Ebersole Cattle Company

What breed is best for finishing on grass?  Well, there is tons of debate, and no "right" answer.

We raise Maine-Anjou and (Black) Angus cattle.  First a little about our Maine cows.  They are a dual purpose breed of cattle that was imported from France.  The Maine-Anjou breed was developed in the Maine and Anjou counties of France.  Most cattlemen in France do not feed grains to their animals, thus the Maine-Anjou cow is perfect for grass development.  These cows were originally Red and White. Maine -Anjou cows have a great disposition and are perfect for a small family farm.  The cows have a good amount of milk, and are very good mothers.  Another benefit to finishing Maine-Anjou calves is that they are quick growers.  A typical Maine will finish in 12-16 months in a grain-fed operation.  We harvest our grass-fed Maine  calves at about 14-19 months.  This is a great benefits to both the animals and our bottom line.  When you harvest an animal younger you will have meat that is much more tender and flavorful!

Angus cattle or "Black Angus" cattle have been the best marketed cattle in the united states.  They have tons of consumer recognition and can be good cows.    Angus do have more marbling traits.  Meaning that you should get more internal fat in a steak which will provide additional flavor.  We have selected our Angus cows for maternal ability and carcass traits.

We have crossed our foundation Maine-Anjou Cows with Registered Angus cows.  This cross has tons of benefits.  With a cross of two purebred animals you will get the best of both worlds with milk, muscle and flavor.  I hesitate to use the word "hybrid" but with crossbreeding you will get NATURAL Hybrid vigor without any chemicals, antibiotics or hormones.

I hope I haven't bored you with a discussion of our beef genetics.  I just thought you might like to know a little more about our cows and why our beef is EXTREMELY tender and flavorful!!

We do have a quarter of 100% grass-fed beef available.  And we have more 100% ground beef bundles available.  Check out our store.

Have a great day!!

Shanen -Momma to the Mama Cows at the Ebersole Cattle Co

I have suffered with low Iron for 9 (diagnosed) years, and probably many before then.

This is what a small scrape will look like only hours afterwards if my Iron is low.  This scrape was barely noticable when it happened.

When I had our son, I had an emergency C-Section and bled aLOT on the table.  I lost over 2.5 pints of blood.  They wanted to give me blood and a transfusion, but I politely declined.  I was also told that my Iron was 6 points too low, and if it did not improve within the next 48 hours I would NEED the transfusion. 

Well, we set out to fix that in the next 24 hours I had eaten over 20 ounces of beef  (EBERSOLE BEEF).   I kept eating beef and everything green under the sun.  Plenty of yogurt too, so that the Calcium would help me replentish my blood supply.  My iron improved several points and I was allowed to go home (while nursing my son) and have my levels checked in 3 days.  As long as I was able to keep increasing my levels, I would not need the transfusion.

Once we were home, My wonderful Husband cleaned out our deep freeze and found every last package of liver possible.  (EWWW)  I don't like liver, but I wanted to keep my body mine and not have a transfusion.

My doctors were impressed.  That is an understatement.  He asked me EXACTLY what was I doing and eating.  I simply said beef, lots and lots of HOME RAISED beef!  Wow, was he amazed.  I don't have high cholesterol, and he now understood how.....  HOME RAISED.  He even went so far as to ask how we raised our cattle.   He was happy to hear that we pastured our beef.  huh?? 

What I didn't know then, was that he had been researching nutrition and the relationship to what each animal was fed.  This led me to start doing some of my own research and observations.

When I am consistent with a low carb, high protein (MEAT) diet, I have NO iron issues.  When I am off track, and we eat alot, and eat a ton of pasta.....IRON problems (like the one you see above).

So, if you have low iron, EAT MEAT, specifically home raised pastured beef!

EBERSOLE BEEF

Eat happy beef!

Shanen - Mama to the MamaCows at the Ebersole Ranch

Well, we live in the middle of nowhere.  When I drive out to go check cows, this is my view for about 2 miles.

I enjoy living out in the country, but it is hard to find good help.  But, having a family farm, means that I DO have some help.

My help is little right now, but they're learning!  My Cowgirl is great.  She can open gates, and with the help of a good dog, she can move cows pretty good!

