Welcome to the Ranch!

We have had some excitement on the ranch in the past week. First we have gotten some much needed rain. Storm systems came through dropping good rain for a few days in a row. We have not had flooding like Houston or the tornadoes which occurred in northern Texas yesterday, for which we are very thankful. We still pray that God will continue to bless our land with rain throughout the summer.

Last Sunday a week ago, my youngest son, Andrew, grew ill. We thought he had contracted a stomach virus, but something about it seemed odd. In order to make a long story short as well as spare you the details, early Monday morning it became apparent that he needed medical attention. My husband and I drove to the nearest good medical hospital, which for us is in College Station.

Andrew received excellent care and had to endure an emergency appendectomy. After a total of three days in the hospital, we were released to come home. He is still recovering from the surgery, but is doing much better.

The challenging part will be to keep him from getting hurt for six whole weeks. Boys will be boys and we discussed no wooden sword fights, no trampoline, no wrestling, etc. Instead, we have been entertaining Andrew with playdough, Uno, Legos, go fish, puzzles, etc.

After dinner on one of our first nights home, we went on a slow walk through the pasture after a light rain. We ate our weight in dewberries for dessert. It was such a blissful evening. We delighted in the normal scenery. There were the horses grazing in green pastures. There were the cows in belly high grass. There are fish jumping in the lake. We were home!

We are so thankful for the rain and the health of Andrew. We caught the appendix in time before it ruptured. He is getting better each day. As I researched all there is to know about the appendix, I am also thankful that cows do not have them. That would really put a different spin on herd health management. It was hard enough to get a five-year old to articulate what he was feeling. I cannot even imagine having to monitor appendicitis in cattle.

Please pray for Andrew’s continued recovery and for rain to continue to replenish the soil in all the drought stricken areas of the United States. God does listen.

Learning how to cook grass fed beef takes practice. It really involves understanding time and temperature differences from traditional cooking. Against the advice of many, you do not have to treat grass fed beef with kid gloves nor do you have to marinate everything for 24 hours. We give our customers “6 Cooking Tips for Grass Fed Beef,” which comes from an article on this blog with the same title.

Still, I get questions specifically pertaining to grilling steaks. I found this short video with very simple instructions and ingredients from Whole Foods. I liked it because it was so simple and the video does not spend the whole time extolling all the virtues of eating grass fed beef.

Instead it focuses on the how-to of grilling grass fed steaks, which is what our customers want. They already know why they have purchased the grass fed beef. Take just over one minute to watch a tutorial showing you a simple method of grilling.

If there is anything on earth that makes the hardest heart melt, it has to be the sight of baby animals. Regardless of the species, the sight of the very young makes people “oohh” and “ahhh.”

Baby calves are no exception. Our Beefmasters usually have long legs and big ears. They almost all look alike this year. Although, some have very distinct markings. On this Valentine’s Day, I am posting pictures taken of some of our calf crop. They are all about the same age, which is about two months old.

Please enjoy the photographs. And, Happy Valentine’s Day!

Most people would agree that a child’s natural bent is toward laziness. Who does not want to linger in bed for as long as possible? Who would rather sit in the shade than bend their bodies in half weeding a garden? The answer for most of us is obvious. Laziness is something we have to fight.

Developing a desire to fight that which is a natural tendency is really a battle of self. Therefore, the first place to begin is with yourself. As parents of five children, my husband and I share a strong desire to develop within our children, male and female alike, industry and diligence. We also want them to take initiative and not wait to be told what to do. So we try to model industry, diligence, and initiative in our own lives.

I ask my children to be “productive” each day. That does not mean that one must work from sun up to sun down without taking a break, but that one be involved in some work throughout the day. It could be painting a piece of art, baking cookies, cleaning a horse stall, writing a short story, mowing the yard, etc. At the end of the day, you can feel a sense of accomplishment in something you have done.

