Author: Anna Ziegler

The Friday Five: Et tu, Subway?

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On Tuesday, another restaurant chain joined the ranks of the farmer-maddening crowd. If you have farmer friends on social media you may have noticed a flurry of comments and commentary about Subway’s announcement to source meat from animals raised without antibiotics.

For a quick sampling of farmer responses check out: Subway Announces A Bullet is their Choice of Treatment for Sick Animals…; Did Subway Make the Right Call?  & Eat Fresh & Stay Politically Correct…and more

Farmers are a little fed up with the rhetoric and fear mongering surrounding antibiotic use. The frustration stems from the fact that while farmers provide the raw ingredients for our food, most of the time they get left out of these conversations and are villianized by corporate marketing decisions driven by misguided opinions rather than real food safety risks.

To take a look at the meat of the matter, check out five reasons you can rest easy about antibiotics used for animals for this week’s Friday Five:

  1. ALL meat is antibiotic free. Any animal treated with an antibiotic must be held out of the food supply until the withdrawal time for the drug administered is up. Just like any drug used by people, after a certain number of days the antibiotic is no longer present in the animal’s body. Specific withdrawal times for each drug are set by USDA & FDA, plus meat is also inspected & tested for the presence of antibiotics. For more about withdrawal times and how antibiotics are used on the farm, check out this video from the North American Meat Institute.
  2. Veterinary Oversight:  Similar to prescription drugs for people, antibiotics can only be given to animals with a directive from a veterinarian. To learn more, check out this info  from the Animal Health Institute.
  3. Quality Animal Care to Limit Antibiotic Use: Did you know that on many of today’s pig farms, workers must shower before entering the farm everyday? That’s just one way farmers work to limit the need for antibiotics by limiting exposure to disease.  Other tools farmers use to keep animals healthy include vaccinations, feeding animals a balanced diet specifically formulated for their age and needs and providing shelter from inclement weather or extreme heat. Take a closer look at antibiotics & animal care on the farm here, here or here.
  4. Most Animal Antibiotics are not used in Human Medicine: Antibiotics are classified into different categories and about 70% of the antibiotics used in animals are rarely used for people (Tetracyclines) or not used for people at all (Ionophores). Check out this infographic for a more detailed breakdown.
  5. Antibiotics are Expensive…and as a result farmers have no incentive to overuse them. Check out this Facebook post from the Peterson Farm Bros that explains more about the cost of antibiotics.

Have a question about antibiotic use on the farm? Ask us!

UPDATE: Subway revised their statement on animal care & antibiotic use as of 10-23-15. For more, check out this post or see Subway’s policy here.

Farm Fresh Podcast: Immersed in Ag for a Day

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15_LMCAgDay

A group of about 33 area business leaders spent a day immersed in agriculture Friday, October 16 as part of the Leadership McLean County program.

Hear what participants  Ryan Thomas & Pete McCann thought about the experience on WJBC’s Farm to Table segment Episode 10.21.15.

Tune in every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. for the “Farm to Table” segment on WJBC Radio.

Farm Fresh Answers Podcast
Farm Fresh Answers Podcast
Farm Fresh Podcast: Immersed in Ag for a Day
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What’s Cooking Wednesday: Crockpot Apple Butter

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Apple Butter

The math is pretty simple for this recipe: 12 cups of homemade applesauce & 12 hours in a crock pot yields 6 pints of sweet & spicy apple butter. Apple butter makes a tasty topping biscuits, rolls & toast…or if you find it as hard to resist as some people I know, you can eat it all by itself out of a bowl. And as a bonus – making apple butter makes your house smell amazing!

The rich brown color of apple butter comes from a combination of brown sugar, cinnamon & cloves, but part of it is also due to oxidation of the apples. Just like a sliced apple turns brown if it’s exposed to air long enough, the oxygen in the air reacts with the apples as they cook.

Enzymatic browning is not harmful, but discoloration on a fresh apple is somewhat unappealing. Recently some scientists and plant breeders  figured out how to  ‘turn off’ the genes that cause enzymatic browning to create Arctic Apples which will be available in Granny Smith & Golden Delicious varieties initially.

Arctic apples are so new you can’t buy them yet – some growers have planted trees but it will take a few years before they will bear fruit.

Did you know there are more than 7,500 apple varieties in the world? About 100 of those varieties are grown commercially. Check out this handy overview of apple varieties from Modern Farmer for more information.

For this recipe, I would recommend Yellow Delicious, Fuji, MacIntosh or Jonathon apples.

