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Building a Better Rural Future Sensibly and Profitably
Central Community College makes special speaking invitation
Del Ficke and Nate Belcher visit with students at state-of-the-art Central Community College culinary kitchen. Del and Nate both stressed the importance of chefs and consumers being close to those raising their food and asking a lot of questions about how it is raised.
HASTINGS, Neb. – Thanks to a gracious invitation by Rhonda O’Brien, instructor at Central Community College, Del Ficke and Nate Belcher had the honor and privilege of being invited to speak to Sustainable Ag Students at CCC’s Hastings Campus recently. The students were primarily taking courses under the direction of Brad Lang who helps oversee the sustainable ag program for the college.
Nate’s presentation was titled: “Multiplying Green Acres for Healthier Living, Enriched Soils and Community Regeneration.”
Nate stressed the need to recognize the complex world of organisms beneath our feet and his passion to grow nutritionally dense products while keeping the soil, water and air in balance. “Everyone can win by taking the accountability off ourselves and stop pouring on synthetic inputs that are not needed and instead place the accountability on the soil. If we truly understand the living world below we can grow even more nutrition in every bite. We have taken the balance out and it’s time to get things right.”
Reach Nate at (402) 580-0015 or email him at nate@greenacrescovercrops.com.
Del, owner/manager of Ficke Cattle Company – Graze Master Genetics™ spoke about, “Allowing a Cow to be a Cow – Sensible and Profitable Agricultural Solutions for the Next Generation.”
“Every week and sometimes every day, my neighbors are stopping by curious about what I am doing with the holistic practices we are adopting on our farm. One of the most pervasive questions I receive is, ‘Will you talk to my dad?’ Some of these ‘sons’ and ‘daughters’ asking these questions are 40-years-old or older. It’s important to talk today and make plans for the future that bring sensible and profitable practices back to our nation’s farms and ranches,” Del said.
Utilizing fence-line weaning, mob-style grazing and feeding primarily forages with a small amount of non-GMO milo to their composite breed of cattle has produced tremendous results, he said, “Where I have one cow standing today, I want three in five years. Our cows must be accountable or they are out of our program. We breed cows for 42 days and heifers for 22 days. We have a 100 percent conception rate in our yearling heifers and have cut 50 percent of our inputs and only vaccinate once a year.”
Ficke also shared the family’s meat company story, “We are passionate about our product and want our customers to visit us on the farm and see the cows up close. Our customers are our family. It’s all about cooperation with the community and common sense about what really matters in life that has been lost in so many ways. It’s time to get that back.”
Reach Del at (402) 499-0329 or email fickecattle@outlook.com.
To learn more about what’s going on at CCC contact:
Rhonda O’Brien
(402) 461-2572
rhondaobrien@cccneb.edu
Brad Lang
blang@cccneb.edu
(402) 463-9811
CCC Hastings Campus address:
550 Technical Blvd.
Hastings, NE 68901
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Great Beef, Great Flavor
Customers say Graze Master Beef superior to store-bought
Del Ficke and Joey Carder at Sports Express in Seward, Neb. The business prints Graze Master apparel and also loves Graze Master Beef!
SEWARD, Neb. – Del Ficke remembers picking up Legion Ball team uniforms from Ron Carder’s basement in Pleasant Dale. Years later, he is proud to be delivering Graze Master Beef to Ron’s storefront – Sports Express – in Seward, Neb.
“It just makes sense. Ron, his son Joey, and the team at Sports Express, are as passionate about their business as we are about ours. They also understand what it takes to build community – hard work, quality services and genuine care for the customer,” said Ficke.
Ron said when it comes to Graze Master Beef, it all started with the hamburger and now we’re hooked, “Del introduced us to their signature product, Graze Master Ground Beef, and we immediately noticed the difference. The flavor is really good and it doesn’t shrink when you cook it. You put them in the skillet and they are done the same size – nice and moist. We even made ‘Bugs’ our cocker-spaniel one too and the whole time they were frying he was anticipating his. We had the roast Sunday night and I told my wife, ‘Look at the thickness of this! It’s so tender you can cut it with a fork.’ We’re very happy with Graze Master Beef and plan on purchasing a quarter. It beats anything you can get in the grocery store.”
“We are proud to serve customers like Ron who understand and appreciate our quest for quality in every Graze Master Beef bite,” said Ficke. “That’s why we also use Sports Express for both our signage and apparel printing needs. Sports Express is top-notch and has an inspiring, home-grown story that the community of Seward and Seward County can be very proud of.”
