An Open Letter to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez From a Kansas Rancher

Hello Congresswoman,

You don’t know me from Adam but I’ve been following your actions for several months now; both leading up to the election and, now that you’ve taken office, even more so. I swell with pride at the sight of so many women in leadership positions in our nation’s capital and the most recent State of the Union Address highlighted the start of a new chapter in American politics; one that has women more heavily involved than ever before. That’s a great thing and I support this new normal!

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I’m a Kansas rancher out here in the sticks loving life while raising beef with my family!

However, as a beef producer in rural Kansas working with my family to raise cattle, I feel the need to point out some facts about agriculture that were misrepresented in your Green New Deal. As a rancher, I am proud to produce safe, healthy and affordable beef for a hungry nation. We are producing beef in the United States more sustainably and efficiently than ever before – did you know that the U.S. produces nearly 20% of the world’s beef with only 9% of the world’s cattle? That’s pretty amazing and tells a great story of our efficiency using the resources available to us!

As a rancher, I can tell you that we take the quality of the great outdoors very seriously – air, soil and water quality are all of utmost importance to us here because, well we are the ones living here in the sticks. Which is why our segment of agriculture actively works to reduce our impact on the environment every. single. day. For example, from 2005-2011, the U.S. beef industry reduced its greenhouse gas emissions and water use by 2% and 3%, respectively. That reduction in air emissions puts our figures at just 2% of the sum total of U.S. GHG, according to the EPA. Comparatively, the U.S. transportation sector contributes 28% of GHG emissions.

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Horseback in our pastures with tall green grass is one of my favorite places to be!

 

You might wonder how us farmers and ranchers are lessening our footprint? Good question:

  • We are using better genetics from cattle to produce animals that yield more tasty beef using fewer inputs from water and land.
  • Every year we are utilizing the best technology available to us to help us manage the health and growth of our animals so we can be efficient with our resources.
  • Did you know that cows are great up-cyclers AND recyclers? Cows are able to take foods like sugar beet pulp and carrot tops – things that would otherwise be wasted as food production by-products – and turn those into beef. This reduces the overall amount of food waste in our great nation. Additionally, what other animal do you know that can take grass and turn it into a delicious steak? Seriously, cows are like superheroes.

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, I appreciate your dedication to improving our earth and pursuing sustainable futures but I beseech you to please have a conversation with your constituents and colleagues that have an agriculture background. Cows are not the problem – the nearly 264 million cars on the road in the U.S. are a glaring issue. I applaud your efforts to make vehicles more environmentally friendly and if you can commit to working on transportation, I assure you that my fellow farmers and ranchers and I will continue to improve our practices to keep reducing our already negligible impact on the environment.

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Wide open spaces and baby calves = some of my favorite things.

I would welcome your questions, comments or even a visit to our little ranch property for a tour of the cows.

Thank you for your time – I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Brandi Buzzard Frobose
Rancher, wife, mama and steward of the land

 

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Comments

135 responses to “An Open Letter to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez From a Kansas Rancher”

  1. thank you. applause. clapclapclap. standing o. –suz, a lurker in farmy NE ohio

    1. coleen Langdon Avatar
      coleen Langdon

      How come no one is talking about the loss of leather???

      1. rob johannsen Avatar
        rob johannsen

        I think they plan on replacing it with the unsmokeable weed fibers.

      2. Patricia Wardlow Avatar
        Patricia Wardlow

        I AM!!! I just said it today. Not to mention milk, butter, sour cream, cheese, hamburgers, and all the left over ingredients going into pet foods! AOC doesn’t care about the beef industry cause she is a vegan and is trying to force everyone else to become one!

      3. Christina Garrison Avatar
        Christina Garrison

        I work in the furniture industry as well as running our family farm. Most leather for furniture comes from Europe. Some of the largest tanneries are there. The leathers are smoother and have less defects.

  2. What about adding in some seaweed to that cattle feed? 70% reduction in “cow emissions” beats the fool out of that little 2% reduction you’re bragging on. Sheesh.
    https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2016/11/seaweed-may-be-the-solution-for-burping-cows/

    1. Did you read the article at great length? I’ll draw your attention to the portion that says that to just feed seaweed to Australia’s 29 million cows ot would take 15,000 acres to grow the seaweed. In the U.S., with its almost 100 million cows it would take 3 times that amount. In the midwest, you would have to build indoor grow operations to be able to grow seaweed year around. Then you have the production costs and transportation costs associated with the seaweed. During the winter, you’ll need to keep the buildings heated so there goes any climate friendly savings you’d receive from feeding seaweed to cattle.

    2. Middle of the country Avatar
      Middle of the country

      Don’t think Kansas is very close to where seaweed is grown… did you add in the trucking emissions footprint to get the seaweed to the cows?? #uselocalresourses

      1. I never saw a cow eating seaweed before.—All this flap about climate change and what to do about it is beyond any of us to figure out. About the time we think we have a handle on pollution BANG !!!! A mt St Hellens happens or a Hurricane Katrina happens, or a polar freeze shows up when the left-wing Lunies are predicting the END due to sun spot. activity The truth is that we are powerless when it comes to manipulating God’s creation. He alone knows the end from the beginning. Read his Word. He has a plan for the earth and all that are in it. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and ALL these things shall be added unto you.

    3. It may be hard to justify the transportation it would take to get seaweed to the heartland. As a farmer I would be interested in feeding seaweed if it was feedable. Would you have information for me?

    4. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Seaweed would be a feasible cattle feed for operations that are near water but not for Kansas; I fear the transportation would negate the benefits. However, cattle are great at utilizing local sources of food by-products so while our Kansas cows probably won’t make good use of seaweed, they do make great use of DDGs which are by-products of ethanol production. Thanks for chiming in and the great conversation!

    5. Great article but I did not see a source for seaweed sprinkles or a way that it can be applied for grass-fed cattle. It might work great in some big feedlot system where they are expending large amounts of mechanical energy to raise their beef but wouldn’t it just add one more highly processed step to beef production? How about you all quit living like feedlot cattle, just raise a garden in your backyard and save the world!

      1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
        bbuzzard13@gmail.com

        Can’t tell if you’re joking or not but most people in urban areas would starve if we are supposed to only eat what we can grow.

    6. Why source a feedstuff that is more expensive and would use more resources to harvest, ship, and feed than what’s already available? Not a simple solution.

      1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
        bbuzzard13@gmail.com

        I think seaweed could work as a local feedstuff, just like potato starch, carrot tops and sugar beet pulp work for cattle in their respective areas, but it is quite likely not going to be something that is feasible or beneficial across the cattle industry.

    7. Courtney Caye Avatar
      Courtney Caye

      Because shipping that seaweed to Kansas or Nebraska would eliminate all you’d gain from feeding the cows seaweed… There are no seas in the Midwest… Unless you call the prairie a sea of grass??

    8. why dont you eat the seaweed and help stop your fartfilled ideas. Wait until they demand taxation for human farts

    9. Did you read the article Geoff? To produce the seaweed referenced in this article, just shy of 500,000 acres of seaweed would have to be grown. That’s 700 square miles of “red” seaweed would have to be grown. That’s roughly the full length of the California coast.

      Ain’t gonna happen!

  3. Dave Altman Avatar
    Dave Altman

    Thank you well said .

