Help!! How would you do this?

[nonutin]

I live in Denver and want to purchase cattle that has not be treated with antibiotics or hormones, has had a vegetarian diet, and tastes good. How would you go about buying such an animal?

I just found out that the natural meat I was buying at my specialty grocer is nothing special. That the term "natural meat" to the USDA means it is not a hot dog. :shock:

In my search to buy cattle for my family, I called a small meat processor. He recommend a person who he knew gave nothing to their cattle. I talked with them and they said they never medicated their steers. They had holstein steers that were part of the Tend-R-Lean program.

So I read the Tend-R-Lean program. I guess if you daily give in your feed Tylan, the steer won't need other anitbiotics. If you look at the program the animal is also medicated with Rumensin, Decoquinate, sodium diacetate,Terramycin, and Neomycin.

Is this drug free cattle?
Is this minor medication compared to a normal steer?

How do I find a small rancher who is trying to raise their cattle organically but has not yet reached those requirements?

Is there a certain breed that would be best?
What is my next step :?:

 

[backhoeboogie]

You are probably on the right track if you are talking to a local cattle man.

I feed out and sell steers to friends. What I can't account for is the feed I buy. I don't know what the grains were treated with when they were grown, prior to the milling etc. That is something you should bear in mind.

If you can find cattle that are totally fed out in the pasture only, in a pasture that has not been treated with pesticides, you may find what you are looking for. I could do that for a customer if he/she requested it. I am sure someone in your proximity would do the same for you.

 

[Texas PaPaw]

Try this website:

http://www.burgundypasturebeef.com/public_home.php

I know the owners and the Taggart's are good people who raise good grass finished beef with no hormones or antibiotics. Check it out.

 

[Susie David]

To bad you are not real close to us, we raise real natural beef.
Check with the local Farmer's Markets and you should find a good natural beef producer.
Ask if they give farm tours, those of us who are proud of our operations are glad to have folks visit and learn about our cows...sell alot of beef by sticking kids hands in dried molasses
and letting the calves lick it off.
Ask about the animal's diet...I don't consider bread and potatoes good nutrition for finishing steers, it adds lots white fat that will end up in the butchers rendering barrel. Look for good pasture, hay and grain suppliments to finish.
Oh yeah...yellow fat on the carcass is a real good thing.
Good luck to you....Dave Mc

 

[Frankie]

I'm not really clear on whether you're looking to buy meat or cattle? If you're wanting natural beef, look at Laura's Lean Beef. It's sold in many upscale supermarkets. Here's the link

http://www.laurasleanbeef.com/aboutOurB ... heFarm.php

Nolan Ryan's beef:

http://www.nolanryanbeef.com/faq.php

Certified Angus Natural Beef

http://www.cabpartners.com/news/publish ... _06_aj.pdf

Montana Range

http://www.montanarange.com/

Those are some of the big brands. If there's a farmers market in Denver, go there and talk to farmers who are selling natural or organic beef. Good luck...

 

[nonutin]

Thanks everybody for the help.

I do want to buy cattle (one) and have it cut.
(How do you say one cattle, I am sure it is not cat)

I don't expect that the grain or pasture will be organic but I am hoping for no hormones or antibiotics and minor amounts of pesticides.

Your thoughts Tend R Lean cattle are heavily, moderately, or lightly medicated cattle?

I am assuming from your answers it is possible to get a more drug free animal and I should be looking at grass fed cattle.

Is there a breed of cattle that would give tender meat while being grass fed?

Do I want a heifer or a steer or does it not matter?

Thanks again

 

[Frankie]

Thanks for the information.

I don't expect that the grain or pasture will be organic but I am hoping for no hormones or antibiotics and minor amounts of pesticides.

Your thoughts Tend R Lean cattle are heavily, moderately, or lightly medicated cattle?

I am assuming from your answer it is possible to get a more drug free animal and I should be looking at grass fed cattle.

Is there a breed of cattle that would give tender meat while being grass fed?
Thanks again

Jersey cattle produce some of the tenderest, marbled beef around. But they're not very popular with cattlemen because it takes longer to get them big enough to slaughter.

