There is one proven way a small cattle operation can compete with huge feedlot operations. Direct marketing from a grass fed beef farm can provide financial security for an entire family. By reducing costs of production and cutting out the middleman (actually the several entities between farmers and consumers), cattle farmers can make the money they need to survive.
The idea of producing meat for the market on grass rather than on grain fits very well with modern economic factors and preferences. Since they can't win a price war with giant enterprises, small farmers realized they needed to find a niche in which they could succeed. The methods that successful entrepreneur farmers have come up with have spread across the industry and brought new life to families that want to live off the land.
Being more expensive than conventionally-raised meat has not frustrated the rise in popularity of this lean, free-range beef. Many consumers feel that factory farming has lowered the quality, taste, and nutritional content of food sold in conventional grocery stores. They are looking for more naturally-produced products and often prefer to buy locally. Farmers' markets are springing up all across the country, and grass-fed meats are found at many of them.
Research has validated the belief that home-grown produce and pastured meats are healthier than the usual mass-market fare. Chemical residues in picked-when-green produce and hormones and antibiotics in animals destined for human consumption concern many people. Especially when truck farms, orchards, and meat producers use few or no chemicals to grow and protect their crops and animals, the food is fresh, nutrient-rich, and flavorful.
Research has shown that meat from animals fed only on grasses, with no grain at any stage of their life, has a rich supply of essential fatty acids not found in conventional meats. The direct marketing of meat and produce, from farmers to consumers, means that foods should be fresh, should never have been subjected to radiation or chemicals that are used to retard spoilage, and should still provide vitamins that can be lost during a lengthy stay in cold storage.
For the farmer with acreage, the cost of raising cattle on pasture is less than feeding hay and grain. Many farmers who used to buy seed, fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides in order to raise corn, wheat, and soybeans now concentrate on promoting the health of their pastureland. Grasses do not rob the soil of nutrients as crops like corn do; many of them, such as clover and alfalfa, actually improve the soil while they grow.
Feedlots are known to be unhealthy places for cattle. Many feel that the unnatural crowding of animals and the deprivation of their natural food (grass) is inhumane. It's a system that makes money for the owners, but the quality of the meat produced is adversely affected. Ranchers that produce a free-range and naturally-grown animal need to raise awareness of the superiority of their meat.
There are big ranches out west that sell this kind of naturally-raised meat to large grocery chains. However, almost every grass fed beef farm is run by a single family wanting to make a good living and provide a quality product to their customers. They deserve our support.
The idea of producing meat for the market on grass rather than on grain fits very well with modern economic factors and preferences. Since they can't win a price war with giant enterprises, small farmers realized they needed to find a niche in which they could succeed. The methods that successful entrepreneur farmers have come up with have spread across the industry and brought new life to families that want to live off the land.
Being more expensive than conventionally-raised meat has not frustrated the rise in popularity of this lean, free-range beef. Many consumers feel that factory farming has lowered the quality, taste, and nutritional content of food sold in conventional grocery stores. They are looking for more naturally-produced products and often prefer to buy locally. Farmers' markets are springing up all across the country, and grass-fed meats are found at many of them.
Research has validated the belief that home-grown produce and pastured meats are healthier than the usual mass-market fare. Chemical residues in picked-when-green produce and hormones and antibiotics in animals destined for human consumption concern many people. Especially when truck farms, orchards, and meat producers use few or no chemicals to grow and protect their crops and animals, the food is fresh, nutrient-rich, and flavorful.
Research has shown that meat from animals fed only on grasses, with no grain at any stage of their life, has a rich supply of essential fatty acids not found in conventional meats. The direct marketing of meat and produce, from farmers to consumers, means that foods should be fresh, should never have been subjected to radiation or chemicals that are used to retard spoilage, and should still provide vitamins that can be lost during a lengthy stay in cold storage.
For the farmer with acreage, the cost of raising cattle on pasture is less than feeding hay and grain. Many farmers who used to buy seed, fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides in order to raise corn, wheat, and soybeans now concentrate on promoting the health of their pastureland. Grasses do not rob the soil of nutrients as crops like corn do; many of them, such as clover and alfalfa, actually improve the soil while they grow.
Feedlots are known to be unhealthy places for cattle. Many feel that the unnatural crowding of animals and the deprivation of their natural food (grass) is inhumane. It's a system that makes money for the owners, but the quality of the meat produced is adversely affected. Ranchers that produce a free-range and naturally-grown animal need to raise awareness of the superiority of their meat.
There are big ranches out west that sell this kind of naturally-raised meat to large grocery chains. However, almost every grass fed beef farm is run by a single family wanting to make a good living and provide a quality product to their customers. They deserve our support.
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