Buzzard's Beat by Brandi Buzzard

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Buzzard's Beat by Brandi Buzzard

Chronicles of a Kansas Cowgirl What makes up a cowgirl's life? The posts on this page aren't always pretty, but they're always real.
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A smattering of cows, cooking, parenting and marriage tales, running and rodeoing all wrapped up in my Christian faith. I hope you'll follow along with the beats of Buzzard (that's me) on FB, WP, Insta and Twitter! Holler if y'all have any questions!

10/27/2025

NO FENCES AND NO STRESS

"Every time a new tool or technology is released, I like to learn as much as I can about it for a couple of reasons. First, I want to see if it could make our operation better or more profitable in some way. Margins are generally tight, so finding an edge can mean a big boost. Secondly, I am often speaking with other cattlewomen and men at industry events or online and I like to be informed and knowledgeable about current events in our industry.

Most recently, one of the coolest systems and practices I’ve been researching is virtual fencing. For cows. Yes, the same kind of virtual fencing and collar program used with dogs.

For many years we had a virtual fence and collar for our dog, Rooster, and it worked fabulously. The system is very similar for cattle; they wear a solar-powered collar that keeps them confined to — or restricted from — certain areas of a pasture. The “fencing” perimeter is set on the user’s phone and the system connects to the collars."

Read more about me geeking out about technology available to ranchers in my most recent article with Kansas Living (🔗 in 🗯️).

10/21/2025

ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER
👀 👯‍♂️
We've had three sets of twins this year...including this set!

Did you know that twin calves won't necessarily be the same color? Red bull, black mama and the babies are one of each!

10/20/2025

Clean houses don't win buckles.
❤️ 🐴

10/16/2025

IS SHE PREGNANT?!

First off, I never recommend asking this question about a woman and especially not TO her. But in this case, we're talking about a cow, so it's ok.

Now you might look at this deep bodied, apparently heavy-bred beautiful specimen and think DUH, YES SHE IS PREGGO.

But there is a catch.

She is nursing a calf. Fully claimed it as her own.

But she is also very clearly still pregnant, right? And the calf she is claiming was born in mid-September but her due date wasn't until early October and she is only continuing to get bigger as she nurses this calf, instead of being nursed down. The angle isn't great to show her right side, but it protrudes largely even moreso than in this picture.

I think she adopted a twin that was abandoned (we've had 3 SETS OF TWINS) but Hyatt says she's done evicting babies for this calendar year. I saw her today (this picture is 2 days old) and I would SWEAR she is harboring another set of twins.

So, internet experts, what say you?! Tell me what you think!

p.s. Her name is Dottie, daughter of Spotted Cloud (some of you know Spotted Cloud from the early days). She and her mother are helping build up OAB's college fund. She's a great mother, has a nice udder, and is beautiful and you can't convince us otherwise. 🥰

10/15/2025

PEOPLE OF THE FARM ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE FARM...AREN'T THEY?!

I love cattle and livestock conferences — both the educational sessions and the “hall talk,” if you will. Often, they serve as reunions for past college friends and peers in the livestock industry, as well as vacations for busy ranchers who generally don’t have a lot of time for standard island getaways.
🌴 🌊
Anecdotally, though, it seems most conference attendees these days are Baby Boomers or Generation X (those born, collectively, between 1946 and 1980).

And while they may represent an outsized share of the attendees, it's likely there is a younger generation from the family farm or ranch at home keeping things going.
🚜 🐂
This has always intrigued me and forced me to ask: When does the generation taking over the ranch earn the chance to gain knowledge at a conference like CattleCon or a state livestock association convention? Undoubtedly, these younger producers will be making all the decisions in 10 to 20 years, but what kind of industry knowledge are they equipped with to do so? Would they not also benefit from hearing market insights from CattleFax executives and animal health breakthroughs from animal science researchers?
❓ 💭
This serves as a prime example of the need for social and economic ranch sustainability efforts. On my social media platforms and in other articles, you’ll often see me discussing environmental sustainability on the ranch through rotational grazing, water management, and soil health.

