tonight?"
me: "Might as well! Sooooo clean our rooms or head outside first?"
Johnny: "better do chores. First we can always pretend we cleaned our rooms."
2- This is when you bust out the secret hand shake.... only cuz its fun and you look really cool! Then proceed to race outside.
3- When in a rush I do chores on my bike, due to the fact that I'm the biggest clutz. Therefore, speed walking is not my forte.
4-Once you're usual chores are complete, if there's that one extra thing your parents always do, do that right on up so they're so happy they don't have to do it that when your room fails to be clean. Then you can whip out the old "Well, sorry, I just didn't have time because I did...so on and so on"...works like a charm!
5-If you have a chance, put on supper...food always makes people happy!
6-Get outta there as fast as you can before they even have a chance to say no.
7-For good measure, on your way out do a Mario one hand in the air victory jump!

And that my friends is how you (if you're a farm kid) obtain your freedom. Even if your a city slicker, you can take a few steps outta the old Freedom book...never fails!

What the heck is a show cow?

  Cattle shows are simply another form of advertising for cattle farmers. Farmers select their finest cows, bulls and calves to attend shows because all the other farmers(a.k.a potential buyers) will be there. a Cattle show is like a trade show for animals! However the best form of advertising would be to win the show, which often comes with great prizes and free advertising!
   Losing the show isn't the end of the world either. A show is most commonly judged by one and sometimes three or more people. Therefore the same animal isn't going to win everytime because its only one persons opinion about which one takes the cake. So losing is nothing to be upset about there's still going to be people there interested in you cattle to enhance their own operation.
   Before you even get to shows you have to train your cattle. You have to halter break which is very similar to collar training a dog. Wash them and cut their hair so they look their best heading into the show. The past few days I've had some helpers come over to tie some baby calves up.


Isabella





Georgia



While the calves were tied we brushed and scratched the babies so they were calm and realized that it felt good to be tied up.



Nate one of my best helpers



Nater's calf gave him a bit of a fight



after some time he was fine.



One of the main things my family does is nickname everything. After some long deliberation between georgia and Nate I give you Brain and Petunia!



Luke was more entertained with Tuggy than the babies!















By next week we'll be heading to our first show with Petunia and her momma! Keep checking in for updates on Petunia's progress!

Taco Tuesday!!!

Guess what?? Yup!! It's Taco Tuesday!!

So I cheated, I had taco Monday...not a big deal! But for those of you still left guessing what the duece you want to make for supper..... toss a little spice in that ground beef and you gots yourself some darn fine taco meat!!

However the crutcial part of Taco Tuesday is the "beef check list". I'm a square. Hence why I'm a total nerd and make lists for everything, sooooo I dare you to go to a grocery store and get the answers to these questions:

-Where's the meat come from?
-How's it been handled?
-What's it been fed?
-Where was it processed?

I bet its gonna be rather tricky to find those answers!
It's important to eat nutritious beef. You want your beef to be stress free, produced with minimal medication, are fed a pure vegetarian diet and are treated in a humane way. The easiest way to obtain this meat is by supporting our local farms! That way you can go out and see exactly where your meat comes from. Plus, farm fresh meat tastes a billion times better than that grocery store non-sense!
Make sure your beef fits the list!

some nutrition facts:
According to nutritionists, a balanced diet is a diet that contains enough red meat, carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, and milk and other processed products in a balanced proportion. Here is the meat nutrition facts that makes it important to be consumed.

- Protein. Red meat is a source of high quality protein needed by the body in high quantities. Proteins have an important role for health and development of the human body, repair body tissue and the formation of antibodies that fight infection. In general, 19-20 percent protein contained in meat. Meat is considered as high quality protein because it contains almost all essential amino acids. Thus, eating meat can also strengthen the immune system and fast recovery.

- Vitamins. Vitamins are the most prominent in the flesh are vitamin A, B complex and D. Vitamin A makes a good our vision, support the development of bones and teeth and maintaining skin health. Vitamin B supports the central nervous system and improving mental health. And vitamin D to increase calcium and phosphorus, which maintain bones strong and healthy teeth.

- Fat. Existing fatty acids in meat are linoleic acid and palmiotelik. These fats can prevent the body from cancer and harmful viruses. It can increase endurance of the environment and conditions are not favorable. The body also needs fat for brain development. Red meat contain no more than 5% of the total fatty acids that exist. Red meat, if the fat removed did not disrupt patterns of healthy foods and your diet program. For patients with heart disease, red meat remains safe placed in the daily diet in limited quantities and according to your dietician recommendations.

