Farmers and Chefs

Recently while I was doing my annual livestock records for FFA I realized something while I was making lunch that day. I realized livestock farmers are kind of just like a big chef. When I was filling out my records with feed cost I was flipping through what my dad likes to call his Bible, his cattle binder filled with all his feed rations, feed cost, cattle weights, and prices. I had to write down all the rations for different weights of cattle. It actually reminds me of a cookbook.

During harvest season I helped my grandma in the kitchen. It wasn’t until then that I found out how much work it was to create the perfect recipe. Certain ingredients at specific measurements are mandatory if you want your cookies to come out of the oven looking like cookies. My grandma even made me my own little cookbook of my favorite recipes. She wrote down all of the recipes and put it in a little notebook for me. Since then I have been attempting these creations and if our fire alarm in our house could talk it would definitely tell you I have had multiple fails. If you asked my brothers they would say it’s okay, but it definitely doesn’t taste like grandmas no matter how exact I follow that recipe book.

All livestock farmers have their own recipe book. Not every ration they mix up is like the ration the next door neighbor uses. However, just like in a recipe book, each entry is designed to get to the same end goal. To fill you up. Every livestock farmer does it differently, but their livestock always reach their market weight and get full. So livestock farmers if you have always said you can’t cook, I believe you are fibbing because you cook up a mean ration for your animals everyday. They must like it too if they keep coming back to the bunk for more. Happy recipe testing, although my brothers claim I still need more practice!

- Kesley Holdgrafer