These are the happy beef out in our pasture!  These cows and calves live the good life!! They get to graze and walk and move to new pasture each week.

Now is the time of year when we are harvesting GROUND BEEF!  So, I have put some of our Ground Beef Bundles on SPECIAL!!  I have added some new bundles of 50#.  If you live in Iowa or within 50 miles of any Iowa Border, I will ship your beef for free (you have to call me).

If you do call my cell, I might even throw in a discount for a reservation of a Refrigerator Sized Bundle of ALL Steaks this week.  Call me and reserve your Winter BEEF Quarter this week.  I'll make it worth your time!

Enjoy the view!  I get to see it first hand, as I go check cows.

Shanen-Mama to the Momma-Cows at the Ebersole Ranch

We moved cows the other day.  I thought that I would share some of the beautiful views.  This is one of my most favorite views on the earth.  Cows out front moving together to new fresh grass.

Beau is on a Quarter Horse we raised "Ozzie" who is King P234 bred, and I am on Dakota Red Buck (our Stud).  'Koda was pulled out of the mare band just one hour before this picture was taken.  He hadn't been ridden much this spring and not at all since April when the first colts were born and he was let out with the mares.  He was an awesome horse to ride and has tons of cow!!

We grouped these cows from about 130 acres and then pushed them through another  60 acre Timber area and through a creek to the hilltop.   We like to walk the cows and once an old cow finds the gate, she usually remembers where they are going.  This is really important because we added about 20 new cows to this group, and they took a while to group up near the gate.  But, once they did, it went well.

It was a little slow going, because a new calf was born that morning.  He was up and going, but a little wobbly and his umbilical cord was still a little wet.  Mama-Cow did NOT want Beau to put her baby on his horse, and was a little aggressive about it.  So, we walked her slowly and he kept up pretty good.  We tried again to sneak the baby up, for a ride, but again, Momma-cow was having none of it.

I hope you enjoy our little cattle drive.  It was fun!!  This next picture is the best view you can get from the back of a horse.  Cows walking to the next pasture in a nice neat group.

We still have a few Refrigerator Bundles available.  And we are now accepting reservations for Winter Harvested Beef Quarters and Halves.

http://www.localharvest.org/small-pastured-beef-bundle-C13892

Drop me a note at Ebersolecattleco@yahoo.com to reserve your beef now.

Have a great day!!

Shanen- Momma to the Mama-Cows at the Ebersole Ranch

Just wanted to let everyone know that we have a new product in our LocalHarvest Store.

Wow! It seems like just yesterday that these little guys were trying to walk into my house.

Now, those little guys, are this big out in the pasture. Next weekend, we will have our first round-up of the fall season.

We will be grouping about 50 cows together and driving them about a mile on horseback and up into the corrals set up in the pasture. Its scheduled to be a fun and sunny day!

If you would like to come and visit and reserve your beef for next year, just call me and I can probably get you directions. (btw, we'll be at a pasture that has all dirt roads leading to it)

Take a look at our LocalHarvest Store, I'm trying to put up some new smaller bundles that will fit in a typical, refrigerator/freezer and are very economical! Keep checking, as it might take a couple of days to get to view the new bundles that are available for purchase NOW.

http://www.localharvest.org/store/M24259

Shanen

A happy Mama to the MamaCows at Ebersole Cattle Co

WOW!! This summer has flown by!!  State Fair is over, and I'm ready for an Indian Summer (or a continuation of our cool summer).

Fair went well.  My little cowgirl showed her first calf at State Fair & did a great job!  She had Reserve Champion Winter Calf with her heifer.  Freedom (the heifer) did great and ate well the entire week.  I'm a nervous Mama and always worry excessively about my animals when we take them off the farm.  The Winter Bull we took (ULTIMATE 879U) was Champion Winter Bull.

So, it was a pretty good week!  We had fun at the fair too!

The kids & I rounded up our escape artist of a Red Beef Calf this morning and took him to the locker.  All went well, and he followed me right into the trailer without any stress. 

This is SO EXCITING!!!! Why, you may ask???

Well, this means that "I DID IT!"  I sold all of our SpringBorn Beef Calves!! And I have all of our Fall Born Calves pre-ordered!