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you!

  4. Dr. Dave Avatar

    Great job Brandi!

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you!

  5. Great job!! Don’t forget about all the carbon that is sequestered by grass grazed by cattle! And the habitat created therein for upland birds and other wildlife. The cattle are essentially replacing the bison that use to graze the prairies and I’m pretty sure they farted too!

  6. I agree that AOC is hugely out of her depth regarding beef. I was just wondering though. Did you write an open letter when President Trump attacked the immigrant Hispanic workers (many of whom are “illegal”) who make much of agriculture possible, calling them “murderers and rapists”? Did you write an open letter when in the two years that Republicans controlled the House, Senate, and Presidency they failed to pass any comprehensive immigration reform? When small children were forcibly taken from people applying for asylum and no one even kept records that will make it possible for parents and children to be re-united? When the President unilaterally trashed the TPP, making it much harder for the U.S. and much easier for China to participate in trade with Southeast Asia and then spent tax money to inadequately prop up the agricultural sectors that were damaged? or… Just wondering.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thanks for reading and commenting, John.

      Short answer – no, I didn’t write open letters to other representatives because this isn’t a political blog and I am not a political pundit. I don’t know near enough about the complex pieces of trade and immigration to offer viable comments. I do know plenty about raising beef and how we do it sustainably and are getting better – that’s why I wrote this letter.

      Thank you again for reading and commenting.

      1. Kathy Dorn Walker Avatar
        Kathy Dorn Walker

        Again, thank you for your measured and honest reply.

    2. Did you write a letter to all the liberal left who FORCIBLY remove babies from their mothers womb, and kill them and they will NEVER be able to be reunited with ANYONE.
      He didn’t call them all murderers and rapists but look at the statistics and you will see that our jails are overwhelming filled with ILLEGALS and if you read the news, there are a lot that murder and rape, so get off your high horse.
      TPP was a horrible deal for the United States as was NAFTA. This was all NEW WORLD order organizing.

      1. Yes thank you happy I’m not the only one that sees that

      2. Don in VA Avatar
        Don in VA

        That doesn’t happen. Stop believing bullcrap.

    3. viola marie pando Avatar
      viola marie pando

      Thank you, John. I think it is sad that people keep thinking narrowly of the facts surrounding just their unique situation. AOC is thinking huge picture and she “WILL BE” wrong about some things. But the real question to ask yourself is whether she is completely wrong. For example, you can you say that no where in the US are there ranchers who may create the very problem AOC is talking about by using hormones on livestock, raising thousands of chickens penned together in cages within which they can hardly move. I respect and appreciate how this rancher runs their operation but that’s not the case for everyone. Finally, everyone needs to keep in mind that even AOC acknowledges the difference between today and the future she envisions. When asked about using cars and airplanes, AOC comments about the fact that people seem to want her to stop using paper to write on but she is going to use what we are using today to achieve tomorrow’s hopes.

  7. Thank you! Clear and concise, you got our point across perfectly !

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you!

    2. You definately don’t seem to be up on greenhouse gas. Cows to not release the same greenhouse gas as cars. The Methane that cows release is 21 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide! Not to mention the fossil fuels used to get feed to your ranch, maintain your ranch, take your cows for processing and then to market. Are you practicing rotational grazing? If so kudos. If not how is it that your building soil? If your ranch is a feed lot, what do you do with the animal waste? Do your cattle receive growth hormone and antibiotics? Then there is water. Argriculture uses 80% of our fresh water, this is a frightening statistic! As population continues to grow and water resources become more scarce, this is a concern, we can’t drink cow! I am a beef eater, but have reduced my consumption to be a better steward of the planet, in addition I purchase my beef directly from a rancher whose ranching practices I am familiar with and are more ecologically responsible! No one wants to put you out of business and I applaud your 2%-3% reduction in resouces, but we as a society need to look at better ways to produce our food that pollute less and consumes fewer natural resources!!!

      1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
        bbuzzard13@gmail.com

        Agriculture does not use 80% of fresh water – that is a fallacy – much of the water used in agriculture, specifically beef production, is water that is from rain and other runoff. I believe it may be called ‘blue’ water but I’m not sure.

        Yes, we rotational graze. Hormones are technologies that actually help us produce more beef using fewer resources. Antibiotics make sick animals better – sick animals take longer to reach market so by using antibiotics to heal them, we are being sustainable. We are not a feedlot but we do spread manure on our pastures to help the grass. I feel like you are just shouting words and not actually considering how these tools are used to help us be sustainable. If they weren’t helpful in the end goal, we wouldn’t use them.

      2. The sources for her facts use Greenhouse Gas Equivalents, so the fact that CH4 is a bigger risk by weight than than CO2 is already included.. Part of that is an equivalent volume of molecules of CH4 is lighter, and part is that it takes longer to decay into C and H20 or O2. The sources she uses for her facts also includes the average farms use of all forms of fossil fuels including the methane used to produce nitrogen fertilizers. I appears that she is indeed up on greenhouse gas.

        Perhaps you are unaware of what is included in agriculture that the 80% of water is used by agriculture. Agriculture includes the rain forests of the Pacific Coast and all the other forests and all the desert grasslands of the West as well as both dryland and irrigated farmland. Nebraska has as much irrigated farmland as California. Nebraska irrigated farmland typically receives bout a third of the water required as irrigation and the rest is rainwater. Both are included in the 80% number: irrigation doubles the amount of crop grown on the same ground. The classic urban versus agriculture fight for water would be Denver or Las Vegas versus the hay meadows of the upper Colorado River Basin. The growing population centers acquire the water rights used for irrigation and store them for year round use in reservoirs that loose at least three feet and more often six feet to evaporation. It is a bad trade. The growing cool meadow has a very small transpiration rate and flood irrigation typically releases 90% of the applied water to the stream over the remainder of the summer. Water Courts in the West finally realized that water rights taken from agriculture had to be discounted and that downstream users had an interest in that water continuing to be used in the same way. Water is a much more complex issue than the dichotomy of cows versus drinking water. The elimination of beef would have a small influence on the amount of water available for domestic use.

        .

      3. The sources for her facts use Greenhouse Gas Equivalents, so the fact that CH4 is a bigger risk by weight than than CO2 is already included.. Part of that is an equivalent volume of molecules of CH4 is lighter, and part is that it takes longer to decay into C and H20 or O2. The sources she uses for her facts also includes the average farms use of all forms of fossil fuels including the methane used to produce nitrogen fertilizers. I appears that she is indeed up on greenhouse gas.

        Perhaps you are unaware of what is included in agriculture that the 80% of water is used by agriculture. Agriculture includes the rain forests of the Pacific Coast and all the other forests and all the desert grasslands of the West as well as both dryland and irrigated farmland. Nebraska has as much irrigated farmland as California. Nebraska irrigated farmland typically receives bout a third of the water required as irrigation and the rest is rainwater. Both are included in the 80% number: irrigation doubles the amount of crop grown on the same ground. The classic urban versus agriculture fight for water would be Denver or Las Vegas versus the hay meadows of the upper Colorado River Basin. The growing population centers acquire the water rights used for irrigation and store them for year round use in reservoirs that loose at least three feet and more often six feet to evaporation. It is a bad trade. The growing cool meadow has a very small transpiration rate and flood irrigation typically releases 90% of the applied water to the stream over the remainder of the summer. Water Courts in the West finally realized that water rights taken from agriculture had to be discounted and that downstream users had an interest in that water continuing to be used in the same way. Water is a much more complex issue than the dichotomy of cows versus drinking water. The elimination of beef would have a small influence on the amount of water available for domestic use.

