Lessons Learned on the Farm

Guest blog by Teresa Falk, freelance writer
and creator of Rural Route Ramblings blog

Growing up on the farm I was surrounded by animals. As a young child the much bigger cows and bulls were intimidating at first, but I soon grew to love them. Helping dad feed the animals, spread straw or guard gates were part of our everyday chores on the farm. These chores taught us responsibility and the importance of working hard.

Every winter when the cows calved I would pick my favorite calves and give them special names. But deep down I knew not to get too attached to the calves because as my dad often reminded me – the cattle were not our pets. They were part of our livelihood. I was well aware that my favorite calf would eventually grow into a heifer and may end up on my dinner plate or someone else’s. And I was OK with that. I knew that the animals we raised on our farm would provide nutrition to others. I grew up eating beef and continue to because I know it’s part of a healthy diet.

I get my love of animals from my dad. For his recent 60th birthday we had a party on the farm where we served his own beef. As I told the guests, when you come to a beef cattle farm, you can expect to eat beef. My mom made this delicious recipe of Barbecued Beef served on a bun.