This is AMAZING to me!!!  I knew that if I took care of our calves well, treated them with respect and love, that other people would know this and also want to enjoy our beef.  In the past we have only raised a couple of select beef calves for us and our family.

So, we are now planning next years beef herd.  We have been carefully selecting our beef calves and replacement heifers that we will keep for next year.  These animals are of the highest quality with the best mama cows.

If you want to reserve your beef for next year, now would be a great time!  You could even come to round up day, and enjoy a beautiful day out in the pasture moving the pairs to the hilltop and bringing them home to wean.

This is also a wonderful time of year because our fall cows are starting to calve.  We have to drive very carefully out in the pasture, so that we don't accidentally find a new calf in the tall grass.  It is so cute to see a little head peeking thru the tall grass while mama grazes nearby.

I hope you are all enjoying the summertime weather!

Shanen : )

Mama to the MamaCows at EbersoleCattleCompany

Buy Great Beef at http://www.localharvest.org/store/M24259

It's summer Show Time! We always have a couple of really great heifers to show at some shows through the summer.

Here is my oldest little Cowgirl with her heifer "Freedom".  This picture was taken at her very first show a couple of weeks ago.  They were named Grand Champion New Calf Crop.

This year we will also have a Fall born bull at the Iowa State Fair.

We'll have tons of fun showing our animals and helping our kids learn.  Right now, my Cowgirl gets up at 5am and goes outside with her Dad to wash her heifer and feed her every day.

I think that this kind of dedication to our animals and hard work will serve her well in her future.

If any of you are coming to the Iowa State Fair, drop us a note so that you can come pet a calf or meet us and reserve your Winter Beef now.

We have 3 beefs that have not been spoken for yet, and we will reserve now for Winter Delivery (you can pick a date from November thru February).

I hope y'all are enjoying your summer and having fun in the sun!!

Well, it is that time of year.  HARVEST TIME.  We have been busy AI'ing cows, and making sure that all of the calves are healthy on pasture.

And feeding the beef.  The beef have been growing great and we have 2 calves that are finishing size.  All of the beef that has been sold is currently "aging" at the locker.  These steers will be aged for 21 days to get the best flavor and tenderness.

I do have 1 more steer that is finished and just needs to find a home in a couple of people's freezers.

So, if you want great beef, with GREAT flavor and tenderness, drop me an e-mail and I will get you a very great price!

Hope the spring rains have treated you well!!

Shanen : )

Well, calving season is REALLY here!  We are almost half way through the season.  We now have our first group sorted so we can start breeding them.

Last week we were able to turn the GRASS FED BEEF calves out to pasture.  They are still supplemented with hay, but the grass is starting to grow.  Such a beautiful sight!  Calves grazing and foraging is a wonderful sight after such a long winter.

Here's a cute picture of a little one who was born on a cold rainy night, and was escorted into the house to warm up.  In the morning, I awoke to him trying to open the door to come IN my kitchen.  He didn't want to stay in the laundry room.  We took him back out to mama, and he drank like a pro!  It's always my worry that I have touched them too much, and then its a ton of work to get the cow to readily accept them again.  Not this mama, she wanted him the second we pulled him (on the sled) into the barn.  YEAH!!

You can see, by the calf in my house (one of many) that we REALLY care for our cattle.  We give them the BEST care possible!

All of our Spring BEEF has been sold, but we do have some fall beef still available!  Stop here and take a look.  We would love to customize your order of a full share of beef.  We can make sure you get the specific cuts and sized packages that YOUR family will enjoy!  We deliver to Omaha, Kansas City and the Quad Cities.  So, odds are, if you are within 300 miles of us, we can make a stop in YOUR area to deliver some fantastic beef.

As always, if you are in the area, just drop me a note and you can stop by the Ranch and see the calves and cows.  We even have a bottle calf you might get to feed, and the chickens ar making plenty of extra eggs if you need any. 

Happy Easter!

Well, spring has sprung on the ranch.  That means cows mooing in the pasture to new calves, babies everywhere, and new grass. 