Living on a ranch lends itself useful in instilling these character traits in children. There is always something to do. A tree has fallen on a fence, a gate latch breaks, the cows need to be fed hay, the float on the water trough malfunctioned, etc. From mechanic work and welding, to plumbing and construction, there are a variety of skills to be honed by just living on a working ranch.

Most of our grass fed customers who travel to Cross Creek Cattle Company in order to pick up their orders remark at least once “how lucky my kids are to be raised on this ranch.” It is true; however, my husband and I are just as fortunate to live in an environment that cultivates the need for hard work and productivity. This in no way means that city kids cannot find ways to be productive; they absolutely can in a variety of ways. The ranch simply furnishes us a ready environment.

Our ancestors’, the pioneers who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and/or crossed the unsettled plains on their way westward, lives required work for their survival. Even though our lives are not pinned between life and death in such clear cut terms, we want our family to thrive and not just survive. Today, you can survive without working hard. In some ways we are not only fighting our inner selves, but also what have become cultural norms. Success, in many ways, is measured by getting paid the most for doing the least amount possible.

However if you know that working was God’s design from the beginning for mankind, then it changes your perspective (Genesis 2:15). Work requires discipline and denial of self. It makes your body move and sweat. It engages your mind and builds knowledge. It places food on your table and a roof over your head. Work is good, and it is good for your body and soul (Ecclesiastes 3:13).

At Cross Creek Cattle Company, we are hard at work to develop high quality, nutritious grass fed beef. We come from a long line of ranchers in Texas, six generations in fact, but we are also busy training up the next generation by instilling the same characteristics that our ancestors exemplified: industry, diligence, and initiative.

A stomach virus has run through my family for the last two weeks. Five of the seven members of our family have come down with it. Even though I was one of the ones affected with illness, I was able to make a nutritious stock to aid my family’s health.

There is a difference between stock and broth even though most people use the terms interchangeably. A simple distinction is that stock is made predominantly from bones and meat. Broth is made from meat only.

The bones impart minerals of bone, cartilage, and marrow. The addition of a little vinegar helps draw out more calcium, magnesium and potassium from the bones. Any vegetables added, like carrots, onions, celery, give the stock electrolytes, which are important to regain balance in your body.

Gelatin, a product from the bones, aids digestion and helps treat intestinal disorders. To tell how much gelatin your stock has in it, chill the stock. The top of your stock should develop a layer of gel or thicken up substantially. This is a great sign. As soon as you heat it up again, all the gelatin will dissolve.

Making beef stock is not difficult. I like to begin it in the evening and let it simmer all night in the crock pot. Soup bones are a standard cut in our grass fed beef quarters. Most half or whole orders choose to receive soup bones also. You can choose to get them meaty or not. I always choose meaty so that my stock will have a combination of both meat and bone, but the bone is the most important aspect.

Beef Stock

1 package of grass fed soup bones
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 quarts cold, filtered water
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 onions, cut in sections
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
parsley
sea salt and pepper

Turn your crock pot on high and add the olive oil to the bottom. Place the meaty bones in one layer. Season to your liking with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover with lid. In 45 minutes to one hour, flip the bones to brown on the other side. Cover. After another 45 minutes to one hour, add the water, vinegar, and seasonings. Cover. Allow to cook on low for 12 hours or longer.

I have a huge crock pot that handles this recipe beautifully. It works just as well in a stockpot on the stove, but I would begin it in the morning and keep my eye on the stock all day as it cooks. If undesirable “scum” rises to the top, skim it. This is normal.

Once the stock has cooked, remove the bones. I press out the bone marrow into the liquid mixture. Then I shred or cut the meat in small bites. At this point, I drank several cups a day to keep up my strength through my illness.

The stock can be used as a base for great pinto or red beans. You can add rice or other vegetables to make a soup. There are seemingly limitless possibilities. And, the stock freezes nicely. You can strain it right into freezer containers or freezer bags. Just make sure you label them.