But the social and economic pillars — the people side of sustainability — can easily move down the priority list.

Read more in my monthly piece from AGDAILY 👇🏻

📷: Jon Rehg, Shutterstock

10/14/2025

LESS THAN MINIMAL EFFORT

Despite my minimal effort (zero, to be exact) lately, the garden is still going strong. Once we get to mid or late August, I'm done. It's hot and miserable, I'm tired of being eaten alive by mosquitoes while I water and let's not even talk about the w**ds/crabgrass.
🦟 💧
However, for the last several weeks we've been getting a small bit of rain every week and as much as I despise 80+ degree weather in October, the combination of those two factors has the garden churning out loads of tomatoes and peppers!
🍅 🫑 🌶️
Pictured are your regular run of the mill tomatoes but also some Cherokee Purple beauties along with banana peppers, "tricked ya" jalapenos and red and green bell peppers.

Did you know that your favorite red, yellow or orange peppers start out green? If you want a green pepper for a recipe, just pick one of the colorful ones early!

Also, don't ask me how any of these taste. I don't like to eat anything in this picture.
🤢 ❌
Lastly, read the text on the bottom right of the picture. There's an analogy written there 😂

10/10/2025

SHOULD YOU GIVE IT A REST?!
😴 💤 🛌
I’m talking about your pasture, by the way.
🌾☘️
Your pasture is just like you – it needs rest after working hard to feed cattle for several weeks.
Don’t wait until the grass has been grubbed down to the ground to rotate pastures. Leaving behind several inches of growth – which is variable depending on your geographic location, rainfall, etc. – protects the soil from erosion and allows for deeper root growth, better water retention and improved soil health.
💧🌱
We’ve been utilizing rotational grazing on our ranch now for 5+ years and the benefits are plain as day – our grass is thicker and more vibrant, we can manage w**d pressure better and our soil health profiles are improving.
Do you implement rotational grazing on your farm/ranch? Tell me below!
You can’t be your best without rest!
💪🏻💤

10/09/2025

GUARANTEED 💯 % OF THE TIME... 👇🏻

If I post something about grocery store beef being safe and healthy, I AUTOMATICALLY get people in the comments harping at me "The U.S. imports too much beef, you can't trust the grocery store!"
By the way, that's 👆🏼 250% false.
Here are some tonnage facts about how much beef we import in the U.S.:
"Historically, the U.S. imports roughly 10-12% of our beef supply annually. In 2023, we imported roughly 12.5%. In 2024 we imported nearly 14% (4.6 billion pounds). That increase can be attributed to drought causing a further reduction in cow herd numbers, as well as high cattle prices.
In 2024, Australia, for the first time ever, was the top supplier of beef to the U.S. with Canada, Brazil, Mexico and New Zealand closing out the top five. Those five nations comprise 86% of our total beef imports ."
** NOTE** - that does not mean we import 86% of our beef supply. Read, people, read.
BASICALLY, IMPORTS ARE ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE EQUATION - LITERALLY! The other side is exports, which are an equally valuable component of global food trade [key word: trade].
To read more about how imports and exports coexist in harmony in the U.S. beef industry, I'd absolutely love it if you'd read my article and share it as well. The more you know about how our food supply works, the more confident you can be!
Also, if you want to make a critical comment I fully expect you to at least read the article first. Thanks! ✌🏻

https://buzzardsbeat.com/2025/02/imports-and-exports-coexist-in-harmony.html/

10/08/2025

"NO FARMER CARES ABOUT ANIMALS YOU CRETIN."
👀 ⚠️ ‼️

In the words of Bluey and Bingo, "How rude!"
💙 🐾🧡
All jokes, aside this is a comment/sentiment I see often and it bears attention.

