GrassFedBeef

"The percentage of livestock operations selling product directly to consumers or retailers is much..."

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 18:50:00 -0400

“The percentage of livestock operations selling product directly to consumers or retailers is much smaller than that for other agricultural products. In 2007, only 6.9 percent of livestock operations participated in direct sales, compared with 44.1 percent of all vegetable and melon farms… limited slaughter and processing capacity is often cited, particularly by producers, as a key barrier to marketing their meat and poultry locally.”

- http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=7975

Courtesy of Grass-Fed Revolution

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 23:32:36 -0400

Courtesy of Grass-Fed Revolution

"A new land ethic is taking root on 31,900 acres north of Los Angeles managed by an alliance of..."

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:57:17 -0400

“A new land ethic is taking root on 31,900 acres north of Los Angeles managed by an alliance of environmentalists and cattlemen who want to preserve ranching as a way of life while also protecting mountain lions, black bears, golden eagles and other wildlife.”

- http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/05/local/la-me-0503-wildlife-corridor-20120505

"The grass-fed beef didn’t originate because our ranch was cheap. We were just frugal. And through..."

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 21:50:28 -0400

““The grass-fed beef didn’t originate because our ranch was cheap. We were just frugal. And through our frugality we didn’t finish the steers with much grain but mostly kept them on a pure grass diet.””

- http://www.lagrandeobserver.com/Columnists/Jeff-Petersen-s-columns/The-first-grass-fed-beef-ever

Cattle ranchers find themselves alone on the range

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:44:18 -0500

Cattle ranchers find themselves alone on the range:

A number of American cattle families are throwing in their branding irons, either selling off their land or planting crops. While the price of beef is at record highs, the cost of doing business for some is impossible.

“Although revenues are up, expenses are increasing just as fast or even faster,” said Kevin Kester, president of the California Cattlemen’s Association. The cost in California is especially high because land is pricey and scarce, he said.

Texas drought could mean higher beef prices

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:20:32 -0500

Texas drought could mean higher beef prices:

“… in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana and Arkansas, about 200,000 more cattle were slaughtered this year, a 20 percent increase over last year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that beef prices will increase up to 5.5 in 2012, in part because the number of cattle has declined. That follows a 9 percent increase in beef prices in the past year.

Anderson said beef production nationally will be down 4 percent next year.

Across Texas, the drought has caused an estimated $5.2 billion in losses to farmers and livestock producers, and that figure is expected to rise.

Rancher Q&A: Humanely raised cattle, the ongoing frozen debate

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:26:29 -0500

Rancher Q&A: Humanely raised cattle, the ongoing frozen debate:

“Even when I decided to sell the meat retail, it took a few years to get the supply chain going, to find someone to process the cattle and to dry age them. That’s especially hard when you’re small. When they go into that processing plant, the only cattle they handle are ours. You’ll notice on the container on the meat you’ll see the ear tag number, so you can go directly to that animal if there was ever anything wrong…

Closed heard means that we don’t buy any cattle from the outside. Everything we have we raise here on the ranch, we don’t augment with other animals. We’ve had it this way for 25 to 30 years. It means we have a certain genetic core we’re after, and we think it’s more tender meat, but it also means we can pass on only the good traits. We don’t have the bad strains of e.coli, we don’t have mad cow disease problems, so it’s also a way to keep new diseases out of the herd…

With grass, every cut tastes different. You take a New York steak, a chuck and a cheek with grass-fed and each cut from each individual animal will tastes different, depending on the grass they ate. It’s a lot like wine because you’ve got all of these different soils that the grass feed is coming from. You can take the same rootstock of grapevines and plant each in different soil and each wine will taste different. That’s what happens with grass-fed beef…

The problem for us is that right now we go to a place in Oregon, which is the only place that is approved where we can butcher. There’s one in Santa Paula, but it’s not USDA approved, so we can’t use it. For us, that means if we don’t freeze the meat, we’d never be able to bring it down to L.A. You just can’t find the plants that you need with the quality control to bring a fresh product if you’re small like us. I’d love it. I’d put it in a refrigerator truck and bring it down to L.A., but right now I don’t know where I’d be able to do that. Some day, we’ll hopefully be able to do that. But right now, frozen is so much better than not doing it at all with all the problems we have with feed lot cattle. Someone’s got to start making the change. Somehow.”