        Actually, Brandi is up on greenhouse gases. The sources for the numbers are the EPA and the methane number is already included with the multiplier for equivalency. If you study the EPA website, you will hopefully observe that the amount of methane produced by agriculture is similar to the amount lost in oil production or is roughly equivalent to the impact of refrigerants released into the atmosphere.

        You are right about the water number. But are aware what is included in agriculture when is claimed that 80% of water is used by agriculture. It includes all the forests including the rainforests of the Pacific Coast. Half of the land in American is only suitable for grazing, and all the rainwater that falls on it is included. Almost all the farmground in America is ray inwatered only, and the rainwater is counted. Nebraska has as much irrigated cropground as California. In Nebraska, typically, a third of a water used to raise an irrigated crop is supplemental to the natural precipitation, but it doubles the yield. The amount of water that can be used domestically instead of for agriculture is only a very small portion of that number.

        The classic urban versus cow water use struggle is the stories from Las Vegas or Denver, People in cities instead of flood irrigated hay meadows in the upper Colorado River Basin. Historically the meadows were dried up and the Spring runoff stored in reservoirs. It is a bad trade. The evaporation is usually 3 to six feet annually. A wet meadow has very little evaporation and the transpiration rate is low enough that 90% of the applied flood irrigation returns to the stream over the next few months. Water courts now recognize that downstream users have an interest in the water use continuing and that storage includes water loss.

        .

      4. Monique —

        You talk about how society needs to look at better ways to produce our food. As was mentioned, start a garden. In your yard, the rooftop, or community set up. That would shift some of the foodstuffs responsibility to the city folks. The very same that try to enact garbage laws. This would help everyone, especially town folks to learn abut their foods and where they come from.

        You also reference water and how “scary” it is to know ag uses a lot of water.

        The short answer to that would be, “Well…. duh!) And with that water we can produce hay for our livestock to eat and that the honey bee is wild about. Which means honey bees benefit from water! As for the population explosion, that really lies at the doorstep of a City / County planner.

        Growth hormones??? Ummmm, about that…. people absolutely can make informed decisions about the bulls they buy or breed to. If somebody is doing their job right, then they don’t need growth hormones. They have simply gotten the right genetic and nutritional balance necessary.

  8. It doesn’t seem you have read the proposal. There is definitely problems /lack of solutions in her New Green Deal, but after reading your post I re-read it because I did not remember anything offensive she had to say about farming (I farm corn and soybeans in MN with small herd of beef cattle). Here is all it says about agriculture : “(G) working collaboratively with farmers and ranchers in the United States to remove pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible, including— (i) by supporting family farming; (ii) by investing in sustainable farming and land use practices that increase soil health; and (iii) by building a more sustainable food system that ensures universal access to healthy food;” I have included a link to the proposal just in case you are interested in actually reading it.
    https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/sites/ocasio-cortez.house.gov/files/Resolution%20on%20a%20Green%20New%20Deal.pdf

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      HI Keith, thanks for reading and commenting.

      I am not a fan of your misplaced assumption that I have not read the GND resolution – I have. I notice that someone named Therese has commented almost verbatim your exact words – your partner, perhaps? Regardless, I have read the resolution and I have also read the FAQ that were released and then taken down by AOC’s office. In which they say:

      “We set a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero emissions, in 10 years
      because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and
      airplanes that fast, but we think we can ramp up renewable manufacturing and
      power production, retrofit every building in America, build the smart grid, overhaul
      transportation and agriculture, plant lots of trees and restore our ecosystem to get
      to net-zero.”

      So, although it is not stated in her GND policy proposal that she wants to target cows, she very clearly believes that cows are a target areas and she is misguided in that thought catalog. That is the purpose of my letter. Again, thanks for reading and commenting.

  9. Therese J. Avatar
    Therese J.

    With all the respect, It does not seem you have read the proposal. It is not very long – it does not really have any substance, but all it says about agriculture is this : “(G) working collaboratively with farmers and ranchers in the United States to remove pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible, including – (i) supporting and subsidizing family farming; (ii) by investing in sustainable farming and land use practices that increase soil health; and (iii) by building a more sustainable food system that ensures universal access to healthy food;” I have included a link to a copy of it. I have a herd of beef cattle as well farm soybeans and corn; I too want to people to be better educated on the actual going on of farming, but not at the cost of giving misinformation.

    https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/sites/ocasio-cortez.house.gov/files/Resolution%20on%20a%20Green%20New%20Deal.pdf

  10. Therese J. Avatar
    Therese J.

    With all the respect, It does not seem you have read the proposal. It is not very long – it does not really have any substance, but all it says about agriculture is this : “(G) working collaboratively with farmers and ranchers in the United States to remove pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible, including – (i) supporting and subsidizing family farming; (ii) by investing in sustainable farming and land use practices that increase soil health; and (iii) by building a more sustainable food system that ensures universal access to healthy food;” I have included a link to a copy of it. I have a herd of beef cattle as well farm soybeans and corn; I too want to people to be better educated on the actual going on of farming, but not at the cost of giving misinformation.

    https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/sites/ocasio-cortez.house.gov/files/Resolution%20on%20a%20Green%20New%20Deal.pdf

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Hi Therese – thanks for your multiple comments (also from someone named Keith, who I am assuming is you or partner). Thanks also for assuming (incorrectly) that I haven’t read the GND. The part to which I am reacting, and which prompted this letter, is the FAQ that AOC’s office released a day in advance that has since been removed. Here is a link to that document, which you are welcome to read. If you don’t wish to go through and read it, the sentence to which I am referring is
      “We set a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero emissions, in 10 years
      because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and
      airplanes that fast, but we think we can ramp up renewable manufacturing and
      power production, retrofit every building in America, build the smart grid, overhaul
      transportation and agriculture, plant lots of trees and restore our ecosystem to get
      to net-zero.”

      So, although it is not stated in her GND policy proposal that she wants to target cows, she very clearly believes that cows are a target areas and she is misguided in that thought catalog. That is the purpose of my letter. Again, thanks for reading and commenting.

  11. Cathy Pendergrass Avatar
    Cathy Pendergrass

    Awesome post! Thank you for this!

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thanks!

    2. I loved your letter, it was very warm and inviting while ALSO factual and educational.

      When I deal with young liberals, I try to remember something; when I was 19 and full of myself, I was a straight up liberal Dem and I was joining Greenpeace and saving the marine life I loved – but didn’t actually work with or grow up around. (I lived in Washington state, land of the tree huggers!) I was in writing school and wrote a fierce ‘article’ about sharks and the dwindling population thanks to sports fishing, commercial fishing etc. To my horror, my writing instructor turned out to be a competitive angler. He chopped me up, chewed me up and spit me out like chum bc he lived on the sea, he had devoted half of his life to the sea before retiring to instruct, and knew first hand, what I had only read about and had EXTREMELY limited understanding of. I was mortified bc I went to the ocean every summer to swim and have fun – but my knowledge was BOOKS and SCHOOL and National Geographic documentaries back then. This man, on the other hand, lived it and knew what he was talking about, and what I knew, was nothing like the reality. I fear a lot of our liberal youth are the same way. Lots of book knowledge, zero “street” (or seafaring) smarts. Cortez didn’t grow up on a farm or around a farm – tho she may suddenly claim it, as she has claimed the Bronx as her own, in spite of an upper-middle class raising in Yorktown and prestigious college. Sorry, she’s a laughing stock for good reason.
      And I was 19. She’s almost 30. I grew out of my dreamy-eyed unicorns-and-rainbows non-reality.