We have had some grass start to grow, and are looking forward to new entirely green pastures in about 2 weeks.  The AI season has begun and we are planning to breed several hundred head of cows for other cattlemen in the next couple of weeks.

I am enjoying my time away from 20 buckets of feed for the calves.  All of the Corn-fed calves are now on self feeders, and thus we only have to fill them about once a week.  The replacement heifers will be on grass soon and we won't have to feed them as much either.

We have sold all of the calves except those we will make into beef, so speak up soon if you would like to try some of our great beef!

If you would like to stop by the Ranch and see the baby calves, call and I will set up a time.

Now that the Spring Calves have been sold, it is time to concentrate on the Fall Calves.  Beef that is.  We are now starting to sell Fall Shares.  This beef will be harvested in September.  We have a total of 8 calves that we are keeping for beef this fall.

It is imperative that you reserve your beef in advance.  This is especially important if you would like GRASS-FED beef.  The Grass calves will be turned out to pasture in a week, and the rest will be fed corn.

I really like the way these fall calves are looking, and will have some pictures for you soon.

Sorry I don't have much time to post right now, as we are in the middle of calving season.  We have about 30 calves on the ground, with more coming every day.

Well, we are in the thick of it!  Calving Time.   So far, we have about 20 calves alive and healthy. 

As you can see, we have been doing everything we can to get them warm and dry.  Including letting them inside our house, well the laundry room.

This little gal was born last night in single digit weather and was very cold.  You can see how new he is by his still red umbilical cord.

We have had 6 "houseguests" in the past 3 days of rainy cold weather.  All of our previous houseguests are doing great and are back outside with their mothers.

I have been exited by all of our calves, because they are soo food.  We think that this year's crop will be some of our best beef yet!

We have sold out of beef to be harvested in June.  We are starting to reserve calves for September Harvest.  Take a look at our store, or drop us an e-mail.

Our life on the Ranch has reached the busiest time of year! Calving time!  We also have been able to (so far) keep all of our '08 spring and fall calves.  We have sold several steers in our CSA pay as you go program, and have selected 13 heifers to stay in our herd.

We have 10 (hopefully 11 when I check heifers after posting this) calves on the ground right now.  Most of these early calves are purebred Maine Anjou calves.  We will keep some of these heifers in the herd, and offer the rest of the great ones to other MaineAnjou breeders.

Unfortunately, we must sell some of our calves.  Fortunately, we have Local Harvest, to help us sell some of these calves to locals (we will drive a long way to deliver great beef).  So, we are again having a BEEF SALE!  If you sign up for any size CSA share this month (February) we will also add an additional 25 pounds of Ground Beef.  The ground beef will be delivered immediately upon receipt of your down payment.  This will allow you to taste some of the great flavor that will be harvested in June.

Call us to help you determine what size share will best fit your family.

We LOVE to have visitors, and now is a great time with all of the cute calves on the ground!

Shanen

First of all, sorry for all of the time away from blogging.  Hope all y'all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We have 3 new puppies!!!  There are only three, because Rosie wasn't supposed to get bred this time, but Chilli, (our blue heeler working dog) couldn't help but take his girl for a 2 hour run one day.  Theese dogs will be great workers and family members.  If you are interested, just drop us a line.

Meanwhile back at the ranch...We have been busy!!!  We realised in early in December, that the Tax Man was gonna get us this year if we didn't act fast.  You see, he doesn't like it when you sell a large ranch and downsize.  Even if you use all the cash to pay off debt and purchase the new farm.  So, after a couple of meetings with our CPA, we decided to increase our cowherd!   YEAH!!  We don't have to run as many outside cows (cows other people own).  So a shoppin we went.

We bought 15 new cows at two Maine-Anjou dispersal sales.  And, we also purchased 18 new Angus cattle from Werner's in Diagonal.  With some heifers, we bought at some local sales, we have increased our herd by 40 head.  I can't tell you how excited I am for my new girls to calve!!

Our barn finishing touches are coming along, and we will soon have lights and our waterer pads poured.

We have a couple of beef that will be harvested on Tuesday.  We will have about  800 total pounds of LEAN ground beef.  YEAH!!  I have a hundred pounds that isn't yet spoken for, so if you would like to try our beef before you join our CSA, just drop me a note, and I'll arange shipping.

