Buzzard's Beat by Brandi Buzzard

09/05/2025

ANNOYING OCCURRENCE + 3 GOOD THINGS!

Y'all it is going to be below 60F at sundown tonight and rain is currently drizzling down. Fall feels like it wants to stick around and that makes me downright happy. What does sub 60F weather mean?

IT'S SOUP WEATHER! (good thing #1)

So I got out my soup pot to prepare for lasagna soup later tonight and snapped this pic before I ran to town for a haircut. Fast forward a few hours, after a long-overdue haircut (good thing #2) and some errands and I made it back home to start supper prep.
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Cue the annoyance - the dang butterfly on my can of petite diced tomatoes.
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If you're new here, Hi! I'm Buzzard and I have great disdain for fear-based marketing in food. The GMO-free label is absolutely a fear-based label, as it implies the opposite of the -free is "bad." Basically, this is implying that GMO tomatoes at the grocery store are bad, while this brand is "good" because it has that butterfly label emblazoned upon it.
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Problem is, there are NO GMO TOMATOES AT THE GROCERY STORE. There are no GMO tomatoes commercially available on the market or in your grocery store (there is a GMO purple cherry tomato you can buy via seed/seedling privately from Big Purple Tomato but you will not find those at any grocery store). Labeling something GMO-free that doesn't have a GMO counterpart is like labeling fire 🔥HOT🔥! It doesn't make sense.
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That flippin' butterfly and the methods behind it contribute to food misinformation and discrediting science. I actively avoid buying foods with the butterfly label but somehow this snuck into our pantry.

So as a refresher, here are some basics about GMOs:

- First and foremost - GMOs ARE SAFE. Their safety has been proven and validated by countless *independent* scientists and health organizations WORLDWIDE. Since 1992, more than 40 government agencies around the world have approved GMOs for food and feed.
- GMO crops were first created to help with one or more of issues such as drought tolerance, insect and/or disease resistance, herbicide tolerance, reduced food waste or increased nutritional content.
- GMOs allow producers to raise more food using fewer inputs and enabling them to conserve soil, water and energy.
Please, don't fear your food. If you have questions about your food, ask the people who raise and grow it or look for reputable, peer-reviewed sources (Wikipedia and ChatGPT don't count).
- Here's a list of current commercially available GMOs: alfalfa, Arctic apple, canola, corn, cotton, eggplant, papaya, pink pineapple, Innate potato, AquAdvantage salmon, soybeans, summer squash, sugarbeet, sugarcane. There is also an alpha-gal pork that has been approved.

Hopefully I don't have anymore GMO rants for a while! 😉
If you want my lasagna soup recipe, it's foolproof and available here: https://buzzardsbeat.com/2014/03/if-you-can-brown-ground-beef-easy.html/
p.s. Good thing #3 is football is back, baby! Chiefs kickoff their season tonight!

09/04/2025

SCIENCE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS
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"And it sure doesn’t care about your political affiliation.

Science is ever-evolving. As science learns and collects more data, evidence can change or become stronger, but that doesn’t mean it should be tossed aside. As mature adults, we should also adapt and change as we learn more during our lifetimes. It’s growth and it’s normal."
The exhaustion of seeing my fellow ag producers embrace science that supports their personal biases but reject science which disagrees or hurts their feelings is defeating and consistent.
Read more in my inaugural column with AGDAILY (check the comments 👇🏻)
Photo of me scowling at "GMO-free" mashed carrots on the baby food aisle is from 2017, the first time I went "viral" after chastising companies for preying on the fears of parents by using unethical labeling. I got called everything under the sun for this but stand by it to this day

09/03/2025

"DO YOU GIVE YOUR CATTLE ANTIBIOTICS?"

That was a question I received this week from a potential butcher beef buyer. And, as with most issues in agriculture, it's nuanced.

Do our cattle receive antibiotics daily, via feed or water? No, not usually.**
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But that doesn't mean we are opposed to using them. We use these health tools when our animals are sick, as was a cow that needed treated a few weeks ago out in a big pasture. Sounds simple, but it was not.

We had to find her and treat her with our dart 🔫, while I served as the distraction (which I was none too thrilled about). My feelings on the topic are displayed in the photo below
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Watch us treat a cow with our Pneu-Dart Inc. in my latest AcresTV episode. PLUS, what in the world is going on with Beyond Meat? Is the faux-meat company going belly up or will it stick around another year? Peep the first comment for the landing page
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**If we have an outbreak of pinkeye, we may mass treat using antibiotics approved through our Veterinary Feed Directive.

