Alan's Story

This is why antibiotic free beef is important to me.

In late 1999 I broke my foot and cut it where it was broken. While in the hospital being treated I caught a staph (staphylococcus) infection. Initially I received antibiotics intravenously at the hospital every 4 hours except during sleeping hours. I also was getting 2 sets of pills every day. When that didn’t stop it they put me in the hospital so I would get antibiotics during the night.  I was awake for about 1 – 2 hours a day. By the time they found an antibiotic that would work there wasn’t any veins in my arms that hadn’t collapsed. That is when I started paying attention to antibiotics. As you can see by the article, antibiotics misuse the amount of antibiotics going into our food chain needlessly. I was amazed.

The second thing that happened to me was a stroke of good fortune. Dr. Harvey Cole, my veterinarian and now a very good friend, had a neighbor when he was a child, cut himself on a barbed wire fence, got an infection and died. He had 7 children. This was before we had antibiotics. So Harvey, because of his experience has taught me to carry a thermometer instead of a needle.  We do not give animal antibiotics unless they need it, if used then the animal will be pulled from the program. Harvey also taught me to use a lot of electrolytes (which cures dehydration) instead of trying antibiotics. This requires a lot of stewardship but it is worth it. I am very fortunate to have such a good friend.

The third thing is this; I have been thinking about doing this for years. Every time we sold our calves I knew they would be filled with Antibiotics and Hormones. I thought there had to be a better way. I retired from the airlines in 2009, so the time to do this is now. I hope you enjoy our beef!

Sincerely, Alan