Pure Prairie Organic Beef Co

Pure Prairie Organic Beef Company

The Idea

It has become obvious to me that little is being done by the food producing industry to provide the omnivoure with a source of delicious and healthy selection of meats and poultry products. Those of us who choose to eat meat are not being given a choice which melds into our philosophy of healthy eating and sustainable farming practices.

For several years I have been researching and dreaming of providing myself and my customers with just such a healthy alternative. As of the winter of 2006 we are on our way to to producing certified organic, 100 per cent grass fed beef, lamb and turkey. This Lamb and turkey will become available in the fall of 2008 if all goes well enough and the beef the following year. It is a slow process when compared to vegetable production. So be patient, as I am learning to be, and soon enough we will all have a new choice of foods to eat which are healthy for us and the earth we farm.

Mission Statement

The Pure Prairie Organic Beef Company Mission Statement is simple, concise and heartfelt.

We will constantly strive to produce the highest quality grass fed, certified organic beef while caring for our animals humanely and with compassion.

We will raise our animals on prairie pastures and grasslands managed by us. We will maintain these grasslands to be beneficial to the earth and wildlife of the prairie lands we tend.

We will establish and maintain certified organic status and comply always with the standards set forth under the USDA National Organic Program.

We are raising prairie grasses and managing prairie earth. Botany first, Biology to supplement.

The Farmstead

I have purchased 200 acres of beautiful prairie soil and a farmstead. The farmstead consists of a 3 bedroom house, an old 6 stall double herringbone dairy barn, winter barn, large chicken house, garages, shops, well, granary, silo and grain bins. We are in the development stages and do not expect to begin building our herd until 2007. First we must identify species of plants in our pastures and come up with a grass plan. This land has been fallow since 1996. Since 1996 it has been in CRP.

South Coast Farms is joining the growing movement of grass farmers. I read once the most efficient way to convert work into food is to grow a carrot, step into the field where you grew it and eat it. The second most efficient way is to grow grass, feed it to a ruminant, harvest the animal and eat the meat. We already grow healthy, delicious fruits and vegetables for our community and now we are going to provide protein for our community.

Being the hopeless romantic I am, I fell in love with North Dakota. My grandparents on my dads side came from Iowa, so I have some plains farmer in me somewhere. I think it is coming out. I am getting too old be much of a row crop farmer these days. I can't see well enough to mark a straight row or read without gallses. I don't get on a tractor nearly enough anymore but I figure I am just about the right age to grow grass.

Here at South Coast Farms I have been blessed with a great opportunity to provide a community with fresh grown certified organic fruits and vegetables. I eat what I produce and it is good food. I am not a vegetarian. I love eating fresh vegetables and fruits. Also I love beef, lamb, chicken, pheasant, duck, goose, fish and shellfish. I know what great produce tastes like and I know how to grow it. I know what fresh fish and shellfish taste like and I know how to catch it. I really don't know how pastured, grass-fed, humanely raised and harvested certified organic beef, lamb and poultry taste like and I intend to find out.

I hope soon be providing a choice for thse of us who chose to eat what is best for us and our communities.

Why Grass Fed?

Numerous studies have proven grass fed beef meat is healthier for humans to eat than grain finished, feed lot raised beef. Grass fed cattle produces meat higher in healthy the proper ratio of Omega3 and Omega6 and lower in fat, calories and cholesterol than feedlot, grain finished beef.

For more information please visit Jo Robinson's website, www.eatwild.com Jo is the author of Pasture Perfect and does a great job of educating us regarding why grass-fed animal foods are healthier foods for people.

Here is what Jo says:

Factory Farming. Since the 1960s, most of the meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products in the U.S. have been mass produced. Old McDonald’s Farm has been replaced by large confinement facilities that produce a year-round supply of meat, chickens, eggs, and dairy products at a reasonable price. Although the food is cheap and convenient, factory farming is creating a host of problems, including:
• Animal stress and abuse
• Air, land, and water pollution
• The unnecessary use of hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs
• Fewer independent farmers and more low-paid farm workers
• The loss of small family farms
• Food with less nutritional value

Unnatural Diets. Animals raised in factory farms are given diets designed to boost their productivity and lower costs. The main ingredients are genetically modified grain and soy that are kept at artificially low prices by government subsidies. To further cut costs, the feed may also contain “by-product feedstuff” such as municipal garbage, stale pastry, chicken feathers, and candy. Until 1997, U.S. cattle were also being fed meat that had been trimmed from other cattle, in effect turning herbivores into carnivores. This unnatural practice is believed to be the underlying cause of BSE or “mad cow disease.”

