May is Beef Month. Yay! And, here in Arizona we have a rich history of cattle ranching and feeding Americans quality beef. So well, in fact, that the latest statistic from the Arizona Beef Council reports Arizona beef producers produce enough beef to feed 8 million Americans.

Arizona beef producers are all about producing quality beef. They are also all about protecting the environment where they raise their cattle.

The following points are also from the Arizona Beef Council:

  1. Maintain and introduce habitat to areas they’ve restored including endangered species.
  2. Use rotational grazing to improve and protect the land.
  3. Manage streams and wetlands to create a buffer that helps prevent bank erosion including preventing runoff and improving fish habitat.
  4. They protect open spaces.
  5. Harness solar power to exploit Arizona’s plentiful sun to power ranches and their water supplies for not only their cattle but wildlife.
  6. Compost cattle manure into fertilizer products that can be used for golf courses, athletic fields, gardens and out organic farms that must lean on natural fertilizers.
  7. Control invasive weeds and reduce plant fuel build-up on grazing lands to avoid forest fires.
  8. Feed cattle crops grown locally to reduce the fuel needed for transportation.

During the latest Rosie on the House show on KTAR, we talked about this and other issues related to cattle ranching in Arizona. Our guest, northern Arizona rancher Hayley Andrus, also spoke about raising five girls on an Arizona ranch. Her insights are worth hearing in the radio segment below.