Day I

I flew into Omaha, Nebraska airport and got a shuttle ride to the hotel. We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites in Carter Lake, Iowa. We met for dinner in the lobby and rode a shuttle to Blatt Beer and Table. The menu was interesting. I ate the Buffalo Chachos, which I really enjoyed for appetizer. I had the Schnitzel and Spatzle for entrée, which was not bad all, but after our food arrived I was regretting not getting the Chicken and waffles. They looked amazing. It was very good unique pub food. I ended my meal with a Smores Pot de Crème, quite tasty.

After this, we went back to the hotel and had a short meeting about what to expect the next day and off to bed I went.

Day 2

The next morning we left 5 minutes late, ran into a bunch of traffic delays, and were around an hour late to the first stop. The first thought I had getting on the bus was WOW! It was nice and roomy. They even had electrical outlets on every other seat to keep your phone charged.

First Stop: The Feed Yard at Knobbe Feedyards

Harry Knobbe, along with his family, own and operates Knobbe Feed Yards near West Point, Nebraska. The feed yard currently employs around a dozen full-time staff members as well as a few part-time workers. This large-scale operation sources cattle from across the United States and feeds thousands of cattle every year.

The first thing I noticed were the two spots where they had concrete walls with big piles of something with a tarp on it and tires holding the tarp down. I found out later after talking to the owner that it was earl age, which is 75% corn and 25% roughage. There is also a thing he called silage, which is more like 25% corn and 75% roughage.

We talked about the food that they were about to feed the cows. They waited on us to arrive to feed two pens of 250-300 head of cattle for us in order to show us the process. They did not think we would be an hour late. The cows were hungry. He mentioned that when feeding the cows he likes to have 1/3 at the feeder, 1/3 getting up to make their way up there and a 1/3 relaxing still. Of course, we made them wait two hours later than normal so that was not the case. The cows were hungrily looking at us like “FEED ME!!”

The cow’s food is made up of corn, a liquid supplement (vitamin like) which has probiotic qualities in it, sweet bran (corn gluten feed; aka cow candy), ground corn (by product of ethanol plants, aka cow candy), ground hay, and earl age.

Depending upon the age of the cow and how long it has been on the lot will depend on the formula the nutritionists will give these animals. On this particular lot they did 6 rations. Starting from ration 1 for newbies and ration 6 for the ready-for-processing. From what I understood,  ration 1 was mainly roughage and small amounts of all the ingredients previously mentioned. Ration 6 was small amount of roughage and larger amount of other ingredients. Also, there are no added fats to any of the cows foods. Plenty of fats are in the ingredients, naturally.

The goal is for the cows to gain 3.5-4 pounds a day at this particular lot. They feed twice a day.

The finishing weight to process steer / cows is 1400-1450 pounds.

For every 1 pound of feed these cows eat, they drink 4 pounds of water. Their water bill must be outrageous.

Cows come from all over the United States to feed lots in Nebraska. The Nebraska Beef council gets $1 for every cow sold in Nebraska. Some cows get sold 3 times.

They have to document all water runoff of the yard. When it rains the water contains fecal matter, which is good for fertilizer.  So they have catch areas and they ultimately pump it to a reservoir to sell as fertilizer. They also regularly have to box grade the pens to keep them clean and not muddy. No cow wants to walk through mud and poop to eat. A happy cow is a healthy cow and a healthy cow gains weight faster. They do everything they can to make the environment great for the cows. They have concrete where they eat so it isn’t muddy even when it does rain. They also have shade when it is hot. They have these scrub brushes that they can rub up against to help them shed and keep them from doing that against the fence and knocking that over.  They have a constant water supply. They say they eat better than humans (but that’s hard for me to believe because I am a Chef).

A cowboy rides the pens everyday to make sure no cows are sick. If they are sick they get taken to a special hospital area and fed a special food and if that doesn’t work they call a vet. The vet stops by no matter what once a month. On a typical month they have to call the vet twice. Some months pass and they never have to call the vet. During other months, the vet is called 4 times. Getting a good vet is of high importance. Pneumonia is the top killer of feed yards and cattle. This particular yard has a 7 tenth death rate.

They don’t scream at their cows or hit them.

They process every cow that comes to them. They also deworm, vaccinate, give antibiotics, and make sure the animal is up to date on all of its shots. If they treat the animal after that, they give them a special white tag in the right ear to mark that treatment.

The biggest thing they need help with is marketing to public. The bad guys are doing a better job and have more resources than these farmers do.

We went to Dusters for lunch and had to eat quickly to try and make up for the 1 hour delay. I can say that the waitstaff was super-organized and they did everything they could to get us fed quickly. The atmosphere was unique and they made their own beer in-house. It had the feel of a diner when you walked in. The open kitchen was nice for me, because I like to see what is going on in the kitchen. I ate the Chubby Melt and French Fries.

Don Pregrine, Fullerton, Nebraska

Don Pregrine is a third generation rancher near Fullerton, Nebraska. His family raises around 200 Braunvieh-Angus Cross cows in pastures. The pastures consist of rolling, upland Sandhills, as well as lowland pastures along the Loup River, both of which consist of native prairie grasses. In addition to the breeding and calving operation, Peregrine Ranch also finishes their cattle in a small feed yard setting.