- Mineral. Another meat nutrition facts is it’s contains a number of minerals, especially rich in iron, zinc and selenium. The body needs iron to form hemoglobin necessary for transporting oxygen from the lungs to other body parts. Iron are also important for women and for children’s cognitive development. Zinc increases metabolism and helps in tissue formation. While selenium help in solving the fat and other chemicals in the body.
(meat nutrition facts)

Alberta and the Oil Sands

Although this article isn't about beef I find it extremely well written. Everyone should read it!!

 
This is the typical Alberta view on our relationship with the ROC (rest
of Canada ), excluding B.C. and Saskatchewan of course.
Fascinating article by Lisa Corbella of the Calgary Herald.
 
Something has to give !!
 
Quebec and the Fairy Godmother
 
Today, let's have some fun and play Fairy Godmother to
Quebec . Let's grant the province the wish it articulated in Copenhagen.. Wave
the magic wand and poof, wish granted. Shut down Alberta 's oilsands,except,
since it's Quebec making the wish, we have to call it tarsands, even
though it's not tar they use to run their Bombardier planes, trains and
Skidoos.
 
Ah, at last! The blight on Canada 's reputation shut down.
All those dastardly workers from across Canada living in Fort McMurray ,
Calgary and Edmonton out of jobs, including those waitresses, truck
drivers, nurses, teachers, doctors, pilots, engineers etc. They can all go on
Employment insurance like Ontario autoworkers and Quebec parts makers!
Closing down Alberta 's oil industry would immediately stop
the production of 1.8 million barrels of oil a day. Supply and demand
being what it is, oil prices will go up and therefore the cost at the pump
will go up, too, increasing the cost of everything else.
 
But lost jobs in Alberta and across the country along with
higher gas prices are a small price to pay to save the world and not
"embarrass" Quebecers on the world stage. Not to worry though, Saudi
Arabia, Libya and Nigeria can come to the rescue. You know, the guys who pump
money into al-Qaida and help Osama bin Laden target those Van Doos fighting in
Afghanistan . Bloody oil is so much nicer than dirty tarsands oil.
 
Shutting down the oilsands will reduce Canada 's greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions by 38.4 Mt (megatonnes). Hooray! It's so fun to be a
Fairy Godmother! While that sounds like a lot, Canada only produces two
per cent of the world's man-made GHGs and the oilsands only produce five per
cent of Canada 's total emissions or 0.1 per cent of the world's
emissions.
 
By comparison, the U.S. produces 20.2 per cent of the world's
GHG emissions, 27 per cent of which comes from coal-fired
electricity.
 
The 530-square-kilometre piece of land currently disturbed
by the oilsands (which is smaller than the John F. Kennedy Space Center
at Cape Canaveral , Fla. at 570 square kilometres) must be reclaimed by
law and will return to Alberta 's 381,000 square kilometres of boreal forest, a
huge carbon sink.
 
Quebec , of course, has clean hydro power, but more than
13,000 square kilometres were drowned for the James Bay hydroelectric
project, permanently removing that forest from acting as a carbon sink.
 
But Fairy Godmother is digressing all over the place. While
the oilsands only produce five per cent of Canada 's GHGs, it
contributes much more to Canada 's economy. After all, oil and gas make up
one-quarter of the value on the TSX alone. Alberta is also the largest net contributor
per capita by far to Confederation and there are only two more -- B.C. and
Ontario .
 
Quebec hasn't made a net contribution to the rest of Canada
for a very long time. This is not to be critical (after all, Fairy
Godmothers never criticize), it's just a fact. In 2009, Albertans paid
$40.46 billion in income, corporate and other taxes to the federal
government and received back just $19.35 billion in services and goods from
the feds. That means the rest of Canada got $21.1 billion from
Albertans or $5,742 for each and every Alberta man, woman and child. In 2007 (the
last year national figures are available), Alberta sent a net contribution of
$19.49 billion to the ROC or $5,553 per Albertan -- more than three
times what every Ontarian contributes at $1,757. Quebecers, on the other hand,
each received $627 net or a total of $8 billion, money which was
designed to help "equalize" social programs across the country. Except, that's not
what is happening. Quebec has more generous social programs like (nearly)
free university tuition (paid for mostly by Albertans) and cheap provincial
day care (paid for mostly by Albertans).
 