09/01/2025

Meat industry workforce facts on this Labor Day, via Mom at the Meat Counter

I hope you have a great Labor Day

08/29/2025

I remember our first year of fall calving in 2016 and the only truck we had to do chores and check cows was my busted up Dodge Ram 1500 and the driver side window wouldn't roll down AND the A/C didn't work with typical triple-digit heat indexes. Those memories of our first days make me laugh and realize how far we've come.

Now I'm zipping across our pastures on a 4-wheeler (that I had to ask the neighbor to pull start for me) and tagging calves in 72F in late August.

I love it when fall calving actually lines up with fall WEATHER! Babies will be everywhere next week, soon the grass will take on those gorgeous orange, pink and red streaks, we'll be marketing heifer pairs to our fellow ranchers and our 2025 High Bar Cattle Company Private Treaty Sale season will kick off.

The fall run is almost upon us and I am ready for it. Happy Friday, friends. May you be blessed beyond your dreams.

08/28/2025

WITHERING WEEDS, ESCAPING CALVES AND WHEN WILL BEEF PRICES COME DOWN?
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We're knocking down w**ds and that brings me GREAT JOY. Something that brings me zero joy is chasing calves that get out in the middle of the summer heat. Also, have you noticed that beef prices are high - how long is that gonna last?
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Let's talk about it in this episode of AcresTV - it's F R E E to watch. I like to call it the Netflix of agriculture (except there's no cost or fees)!
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We're also sharing how we use Precision Laboratories APE/NPE adjuvants to help us take care of our pasture and the surrounding environment while we control w**d pressures using our Demco - Dethmers Mfg. Company big-wheel sprayer!

🙄 OH AND THE FREAKING CALVES GOT OUT. 🙄

https://www.watchacrestv.com/brandibuzzard/videos/watching-w**ds-wither-and-calves-escaping

08/27/2025

🥩📈WHAT'S DRIVING BEEF PRICES SO HIGH?!🥩📈

I vividly remember playing the card game “Crazy Eights” with my dad and brother when I was little. I don’t recall winning very much, but I do remember the chaos that ensued when an eight was played and foiled a player’s plans to win. Why is this relevant?

Because earlier this week, I read that ground beef has hit all-time highs at the grocery store — $8 per pound — and there is no shortage of chaos in the beef industry currently. This historic price is the latest peak in almost two years as prices have climbed higher and higher. While you may hear disgruntled shoppers, shocked ranchers or TV analysts blame — or credit —— a single factor leading to today’s beef prices, it would be foolhardy to simplify such a complex occurrence.

So, let’s break it down into what I believe are the three major drivers of high beef prices in 2025 in my latest post with Kansas Living : https://kansaslivingmagazine.com/articles/2025/08/26/high-beef-prices-explained-the-real-reasons-ranchers-aren%E2%80%99t-to-blame

08/26/2025

It's National Dog Day and not even Taylor and Travis announcing their engagement can heal my heart from today's reminder that Cricket is gone.

8+ months since she crossed the rainbow bridge and I still catch myself looking for her in the evenings trailing cows. Her rug by the door still boasts quite a bit of her hair, permanently embedded.

Happy National Dog Day to those who have a companion by their side - treasure them daily, for they leave us far too soon.

Read my ode to Cricket on the blog:
https://buzzardsbeat.com/2025/08/the-final-fetch.html/

📸 : Sheridan Wimmer (she doesn't have a photography company but needs one)

08/20/2025

THE PROOF IS IN THE P̶U̶D̶D̶I̶N̶G̶ PEA PROTEIN
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Beyond Meat, despite having a brilliant social media manager (check out the Threads account), shows stock down more than 98% over the past 5 years and Q2 revenue declining 20% from the same time last year.

Why the massive drop? Well, pricing and inflation challenges for sure have affected them. One pound of Beyond Meat "plant-based ground" runs for $7.25/lb at Wally-World and the package claims it has 75% less saturated fat than 80/20 ground beef. That package of 80/20 ground beef costs under $7/lb at the same retailer so the cost is more expensive.