  12. Cathy Pendergrass Avatar
    Cathy Pendergrass

    Thank you so much for this! Very well written!

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you!

  13. The problem with AOC is she has not constituents with AG backgrounds. Have you been to her district? It is, well, umm, a third world country but no worries, AOC lives 3 blocks from her office in DC and takes a car there every morning so you know she is concerned about the environment. I admire you for trying but she, her constituents, and the vast majority of her party look down on the likes of you, don’t want to understand you, and simply want you to disappear. That is the truth.

  14. This former Kansan but a ‘city girl’ thanks you. I never lived on a farm/ranch but Grandparents etc. had previously. I was always had respect & was thankful for them. Loved this post. For years as I’ve traveled back to Kansas I’ve seen a small road sign that says One Kansas Farmer feeds 98 people & you” Every few years the number goes up. Thank you for being a Rancher . Too many people don’t realize you never get a day ‘off’. I’ll repost your post & get many likes for it. God Bless & again Thanks

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thanks you! And I had a day ‘off’ yesterday but someone had to do the chores for us so that stressed me out a bit! But the animals need daily care!

  15. Janet Bates Avatar
    Janet Bates

    Well said Brandi! I’ll be posting this on her Twitter. Thank you for taking the time to educate everyone!

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you!

  16. Ted D. Zabel Avatar
    Ted D. Zabel

    Excellent! I applaud you for your efforts. Farmers with YouTube channels are finding that the misconceptions about farming by the public can be addressed effectively using that medium. Name-calling and finger-pointing aren’t necessary to convey the truth about how are food is produced by the American farmers and ranchers. Thank you again!

  17. Brian Sharp Avatar
    Brian Sharp

    How will your farm operations work? Electric renewable energy? Electric vehicles? My father was a farm foreman for a rather large operation in Mid Missouri. I see you posted a picture sitting inside your farm vehicle. How much electricity will your farm require to operate? Do you plan to cover all your buildings in solar….purchase additional acreage for solar power facilities? How do you plan to store energy for those days when there is continuous cloud cover? Do you plan to purchase natural gas powered turbines? Her plan also requires all forms of power generation…given Natural gas is a product of fossil fuels and including nuclear power to be done away with in lieu of renewable resources involving solar and wind. Again…just wondering…from a navy nuclear submarine veteran…

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      HI Brian – thanks for your comment and reading.

      I am not an expert in renewable energy sources (or in any energy for that matter). I will leave those discussions to the experts in that area. I am fairly knowledgable about beef production so that is the focus of my letter. Trying to stay in my lane! Thanks for your interest.

  18. First off, you don’t raise beef. You raise cows to kill them for their meat. Second off, we do not need to kill cows to survive. In fact, we are heathier doing so. And so is the environment. Times are changing . More and more people are seeing the cruelty and destruction of the meat industry. Time to get on board and do something productive with all that land.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      You are a bit right – I don’t raise beef, I raise cows which produce calves that eventually produce beef. You have won the battle of semantics, bravo.

      The land that we ranch on is hilly and rocky as is much of the land that cattle graze on. Very unsuitable for crop production or really anything else. Visit the mountains of Nevada where they raise cattle but can’t pull a plow. The Sandhills of Nebraska are just that – sand. Have you ever tried to grow carrots, lettuce, kale etc. in a land with no top soil and little moisture? Times are sure changing but Americans’ love of nutritious and sustainable beef is not.

      For every [biased] study that shows red meat in a negative light, there is one that shows it is overwhelmingly healthy. The key to a healthy diet is everything in moderation – too much of anything is bad; even kale.

      1. Navigator Avatar

        Thumbs up

    2. The Tower Avatar

      More vegan propaganda. I can assure you that your efforts to ban meat will fail miserably, as the American public becomes more aware of the lies perpetrated by the vegan extremists. Now that some honest studies are now being published about just how safe and healthy meat is, as well as the dangers of a plant-bssed diet, vegan proponents will be exposed as the charlatans that they are.

      Am I biased? Yes, but I’ve lost 60 lbs in 6 months on a diet of 80% beef, while dropping my A1c from near pre-diabetes to below 5. I also have cholesterol numbers that well into the “normal” range, reversing numbers that had been bad for the last 20 years.

      You pasty, gaunt-looking vegans can keep on killing babies from malnourishment, while the rest of us consume all the beef that you don’t!

  19. Butch Dowse Avatar
    Butch Dowse

    Spot on young lady! Also love your headgear! So much better than the pink”V” things women have worn at their marches and way better representstion of what womanhood should be about. God Bless you, your family and the ranch you live on.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thanks for your kind words, Butch. But you should be mature enough to give me a compliment without tearing down other women. Your idea of what a woman “should” be is moot. Have a nice day and thank you for reading and commenting.

  20. Education and advocacy! Good job. We in animal agriculture need to do more to help others understand we are helping to make high quality food for humans and provide untold byproducts to make our lives better

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you!

  21. Martin Ross Avatar
    Martin Ross

    Brandi, you seriously rock! For more than a quarter century, I lived with one foot in ag and the other in the urban community. I wish every farmer and farm group could use this letter as a model for building constructive policy and bipartisan dialogue. Ocasio-Cortez has a wonderful if rudimentary vision, and producers like you can help refine it. Right on!

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you!

  22. Jane Kleeb Avatar

    Thank you and great work from a fellow mamma and wife of a great husband in the cattle biz.

    We have a long way to go to educate members of congress that come from more urban background about Ag. Family farmers and ranchers are some of the best stewards of the land and water–for the obvious fact that their livlihoods rely on it. The farting cows is a stupid joke many members of congress make (Like Rep. Terry used to bring posters to the floor on this). Reality is, rural folks have the land that some of it will be needed for the clean energy transition. So my message is always–listen and engaged, at the table as full partners, rural America because we have solutions to confronting climate change. Do not let big oil use cows or ethanol as wedge issues between us and coastal environmentalists. We can do this together. -jane kleeb, founder of Bold Nebraska and Chair of the NE Dem Party

    PS: I worked with AOC team on making sure they are beginning to see farmers part of the solution–and they did add in ending eminent domain abuse.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Hi Jane, thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I agree that agriculturalist from all backgrounds are needed at the table. Joke or not, an official document implying that we get rid of “farting cows” was released and ranchers and farmers should be alert about what is going on. Thank you again for your kind words and reading – I hope we are able to forge forward with something much more realistic than the GND.

