In honor of National Beef Month, I asked a friend and fellow CommonGround volunteer from Nebraska, Dawn Caldwell of Lady of Ag blog, to tell us about her family and their love for their cattle. She also shares a yummy beef recipe at the end!
For the Love of It…
Sara was very kind to invite me to do a guest post on her blog this week and I am truly honored! Since May is Beef Month (in our house every month is beef month and every day is beef day!), she asked me to talk about a few different things: why our family does what we do (i.e. attempt to explain our craziness); describe our operation (rather humble accommodations, but I’ll do my best); and most importantly, a DELICIOUS beef recipe. ☺
So – here it goes…We are the Caldwell’s; Matt, Dawn, Kaydee, and Emmet and we raise cattle for beef (and have other jobs and businesses though we wish we had more cows so we could cut back on some of the diversity ☺).
Our pastures are in North Central Kansas where most years we wish we would get more rain, we have absolutely wonderful neighbors, very little traffic passes on our roads, the occasional coyote, bobcat, many turkeys, lots of deer, and far too many cedar trees can be seen invading our grass (said trees offer earning potential for the kids – one can get to be pretty good friends with a pair of loppers!).
All of our calves are born in the spring each year. We start the first of March and strive to be done by the end of April at the latest. To accomplish this takes constant management of the mama cows – they must be kept in good body condition, receive optimum nutrition, and the bulls must be able to do their job when they get turned out.
We wean the calves (take them away from their mama’s) in the early fall – usually by October 1st at the latest. They are started on grain and go to a feedyard to be finished. We keep several at our place and feed them and sell them to people who want to have them butchered locally. I have to admit, it is quite a luxury to have beef in the freezer all of the time, and everyone who buys from us must think so, too!
So, why do we work hard all year to get the majority of our income all at once and then have much of that go toward a payment at the bank? For the love of it! I am sure many family businesses are similarly rewarding, but I only know cattle and farming. As a wife, it is hard to describe the fulfillment one feels when you work with your husband and/or kids to save a calf that was born in the cold, or see the results of that genetic mating when it works out just as you hoped it would. We absolutely make enjoyment out of work (o.k. – I will admit, often I am on the receiving end of torment and torture and the other three are very clever!) and I can’t imagine us not having cattle. As a mom, I could not be more proud of my kids for being responsible with their chores (which are much more than taking the trash out!). If Kaydee and Emmet don’t do their chores, part of the animals go hungry or don’t have water – that is simply not acceptable! Our vacations are “showcations” spent at fairs or other cattle shows and our weekends are full of sorting cattle, vaccinating calves, weaning, fixing fence, or whatever needs done at the time and we wouldn’t change it for anything! ☺
So – to summarize all of that in a couple of sentences…My kids and husband find great humor in ganging up on the one who washes their cow-poopy clothes and I love every second of it. We live in Nebraska and keep our cows in Kansas – that is a long story. And, even though there is endless work, market unpredictability, bad weather, and poopy clothes, we are doing what we love. I am SO THANKFUL someone else makes clothes I can buy in a store so I don’t have to sew and someone else keeps dairy cows so I don’t have to in order to have milk in the fridge and yet other people raise pigs so we can enjoy bacon and while they do all of that, we get to have beef cattle. For me, that is perfect. ☺
Alright – now, for what you have all been waiting for! The recipe! I know that in some households, meatloaf of not a favorite. I would contend that those households have not tried MY meatloaf! In fact, we just had it tonight and there are no leftovers! Admittedly, I am not good at officially measuring, so here is a set of “instructions.”
Dawn’s Meatloaf
Dawn’s Meatloaf
In a large bowl, mix 1.5 pounds lean ground beef, 2 eggs, some oatmeal (if I had to guess, 2/3 cup), some diced fresh onion (optional) and salt and pepper (not optional). Mix it up really well and put in a 9” square baking dish. It is important that the meat mixture is smoothed out and pressed completely against the sides of the pan. Now, mix 1 cup ketchup, ½ cup (or maybe a little more) brown sugar, and some vinegar (probably about 3 Tbsp). Stir until sugar dissolves. Now, you must taste it – yes, this is absolutely necessary. The sauce is the total secret to the amazingness of this recipe! If the sauce isn’t tangy, sweet, and absolutely delicious, it isn’t right yet and you need to keep adding each ingredient in small amounts until you get the right flavor. Once it is perfect, pour it over the meat that has been pressed into the dish and bake in a 350* oven for about 40 to 45 minutes. This recipe should probably serve six. In our house, it serves four. ☺ Enjoy and Happy Beef Month!
(I really wanted to post a picture of the meatloaf, but it’s all been eaten and I have way, way more pictures of cows on my computer than I do food…If you have questions as you prepare it, feel free to contact me!)
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