More stories and pictures to arrive soon  : ))

Shanen

Old man winter has arrived!  He blew in with a 45 degree temperature change on Sunday and Ice on Thursday.  Right now we have 2 inches of snow covered with 3/4 inch of ice and another 1/2 inch of snow.  Talk about SLICK!!  I skated to the barn this morning and found all the stock doing well (except 7-up).  I fed and watered and checked out 7-up. 

7-Up is our resident shetland pony.  He is a tiny one, about 36 inches high and has a sore leg.  We can't seem to locate the problem and are hoping it is a stone bruise from the cold rough ground.  With all that hair you can't tell if anything is swolen or hotter than it should be.

The calves are all eating and enjoying the weather.  The little ones have even figured out what a feed bunk is and that I'm there to fill it.  The heifers we have decided to keep are looking good.

My Lacey (my pet cow, good story to come) is doing well in the lot, and her calf is taming down really quickly.

Now, on to the CHICKENS!!  I am finally getting chickens!  I have wanted chickens (and their yummy eggs) since we planned out move in March!  A neighbor is picking them up this weekend.  They have just started laying eggs and I hope to keep them laying in the cold weather.  I have to start building an official chicken coop.  Until that is built, they'll stay in a dog kennel and doghouse inside the barn.  I hope I can let them loose after a day or two, and hope to teach the dogs that chickens are NOT toys to chase.

My  hope is that when the weather is warmer, the chickens will be free range and clean up after the calves and help cleaning the garden scraps.  I'll keep you posted in the chicken adventures.

Beef Shares are almost sold out, but please contact me if you would like me to reserve a half or full share for your family.

I know this is a little off topic for me, but if you bake bread at all, you know how hard it is to find a good recepie for Whole Wheat Bread.  Well, I was out of flour, grabbed some at the local grocery store from King Arthur, and lucked into a great recepie.  So, I thought I'd share it with you.

Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

• 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 nonfat dried milk
• 3 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Instant yeast

Mixing: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl.  Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple.  Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow to urse til puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Shaping: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it inot an 8 inch log.  Place the log in a lightly greased loaf pan, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 30 to 60 min, or until its crowned about 1 inch above the edge of the pan.  a finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.

Baking: Bake the bread in a preheated 350degree oven for about 40 min.

Now that I've given you the official directions I'll tell you that I just combined the ingredients and then trew it in my Bread Maker and set it on a Whole Wheat cycle.

It turns out great time and time again.  I hope you try it and enjoy.

As for the cows and calves, they are doing great!  Most are out on pastue and staying in most of the time.  It's a hard time of year to keep a cow inside the fence around here.  There is so much afterfeed on the cropground around us, and they want to go taste testing.  So, the dogs and I make a couple of rounds each day and put them where they belong.

Hope all is well at your place, and send us a note if you need some great beef. ~ Shanen : )

First, I have to give credit where credit is due.  This post is inspired by The Beginning Farmer.  Her blog post inspired me to ask y'all the same question. "What is the main thing you would like people to know about your agricultural word?"

I have run itno the same problems as she has.  You would be (or maybe not) amazed by the amount of people that think that Ranchers and Farmers are hurting our environment and the earth.

I am amazed that people say that it is wrong to raise cattle for beef.  So, if you aren't supposed to make that steer into beef, what are you supposed to do with it??  Beef cattle were put on this earth for exactly that reason.  I might even argue that dairy cattle are supposed to become our food once their useful life has run out. 

I believe that we aren't doing Gods work if we don't utilize all of the beef that was put on this earth.  I also believe that most Ranchers and Farmers improve their environment.  We do this for many reasons, most of them profitable, and some for our future generations.

I would like the general public to really understand all of the precautions we go thru to care for our land. 

1 - Personally, we make sure that we leave timber areas tall grass areas.  We leave these areas so that our cows will have sheltered areas to lay in, and calve in, during the winter. 

2 - We don't tear up the land and we don't overfertilize the ground creating run-off to the streams and rivers.  We need those streams for our cows to drink, so why would we pollute them?  We need that topsoil to grow great grass and feed for our cows, so why would we damage it?  We go to great lengths to preserve the earth and improve the dirt so we can improve the grass and grow more beef.

