Don Milton Faver

he Plains that is home to the Marfa Lights has a long history of Cattle ranching. In the early 1800’s Milton Faver became the first Battle Baron of Presidio County and one of the first cattle Barons of Texas. He purchased land around three flowing springs in southern Presidio County. He later established these three sites as his cattle ranches. The three separate sites were named the Cibolo, Morita and Cienega.

The Cibolo Creek ranch is now home to the Cibolo Creek Resort –http://cibolocreekranch.com/ – an absolutely beautiful place to visit. Cattle continues to be an important part of life in Far West Texas , especially for us at the Lights Jerky Company.

My mother wrote a book, One Hundred Years of Faith and Memories, outlining the history of Presidio county which describes the Cattle Baron, Milton Faver. This is a fascinating book filled with an accurate historical account of Far West Texas. The Book can be purchased through her website at http://jorvetaypublishing.com/

LIGHTS JERKY BLOG“ Measured Adventure”

RISK isn’t for everyone. But it is essential for goal attainment, no matter how big or how small.

Taking general, haphazard risks is like shooting arrows into the sky, sometimes they hit their targets, but often times you get hit by your own arrows.

However, if you put in the time, “measured adventure” is much more deliberate. It tends to be more calculated and often times hits the target.

“Measured adventure” never comes easy – you have to be prepared to “calibrate” your tools as often as you can, do the research, test the concept, adjust where needed and then set out to apply whatever you have learned in the spirit of reaching the goal. But you have to do the homework to maximize potential and minimize the gamble. There is always a great payoff in end. The payoff is not always in the form of money, but always in the form of EDUCATION.

AND to be able to live life from the perspective and approach of “measured adventure” – well that is goal attainment in and of itself.

Peace, truth and love.

The Lights “Charquedas” Co.

Why do we call dried meat “jerky”? The word is derived from the Quechua word Chariqui, which is also spelled charki. Quechua is a native American language that is primarily spoken in the Andes of South American of today. I have seen different translations of the word, but ,the basic definition of the word is meant to describe preserved meat or “jerky”. The technique was extremely important when discovered, as there was no other means to preserve meat which was essential for survival.

The first businesses developed to actually dry meat for resale were referred to as charquedas and where established in Uruguay, Peru and Brazil. Since the discovery of the “Charki” process, cultures from all over the world have used the technique with their own recipes with the same goal in mind, which is to kill pathogens and to dry it to a water activity level low enough to preserve the meat strips and make them safe to eat.

Preservation length of jerky is measured in shelf life. The shelf life assigned to our jerky products by an independent laboratory was more than a year. I personally have eaten our jerky that we have stashed away that was well over two years old and it had the same flavor, texture, color and odor as the products that you order from us. Rest assured we do not keep product for more than a month before you get it. So when you get it the product is very fresh.

The “Charquedas” industry has grown from a million dollar a year industry of just 20 years ago to an almost a billion dollar industry. People love their charki especially from a quality “charquedas” like The Lights Jerky Company.