Animal Stress. A high-grain diet can cause physical problems for ruminants—cud-chewing animals such as cattle, dairy cows, goats, bison, and sheep. Ruminants are designed to eat fibrous grasses, plants, and shrubs—not starchy, low-fiber grain. When they are switched from pasture to grain, they can become afflicted with a number of disorders, including a common but painful condition called “subacute acidosis.” Cattle with subacute acidosis kick at their bellies, go off their feed, and eat dirt. To prevent more serious and sometimes fatal reactions, the animals are given chemical additives along with a constant, low-level dose of antibiotics. Some of these antibiotics are the same ones used in human medicine. When medications are overused in the feedlots, bacteria become resistant to them. When people become infected with these new, disease-resistant bacteria, there are fewer medications available to treat them.

Lower Nutritional Value. Switching grazing animals from their natural diet of grasses to grains also lowers the nutritional value of the meat and dairy products. Compared with natural grass-fed meat, meat from animals raised in feedlots contains more total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and calories. It also has less vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and two health-promoting fats called omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid,” or CLA. Milk from dairy cows raised in confinement is similarly low in these nutrients. A rarely discussed outcome of our modern “advances” in animal science is inferior food.

Caged Pigs, Chickens, Ducks and Geese. Our chickens, turkeys, and pigs are also being raised in confinement. Typically, they suffer an even worse fate than the ruminants. Tightly packed into cages, sheds, or pens, they cannot practice their normal behaviors, such as rooting, grazing, and roosting. Laying hens are crowded into cages that are so small that there is not enough room for all of the birds to sit down at one time. An added insult is that they cannot escape the stench of their own manure. Meat and eggs from these animals are lower in a number of key vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids.

Environmental Degradation. When animals are raised in feedlots or cages, they deposit large amounts of manure in a small amount of space. The manure must be collected and transported away from the area, an expensive proposition. To cut costs, it is dumped as close to the feedlot as possible. As a result, the surrounding soil is overloaded with nutrients, which can cause ground and water pollution. When animals are raised outdoors on pasture, their manure is spread over a wide area of land, making it a welcome source of organic fertilizer, not a “waste management problem.”

The Art and Science of Grassfarming. Raising animals on pasture requires more knowledge and skill than sending them to the feedlots. In order for grass-fed beef to be succulent and tender, for example, the cattle need high-quality forage, especially in the months prior to slaughter. This requires healthy soil and careful pasture management, which keeps the grass at its optimal stage of growth. Because high-quality pasture is the key to high-quality animal products, many people who raise animals on pasture refer to themselves as "grassfarmers" rather than “ranchers.”

Back to Pasture. Since 2000, several thousand ranchers and farmers across the United States and Canada have stopped sending their animals to the feedlots. Instead, they are keeping the animals home on the range and feeding them food that is as close as possible to their native diets. They do not implant the animals with hormones or feed them growth-promoting additives. They are content to let the animals grow at their normal pace. Animals raised on pasture live very low-stress lives. As a result of their superb nutrition and lack of stress, they are superbly healthy. When you choose products from pastured animals, you are eating the food that nature intended. You are also supporting independent farmers, protecting small farms and rural communities, safeguarding the environment, promoting animal welfare, and eating food that is nutritious, wholesome, and delicious.

To learn more details about the benefits of choosing products from pastured animals, read Pasture Perfect by Jo Robinson and explore the wealth of science-based information on Eatwild.com.

A Choice, A Philosophy

We are what we eat. We are net consumers. What we choose to eat and what we choose to consume are important decisions. These simple decisions can help define our lives and improve our physical and mental wellness.

Grass Fed, Salad Bar, Pasture Raised Beef. Superficially, literally, these words may not mean much to you or to me. But examine the meanings, scientifically and humanely, If you really care about your body, the planet earth and the food we harvest than compare the Grass Fed, Salad Bar, Pasture Raised Beef to what is available at a supermarket and you will be awakened, converted and grateful for a choice that isn't a grain fed, feedlot choice!

Alan Nation, Joel Salatin, Wendall Berry. These men are role models and mentors to those of us involved in renaissance of humane, healthy, spiritual family farming in America.

These men are right and corporate farming is wrong. We can't stop corporate farms but we can support family farms and farmers. It is our philosophy to provide a choice. The decision is ours..