natural beef market in florida?

[dieselbeef]

anybody know of any...no chemicals of any kind....til needed then off the roster

 

[KANSAS]

I dont know of any, but I know I would produce it if I was in Florida. That and organic Kosher....

 

[Little Cow]

Well...if you wait about a year and a half....

(We're just starting our herd).

 

[flaboy?]

You looking to buy or sell?

 

[dieselbeef]

sell...curious as to qualifications and requirements for the animals and how or to who theyre marketing.

maybe a niche for me to start if nobody else has. few guys around me we could start our own market

 

[Beefy]

what about deworming? any requirements on that? that would concern me in florida.

 

[Diehard40]

The word Natural is the kicker
there is no set Government standard for Natural, or at least not one that can be picked apart.
What constitutes natural really depends on who you market through. there are several "Natural" beef "alliances" out there.
CAB even has a natural line now.

 

[dieselbeef]

so far so good

 

[Little Cow]

You're pretty far south of me, but I could send folks your way if I don't have any available and vice versa once we really get going. I found it easy to sell through friends and co-workers when I only have a few every year. It'll be awhile before I even need to advertise. Don't know how other folks do it, but I sell at a straight price per pound, (say, $3.00 - $3.50), and then send the cow down to slaughter, pay for the dressing out, and receive a check from the buyer. The butcher then gets the name of the person picking up the beef. The price includes hamburger, roasts and steaks. Even got the tongues in the order for one guy.

The rules I follow are no hormones in any feed. No antibiotics, (nothing has come up that needed to be treated anyway), I do worm, but was careful about withdrawal dates, no feed additives. I also clean up after them when they are in a corral, (to reduce flies), and use fly parasites to control the flies. I do use fly spray on the animals, but I keep it to a minimum. No herbicides on the pastures and I use organic fertilizer or drag the pastures and rotate sufficiently. No herbicide stinks because we have to pull prickly pear cactus up with a hoe. but it does get rid of them.

What do other people do? Is worming and pour on fly control allowable in most areas?

 

[J+ Cattle]

The wormer and pour on fly control definitely would not fit into an organic program but "natural" is much more loosely defined. It sounds like you are not marketing through someone elses program but rather creating your own market channel, so I would think your treatment protocols are fine as long as they are disclosed to your customers and it is acceptable to them. I think it is a good idea to direct market your "natural" beef especially in light of our governments recent announcement that it is OK to sell cloned meat for human consumption. The packages will not be labeled to indicate that it was or was not cloned, a gamble in every steak, roast or burger. I think this will help fuel the movement of the consumer to eat more natural and organic foods. Another thing that I commend you on is your spirit of cooperation, "I could send folks your way if I don't have any available and vice versa". Big business has alliances and small independent cattle/beef producers should have them too. Maybe I could join the alliance and you could send folks my way and vice versa because everyone has family and friends in other states.

J+

 

[flaboy?]

You're pretty far south of me, but I could send folks your way if I don't have any available and vice versa once we really get going. I found it easy to sell through friends and co-workers when I only have a few every year. It'll be awhile before I even need to advertise. Don't know how other folks do it, but I sell at a straight price per pound, (say, $3.00 - $3.50), and then send the cow down to slaughter, pay for the dressing out, and receive a check from the buyer. The butcher then gets the name of the person picking up the beef. The price includes hamburger, roasts and steaks. Even got the tongues in the order for one guy.

The rules I follow are no hormones in any feed. No antibiotics, (nothing has come up that needed to be treated anyway), I do worm, but was careful about withdrawal dates, no feed additives. I also clean up after them when they are in a corral, (to reduce flies), and use fly parasites to control the flies. I do use fly spray on the animals, but I keep it to a minimum. No herbicides on the pastures and I use organic fertilizer or drag the pastures and rotate sufficiently. No herbicide stinks because we have to pull prickly pear cactus up with a hoe. but it does get rid of them.

What do other people do? Is worming and pour on fly control allowable in most areas?

Are your packages marked USDA inspected? Are they marked "Not For Resale"?

Someone sent me some info one time. It seemed to me that they were pretty strict on what could be used and the records that must be kept. If memory serves me right, vaccinations were a no-no also but I may be wrong. I mean after all I am not a Guru. :lol:

 

[Little Cow]

Thanks, J+! I appreciate the answers and compliments.

To the OP, are you in the FCA? I was hoping to join or create a natural beef coop through the cattlemen's association. Might be the best way to provide a continuous supply of beef to the consumer.

We use permethrins as a pour on and the only place in a cow that retains any of the pesticide residue is the liver. Not sure where the popular idea came from that liver is good for you, (maybe because folks thought since it has such a good blood supply that it would be healthful?), but the truth is, the liver acts like a filter for the body and can actually store toxins to keep them from circulating in the body. So, we discourage people who want the livers from the cattle we sell and explain about the fly control and worming necessary for the animal's health. Figure that will keep them out of trouble.

Cloned meat? Well, I don't think it will hurt you directly. However, I don't think it will taste as good as the original animal and the natural variations in amino acid chains won't be there. I'd stay away from it simply because eating too much of the same exact clone all the time will not expose you to the natural variety of proteins that your body needs. Just like you can't live on a pill that contains all known nutrients. Doesn't work for animals and it doesn't work for people. It is highly likely that we do not know all the nutrients that occur in nature so we cannot eat exactly the same thing every day, (or the same clone), because we will be lacking something at the biochemical level.

Wow, sorry about the digression. Can you tell that I am studying for a graduate degree in biology? :roll:

 

[Little Cow]

My beef is USDA inspected and tested, but since I already have a buyer when the cow goes to be processed, there aren't any specific qualifications that need to be met. I don't think organic would be possible for my herd. The insects down here make it to difficult and I'd rather have a healthier natural herd than a less thrifty organic one. Also, we've only had our ranch a year and I think you have to not use anything for a certain length of time before you can call it organic. Five years? Anyway, I don't think the previous owner used anything in a while, but you never know. Our veggie garden is organic but we have used regular fertilizer on the flowers by the house, so that would disqualify us, (they look at the entire place, not just the pastures).

 

[J+ Cattle]

It takes three years of no chemical anything to become organic but I don't see the advantage at this point, I agree with the natural approach. It satisfies the customers desire to eat healthy food without as much red tape.

J+