Our family is excited for you to visit our family farm.  Click on this video to tag along with our family as we harvest soybeans and corn, and walk through the barn as my kids complete their nightly chores. We hope you enjoy your virtual visit on our farm.

If you have any questions about our farming operation, I encourage you to post them in the comment section, or follow me on these social media outlets:

Facebook/Cheryl Day

Twitter/DayAngus

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YouTube - Day Cattle Farm Channel

Meatless Monday is a campaign developed by ad man, Sid Lerner, as a public health awareness campaign. Lerner CLAIMS not eating Meat on Monday will Limit Cancer Risk, Reduce Heart Disease, Fight Diabetes, Curb Obesity, Live Longer, Improve Your Diet, AND Save the Environment by Reducing your Carbon Footprint, Minimize Water Usage, and Help Reduce Fossil Fuel.

If the claim to improve your health draws you into the Meatless Monday Campaign then consider this:

Proteins are not Created Equally

Animal Proteins-lean meats, eggs, and lowfat dairy products-are complete package of essential amino acids needed to stimulate muscle growth. Research has shown that moderately increasing protein intake can be an effective way to manage weight.   Choosing lean meat as a nutrient-rich source of protein can be a calorie-saver.

The Caloric Cost of Plant Protein

 

·         A 3-ounce serving of lean beef offers the most protein with the fewest calories when compared to plant proteins such as peanut butter, black beans and tofu.

 

·         A 3-ounce serving of lean beef is about 180 calories. You would have to eat 670 calories of peanut butter (more than 7 tablespoons) to get the same amount of protein.

 

·         A person would need to consume two to three times the calories provided in a 3-ounce serving of beef to get an equivalent amount of protein from a veggie burger.

 

Instructions

1. Stack beef steaks; cut lengthwise in half, then crosswise into 1-inch wide strips. Toss with garlic.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add 1/2 of beef; stir-fry 1 minute or until outside surface of beef is no longer pink. (Do not overcook.) Remove. Repeat with remaining beef. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in same skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add mushrooms; cook and stir 2 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. Add gravy mix and 1 cup cold water; blend well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 1 minute or until sauce is thickened, stirring frequently. Stir in beef; heat through. Serve over noodles. Pass sour cream.

Nutrition

Nutrition information per serving: 383 calories; 16 g fat (5 g saturated fat; 5 g monounsaturated fat); 109 mg cholesterol; 42 mg sodium; 3 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 31 g protein; 6.2 mg niacin; 0.4 mg vitamin B6; 1.4 mcg vitamin B12; 3.7 mg iron; 48.7 mcg selenium; 4.7 mg zinc. This recipe is an excellent source of protein, niacin, vitamin B₆, vitamin B₁₂, iron, selenium and zinc.

Visit the Beef, It's What for Dinner Website for Complete details on this and other lean Beef Recipes.

The world seems to be moving at a fast pace and this farm family is definitely in the middle of the rat race. As a mom, I am always struggling with balancing an active household and providing healthy food choices.

Unlike my forefathers, our family is not self-sustaining. We do not grow everything on this farm that I serve on the table. In fact-at no shock to you- bananas do not grow in Illinois. So, like every person I find myself roaming the grocery store aisles trying to select the right food within our budget for my family.

By nature, I tend to be a big people observer and I do take note as people give me strange looks when I stop to read a label. Especially, in the produce aisle I stop and read the label because I want to know who grew my fruit and veggies. I find it a great score of the day if I can get Illinois Produce in a mainstream grocery store.

However, I too get overwhelmed by Food Labels. In this “information in instant” world, it should not be a torture to shop for my food. In addition, it should not be the next big marketing scheme to start using buzz words in competing for my food dollars: Organic, Natural, No Hormones, etc.

The discussion of food labels is not a new hot topic but an ongoing discussion about what information should really be on the food label.

On Thursday, a nationwide discussion about Food was hosted in Town Hall meetings in Indiana, Washington D.C., California, and New York. Consumers, Farmers, and Ranchers were invited to participate in “Food Dialogues” through Live Webcast, Twitter, and Facebook.   

Food labels was one item of discussion that the panel in New York tackled with moderator, Chef John Besh.

I could relate with panelist, Sarah Murray - the author of Moveable Feasts and Panelist - as she shows the audience a three year-old Food Label from the United Kingdom.

This UK Food Label quickly demonstrated to her “How difficult the labeling & transparency issue is”

Murray further explains this label in extremely small print contained a symbol with an airplane indicating the product had traveled from Kenya.   For those concerned about Carbon Emissions then the airiplane was a quick symbol alerting the miles the product had traveled. This simple airplane sticker ruffled the feathers because the Kenyan farmers’ livelihood depended on the export of their green beans to the UK. As a result, a picture of women farmer-Elizabeth- and her story was added to the top of the label. All these extra information was addition to the other normal information present on labels. 