  23. Todd Blanton Avatar
    Todd Blanton

    I have worked in renewables for over twenty years as a design engineer on wind turbines, solar installation engineer, technician, and independent contractor. This proposal, to accomplish within ten years, with current consumption and production technologies is impossible. It would take the United States installing the current world’s photovoltaic production capacity for fifty years to accomplish this. It would require mobilizing the U.S. manufacturing base on a scale that would pale World War II to produce the turbines. On top of that, turbines are expensive. The design life span of a modern horizontal axis, three blade turbine (HAWT) is around twenty years. However true MTBF for the drive train is usually around ten years. That means that every ten years the drive train and generator would have to be replaced. The loads on these machines are tremendous and fatigue equivalent damage experienced by the tower is quite high. We would be on a never ending cycle of repair and replacement on these machines. Yes, current generating systems require maintenance and replacement but we are talking about replacing all fossil fueled forms of generation, practically at once, while maintain the machinery. The concrete bases to support them would be billions of cubic yards. The production of concrete, steel, and many of the materials used in the manufacture of renewable energy devices are a source of green house gases. If we are truly in danger of perishing in ten years, there is but one viable alternative and that is to cut energy consumption drastically and begin the transition to renewables over a long period of time. I have sat through many engineering conferences and have heard both sides of the argument from climatologists. When you peel back the politics, they do not agree on time frames, severity, or actually cause and effect. Many remain silent out of a desire to avoid criticism. I am no climate expert but I do know renewables and also know that storing 3.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity would be an engineering marvel of the ages and employ technologies that are either pipe dreams that do not exist or are in their infancy and not proven.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      This is all very intriguing and has piqued my interest in energy sources. Thank you for reading and for sharing your knowledge of the issues

  24. Sherri Higgins Avatar
    Sherri Higgins

    Well done Brandi!

  25. Please read The UN’s Agenda 21, you’ll be shocked at what they have planned.

    Also, ICLEI, the local plans for Agenda 21. Her initiatives have been in the works for over 20 years

  26. Tony Dean Avatar

    Great job, Brandi. I admire your patience. I am a believer that one of the primary reasons we are a strong nation lies in the great agricultural machine that our farmers and ranchers have built over the last century. If we had to spend 50% if our energy and resources trying to find something to eat, we would be living in the third world category instead of the world super power status that is ours today. I have not read this congresswoman’s document, but it is pretty obvious to me that she needs to get out of the city and inhale a good dose of reality. I hate to think that my grandkids will wake up hungry someday because a bunch of misinformed politicians ran American agriculture into ruin.

    From a Texas rancher.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you, Tony! I am doing my best to preserve this lifestyle and the ranching heritage for my kid and future grandkids!

  27. Louis Tennis Avatar
    Louis Tennis

    Good job, Brandi. From a dairyman in southeastern Illinois with an eye on efficiency and renewables.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you!

  28. Monte Stull Avatar
    Monte Stull

    Very well said Brandi!

  29. Caitlin Rottler Avatar
    Caitlin Rottler

    I love this! I was born and raised in the city, but have been hanging around farmers and ranchers for a few years, now, and they’re always teaching me something new. But I’d never have known what I didn’t know until I spent time outside the city. I really hope city people reading this will make some effort to understand more about agriculture.

    Also I wish I could make for certain sure that AOC read this. Or that anyone in Congress read it, really, cause I think a lot of them don’t get it, regardless of what side of the aisle they’re on.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      I really hope she reads it!

  30. Well written and couldn’t agree more except for bashing the transportation that hauls her product! Yeah mess with the trucking industry so we raise the rates on hauling you’re cattle but in the mean time putting more regulations on our trucks. We already have to had DEF to the newer truck aka urine. Already have ELD’s which only gives drivers so many hours a day. That really effects the cattle drivers and the quality of the beef because they can’t get the cattle unloaded because drivers ran out of time and there sits the cattle on the trailer or the driver has to pay a farmer to unload cattle costing more money. That all being said I agree with you but don’t forget the trickle down affect that can cause more issues on you’re end. I am 3rd generation in the farming and trucking company and it’s unreal how many new laws and regulations they come up with for trucking industry crippling us and we move America. All this money we spend on emissions towards tractors/semis is a waist because everyone is buying older trucks or taking the emissions off the new truck and staying out it California.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Please show me where I bashed transportation.

      I said the Congresswoman should work on transportation and the 264 million cars on the road. Public transportation would help with that a lot – more trains and the infrastructure to support them, more buses in rural towns and cities, etc. Do not put words in my mouth. Thanks.

  31. Tim Fleming Avatar
    Tim Fleming

    I am so warmed by the conversation here. Thank you all for the exceptional civility. I have one comment regarding the FAQ where the ‘cow farts’ ere mentioned. OAC clearly stated that the FAQ were published in error and the reason removed from the web page is that it was incorrect. In the same manner those that disagree try to make confusion from a statement that is expressway retracted. I do believe there are many problems with our focus always wanting more for our children…Always ‘winning’. I want my children to hear the birds, see the stars at night, give to others, these things are truly valuable. We have to set aside enough of the world for species other than Homo sapiens. The biggest problems are not my fossil fueled drive to the market, but the resources errantly squandered by those with much more than enough.

    I cannot understand what would be so wrong with a world with reduced military spending and might. For some reason, those against the bill act like a smaller military is a bad thing…isn’t the hope/reason for wars is to have peace. Peace certainly is welcome after wars.

    I feel like if we all just listened a little better, let go of the way things have always been…maybe balance will come from many people energetically eking out 2-3% improvements every few years…I applaud your approach and attitude!

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Hi Tim, I certainly see your point and appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me. I do know that it was erroneously published and then taken down, however I believe (not certain) that I published this letter before it was taken down (published this on Friday, the 9th). Furthermore, while it may have been said in “hall talk” or in a private conference room, it’s still blatantly obvious that one or more policy makers believe that a) cows fart (they don’t) and b) cows need to be eliminated. Whether said in jest or not, it’s a thought process that is misguided, false and needs to be discussed with those making our laws. Again, I totally see your point as it has been brought up more than once, but a joke to one is a serious threat to the other.

      Thank you again for reading and sharing your thoughts!

  32. As someone familiar with science, unlike Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, I need to point out a basic fact that her ideology has erased from her brain: Cow “farts” do not add one single molecule of CO2 to the air.

    Cows eat vegetation. That vegetation is made up of carbon that was extracted from the air by a plant using SOLAR energy. When the plants die, they rot and return ALL their carbon to the air! Or, when they are consumed by a cow, the same thing happens. THERE IS NO SUM DIFFERENCE, except that the cow’s body retains some of that carbon in the form of a juicy steak until we eat it.

    Cows are literally made up of recycled carbon and solar power. We turn those renewable energy sources into food. We eat the food. Eventually, the carbon it is made of returns to the ecosystem to be nutrients for plants to grow and start the cycle all over again.

    People like Ms. Ocasio-Cortez do not understand what the word “renewable” actually means.