With cold and flu season approaching, it would not be a bad idea to make healthy stock now for when you might need it. Even if you are not ill, the addition of stocks in your diet is a great idea.

Many grass fed ranchers claim to be grass farmers because getting your grass right is half the battle. The grasses in the pastures have really greened up now because of some recent rainfall. As we get deeper into the fall season, the grass will continue to loose its nutrients until it is just filler. At that point, we like to call it standing hay.

Since we are still growing out calves on grass throughout the winter, we choose to plant winter grass. This week my husband and son, Jake, have been busy planting three different types of grasses. We are planting one field in a mixture of rye grass and ball clover. Some in just rye grass. One pasture in oats.

Oats? You might wonder how we can raise grass fed cattle on oats, which is a grain. Oats are only a grain once the plant goes to seed. The oat that gets hulled, rolled, and steamed is the grain that you are familiar with in your breakfast bowl. Our cattle will eat the nutritious plant until late in the winter when it will go to seed. Of course, we won’t let them eat the actual grain.

Other plants that cattle love to eat are milo and corn. You can plant those and allow your cattle to eat them prior to making the grain. It is an option that we have not done.

Making sure that our cattle have grass year round requires time, money, and hard work. We feel sowing winter grass seeds in several pastures is worth it. We have piece of mind that our cattle are getting nutritional benefits from the grasses even in the coldest days of the year. Therefore, they are able to gain flavorful muscle, which in turn makes our customers happy.

Another benefit of raising winter grass is that we have the most beautiful pastures in the area. The bright green of the rye grass and the deep green of the oats contrast sharply against the grayness of winter. It is an aesthetic perk of farming grass.

It doesn’t matter to me if we are grass fed ranchers or grass farmers; it is only a name. The truth is that we are both. Raising grass fed beef is a process that relies on pasture grasses. Without one, you could not do well with the other. This week we are just more focused on the grass farming aspect of our jobs.

In March, I wrote an article, “Free Range Kids,” which talked about how my children are being raised in an environment relatively different than most young children in the United States. They work in the garden, collect eggs, feed pigs, milk goats, ride horses, go swimming in ponds, and explore the ranch. They come home sweaty and have dirty fingernails by the end of the day.

Despite all the dirt and allergens they are exposed to, they are very healthy children. They are rarely ill. We have been fortunate to only see the doctor for well-check ups or for the occasional injury. I cannot remember the last time any of them were on an antibiotic or prescription medicine.

Then in July, I read an article entitled, “Farm Life Grows Healthy Kids,” by John Maday for Drovers Cattle Network. Scientists actually studied the differences in health between children raised in the city and those on farms. The findings are fascinating. Farm kids are healthier overall. Researchers think that this is due in part to city kids living in an overly sanitary environment.

Mr. Maday writes, ” Farm kids on the other hand, grow up with regular exposure to dust, pollen, animals, manure and perhaps, raw milk. Thus the farm environment encourages development of a more robust immune system compared with hygienic city life.” However, the researchers do not know for sure the reason that farm children are healthier because there are too many factors that attribute to good health.

Maday goes on to conclude, “Maybe it is early exposure to pathogens and allergens, maybe it’s good farm cooking, or maybe it’s due to honest hard work in the great outdoors. In any case, farmers and ranchers who have always believed they are raising their kids in a healthy environment now have more evidence they’re right.”

I think that fresh air, adequate sunshine, good water, and healthy foods play a big role in one’s health. Farm and ranch life is a good environment, in which to raise children. I knew that already, but it is nice to read it in print with scientific research supporting the findings. Maybe the next time I see a mother chasing her toddler around the park with hand sanitizer, I will encourage her to let her child get his/her hands dirty. What do you think? I’d love to hear your opinion.

In the grass fed business, being able to weigh our cattle is important. We decide if an animal is ready to be harvested based on they way it looks as well as how much it weighs. We have cattle scales under our squeeze chute, which has been used for countless years at Cross Creek Cattle Company. The years had not been so kind and had begun to take its toil on our equipment.