- Firstly, the statement that farmers and ranchers don't care about our animals is absolute balderdash. I have bawled over my favorite cow succumbing to cancer, an illness I didn't know she had until a veterinarian performed a post (necropsy), until my throat ached and eyes were swollen. I still have her ear tag and a swatch of her tail switch in my desk drawer.
🐂🏷️
- We have spent hours tending newborn calves whose mothers (now culled from the herd) rejected them or were an abandoned twin. We have warmed them in our bathtub, housed them in our entry room, bottle fed them multiple times a day and willed them back to vitality.
🍼🏠 🛁
- We have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours doctoring cattle for pink-eye, a cruel bacteria spread by flies (flies are always a problem) and exacerbated by tall grass (a bittersweet side effect of ample rains).
👁️ 🪰 🌧️
I refuse to be told I am uncaring and cold-hearted by someone who has not lived this life, walked in my boots and felt my emotions while caring for living, breathing creatures.
🥾 🐮
From a business standpoint, which no one really wants to talk about but everybody internally acknowledges, we are in the beef cattle business. We raise bulls and heifers to sell to other farmers and ranchers (you can check that out at High Bar Cattle Company), we raise some cattle for sale in the beef supply chain at your local Kroger, Wal-Mart or Costco and we raise a considerable amount of beef for sale directly to our local customers. We want to remain profitable and to do that we focus our efforts on best health and nutrition practices that lead to safe and healthy beef.
🥩🍔🍖
We acknowledge that our animals will ultimately be harvested but we believe that is their purpose here on Earth - to nourish our bodies with healthy and nutrient-packed beef. While they are here on our ranch, our animals live comfortable lives, are well fed and have one bad day, which they honestly don't even know is bad.

I cannot stress enough how seriously we take the health and safety of our animals and we are not alone in that. Hundreds of thousands of farmers and ranchers nationwide devote their lives to their livestock and land.

So, Armando and any other critics, I hope this helps your understanding of how we feel about our cows.

❤️and✌🏻,
Buzzard

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p.s. if you want to call me stupid and be rude on Al Gore's internet (showing my age here 😆), I reserve the right to share your name with the world. I'm not stupid but you're welcome to play stupid games.

10/07/2025

Hi, I'm Buzzard and I'm a rancher.

I raise beef for Wal-mart, Price Chopper, Kroger and other grocery store chains. Some of our calves start on our ranch, are fed to market weight in a feedyard, harvested in a USDA facility and end up at the grocery store. That beef is safe, healthy and delicious.
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I also sell a lot of beef direct to consumer - it's a big portion of our business since 2020. It's harvested and processed at a USDA facility and ends up in our customers' freezers. That beef is safe, healthy and delicious.
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Notice the difference?
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Trick question - there isn't one!
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The beef at the grocery store is safe and healthy AND beef direct from a rancher is safe and healthy.

Bottom line: buy what you prefer and what you can afford. I guarantee there is a farmer or rancher out there to meet your request. Just don't judge or insult others for their purchasing decisions and if you're a producer, please don't throw other methods under production to make a dime. That's fear-based marketing and we are all better than that.

xo,
Buzzard

10/06/2025

I think we underestimate just how much our daily activities as humans impact our environment - our cars, purchasing habits, lifestyles, etc.

We didn't eat our way into this environmental situation - we drove/flew/industrialized our way into it. Changing our eating habits isn't going to combat the fact there are nearly 300 million cars in the U.S. or that there are nearly 17 million flights in the U.S. annually.

To be clear, I don't think we should outlaw driving or flying but I think we can all make decisions in our own homes that have far more climate conservation impact than changing our diets.
Recycling, meal planning to reduce food waste, taking public transportation and carpooling are just a few ways we can all help reduce our climate impact.

As ranchers, we are always working to decrease our environmental impact, and we will continue to do so using premier genetics, feed efficiency measures, grazing management strategies and more. We'll keep up our work but we shouldn't be the main focus by any means.

SHARE if you agree!

10/03/2025

I’LL WALK ACROSS COALS
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Before I’m asking for help from someone whose help I dismissed a few minutes earlier.
😂😂😂
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If you like the shirt, it’s my design “Stop. Blaming. Cows.” and you can nab it at the 🔗 in my bio.
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Olathe, KS
KS

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http://www.buzzardsbeat.com/

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