  33. Great response sister.
    However, we must get to the root of what this unfortunate woman Ocasio has been brought to believe. She wants a better place for all but the people that have funded and instilled this pablum in her want a better place for THEM using her and those like her as a conduit to stir up and hoodwink people into the corral where they want us.
    Part of the root here is reducing the population planet wide.
    I can send you a ream of fact filled, admitted documentation and very reputable sources even from among themselves and historic progression of U.N. Agenda 21-50 since it’s inception.
    Conspiracy Theory you say ? A theory ceases to be a theory when irrefutable fact/facts enter to muddy the narrative.
    Having grown up farming and still doing it I have watched as creeping draconian land use policy’s based on questionable funded junk science and gullible community leaders who ignorantly or not so ignorant sign off on these invasions even to the registering and chipping of our livestock.
    This isn’t about money. It is about control to the highest levels obtainable. Gate valve control over ones food, energy, water, and other basic needs is a visionary comfort to those who know better for us. We write as you have reminders and counterpoint letters etc… and they and their confused ones care less about facts or responses if it doesn’t gain them control. The banter back and forth over the 2nd Amendment rights arguing among ourselves and the unConstitutional edicts just keep coming while we are distracted. You farmers are one leg of our independence and are slowly being regulated and taxed out of existence or bankrupted through well placed policy and statutory codes masquerading as law. Until the root is dealt with and hammered dead by a can do American mindset, Do start looking for another trade or employment with internationally funded mega farms with far less mouths to feed or you can find yourself and yours at the converted local Wal-Mart super center in a long line for the bread & cheese for work ” New Deal ” ? Keep your independence and plow under those who feel they must remove it from you.

  34. Fantastic letter!!! And I hope that she pays your ranch a visit. It will be interesting if she flies on a plane to get there!!!!!

  35. Diane wienckowski Avatar
    Diane wienckowski

    Hello, Brandi.
    First of all, let me say that I am very impressed by all your knowledge and expertise in putting it to use.
    I am coming from a different “angle” concerning all of the many mindsets and fears run rampant concerning the earth and all the livestock the Good Lord created for all of us.
    God did say to be good stewards of the earth, but I believe He already knew all this hoopla would come about, “way back then”, when He, Himself created the world and all the heavens and earth and the wildlife. Not to mention Adam and Eve, telling them to multiply and fill the earth.
    I wish people would understand and seek God’s wisdom above the falsely overinflated wisdom of the human race. He alone is GOD, and I am so grateful and humbled that He would love every one of us.
    Let’s be as wise and educated as possible, but really, honestly, God is in control! He knows the beginning and the end. May we all turn our eyes and hearts to HIM for the perfect answers to the fearful minds of the majority. Yes, we have “created a monster” in some ways on the earth. But have faith that in our trusting God for wisdom and strength, He is fully able to help.
    Thank you for your amazing information, and kindness in addressing all the comments and points of contention sent your way.
    I doubt I would be as patient as you.
    God bless you and your stellar efforts in caring for God’s creation, and helping in providing sustenance for all.
    Diane

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you for your very kind words! I am doing my best to care for the land He has entrusted us with!

  36. You really are an angel for so nicely replying to some people who act informed but are only stating facts they have “read” yet don’t really seen to understand.
    Thank you for all you do and the hard work you put in every day to help feed us. It is nice to hear you are passionate about what you and your family are doing. All I can say is THANK YOU for ALL you do!

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you for your kind words!

  37. Waste of key strokes writing to total brain damage! Nice letter with well thought out points but AOC is a sick demented individual.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      I appreciate your support of my letter however, I don’t think that she is sick or demented. She just has different views of how government should function in our lives.

      1. John Thomson Avatar
        John Thomson

        We are both saying the same thing but you are using different words., yours are much nicer. If we follow her lead we will resemble Venezuela.

  38. Marc Wright Avatar
    Marc Wright

    What a civil, intelligent, and American of the highest order expression of a well thought through opinion.
    Props, and thanks!

  39. Bryan Darr Avatar

    well said, did you get a response from her

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      No i haven’t received a response from the Congresswoman.

  40. Charles Wright Avatar
    Charles Wright

    I enjoyed you letter, and I am impressed that you remain civil. I am certain that AOC has the people and planet’s best interest at heart. I have not heard her exact words on the subject of cows, and I am 100% certain that cows can and should be raised sustainably (Joel Salatin is hero of mine). I applaud your efforts in this area!
    However, do you believe all cattle raisers are like yourself? I believe large corporate CAFOs are a real problem in a lot of ways. When people like AOC speak of the “cattle industry”, the CAFOs are normally what they would reference. Yes, she needs to be more informed if she is going to speak intelligently and be part of law-making concerning this area, but I believe she (and others) can be reasoned with. Your letter is a wonderful way to start! Thank you!

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      HI Charles, thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I am actually a proponent of CAFOs because they help us be more efficient. Just like our ranch, most of them are family-owned and are working every day to raise beef sustainably. CAFOs help us raise beef using less land and they are staffed by professional nutritionists, veterinarians and animal-welfare experts to make sure that cattle are cared for, fed and managed sustainably, efficiently and safely to make lots of healthy beef. Our calves go to CAFOs and I’m confident that they are cared for in the best possible way.

  41. Kristine McWilliams Avatar
    Kristine McWilliams

    I see Jesus in the right top of that pic!

  42. Jeff Adkisson Avatar
    Jeff Adkisson

    Hi Brandi

    First off I was interested in your take since I do eat beef and grew up on a SMALL family farm raising beef in Iowa in the 60’s-70’s. It was an idyllic existence my father could not sustain being too small to survive.

    The impression you painted this perfect picture of your farm which I’m sure is gorgeous and green and tidy. However you speak for more than your family and neighbors. You are hired to represent a group of growers* that I’m sure includes the type of mass incarceration feedlot beef growers we all know exist from the news programs highlighting them. These to me are the primary targets of greenhouse gas since they concentrate it and don’t manage it well (the manure).

    I am including your bio below for those interested in your other job and why you are so passionate about fighting the Green Movement. Money is the real green here. I hope you understand that we understand.

    Jeff Adkisson

    *Brandi Buzzard Frobose
    Red Angus Association of America, Director of Communications
    Education: Animal Science and Industry, Agriculture Economics B.S.; Animal Science and Industry M.S.
    Graduation Year: 2009; 2012

    After graduate school and a ten-month trip to Australia, Brandi began her career with the Beef Cattle Institute/K-State Research & Extension (KSRE). She was then hired by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association as the Associate Director of Issues Communication, where she monitored hundreds of media outlets for issues that would affect the beef industry and, when necessary, created strategy to react to beef industry issues and crises. She also served as an editor for social and print content, created dynamic content for use on all mediums, worked on projects that promoted the image of beef producers and managed multiple social media accounts. Additionally, she led and managed the Masters of Beef Advocacy Program which is a free, checkoff-funded program designed to give beef producers the knowledge and confidence they need to be a spokesperson for the beef industry. In August of 2017, she took on the role of Communications Coordinator for the Red Angus Association of America (RAAA). She leads all communications for the RAAA with members, stakeholders, the beef industry and the general public on a wide variety of media outlets.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Jeff, thanks for reading my blog, commenting and proving you are able to conduct a Google search.

      Yes, I am employed by a beef association however that doesn’t affect the level of passion I have for my livelihood. If I worked for a bank, was a teacher or was a stay-at-home mom, my feelings and position on this topic would not be any different. My defense of an industry for which I am passionate about and which I think is noble is not tied to my employment. Thanks for sharing my bio with others!

  43. Marc Bryant Avatar
    Marc Bryant

    AOC is from NYC so I doubt that she has any Ag related constituents. That being said, Congress has no authority to regulate anything out here in Kansas but she should come out here for a visit and see how the common folks make their living. Hopefully the voters in her district will realize what a mistake they made and fix it at the next election.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      I sincerely hope that she and some her colleagues come visit us! Thanks for stopping by and reading!