Don was a very good speaker for his first time in front of people. He did a great job of explaining his passion for the process that he has been taught and also perfected.

He breeds smaller Braunvieh cows with Angus cows to get the perfect cow. If I understood properly, it made for a shorter stockier cow.

His breeding process was intriguing to me. He takes his cows and puts them with a bull for the 60 days starting on June 20^th. His heifers (female cows before having their first calf) only get 30 days with the Bull. If the cow is not pregnant in these days he sells them. The reason for the 60 day with bull is for him to only have a calving process from April – May.  If they do not get pregnant and produce a calf then they cannot eat the grass and feed. It only costs him money.

He puts his calves and cows in a sand prairie where he plants rye grass in the fall to give them fresh grass during winter and the first of spring.

He didn’t feed any of the cows corn (think deer season corn)  like I believed that they would before this great tour. It was all by product like in the first Feed lot.

He gives all his calves 4 shots at birth (immunization shot, intestinal shot, vitamin/mineral shot and a pink eye shot). He also puts a fly repellant on their backs.

He treats his calves with oral antibiotics in the field where they feel comfortable in their natural environment.

He uses well water instead of ponds. His land is kept with great care for the cows and also it is a benefit for the wildlife. It’s a good refuge for the wildlife.

At calving he tags them, writes in his trusty note book. If it is a male he castrates right then. If it is a brawny, he rubs an ointment on the spot where they would have horns, so they will not grow.

He also weans his calves differently than most. He keeps them in the prairie they are in but separates them by a fence.  So the calf can still eat the same feed as it’s momma and and also see, touch and talk with momma. They can still rub against each other and be near each other, but just weaned in a more humane manner. It is sess stress for all parties. After 3 days like this the calf is weaned and he moves the cows to a different pasture while letting the calves stay where they are. This is a less stressful situation for everyone.

One last thing that was interesting to me, he has 4 children (3 daughters and 1 son). Two of his daughters were there the day we were, helping with his presentation. But none of them are going to carry on the family legacy right now. They are going to let all the three generations of work go, that has been built up. He assumes that they will split it up when he passes. Hopefully one of them will get interested and make it a fourth generation farm. It was an amazing story he told. It made me want to ask him if he needed someone to move and start the process of learning what he does. But I think for now I will keep cooking and teaching.

Third stop- Ryan and June Loseke DVM

Ryan and June Loseke are large animal veterinarians who also operate a farm near Columbus, Nebraska where they raise corn and feed cattle. Each one earned a degree in veterinary medicine from Kansas State University in 1995. The Loseke’s will visit with us about raising corn and other feed sources for cattle.

They have 3,500 head of cattle or they do that a year. I may have misunderstood this part. But they have a large grazing area. They vaccinate all their cattle. They also have 1,700 acres of farm land that they grow corn and soybeans. They use very little antibiotics in the feed yard. They also grow alfalfa for roughage for the cattle to eat. They are 7^th generation cattle ranchers and 5^th generation farmers.

We had been behind schedule all day and we got there and June had a cold, but she was still working and going like she didn’t have it, but she had lost her voice. Her youngest son did as much talking as a young teenager could do in front of 20 strangers. He did a very good job. They were a very busy family and with the weather the way it had been, they were rushing trying to get the crop in the ground. We were able to go by and see Ryan on his planter, rushing to beat the rain to get his crop in.

They mentioned how they cared for their animals like they were a part of the family. They also mentioned they had mainly Black Angus cows and raised a very high grade of cattle. Upper end choice and prime were the grades of meat when the animals were processed. They mentioned that companies come looking for their cows and have bidding wars for them. I can respect this, because when you put that time and effort into raising an animal you want to make sure you get the best price.

The son mentioned how they do get attached to some cows or calves when they are young. Especially if they had trouble at some point and they had to take care of them. But no matter what they understand that a cow is “steak on legs”. So we are meant to eat the food we raise and dogs and cats are pets. You could tell they put pride into having top quality beef come from their feed yards. They were sending out a bunch of cattle this day and also were getting a new load in the same day. So they had a lot going on, and still decided to take time and talk to us and show use their operation. It was a quicker stop and not as detailed as the others, but I come from Arkansas so I had seen a Combine, Planter and Spray rig before. But, I can imagine that some of the tour members didn’t realize how much they cost and how they have come a long ways these days with farm equipment.

Columbus, Nebraska

We went from here to a steak dinner from the local cattlemen and beef producers in Columbus, Nebraska. The atmosphere reminded me of a small town place for a country dance. It looked just like a building I remember going to as a child, in small town Arkansas. It had the same vinyl or linoleum tile floor and wood paneling bar. It was a very unique venue. The cattlemen cooked a great ribeye, twice baked mashed potatoes, sauteed 5 way veggies, rolls, and salad. One one of the cattlemen’s wives make old school strawberry pie and cool-whip whip cream. It is the strawberry pie where you cook a pie crust and then put whole strawberries in the crust plate side down after you cut the tops off. They you pour strawberry jello to fill up pie. Then chill till service. It was good company and great food. It was the best meal on the trip to me. Then we were off to the hotel for sleep. Long day and early morning. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Columbus, Nebraska.