But in this Fairy Godmother world, poof, those delightful
unequal programs have now disappeared! Quel dommage!
 
The July 2009 Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI)
report states that between 2008 and 2032, the oilsands will account for
172,000 person-years of employment in Ontario during the construction
phase, plus 640,000 for operations over the 25-year period. For Quebec , the
oilsands will account for 84,000 person-years of employment during the
construction phase, plus 292,000 for operations over the 25-year period.
 
In total, the oilsands are expected to add $1.7 trillion to
Canada 's GDP over the next 25 years.
 
Wave wand and Poof, Jobs, gone! So, now that the oil
industry has shut down and left Alberta , Alberta has become a have-not
province and so has every other province. Equality at last! Hugo Chavez
will be so pleased.
 
Meeting our Copenhagen targets suddenly looks possible, as
most of us can't afford to drive our cars or buy anything but
necessities, so manufacturers have closed their doors and emissions are way down.
 
The dream of many Quebecers to form their own nation and
separate from Canada has died at last. Alas, in Alberta , separatist
sentiment has risen dramatically, citizens vote to separate and the oil
and gas industry returns.
 
Albertans start to pocket that almost $6,000 for each person
that used to get sent elsewhere and now their kids get free tuition.
Fairy Godmother's work is done. Wish granted. Quebecers must now sign up for a
foreign worker visas to work in Alberta to send their cheques back home
so junior can start saving up to pay for college.
 
Licia Corbella is editorial page editor of The Calgary Herald.

Farm Virgin

   I have all sorts of friends! Most of them however have never even stepped foot on a farm or been near cattle! After being on my farm they often have a ton of questions, many that didn't even involve beef cattle. So alas I was at a loss for words! So my friends I give you Ben Wilson Thee one and only "Farm Virgin"!

Ben has been married into our family for over a year now! Due to the fact he was such a farm virgin my aunty and her family used him as our muse. He travelled from farm to farm learning amazing things about farming and created a mini series for Farm On!

Ben was gutsy enough to come with us to the World Angus Forum when it was held in Calgary, AB. My favorite lesson he learned was how people tell a difference in a cow to choose the winner. Well my mother came up with the best answer of all time! "Say you walk into a room full of girls/guys, choose the one you find most attractive." From then on that's the only way I've explained to people how we judge cattle. You gain a certain eye that allows you to see differences in cows... the exact same eye I've gained to choose my best lookin fella!

Check out the Farm On website for more amazing facts and videos on awesome topics from barrel racing to crop planting!

Gettin Jiggy With It!

  Ah the joys of spring! All the dreadful snow is gone, the sun's a shinin' and well it's time to make babies! Most farms strategically plan the time of the year they breed their females so all the calves come at one time that works best for their operation. Most commonly people use bulls(males) to breed their females.
  However as the times changed, along with technology, so did many breeding programs. Artificial Insemination has become a very popular technique when breeding season rolls around. It has rapidly changed the speed in which a farmer can increase the size and quality of their herd. You wait until the cow is at the right tme of her cycle to be bred, similar to when people plan the time they would try to get "prego". The process is no walk in the park, it takes an experienced technician. It is very similar to the process a human would take if a doctor's assistance would be required to conceive a child.

   The semen or embryos are stored in a large tank filled with liquid nitrogen to keep them frozen.

the semen is held in a protective "soda pop" straw like tubes.

The Semen is then put into a thawing bath and inserted into a "semen gun".

The technician uses the gun to help the semen reach the uterine horns (fallopian tubes). And that, my friends, is how babies are made in the artificial insemination world. Within 283-286 days you will have a new calf!

The bare naked truth!

   Due to the fact that I've spent my entire life on a farm raising my own beef and growing my own food, I never gave any thought to the fact most people have no idea where their beef comes from. It's been until my recent years of valuable research...... well until my recent years of bar crawling and meeting new people that I've come to the conclusion people need to know! No your beef doesn't magically appear from your grocery store freezer! To this day I'm still shocked that when I explain I'm a farm girl who shows cows I get the "Wait..... You have cows, and you do what with them?"

   Well I'm here ladies and gentlemen to strip it down for ya! Hold onto your horses 'cuz this is gonna get juicy!