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| Duane A. Linemann UNL Extension Educator |
As I write this column many people, like me, are getting ready for Memorial Day. A lot of people look at it as three day weekend, a good excuse to break out the grill, while many use this special weekend for marking the start of summer! While it is a great time for families and friends to get together, a good time stock up on meat and to make sure the propane bottles are filled, and of course to visit the cemeteries where are loved ones are laid to rest. I think that most people know that it is much more than that. Let’s explore Memorial Day ----- and then we will talk a little about what goes on those grills.
Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and was initiated to honor the soldiers for the Union and Confederate armies who died during the American Civil War. Celebrations honoring Civil War heroes started the year after the war ended. The establishment of a public holiday was meant to unify the celebration as a national day of remembrance instead of a holiday celebrated separately by the Union and Confederate states. By the late 19th century, the holiday became known as Memorial Day and was expanded to include the deceased veterans of all the wars fought by American forces.When Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971, it was given the floating date of the last Monday in May.
During the Memorial Day weekend, many families visit war memorials and military cemeteries to honor the dead veterans especially if they include relatives. Without their sacrifices we would not be free to ask questions, to challenge our political leaders, and to take an active role in our system of government. To them we owe an unrepayable debt. Most towns and cities pay homage to their local servicemen who have given their lives or fought and came back home. I love to see the flags flying boldly in cemeteries all around Nebraska and I would bet all across this nation. At Washington, D.C.’s Arlington Cemetery, members of the U.S. Army and volunteers place small United States flags at exactly the same spot at each tombstone. The nationwide display of patriotism is touching and inspiring, as it should be!
Lately, families also visit civilian cemeteries to honor dead relatives who never served in the armed forces. Many people spend the weekend boating at a local lake or beach. Extended families gather to eat, barbecue, play games, and enjoy the company of their loved ones. I would ask that you share with your children and grandchildren the real purpose of Memorial Day. While it is traditional and fun to go on picnics and camping, our children should still be taught the true meaning of this holiday and why we recognize Memorial Day. We need to, now more than ever, instill that pride and honor in our kids.
Please take the time to do something with your family and friends. It is important to visit the final resting places of our loved ones, but after we pay tribute what could be better than sharing a wonderful meal together? Tradition demands that the grills come out for part of the meal preparation. We will soon be relishing the mouth-watering aroma of meat, primarily beef, being prepared on millions of grills across the country .
That gives me a great segue into something that I take a lot of pride in as do all the cattlemen in our state and across our great nation. Did you know that we are coming towards the close of the National Beef Month? What better way to bring an end to the celebration of Nebraska’s number one industry, beef, with another celebration of patriotism and memory of those that gave their lives to give us the freedoms we have today. What better way to pay tribute to our fallen as well as our loved ones who have gone before us than to share the nutrition, flavor and savory aroma of beef? Beef from our great state!
I think most people know that Nebraska was for many years called “The Beef State”. There is an effort that is near fruition to bring back a special Beef State license plate and for good reason. It is no secret that our state is known for both the quantity and the quality of its beef. Cattle outnumber people 4 to 1. Did you know that close to half of the 50,000 farms in Nebraska raise cattle? Cattle roam the feedlots, pastures and fields of every Nebraska County, and three of those counties; Cherry, Holt and Custer are listed in the U.S. top 10 cow counties. To quote Gov. Heineman: “Raising the cattle that become the beef to feed our state, our nation and our world is what we do here in Nebraska. It's what we've done for generations."
The beef industry drives the state's economy. It’s the state’s single largest industry and the engine that powers the state’s economy. The multiplied impact of the $6.5 billion in cattle sales each year is $12.1 billion. Cattle-related employment means income for businesses up and down Main Street in towns and cities across the state. In short, the beef cattle industry has an unmistakable impact on other economies in Nebraska. I am proud that Nebraska once again became the top cattle feeding state in the nation, re-claiming our title as the Beef State. That fact- plus some other numbers are awesome!
We rank first in the nation in several areas: Commercial red meat with 7,353,100,000 lbs.; All cattle on feed with 2,450,000 head; Commercial cattle slaughter with 6,869,800 head amounting to 9,389,940,000 lbs. live weight harvested. We also rank second in the nation with all cattle and calves totaling 6,150,000 head and with exports of $840,000,000 in beef and veal. We have 20,000 beef cow operations with 1.88 million head of beef cows; we have 4,570 cattle feeding operations statewide with 5.1 million cattle fed and marketed per year and on average there are 2.3 million head of cattle on feed.
Cattle turn grass from 24 million acres of rangeland and pasture, more than half of Nebraska’s land mass, into protein and many other products for humans. The land grazed by cattle allows more people to be fed than would otherwise be possible. It is destined to be even more pronounced in that a recent UNL report found that just a 10% increase in cattle on feed could generate three-quarters of a billion dollars, not to mention impacts from more dairy and hog farming. The world is growing, in population and income. Around the world, folks can now afford meat. Nebraska is well positioned to provide that BEEF!!!
The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home
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