Rust eats away at metal. My husband had already tried fixing the floor of the chute without unbolting it from its concrete slab, lifting it away from our working pens, and welding a new and improved floor. Well, his floor worked for a year, but it was only temporary. We eventually had to take the aforementioned steps in order to truly repair the chute.

It was difficult just getting the chute to my husband’s shop where he could begin the repair process. Once there, he involved our two oldest sons. They removed the floor, surveyed the damage, made a list of things to buy, and set out to make a brand-new, heavy duty bottom.

Jake was very excited about learning to weld as it is an interest of his. He would coax me out to the shop in order to show me which welds were his. I, of course, praised him immensely. Once they had replaced all the rotten pieces and reinforced the floor, Clayton began painting the metal with rust-resistant paint.

I enjoyed seeing my men working together for a common purpose. They are proud of their work as they should be. They did a great job. The chute is back in its place and ready to work for us. Hopefully, it won’t need more repairs for decades to come.

Being a ranch manager entails more than overseeing cattle graze in green grass. At times, you are a mechanic when the tractor breaks down. Sometimes, you are like a veterinarian caring for an injured animal. Other times, you use your skills of construction to build needed items like a pier, barn, or fence. Times like this one, you have to be the resident welder. It is a profession that never gets old or boring. There is always something to do.

For any rancher, the summer is when you focus on storing up food for your cattle during the winter months. It is a time to make hay or purchase it.
Hay is simply dried grass that is baled either in rounds or in squares. During the winter when grass lies dormant, your cattle can still get the benefits of grass by eating hay. You simply cut the grass while it is at its peak, allow it to dry completely, and bale.
Hay requires a pasture of good grasses and dry weather. The last thing you want is for your cut grass to get rained on because the grass will mold. Hay making is farming; you are at the mercy of the weather.
We have not cut hay on our ranch for years. It has been more economical to purchase hay. However after last year’s drought and the fact that the price for hay soared to astronomical heights coupled with the fact that we have been greatly blessed with rain and grass this year, we decided to cut three hay fields on our new ranch.
Farming is always a gamble. You have to watch the weather, keep your eye on your fields, and act in faith. We have finished cutting the grass. It is drying out quickly in this summer heat. Tomorrow we will start baling the hay as long as the weather holds.
Hay is an important part of our grass fed business. It saved the ranch last year when our pastures burned up in the most severe drought on record. During even a mild winter, hay is a staple in our herd’s diet. Since we do not feed grain of any kind to our cattle, dried grasses are their food in the winter.
We are excited to be in this position. Making our own hay illustrates that we have turned a corner in a sense. This year has been completely different than last year. And for that, we are truly thankful.

This past week has been such a blessing to the ranch. Rain has been in the forecast almost every day and more importantly, it has actually rained. Good soaking rains, not just quick downpours that run off as fast as they fall, have seeped into our soil.

After a wet winter, we had our hopes up for a wet spring, too. Unfortunately that has not been the case until now. The temperatures have been very high for April and May. Last week it felt like summer with temperatures in the mid-90s. As a result, the winter grasses have gone to seed and died while the summer grasses have not had enough moisture to grow well. We were honestly becoming concerned for our grass fed business again.

We repaired a broken dam on a pond on our new property this winter. In an attempt to prevent erosion, my husband and I spent a day planting bermuda and bahia grass on the dam. This rainy weather came at a perfect time. We could not be more thankful.

If you want to learn to grow in your dependence on God, try making a living in agriculture. You realize real quick that you are not in control, but instead have to adapt to the environment you are given with full reliance on your Heavenly Father. Out of gratitude for His faithful provision throughout last year’s drought as well as the rains this winter and spring, Cross Creek Cattle Company wants to give glory to whom it is due. Thank you, God, for the rain, glorious rain.