3 - If beef is grown and harvested carefully, it doesn't hurt the animal in ANY way.  That may sound wierd, but its true.  If you raise your beef cattle in a clean and dry environment, they are comfortable and eat, and grow very healty.  If you move them to the harvesting location slowly and smoothly, and you then restrain them properly, they won't feel the pain.  It will (and should be) done smoothly and instantly, to prevent suffering.  In addition, a facility that is so careful with the live animal will (and should) take those same precautions to handle the meat carefully and cleanly, thus preventing harm to the people that eat it.

I know that this may seem a little off, from my usual stories, but I was inspired.  I hope y'all will chime in and tell us what you want people outside of agriculture to know about what you do.  I look forward to hearing from everyone!

Remember, high quality beef is GOOD for you!  And its good for the cattle and our earth.

We still have 2 shares of Grass-Fed beef and 2 shares of Corn-Fed beef.  Send me a note to reserve your shares today and set up your pay-as-it-grows plan.            Shanen : )

A detailed description of "what is a share of our beef?" and how we determine prices for our beef shares.   This post is very long and detailed.  I will have more Cow Stories later this week.

The cows are out on pasture.  First, sorry I took a little time-out from blogging.  The business aspect of moving the Ranch has gotten to me, and stolen all of my time.

We had our first real snow here in southern Iowa this Sunday.  It was beautiful!  However, as you know, I don't like cows and claves in dry lots.  It makes for sick critters, and since we don't use antibiotics, we don't like to do it.  So, out they went.  All of 'em.  They love it!  They run and play and have fun foraging thru the snow.  They bed down at night in the deep grass, and down into a low spot with trees.  It is so pretty at night with all of the white snow reflecting the dark cattle bedded down into it.

It is also fun, because that means that I get to call the cows in to feed  and check them.  In the pasture, I shake and bang buckets together and call "come BAAAAASSSS".  Once the first cow hears me, she sticks her head in the air and bellows.  Everybody looks, and starts coming for me.  Some at a run and others slowly ambling along.  After a few days, they get smart and start to run,  because I only feed two to three buckets, and the "pigs" eat the biggest share.   Then the work begins.  Any cow that doesn't come up, gets checked.  If I have my munchkins with me, out in the truck we go, if not, maybe a horse.  Mostly the other cows are just relaxing and enjoying the pasture. No sick or hurt ones yet!

Now, for a short note on the business side of things.   One of the most heartwrenching things for me is taking calves to the sale barn.  I don't like it!  It is conventional farming at it's worst!!  The calves are penned with other calves to be sold together.  Then, after they are sold, they're pushed in semi-trucks with strangers to go who knows where, and be fed in whatever way is cheapest.  The heifers are implanted (hormone implants in their ears) to keep them from cycling, and the steers are implanted to keep them growing like bulls. (I HATE IMPLANTS!! and I rarely use that word).  Then they are shipped again and sent to a packing house and harvested and handled very disrespectfully.

So, this is what I've been trying to figure out.   How do I expand my beef production, so I can keep everyone that doesn't meet the quality to be kept as a cow or a bull?

So, ITS SALE TIME!!!  I would love for this to work!!!  I want to sell shares of 8 more calves by the time we have to take them to market in the beginning of January.  Please, if you are at all interested in the highest quality, most humanely raised beef possible e-mail me.  I will be selling ground beef for a 10% discount, and beef shares for a 15% discount.

I also lowered our base prices to reflect the current markets.  Hurry, before markets go back up, and I have to cave to my husband and increase them again.

I have also made a great "buy-as-it-grows" plan.  You would place a small down payment and recieve some ground beef at that time (to give you a great tase of what's to come) and then you would make installment payments as the beef grows.   This will allow me to make our farm payment in January and pay for feedstuffs as we need them.  I think this arrangement would work best for all of us.  And most importantly to me (and the calves), I won't have to take these calves to the sale barn!

I know that you want the highest quality beef.  So don't go to the store, come to the producer.  That way, you get the best value, and the calves will get the best care!

I hope to hear from you, and find a beef package that meets your needs and budget.   ~Shanen