One I forgot to mention is OKJeanne's Murray Grey's. They're here in OK and raise grass fed beef. You can find a post from her on this board and PM her. Maybe she can ship to CO.

There's a lot of variety in most breeds of cattle. One can't just say, yes, Angus or Herefords or Simmental are tender. There will be bloodlines in all those breeds that aren't especially tender. Beef with more marbling tends to be more tender than lean beef. Some breeders are identifying the gene for tenderness in their breeds and using those genetics. Younger beef is usually more tender than older beef. It takes longer to finish an animal on grass; so that beef might not be as tender. Different cuts of beef are more tender than other cuts of beef. The tenderloin is probably the tenderest cut of beef and doesn't have much marbling.

The growth hormones given to commercial cattle are not dangerous. The Brits have been refusing to take our cattle for years because they claim they are. But their own scientists can't come up with any such proof. The WTO has ruled against their embargo on US beef at least twice. The USDA checks carcasses in the packing plant for antibiotic residue, though not every one. If you should accidently get meat with antibiotic residue, I doubt you'd get enough to hurt you. And they are all vaccinated, you know. The only way to be sure the food you eat is completely safe is to raise and process all of it yourself.

 

[la4angus]

The only way to be sure the food you eat is completely safe is to raise and process all of it yourself.

And then there is no 100% guarantee. :lol: :lol:

 

[Howdyjabo]

give a call to your local extension agent. They should be able to point you in the right dirrection.

Personally I think any beef you buy from the US is safe.
But if it makes you feel better to have it totally natural- nothing wrong with that- but you need to be ready to pay for it.

Theres an economic reason for everything that is given to cattle. Without the use of them the cost of production increases.
And there is a risk of major health issues without some of them.
Having just a few head being raised over large areas- limits the risks-and improoves health.

If you are going really purist---keep in mind to ask about fly control, parasite control, weed control and vaccinations.

 

[nonutin]

I am not a purist, I can't afford organic meat but I would like to purchase a more naturally raised animal. I think I am thinking more in line with a Coleman or Maverick beef type animal.

I will talk with a meat processor who will give me the names of 5 grassfed cattle raising ranches not to far from me. I just wanted to be better informed and ask the right questions when I talk with the ranchers.

I have no background but I am still going to try to buy one heifer or steer.

 

[Susie David]

Keep one thing in mind...if you are not familiar with grass fed, farm raised beef the flavor may be a bit "beefy" for your taste but you will quickly learn to love it.
Don't buy the first carcass that you find, check into the operation, arm yourself with facts. Hate to say it but there are some folks that will sell cattle that are not what they are advertized to be, buy from a producer with a good reputation.
Steer or heifer really no difference...one of the best carcasses that we slaughtered came from Sam the Bull, a two year old red angus bull that should have been a steer.
Good luck to you and enjoy your experience.
Dave Mc

 

[RAWCJW]

Dumb ? here when people say no hormones no antibiotics does that mean, no wormers,no permectin,no vaccinations? I have always wondered this. I want to raise all natural beef but I use pour on for wormer/lice, and have treated for scours.

 

[MrGale]

no antibiotics generally means no bovatec or lasalocid (antibiotics) in the daily feed rations....it is used to shift the digestive system of the cow to take on more from the grain. organic is another story....it really means that the substance has a carbon atom in it's backbone.....car tires are organic if you run by that definition....free range chickens only need to be out of their coop 15 minutes a day....anything to hook a buyer. :shock:

 

[Earl Thigpen]

I guess from all the theories being thrown around here that no one really knows what "organic" or "grass finished" means?

Where would a person go to get the real (USDA) definition of those terms?

My cattle may fit into some of the definitions here because I don't give them growth harmones nor do I routinely feed them antibiotics or pesticides. I do vaccinate once a year, usually with eight-way, and I do feed a high protien molasses suppliment in the Winter with their hay. Does that qualify or eliminate me from the "organic" moniker?

