Over 100 of you voted in the second BEEF Daily Summer Contest, and the results are in! The top ten boasted great photos including: cattle at the fair, cattle at sunset, cattle in the pasture, cattle in the feedlot and even kids and cattle. The collection of photos in the album, Photo Call, illustrates a diversity in this beef industry that we can all appreciate. So, in this final day in August, I’m ready to announce the winners of this very competitive photo contest. For those of you that missed out this time; don’t worry, there are plenty more contests to come. Now, for the winners…

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Wow! I’m ecstatic about the awesome response we have received for the second BEEF Daily Summer Photography Contest. So many of you entered, and now even more of you are showing up to vote for your favorite photos. Remember, today is your last day to vote for the winners of this contest. The two photos that receive the most votes will win Western art prints courtesy of BEEF Magazine. Winners will be posted on Monday, so tune in next week for the big announcement! Thanks again for your participation!

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A few weeks ago, I attended Cargill’s “Starting Strong” Seminar in Brookings, S.D. where I had the opportunity to listen to a market outlook and trends update from Randy Blach of Cattle-Fax. He discussed beef supply and demand, an update on the recession, predictions for corn prices, tips to manage risk and creating a market plan. Listen to what Randy had to say about the current state of the beef industry in my interview with him below.

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If you haven’t read the corresponding TIME article that goes with today’s headline, Getting Real About the High Cost of Food, then you are in for a real headache. TIME Magazine decided to give its two cents on our nation’s food supply, blaming farmers and ranchers for sins such as: environmental destruction, obesity, antibiotic resistance and animal abuse. The author of said article, Bryan Walsh, did grant that America’s farmers and ranchers can efficiently and affordably feed our growing world; however, he didn’t seem too worried about the millions of people that go hungry every night. Quite frankly, this article is full of outright lies about the agriculture industry, and after you read it, I’m certain you will agree.

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In May, I shared with you my struggles as I turned down exciting jobs to take a risk and move home to join my family’s cow/calf business while also working as a self-employed writer and speaker. Yet, I realized over the weekend that I have hardly written about my post-graduation transition back home to my family’s cattle operation. I’ve been keeping busy informing you about my travels, hosting fun contests, reporting on HSUS activity and covering the movements of bills in Congress. However, I have said little about what ranching has actually been like as a next-generation cattle producer, and over the weekend, I had quite the reality check in what this life truly entails.

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I’m excited to report that the participation in the second 2009 BEEF Daily Summer Photography Contest far exceeded my expectations. I received a fantastic collection of cattle photos from all across the country, and they are now online for you to view, as well. It was so much fun looking through all of the entries. Photos sent in represented various breeds, backgrounds and families. Obviously, judging was really tough, so tough, that we couldn’t select two winners. Instead, our judges have narrowed the photos down to ten finalists, and it’s going to be up to YOU to select our two winners.

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It’s a big week in my hometown of Mitchell, S.D. It’s Dakotafest, an annual outdoor farm show that takes place on the Schlaffman Farm outside of town. The show includes more than 500 companies on over 45 acres of land and features field demonstrations, livestock handling and horse training events, educational seminars, entertainment and a place for enthusiastic agriculturalists to meet. Dakotafest runs Tuesday-Thursday, and I’m trying to take in the event highlights. Today, I will be listening in on an agriculture issues forum with Senator John Thune and Representative Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin both participating on the panel. I’m looking forward to the upcoming debate. Yesterday, I listened in on an incredibly informative presentation given by Financial Consultant Todd Muehler from First National Bank South Dakota. For any rancher planning to pass down the family cattle operation, he covered some good points to consider.

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Has a year really gone by already? Last summer was a dream come true for me. It seems like yesterday when I was sitting in my office at BEEF Magazine working as an intern and scrambling to complete my next article and finish my proposal for the new BEEF Daily. I also spent a month in Argentina with SDSU for a Spanish study abroad trip. While there, I lived in the eighth largest city in the world, Buenos Aires, tasted wines near the Andes Mountains and explored the rainforest at Iguazu Falls. Looking back, I know that my last summer before I graduated college will be one I will always remember.

Last week, when I attended the Starting Strong Feedlot Seminar in Brookings, S.D. I was excited to meet Cargill’s Dr. Pablo Guiroy as he is originally from Argentina. We spent a lot of time talking about the perils of the Argentine rancher, and I had a chance to interview him, as well. He gave a dynamic presentation on evaluating receiving diets, economics and additives. He also shared his thoughts on the global beef market and his views of the beef industry in Brazil in Argentina. Listen to what Dr. Guiroy had to say in my interview with him.

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It seems like everyday another celebrity has announced their new vegetarian/vegan status. A long list of celebrities such as Chelsea Clinton, Kristen Bell, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler and Joaquin Phoenix have all used their celebrity status as a platform for promoting this “trendy” diet. Yet, pop culture seems to have mixed views on “going veggie.” I was flipping through a popular women’s magazine over the weekend, and found a startling hypocrisy. On one page was a list of things considered attractive in popular culture, and vegans made the list. However, on the health pages, I found a contradictory article titled, “The Truth About Going Veggie.” Here is what it said…

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Yesterday, I took in the 26th Annual Ag Appreciation Day at the Sioux Empire Fair in Sioux Falls, S.D. My sister was competing in the 4-H CHARACTER COUNTS! speech contest, so we spent the day exploring the fair and meeting with farmers and ranchers around the country. Over 5,000 agriculturalists and their families showed up for a free luncheon, where over 1,650 pounds of pork was served. It was a great day to celebrate agriculture and visit with friends, old and new. We even stopped by Old MacDonald’s Farm as young people worked hard to tell the food production story to a very urban audience.

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