So this begs the question how much information do you really want on your Food Label? As Murray joked you “Can’t go to the supermarket with a magnified glass” or Biochemistry Textbook.

“People shouldn't have to have a PhD in biochemistry to buy healthy food" – added Dr. Silver, Director of the Office of Science and Policy for New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

According to panelist Dr. Silver, in survey of New Yorkers, 80 percent likes labels but only 15 percent use them.

Everyone should have access to nutritional food at a price that is less than the cost of junk food. Labels can contain all the information requested by a consumer but if they cannot afford that item then it will remain on the shelf.

Many times at the grocery store I would wish for an "easy button"  that are present at many tourist attractions. At the press of the button, all information about that food product would be revealed.

So, I ask if Your Food label could talk then what information would you want to hear?

• Farmer story

• Nutrition Item

• Words that do not require a PhD

• Place of Origin (where the food item was actual grown-Illinois, California, Mexico, Kenya)? Grow in ___________ but Processed at _____________?

• The Use of Labels-Organic, Natural, No Hormone-with USDA inspection

•  Labels of Agriculture Practices: Free Range, Grass Fed, Grain Fed

I invite you to leave a comment on your ideal Food Label - Let's Start a Food Dialogue.

Reference

Food Dialogues

At the beginning of a farming season, the odds for payout are better in Vegas. Farming is a gamble and, honestly, it takes passionate individuals wanting to produce your food to continue to battle the odds Mother Nature deals. In any growing season, farmers face challenges. In 2011, a majority of U.S. farmers faced extreme challenges. In this blog, I share journal entries from growing a corn crop and the impact on consumers.

In April, the soil temperature and conditions reached optimum time for planting. The family was able to plant many acres of corn before it turned extremely wet and cold. In some fields, the seed remained in the wet, cold soil before sprouting. After a couple weeks of idle time, the family was expecting the seed to rot in the ground. Due to the innovation in seed technology and excellent drainage, the seed slowly began to emerge two weeks later.

In May, the family returned to the fields and finished planting all acres of corn and soybeans. The remaining days of May and June were typical Illinois growing days, shaping an above-average crop, throwing the odds in favor of the farmer.

Then in July, the rains stopped and the heat intensified. As the corn began to pollinate (at a crucial growth stage), the heat index reached 105 plus and still no rain. By the end of August, some of our fields were lucky to receive the ½ inch rain since June 30, missing rainstorms left and right. At this point, the odds for our fields in central Illinois to produce a record-breaking yield are a long shot and in fact I can probably declare it a bust. With the intense heat and lack of rain, the stress of the corn plant is visible. The amazing corn plant is now working overtime to produce kernels on the ear corn.

In the middle of August, the ripening of the corn crop is several weeks ahead of schedule. Sudden death of the plant is evident. Although cooler temperatures and scattered rains were welcome, the delivery point is actually beyond the time to assist the corn plant to yield a 200 bu./acre crop. Several yield checks were done in the area and results were scattered. The prediction ranged from 100 bu./acre to 208 bu./acre, depending on time of planting and amount of rain received.

The family anxiously awaited the dealer’s hand to be revealed -- at which end of the predicted yield range will our corn crop land? Then, kaboom, Mother Nature was not done with our corn crop yet. As the cold front moved in, so did the wind. The corn plant’s stalk was its weakest component. In drought years, the corn plant gives all its nutrients to developing the grain, leaving the stalk system weak and showing malnutrition. Down corn can be hard to pick up and can result in low yields.

A few days before the Labor Day weekend, the corn was below 20% moisture. Ideally, corn is harvested in the 18% moisture range or lower, with 15% the target before facing a drying charge from a grain handler (grain elevator). The family began to harvest. The April planted corn was yielding in the 180 to 200 bu./acre range. However, as we move to harvest with the down corn, the yields drop to 100 bu./acre.

You may be asking yourself why I gave you the diary entries of our corn crop. It is simple. When you read the headlines or hear the latest news mention there is no room to increase the demand of corn, you can recall these journal entries of the Midwest corn crop. Simple journal entries can easily reveal that ethanol is not the culprit. This year, a majority of the agriculture community struggled with some kind of weather obstacle: flood, drought, wind, fire, etc. Even this family farming in the world’s best soil for growing corn and soybeans produced fewer bushels. Multiply that by the majority of Midwest farmers and the result is less corn.  

The amount of farmland is shrinking at an alarming rate. The most recent National Resources Inventory (conducted by the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service), covering the 25-year period between 1982 and 2007, reveals that more than 23 million acres of America’s agricultural land have been lost to development—an area the size of Indiana. We cannot farm concrete, and we cannot wave a magic wand to produce more farmland. So the agriculture community must rely on innovation like biotechnology to increase the odds against Mother Nature and to protect the land, air and water.