  44. It’s so easy to be reactive to anything that affects us in the Ag World, so I appreciate you being proactive. I hope more farmers and ranchers follow suit. I believe we can have strong conversations regardless of political affiliation. Thanks for starting that conversation! I look forward to your piece with MSNBC!!

  45. Don Luhrsen Avatar
    Don Luhrsen

    My wife and I raise a few Galloways in sw NM. We appreciate the letter and your many thoughtful responses.

  46. Deb Simon Avatar

    I just read your open letter to AOC today on a FB post from my daughter. What a thoughtful, well-written, intelligent and respectful letter. You have made many Kansans proud; thank you for your thoughts, and good luck with your ranch, I love good beef. God Bless.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thank you!

  47. Love your letter and articles. Please continue to share your ranching experiences, information and thoughts. You are a smart, hard-working American rancher and an exceptional writer. Your writings related to your dedication and love for ranching is helping others understand that the ranchers and farmers are the caretakers of our land, water and natural resources. We feed the world and protect our natural resources, as they are our families’ livelihood and heritage. I appreciate you sharing. Thank you for being such a crucial representative of the American rancher and farmer.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thanks for your kind words and support!

  48. Beth Grant-DeRoos Avatar
    Beth Grant-DeRoos

    Don’t know how much you have traveled outside of your corner of the world called Kansas but there is no way to raised meat animals in a humane, sustainable way to feed the growing world masses. Not to mention the fact the grains and water needed to raised on pound of meat could be better used to sustain humans who studies are showing are more inclined to want a plant based diet that is healthier for humans as well as the overall environment.

    Then there is the issue of how is it someone can intentionally breed an animal which then builds trust with the human, only to have that trust taken on the say the innocent animals is slaughtered for a human want, not a need in the twenty first century. I know some will suggest that that’s what animals are for, but in the not to recent past some believed women were the property of men, people of colour were the property of those in power. Times change.

    As for Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the New Green Deal. Just like with the Clean Air and Water act of the past, the NGD is a work in progress, with ideas being put forth to be discussed. I remember when some denounced those acts as well as the Americans With Disability act, Medicare and other programs that have benefited millions of Americans.

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Hi Beth – in both this comment and your Twitter commentary, I feel you have been extremely pretentious regarding my knowledge of global agriculture. To answer your question, yes, I leave Kansas on a regular basis. I’m far from the country bumpkin you continually imply – if you were to follow me on other forms of social media you’d have a sense of the different experiences I’ve had in nearly 20 foreign countries on 5 continents.

      Studies absolutely *do not* show that more people are inclined to go plant-based. That’s a fallacy and not supported by any reputable, non-biased source. In fact, over the past 20 years, in several polls from Gallup, the percentage of U.S. citizens that identify as vegetarian is consistently 5%; vegans are at about 3%. As other countries become more developed, the first thing they buy is more meat because it’s nutritious, nutrient-packed and helps young brains develop better than plant-based diets.

      In regards to sustainability, the U.S. produces 20% of the world’s beef using only 7% of the world’s cattle. The fact is if MORE countries raised cattle the way we did in the USA, that would dramatically improve beef’s already very low sustainability impact. One way other countries could improve their sustainability is to simply increase their calving rates – meaning, make sure that they hit 90% or higher of their cowherd halving a live calf.

      If you would like to have kind conversations regarding beef sustainability, animal welfare etc., I am all for it. But do not insult my intelligence. Thank you.

      1. Beth Grant-DeRoos Avatar
        Beth Grant-DeRoos

        Nowhere in my response did I insult you, and in fact I asked the question that I didn’t know how much you have traveled outside your corner of the world. It’s a question I ask vegans who share their views on social media which I know don’t match up with proven facts.

        Israel is the leading plant based country, with Scandinavian countries, Germany, the UK and USA being the fastest growing vegan countries. and if you Google ‘increase in plant based products’ you will see their sales have increased dramatically. Bloomberg reports they have gone up 60% in the last 4 years. And the increase in sales of plant based milks and ‘meat’ has scared the meat and dairy folks enough that they think customers are to dumb to know they are not animal products and they want the government to take action.

        As for B-12 the SDA’s *Seventh Day Adventists’ who have the longest lifespan here in the states, and the least medical problems are a plant based group, and like all plant based people, one gets B-12 from fortified grains. and supplements. We have taken a supplement for years. Something the documentary Forks Over Knives stresses as well.

        This past January the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health showed studies that note a plant based diet is the optimal diet for humans and the environment. And last September Harvard Medical School-Harvard Health Publishing had an extensive piece titled What is a plant based diet, and why you should try it. Something Dr. Dean Ornish from Stanford University Medical School and UCSF Medical School has been teaching for 20+ years. In fact the classes I have taken that he and others teach at Stanford are based on serious science not any form of protectionism.

        1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
          bbuzzard13@gmail.com

          Your tweet with essentially the same comment implied that I need educated – I do not.

          B-12 is found naturally only in animal proteins and those plant-based foods that do contain it (through fortification) are insufficient. So yes, you may absolutely get your B12 from a supplement, but in regards to those people who choose to eat clean, natural, etc., I don’t see why taking a supplement is better than getting vitamins from their original, *natural* sources.

          Have a nice day.

    2. H. Houston Avatar

      What you and other animal rights vegans have purposely failed to acknowledge is that all human beings, but especially growing children and infants require ACTIVE Vitamin B12 grouped with the other amino acids to produce and keep the human brain rational and emotionally stable. There are no plants that produce ACTIVE Vitamin B12. I have seen with my own eyes and through interactions with my students who are rigid vegans that over time they have become mentally unstable and very irrational. They do not have the ability to think logically even when all facts are presented, they just break down and cry. They are very much like the children of cult members in the 60’s and 70’s who were required to remove all protein from their diets. If you remember the Jim Jones Cult and that the devotees of Jones killed their own children and themselves on the whim of their leader Jim Jones. England which has been at this business of promoting vegan diets has the highest rate of VB12 deficiency based upon a recent study in 2017-18.
      Those who avoid animal food products do not get enough B-12, the much-needed vitamin found in animal products that helps build red blood cells, repair DNA, and protect the brain.

      That is dangerous. Americans must ensure they get enough of this essential but scarce micronutrient found only in animal-based products or in vitamins coming from animal-based sources. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found nine in 10 vegans had below-normal levels of B-12. Vegetarians fare a bit better thanks to dairy and eggs, but they also fall short — more than two in three are below normal in B-12. And about 55 percent of children on a vegetarian diet have inadequate B-12 levels, according to a study by researchers at East Carolina University.

      Dr. Ralph Green a physician and scientist who has dedicated the past 50 years of his professional career to studying vitamin B-12, states that this deficiency can have serious and devastating health repercussions. The symptoms start slowly, with indicators like fatigue, irritability, and other mood changes, memory loss, and pale skin. But these symptoms can escalate to more serious issues such as vision loss and even psychosis, imbalance, and paralysis. B-12 deficiency is also known to raise the risk of developing depression, dementia, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and even cancer.

