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!! 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.

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

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.

Well, life on the ranch has started to settle down again.  The pairs are still locked in the pens, but there are fewer every day. 

We have begun to pair out the fall calvers to the pasture again.  You see, because of the heavy rains and floods this fall, we didn't tag the calves born this fall.  So, we have been pairing them up and moving them across the road to pasture behind the house.

The spring calves look wonderful, and are doing great!!   We have separated the grass fed calves and have them eating hay very well.  Theese calves are the biggest and oldest of the bunch, so hopefully they will still finish (be ready for harvest) by June.  They are also very healthy during this critical time of weaning.

The rest of the spring calves have started eating creep feed and will hopefully be weaned this week or next.  They are eating well, and the extra vitamins and minerals we put in the creep feed really help them stay healthy.

We have one full share of Grass Fed Beef still available.  If you would like to reserve a portion of this calf, please e-mail us ebersolecattleco@yahoo.com.  I do have some grass fed ground beef in the freezer that I will be putting on sale, so I can also ship this to your house. 

If you haven't ever tried grass fed ground beef, you should!!  I can guarantee that this beef is leaner than any you have ever browned before!  There is no grease in the pan when you brown this beef.   Ground beef is an excellent way to try grass fed beef and you get the benefits of all the extra nutrients that grass fed provides, no fat and TONS of flavor.

If you are interested in great tasting Iowa corn fed beef, email me (ebersolecattleco@yahoo.com) to reserve your share.

By the way, I love your comments, and look forward to hearing from all of you.  Keep checking to see what new antics are happening to me during my life on the ranch.

Shanen : )