Day 3

The next morning we left on time from the hotel. Both mornings we ate continental breakfast at the hotel. I have to mention one thing about the breakfast here. It had an automatic pancake maker. You push a button and then 2 minutes later you had a pancake come out the other end. It was really neat. It was on a conveyor belt machine.

Cargill Processing Plant

Cargill employs approximately 2,150 people. The plant processes around 5,000 head of cattle per day and has a cold storage facility on-site. Cargill is the industry leader in ground beef products and currently distributes beef products from this plant to retail and food service operations all over the world. The products are sold under various branded programs such as Excel, Angus Pride, and Sterling Silver. The beef processing facility takes pride in contributing to the local community through volunteer hours and support of the local United Way. Cargill also operates an on-site learning center which is open to the public and provides ESL, GED, and citizenship classes.

Wow! What a tour! The first thing we did when we pulled up was go to the sign-in location where we had to show our ID and get a name tag. Then we went to a conference room, waited on the tour guides, and had a short video presentation. Next we had to get suited up, which included boots, white butchering coat, hair net, ear phones to listen to the tour guide (the place was very loud,),  a hard hat, and protective glasses. We got split up into two groups and started our tour.

The tour started in the meat storage room. It was where the boxed meat was stored and getting ready for distribution. They had a huge automatic machine that stored hundreds of thousands of boxes of meat. The machine put it in slots from floor to ceiling. It was an amazing process to watch. They showed us how it was packed, sorted with the machine, how they loaded the trucks, and how the pallets were readied for trucks that were leaving that day or the next.

We moved our way to the cutting floor. I was in heaven. They run two shifts at the plant, I am going to estimate that there were 600 people on the floor, cutting some part of the cow. Everything was on a conveyor belt system and each person pretty much did one thing all shift. Someone would cut the flank out and send it down the conveyor belt. They did this with every cut of cow that you would see in a grocery store. But what was amazing to me is that they did this every day for 8 hours a day until they moved to another cut.

After seeing this part which was way too fast paced for me. I wanted to stay and watch for hours, but I know we had a schedule to keep. Next we saw the grading system, which was super cool. At this facility they had a camera grading system. So they put a camera on the ribeye and it did the quality control for them. They take a picture, grade it, stamp it and off to the cooler it goes to sit for 36 hours. Then the next day they start production and start highest grade to lowest grade.

Off to the hide room! We got to see the large animal  killed and bled on video. The reason why we watched it on video is because the person doing the job didn’t need distractions and doesn’t need to make a mistake. They are as humane as possible and take great pride in doing this properly. The reason we couldn’t watch it in person, because when you walk into the plant and any area or time the workers look up at you and it can cause them to make a mistake. Whatever that mistake is it multiplied at a facility like this. Sharp knives. We were on scaffolding above everyone during 87% of the tour.

We then watched in person the animal broken down to half steers for production. It was amazing to watch and but a little graphic for some people. But I really enjoyed it. The room was oddly hot to me (like really moist and humid), but they had their reasons but I don’t recall exactly why. The hides from each cow get used to make boots and other leather items. 95% of this plants hides go to Red Wing boots and 5% go over seas. The blood was dehydrated, and the tongues and other offal separated for use. They said the only thing that is not used is the tail swoosh (the hairy part and the end of the tail) and the vocal chords.

When we finished with that they took us back to the conference room for a Q & A. Did I mention the conference room was top notch service? They had a fully stocked fridge with candy, drinks (Coke and Pepsi products) water, and other healthy snacks. The people on the floor cutting meat start out anywhere from $15-$19 an hour. They have internships available during the summer. They produce 3 million pounds of ground beef a week. They also had the biggest restaurant in the town and it was their cafeteria. They said they eat a lot of beef (imagine that). Every night the place is completely cleaned by an outside vendor. It was a great tour and I would love to go back.

After this we headed to lunch at J’s Steakhouse in Fremont, Nebraska.

We had a Q & A there also with our great guide Adam Wagner from the Nebraska Beef Council. The meal was good but the worst meal of the tour. They gave us two choices, which were a black and blue salad or Philly cheesesteak. I went with Philly and sweet potato fries. It was ok but the sandwich was lacking greatness. I understand the reasoning behind the limited menu, but the salad looked a whole look better.

After lunch we were off to the airport to start our travels back home. All went well until I got to Chicago and a storm moved in and I didn’t get home until 1:30 a.m. from Clinton Airport. But at least I got home safe and sound.

All in all I would recommend this tour for everyone and wish we could get it out to the public via video so they wouldn’t feel so bad about delicious beef and the farming industry.

FUN Facts

Nebraska exported 1 billion dollars in beef last year.

Which country exports the most beef in the world? #1 India #2 Brazil

Which country imports the most? #1 USA

The USA produces 20% of the beef in the US, with 7% of the cattle. Interesting fact.

Great website to visit is factsaboutbeef.com