Grass fed beef: Farmers markets not just for apples anymore

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:16:20 -0500

Grass fed beef: Farmers markets not just for apples anymore:

“At the Novy Ranches grass-fed Angus beef stands that have been popping up at various farmers markets the past few months — Topanga, Woodland Hills, Sherman Oaks and several others) — you’ll find an assortment of steaks, roasts and ground beef, as well as plenty of “off” cuts like oxtail, beef cheeks, tongue, the heart and liver.”

Argentina's beef moves to feedlots

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:50:46 -0500

Argentina's beef moves to feedlots:

“When I first came to Argentina [when cattle were still grown on the pampas grasslands, and not feedlots], I said, ‘This is what beef is supposed to taste like!’ Now, it’s just steak,” Perlman says.

NY Times - health benefits of grass-fed beef

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:54:21 -0500

NY Times - health benefits of grass-fed beef:

Beef from grass-fed animals has lower levels of unhealthy fats and higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are better for cardiovascular health. Grass-fed beef also has lower levels of dietary cholesterol and offers more vitamins A and E as well as antioxidants. The study found that meat from animals raised entirely on grass also had about twice the levels of conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, isomers, which may have cancer fighting properties and lower the risk of diabetes and other health problems.

Sun Fed Beef - marketing grass-fed in northern CA

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:06:18 -0500

Sun Fed Beef - marketing grass-fed in northern CA:

They raise and market natural, grass-fed, organic beef… It takes up to two years to raise market-weight steers using SunFed Beef’s natural, grass-fed, organic techniques…

SunFed Beef has been making inroads into restaurants and grocery stores, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. The partners are marketing their organic beef to grocery stores that put it in their meat cases and to restaurants that put it on their menus,…

Marketing grass-fed, organic beef does create a unique set of challenges, Donati said. For one thing, it takes up to two years to raise market-weight steers, a process that takes only about 16 to 18 months using conventional corn and grain-fed methods….

The three partners outline their company philosophy on their website,www.sunfedorganic.com.

Oliveto chef talks up the taste and quality of grass-fed beef.

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 23:29:49 -0400

Oliveto chef talks up the taste and quality of grass-fed beef.

Environmental Benefits of Grazing in California

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 23:15:34 -0400

Environmental Benefits of Grazing in California

How Niman Ranch slaughters its cattle

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:18:55 -0400

How Niman Ranch slaughters its cattle:

It turns out Niman Ranch sends its Bay Area raised herd to Hyrum, Utah for a number of different reasons… the [Utah] facility is one of the few remaining “fat cattle” abattoirs in the Northwest. “Fat cattle” is a term that refers to cattle raised for meat (think steaks), and the Hyrum slaughterhouse is specifically designed to break down a carcass for the meat trade.

Miniature cattle... are ideal as organic or grass-fed beef.

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:01:54 -0400

Miniature cattle... are ideal as organic or grass-fed beef.:

Miniature cattle are the perfect size livestock for smaller farms and acreages, they are much easier and safer to handle than standard sized cattle, and they are ideal as organic or grass-fed beef.

Butchering one animal provides the right amount of meat for a small family and has more choice-cuts. One “mini-cow” will feed a family of four for six months. Mini-milk cows are perfect for families who prefer cows milk to goats milk and who prefer to consume pure, hormone-free milk.

Beef Will Be What’s for Dinner for a Long Time, Panelists Say

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:56:33 -0400

Beef Will Be What’s for Dinner for a Long Time, Panelists Say:

Betty Fussell, the food historian and author, most recently, of “Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef,” was emphatic that “meat is making a comeback, even among some vegetarians, thanks to the thoughtfulness” in the production of locally raised American beef.

From Twitter: Chipotle's meat is fed GM feed

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:56:53 -0400

From @eatplaylove: Chipotle admitted to me today via email their corn is GM & their meat is fed GM grain.

Video: Value-added livestock processing

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:13:47 -0400

Video: Value-added livestock processing

UC Extension - Local meat processing links

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:09:40 -0400

UC Extension - Local meat processing links:

Some great links on local supply chains and mobile slaughter.

USDA Rural Development's support programs

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:07:27 -0400

USDA Rural Development's support programs