Please note that fresh apple butter (like this recipe) needs to be kept refrigerated or frozen. The only real challenge is making all the applesauce, which should be done the day before. When it comes to cooking the applesauce into apple butter – you pretty much set it & forget it.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

Ingredients:

  • 12 cups homemade applesauce
  • 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Instructions:

  1. Pour 12 cups applesauce into large crock pot
  2. Stir in all of the remaining ingredients.
  3. Cook on low uncovered for 12 hours. Stir occasionally (about 4-5 times during the cooking process).
  4. Transfer to jars or containers. Let cool for 10 – 15 minutes then refrigerate uncovered overnight. Cover with lids & freeze or pass it out to friends & neighbors to enjoy.

 

What’s Cooking Wednesday: Baked Mostaccioli

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Melted cheese and a combination of Italian spices make this Baked Mostaccioli recipe a solid contender for some hearty & delicious comfort food. This is actually not a recipe I grew up with, but one I learned how to make in college and then introduced to my family. Now it’s one my mom, my siblings & I all make frequently.

I grew up in a ‘Midwest meat & potatoes’ kind of family – a reflection of my mostly German heritage, my rural/farm upbringing, a great big summer garden and my mom’s hearty homemade cooking style.

That’s not to say everything we ate fell into the ‘meat & potatoes’ mold or our food was mono-cultural. Things like spaghetti and tacos were part of the regular rotation. I didn’t think those foods were particularly unusual or exotic….so, I was surprised to find out one time that those weren’t foods my mom ate growing up (on a central Illinois farm about 3 miles from where we lived).

She remembers her introduction to spaghetti was as a new recipe someone brought to a church potluck and the first time she had tacos when a foreign exchange student brought them to her high school Spanish class. (Yes, my mom has a crazy-good memory!)

It’s interesting to think about the ways in which we get introduced to new foods. If you’ve never made baked mostaccioli, I would encourage you to try it!

This is a very simple recipe and can be easily adapted to your family’s tastes – if you like spicy foods throw in some hot pepper or substitute a spicy ground sausage for the hamburger. You can also throw mushrooms or bell peppers into the sauce. I make my own season my own sauce, but feel free to use a store bought spaghetti sauce if that’s your preference.

One recommendation – make sure to get ‘rigate’ noodles (the ones with the little ridges). They ‘hug’ the sauce and help the dish hold together. Bottom line – try it, experiment with it and let me know what you think!

Baked Mostaccioli

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground hamburger
  • 12 oz. mostaccioli or penne noodles, cooked according to package directions
  • 12 oz. tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup diced tomato
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. basil
  • 1 tsp. oregano
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tsp. parsley

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. In a large skillet, brown the hamburger. Add tomato sauce, tomato, garlic, oregano & basil. Cook over medium heat until sauce begins to simmer, stirring occasionally.
  3. Place cooked noodles in an 8 x 8 baking dish. Pour meat sauce over the top and stir to combine thoroughly.
  4. Add cheese over the top and sprinkle with parsley.
  5. Bake for about 10 minutes until cheese is melted and gooey.

Makes about 4 servings.

Who will you share it with?

Traditions & Technology

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Combine, Farmers, Corn

My dad,  my brothers & I with our 400-horse power combine in 2006. Technology changed a lot during my father’s farming career, but the traditions he passed down to us continue. Traditions like taking care of the land so it can take care of you – a legacy I plan to pass on to the next generation.

We wrapped up harvest this week and as I watched the equipment make its final rounds through our fields, I could still see  my father sitting in the cab, even though it’s been 10 years since his last tour of duty running the combine. This September marked the sixth anniversary of my father’s passing as well as the sixth birthday of my  oldest grandchild.

My father never took much, if anything, for granted. He loved good food, a “good read”, the Chicago Bulls (Jordan Era) and he loved people. He also loved to farm and appreciated the technology that went with it.

Pulled out of school at 13 (during The Great Depression), his farming life began holding the reins behind a few horses (the four-legged kind) and ended 75 years later in an air conditioned cab, on top of four hundred horses (diesel) that used satellites orbiting the earth  to guide it through the field. I could elaborate at length on how much he appreciated the advances in technology in his farming career, but just suffice it to say, “a bunch”!

He suffered through allergies (ragweed was the worst), long hours (never heard him complain much), and some daunting curve balls that “Mother Nature” threw his way.  Embracing changes and advances in technology, helped alleviate his allergies, shorten his hours and  helped him get a few hits off of some of the nasty pitches thrown his way. Thanks to the inventiveness of others (and some of his own), he provided for his family, made time to spend with his family, and left us a farm that was in better shape than when he acquired it.

As I mentioned, my father didn’t take much for granted, including leaving the world a better place than when he entered it. I believe he truly was and is representative of the American farmer today. The conservation practices and farming traditions that farm families carry on today are because of the legacy of those who came before us  and continue to touch us today!

I miss him!

Olson, horse cart, circa 1950

My dad started his farming career behind two horses (the four-legged kind). Here he is with the reins and my two older siblings circa 1950.

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