      Babies who don’t receive enough B-12 in the womb run the risk of developing dangerous defects – indeed, expectant mothers with B-12 deficiency are up to five times more likely to have a child with a potentially disabling or fatal birth defect, many of which involve the brain or spinal cord. A study just out from the Harvard School of Public Health reports that the children of women given B-12 supplements during pregnancy and in the weeks immediately after birth score higher on expressive language tests at age 2 ½.

      Why anyone would risk their health on a philosophy that is not grounded in science or biology is a clear example of their inability to think rationally. In fact, this deficiency gets worse as you get older and the older your intestinal tract the less likely it can take up nutrients from your food. If it is not there, to begin with, there is nothing you can add other than meat products to your diet to prevent this terrible destruction of your brain.

  49. Libby Kincheloe Avatar
    Libby Kincheloe

    Well done, from a farming/ranching community in eastern New Mexico!

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thanks for dropping by and reading!

  50. Geat job Brandi!! Thank you for representing all of us hard working ranchers. If people could educate themselves on the topic of regenerative ranching before they speak, we wouldn’t have so many disagreements.
    Be well,
    Stacy

  51. this is dumb

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      Thanks for your positive contribution to the discussion!

  52. Philip Anderson Avatar
    Philip Anderson

    Thank you for telling your story with the world and thank you to the many families in this country who every day of the week work hard to feed this world. Thank you also to Beltway Beef for making it possible for this article and its attached comments to shared in a way that is truly not fake. I have read every one of the comments that have been made here and feel so sorry for those who continue to push their agenda without one thought about how we get from where we are today to a point when we are all working together. We can not continue much longer as a free nation to practice our constitutional liberties if all of us can’t see past the end of our own nose. I am a rancher in Colorado and I do thank you very much for sticking up for me in your plea to AOC to come and see first hand what we have been doing with the cattle and land that is entrusted to us to conserve and use to feed the world.

  53. Nicely done from a family rancher in Elbert County, Colorado! You hit the nail on the head! Thank you!

  54. Thank you for this information I need this information for a school project and you answered it!

  55. Ted R. Weiland Avatar
    Ted R. Weiland

    Hmm!

    Eating more hamburgers equates to less cows on the planet, less cows, less cow flatulence, less flatulence, the planet survives and everyone lives longer.

    I think I’ll go have a hamburger!!!

    1. Beth Grant-DeRoos Avatar
      Beth Grant-DeRoos

      Ted R. Weiland Eating more hamburgers equates to less cows on the planet?

      You do know cattle are forcibly bred since the ranchers need to make money, and to do so they need to birth more cattle. Raise and slaughter a cow, and there is one to replace it so how does that equate to less cows?

      Not to mention when beef prices are good ranchers want more cattle to sell.

      1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
        bbuzzard13@gmail.com

        Last I checked, bulls are not forced to mate cows. They quite enjoy it, from what I can tell, and would continue doing so if cows were running amuck across our nation’s rolling plains – with or without management.

  56. David Goodman Avatar
    David Goodman

    I am sorry, first let me say you wrote a good come back to O casio. Unfortunately like so many of our congress and senate of both parties Ocasio has no business in politics she has no clue as to what she is doing. I think it’s good that there are so many woman that are getting involved in our government. But Ocasio doesn’t know what she is doing or even talking about if she had her way this nation would be a full blown communist nation. I fought for this nation and have become more and more dissapointed in our government watching them care more about there own pocketbooks and less about Americans. Brandi once again excellent comeback hope you continue to enjoy outdoors life. Dave

    1. Amen!

  57. Mimi Graves Avatar
    Mimi Graves

    Thank you❤️I so believe in going to the source to find out information. Too many people talking about situations they know nothing about and in today’s world, you actually can find things out if you do the work.
    One thing I noticed while biking in Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand last month, through villages and rice paddies (yes, for fun), they spread their cow manure out to dry and it doesn’t smell. I’ve not seen that done here. Good idea? (They then use it to fertilize). I know there are many complaints about concentrations of manure causing water and smell pollution. Maybe not such a problem on smaller ranches.
    Time for all of us to be thoughtful about the earth. Remember the story of the man on top of his roof in a flood waiting for God to rescue him who was told by God that He’d sent a boat and helicopter, how else was He supposed to help him. We are the eyes, hands, hearts and ears.
    Thanks for your thoughtfulness,
    Teacher & John Deere dealer wife.

  58. Overall, I appreciate your writing – it is concise to the point and largely accurate. While I personally abstain from eating meat – and have for the majority of my life – I do not fault those that do.

    The only thing I take issue with is this line:

    “That reduction in air emissions puts our figures at just 2% of the sum total of U.S. GHG, according to the EPA. Comparatively, the U.S. transportation sector contributes 28% of GHG emissions.”

    This is a factually accurate statement, however it is also intellectually dishonest. It is true, by weight animal by products only produce ~1-2% of all Green house gases in the US. However, it is also true that the effects of all GHG are not equal.

    Methane – the main GHG byproduct of raising cattle is known to be at least 25 times more damaging as CO2, the most common emission from transportation. This makes the two nearly equivalent in the amount of damage done. Both need to be looked at equally, and looking at one should not prohibit us from looking at the other.

    https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases

    1. bbuzzard13@gmail.com Avatar
      bbuzzard13@gmail.com

      You are right, methane is more potent – although the tradeoff is that we get a highly nutritious food for that 2%. What you are overlooking are these numbers are adjusted to a CO2 basis, so 2% is indeed accurate (as you said). Furthermore, CO2 hangs around in the atmosphere for about 100 years, where as methane is gone after about 11-12. All food as a climate impact – unsurprisingly, lettuce is horrible for the environment but I don’t see people attacking it in policy propositions!

      Thanks for reading and commenting – I appreciate the dialogue.

  59. lynn graves Avatar
    lynn graves

    I appreciate your story of our contribution to the land and the people. I just wish the rest of the world could learn to accept the truth and how to make the nation a better place . thanks again.

  60. You might as well write a letter to a 2 year old …… she wont get past the first sentence ! She’s been brought up BELIEVING global warming and she’s far to stupid to change her mind !

  61. Amy McCarty Avatar
    Amy McCarty

    Below is an excerpt of all text concerning agriculture from House Resolution 109 (the “Green New Deal”). These goals seem reasonable considering the agricultural sector accounts for almost 9% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. In her letter, Ms. Frobose makes a good point about progress the beef industry made during the years 2005-2011, but going forward it will take additional sustained effort from the entire agricultural sector (along with transportation, electricity, industry, and commercial & residential sectors). It will require a collaborative effort from all Americans.

    “(G) working collaboratively with farmers and ranchers in the United States to remove pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible, including—

    (i) by supporting family farming;

    (ii) by investing in sustainable farming and land use practices that increase soil health; and

    (iii) by building a more sustainable food system that ensures universal access to healthy food;”

  62. Diane Greer Avatar
    Diane Greer

    Well said I am from a farm family in Kentucky…..dairy farmers, hay corn and back in the day..tobacco. Persons such as AOC are city humans and don’t understand the country, farms or wide open spaces!! AOC should remember America is a free country and if we want to consume meat we can!! Vegetables are good also, but everyone is allowed to make their own
    eating choices, should be no discussion on that at all.
    Kansas beef farmer very good letter to AOC. Thank You