How can you have healthy cattle without treating them for skin grubs, horn flies, liver flukes, blackleg, TB, etc, etc, etc and bad water without some of the vaccines that are available for such conditions? I think the folks who coined the terms "organic" and "grass finished" are blowing smoke up someone's skirt. Sorry for ticking off those of you who claim to have organic beef without the use of pesticides and vaccines but my family has been raising cattle without harmones for four generations and no one has offered me a single penny more for my beef simply because they are "organically raised and grass finished".

One more thing, if I may. I raise Limousin cattle and my "grass finished" beef requires a hatchet to cut it when it comes straight from the pasture. It still needs to go to a feedlot to finish it IF you want tender beef. When range cattle are allowed to "range" they don't have the marbling you get from feed lot cattle since the only thing cattle are allowed to do in a feed lot is eat and poop! They aren't allowed to move or "range" and therefore they get fat (and marbled).

 

[Frankie]

Vaccinations are ok in Organic and Natural beef. Natural beef is not supposed to have any antibiotics. Organic means the feed they have had their entire life is certified as organic, plus no antibiotics.
You're best bet for finding definitions is a Google search, unless someone on here can point you to the official USDA definition of organic and natural.

 

[Earl Thigpen]

Vaccinations are ok in Organic and Natural beef. Natural beef is not supposed to have any antibiotics. Organic means the feed they have had their entire life is certified as organic, plus no antibiotics.
You're best bet for finding definitions is a Google search, unless someone on here can point you to the official USDA definition of organic and natural.

Thanks, Frankie.

I sure didn't mean to come off sounding negative about all this but sometimes I read and hear things that just don't make sense and this is one of them. I wonder what those "organic" folks do when about a bazillion army worms hit their hay fields - sit there and let the little darlin's have their fill and move on to the neighbors field? Or what happens when the State mandates producers take steps to mitigate hoof-and-mouth desease, don't vacinate? What about producers that feed their livestock chicken poop (that's organic!) and risk an outbreak of BSE (Mad Cow)?

OK, this is last you will hear from me on this subject.

Thanks again for the response and lead.

 

[Bluestem]

If you want more info on organic definitions google USDA NOP. Organics is a whole different way to farm/ranch. Throw out 90% of what you know as a good experience and be prepared to think and look everything at a different angle. One post referred to armyworms. I don't have armyworms. Neighbors do though. It requires you find out why you have armyworms and change. Anyone can spray. I may have drifted off subject. Beef. When USDA starts to define terms, they compromise with all party's involved. The big boys seem to have more sway. Right now "natural" does not mean much. "Organic" is well defined. They are working on the "Grass-fed" definition. My opinion is they have watered down the term "Grass-fed". Some of us are now using the term "Pastured beef". All this just helps to continue to confuse the customer. Which may be the long range plan.

 

[Frankie]

All this just helps to continue to confuse the customer. Which may be the long range plan.

The long range plan for who? I agree with that, but we might disagree about who's confusing who and why. The USDA has said organic, grass fed, natural products are no safer or nutritious than their commodity counterparts.

I don't have any heartburn with people selling those products for more money. It's a growing market; someone will fill it. I do have a problem with them bashing the conventionally raised product to make theirs look better.

 

[Alan]

A few years ago I read the and compared organic to natural a beef, to see if organic may be a niche market I wanted to get into to.... It's not. Here's a link to a site that gives a basic comparision of organic to natural beef.

http://www.davismountainsorganicbeef.co ... nchart.asp

ALan

 

[Bluestem]

All this just helps to continue to confuse the customer. Which may be the long range plan.

The long range plan for who? I agree with that, but we might disagree about who's confusing who and why. The USDA has said organic, grass fed, natural products are no safer or nutritious than their commodity counterparts.

I don't have any heartburn with people selling those products for more money. It's a growing market; someone will fill it. I do have a problem with them bashing the conventionally raised product to make theirs look better.

I don't have to bash conventionally raised, it does that on its own. When a customer asks if my product has this and that and I say no, I don't think I was bashing the other product by answering the question. "The USDA has said" is something else we may disagree on.