Joey, Ron’s son, took some time to share that story, “It all started in the early 1990s when my dad wanted a way for my sister Melissa and I to make money. So, we sold hats outside of Memorial Stadium with him. People wanted different styles of hats so we started working with an embroidery shop in Lincoln. The business just gradually grew from there.”
The shop began in Milford and then out-grew the space there. That’s when Ron moved operations to their garage in Pleasant Dale. Joey said with the help of LB840 and TIF funding as well as Seward’s commitment to small business growth, they decided a location in the Fourth of July City was the perfect spot. Since then, both Joey and Melissa attended college. Joey came back to help his father Ron with the business and Melissa pursued the medical field like her mother, Brenda.
Today, Sports Express has five, full-time employees and is adding a sixth employee this summer after the new graphic artist graduates college. They also have multiple part-time employees, Joey explained. “We offer our customers everything from screen printing, embroidery, team uniforms and also an on-line storefront so teams and businesses do not have to handle order forms and checks. It really works well – instead of their employees, coaches, students, volunteers, parents or others doing the work taking orders and gathering sizes, we can set up a website and take care of those items for them.”
The majority of Sports Express customers are in the Seward or Lincoln area; however, the business also serves customers in Texas, Florida and Hawaii.
“We plan on keeping home base in Seward,” Joey said adamantly. “One of the great things about this community is they do an awesome job of wanting to keep their businesses in town alive. We’re proud of that commitment to buying local too.”
Check out Sports Express at:
Physical Location: 244 N 5th St., Seward, NE.
sportsexpress.biz
https://www.facebook.com/sxseward
Email info@sportsexpress.biz
Call: (402) 408-6741
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One Family, One Farm, One Community
Del and Nate would like to invite you to an upcoming learning opportunity on Monday, February 29 at the Ord Valley County Fairgrounds in Ord, Neb. The event begins that morning and will last until late afternoon. The duo will be presenting on cattle genetics, cover crop utilization and will also be joined by Kerry Hoffschneider, who will guide producers through the power of Word & Deed Communications Legacy Stories. Her passion is bringing farm families together to participate in the goal-setting and dream-sharing benefits of time- binding story telling. The event is being coordinated by Jerry and Cindy Glaser who are farmers in the Ord area. Please contact Kerry by February 15 if you would like to receive more information and be added on the list for this event at (402) 363-8963 or email her at wordeed@outlook.com.
Also, if you would like to book Nate, Del or Kerry as speakers in your area, please contact Kerry to discuss your needs and she can connect you with the best combination of resources for your event. Again, Kerry can be reached at (402) 363-8963 (anytime) or by email at wordeed@outlook.com.
Thank you!
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Practical Farming Makes Common Sense and Cents!
Ficke Cattle Company – Graze Master Genetics™ and Green Acres Cover Crops showcased their consulting, cattle genetics and seed business at the 2016 Practical Farmers of Iowa Conference in Ames this month. Both Nate and Del agree the conference is one of agriculture’s best when it comes to sharing sensible, profitable solutions for farms and ranches. They encourage others to learn more about the organization and to strongly consider joining at: http://practicalfarmers.org/
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Graze Master Beef Recipe
Order Your Beef Today!
Graze Master Beef Sirloin with Smoky Pepper Sauce
By Brenda Ficke
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin tip steak
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 tablespoon veg oil
1, 12 ounce jar of roasted red peppers
1/2 cup of mesquite BBQ sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Prep:
Cut meat into chunks and sprinkle with paprika. In a skillet, add oil, meat and brown. Remove the meat, drain peppers and save a half cup of the liquid. Add peppers and liquid to the skillet, barbecue sauce and cook five to ten minutes stirring frequently until thick, then add meat back in. Sprinkle with parsley and serve over mashed potatoes or couscous. Or you just eat simply as a meat dish (which is what we do).
Graze Master Beef Products. Order Today!
One-pound hamburger packages (vacuum-sealed for easy thawing)
New York Strips
Fillets
Ribeyes
Roasts
Delectable Doggie Treats
Other specific cuts (please ask)
Our meat company is located at Pleasant Dale, Neb. just a short trip west from Lincoln. We welcome you to pick up the meat directly from us and we also offer some delivery options. We can also arrange larger beef processing orders with you in quarters, halves and wholes. Call today!
Call Del Ficke any time at (402) 499-0329
Email fickecattle@outlook.com
Learn more at: fickecattle.com
Ficke Cattle Company location:
873 182nd Road
Pleasant Dale, NE
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“Never be afraid to try. Remember, amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic.” Anonymous
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