Additionally, in a surprising turn of events even to me, CNBC reported that the criticism and outcry against ultra-processed foods, much of it attributed to efforts from our meat industry, have actually had a large negative effect on Beyond Meat sales over the past few years. If you're not on Instagram, you are likely aren't seeing a lot of the processed food shaming and Beyond Meat seems to have caught a few strays from it.

Sure hate to see it.

To clarify, I am not here to demonize ultra-processed foods OR plant-based foods. We consume processed food in our home and I am not ashamed of it. Hamburger Helper saves the day for us and I love my Cheetos. Additionally, plant-based products support my fellow farmers and ranchers, so I'm not here to denigrate those things.

But I did and still do take issue with the massively inaccurate claims of Beyond Meat being better for our planet when it's made in a LITERAL FACTORY.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has stated time and again that greenhouse gases (GHG) from cattle are less than 3% of U.S. totals. However, industry (aka factories) contribute nearly 1/3 of total U.S. GHG. If you live in a glass house, don't be throwing rocks!

We'll see what is to come for Beyond Meat - I've honestly never tried it because in my opinion there is NO SUBSTITUTE for real beef flavor and the nutritional value of beef is above par. Listen, did you know a 3 oz. serving of beef provides nearly 25 grams of protein for less than 200 calories?! But maybe I should, just so I know what the competition is like.

Have you tried Beyond Beef? Should I? I'm actually considering buying some to try and also purchasing a few shares of stock in case they get their ship turned around. 📈 📊

08/19/2025

STORY TIME, PULL UP A CHAIR
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Last week, I was on a call with a client and I saw a truck pull in our drive. Shortly thereafter, I heard a horn honk and then someone started aggressively knocking on our door. I couldn't see the person but I could hear the knocking, which continued for a few more minutes before I saw the truck leaving down our driveway (driving way too fast).

The next day, I was once again at home - but not on the phone - when a different truck raced down my driveway and I once again heard a truck horn honking.

I stepped outside into my garage (after telling my girls to stay inside - you never know these days) and I saw a man in the driveway with a clipboard. He saw me and said, "I honked because I was afraid of the dog."

Sidenote: Y'all, the dog in question is Rooster, our fox red lab who is 13 years old. Also, HE ONLY HAS THREE LEGS. 🤦‍♀️ 🙄 But I digress.

I said "Are you the one who was pounding on my door yesterday? He said, "Yeah, I didn't know if anyone was home and could hear me." I told him I was home and had been on the phone.

The next thing out of his mouth IMMEDIATELY lit me on fire.

"Is the man who runs this farm home?"
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Every hair on the back of my neck went up and I could feel the anger rising up inside of me. Calm to irate in 2 microseconds.

I quickly told him that women can own farms too, to which he replied, sort of laughing, "Well, yes they can."

He went on to tell me that his father had given him a prospect list of barns to paint based on information gathered last year. I told him our barns were fine but thank you.

He then saw our hired hand pulling in the driveway and asked "Is that your husband?" Y'ALLLLLLLLL. 😡

He did not care that I had said no, he was ready to find any man to speak with because surely he'd get further with that route.

I told him, "Nope. We're good. Bye." Turned around and went in the house.

I told my husband that night, who remembered speaking with the older man last fall, we would not be doing business with those folks. Yes, we could use some barn painting but not from someone (and his father) who are so willingly obtuse (his father had said the exact same thing to me last year).

Words matter. Thoughtfulness is not hard, but it does matter. Trading out the word "man" for "owner" is not difficult. "Is the owner of this farm home?" See how easy that would have been and would have likely yielded a far different response?

I am TIRED, folks. I am tired of being told that sexism doesn't exist in agriculture. It does. I experience it often. Women represent nearly 40% of farmers and ranchers and nearly 60% of all farms and ranches have a female producer. Farms with at least one female producer accounted for $222 BILLION (with a B) worth of agricultural sales.

This kind of behavior is literally costing businesses money and I feel 0% bad about my response. I refuse to enable behavior that seeks to minimize me or my daughters.

It is 2025. Get out of the 1950s and change your vocabulary and mannerisms. Or I'll send my senior, 3-legged dog after ya 😉 😂

📷 : The Happy Trails Co.

08/18/2025

See that little black spot?

That’s the first calf of calving season - hurrah!

08/15/2025

Catch up on the latest AcresTV episodes if you missed them! We've been covering everything from beef imports to hogs.

Which episode has been your favorite so far?