Frequently Asked Questions

Our beef is naturally lean.  When the processor prepares our hamburger, the ground beef is a ratio of 90% meat and 10% fat.  When hamburger is cooked, the fat drains away and leaves only the meat behind.  When you purchase 5 pounds of our meat, you will receive the equivalent of 4.5 pounds of prepared, cooked hamburger.    

As stated, our hamburger is 90% meat and only 10% fat.  This means that for every 5 pounds of hamburger purchased, 4.5 pounds of cooked meat can be expected,  Other suppliers have a much higher percentage of fat content in their hamburger.  For instance, if the fat content of hamburger is 40% as some is, that would translate to 3 pounds of cooked hamburger for every 5 pounds purchased.  A much higher fat content will allow the underlying meat to be a lesser quality, in some instances, and still have some good flavor because of the high fat content.  There are some suppliers who purchase older cows and have the fat incorporated into the hamburger to enhance the flavor of the meat.  This is happening with some companies that import beef and add the fat from American cows to make the taste of the otherwise undesirable hamburger into something that is more palatable to consumers.  Our animals are only 20 to 24 months of age when they are processed.  This allows them to have matured in the musculature, but not to have aged to the point that the meat would be of a lesser quality, requiring additives such as excess fat to be incorporated. 

Our beef was rated better than choice by the processor.  This is a highly desirable rating and is only behind the designation of prime.  The Charolais breed that we use as our herd’s foundation is naturally lean and therefore will have less marbling than some other breeds and not allow our beef to reach the coveted prime designation.    Here is a quote from the USDA regarding the designation of  prime and choice.  “Prime beef is produced from young, well-fed beef cattle. It has abundant marbling (the amount of fat interspersed with lean meat), and is generally sold in restaurants and hotels. Prime roasts and steaks are excellent for dry-heat cooking such as broiling, roasting or grilling.  Choice beef is high quality, but has less marbling than Prime. Choice roasts and steaks from the loin and rib will be very tender, juicy, and flavorful and are suited for dry-heat cooking. Many of the less tender cuts can also be cooked with dry heat if not overcooked. Such cuts will be most tender if braised, roasted or simmered with a small amount of liquid in a tightly covered pan.”  While our cattle are young (20-24 months at processing) and well fed, they lack that little extra marbling that would allow the meat to be designated as prime.  

We deliver our live animals to one of our processors. Our beef is processed at Cypress Valley Meat Company in Pottsville, Arkansas as well as 5R Custom Meats in Mount Vernon, Arkansas. Cypress Valley is a USDA inspected facility. Each cut of meat is vacuum sealed and labeled with our logo, the USDA inspection sticker, the cut type, and the package net weight. 5R meat is the processor we use for animals which are sold by the quarter, half, and whole. While each cut is labeled, it does not specify a package weight, or bear the USDA inspection logo. If a customer desires to purchase a quarter or more and they contact us in advance of the live animal delivery, they can specify what type of cuts they would like, the amount of meat per package, thickness of steaks, and other parameters that they would like met.

Live weight is the weight of the animal coming off the trailer when we deliver it to the processor.  Hanging (carcass) weight is the weight after the head, hide, and internal organs have been removed, and the beef is hanging to cure.  Package weight is the weight of the individual cuts with bones and fat removed.  Our meat is naturally lean, and no fat is added back in to increase the package weight.  The ground beef you receive is 90% lean/10% fat.  By comparison, the ground beef from a grocery store may be 80/20 or 70/30.  This means that for every pound of beef that you buy from the grocer, you receive 70% meat and 30% fat.  If you purchase by the individual cut, you will pay the rate per pound for that particular cut.  Ex: 2 lbs ground beef at $5.00/lb would equal $10.00.  If you purchase a quarter or greater quantity, you pay a flat rate of $5/lb for the hanging weight of the quarter, half, or whole.  If you purchase one of the quantities, you may receive the heart, tongue, liver, marrow, and bones if you so desire.  As an aside, the liver makes excellent fishing bait. 

Our cattle are raised in a pasture setting allowing them to graze and lounge in as natural a setting as we can maintain while simultaneously balancing the need to maximize the use of the land. We use rotational and strip grazing to feed forage crops to the cattle in pastures planted with warm and cool season crops. This management technique restricts the cattle to designated portions of the pasture and counters the animal’s instinct to graze only selected grasses in small segments of a larger field thereby increasing the impact of naturally occurring fertilizer and weed suppression through consumption.

We do not use hormones or antibiotics in the normal course of the life of any animal here on the farm. We believe that the animal’s genetics should determine the amount of weight it can gain, and that it should not be forced or constrained by use of growth hormones or antibiotics designed for just such a purpose.

When our calves are weaned, we give vaccines designed to prevent those diseases which are detrimental to their health because they are no longer receiving the immunity that they enjoy from their mother’s milk. The calves are weaned utilizing our holding pens and adjacent pastures to create an environment that is as stress free to the momma and baby as possible. The mother can see, hear, and smell her calf during the time required to successfully wean them from one another. After weaning, the calves are given a booster vaccine to cement their own immunity from the various diseases for which the vaccines are given.

Because we are with our animals each and every day of the year, we can quickly determine if one of our animals is displaying signs of being sick. When this is the case, we seek to administer a proper remedy to aid in the animal’s recovery. An adult cow will be given a shot or other medicine for the least amount of time possible. A calf will be treated with medicated milk or electrolytes to help it heal before moving on the more serious treatment of a shot.

Our pastures are planted with warm and cool season forage crops to allow our animals to graze for the maximum amount of days possible throughout the year. When the animals are confined, we use sorghum sudangrass silage produced here on the farm mixed with dried distiller’s grain, which is a byproduct of corn generated during the production of ethanol.

We use a mineral mix which varies dependent upon the time of the year. We have a different blend for cattle on grass because they need a few minerals at a higher concentration to fully utilize the ability of the cattle as a ruminant animal. All our blends help to supplement and address any deficiencies present in the diet and greatly aid in their overall health. As it is free choice, a few of the native species of animals, such as deer, turkeys, quail and dove here on the farm, also enjoy an enhanced diet as well.

The majority of our fields are arranged so our cattle have access to water tanks which are filled using the water we receive from Community water. The same water we enjoy in our homes is the same water the cattle drink. Studies have shown that employing this water source allows the cattle to attain a 10% increase in their performance. A few fields only have spring fed ponds as their water source.

We use a haybuster to chop our hay. The hay is processed this way for a variety of reasons. The hay is chopped in long rows allowing all of the herd to access the hay at the same time. This prevents the disturbance and destruction of the surface of the ground which takes place when the hay is presented in round bale form. A bale left in round form congregates a small number of animals surrounding the bale. The more timid animals tend to hang back until the others have fed and do not always receive their proper portion. In addition to all the animals having an adequate chance to feed in a timely manner, the chopped hay allows for potential lounging on dry bedding in inclement weather. Also, that hay which is ultimately trampled returns to the soil as fertilizer.

Electric fencing allows us to subdivide our pastures to maximize the feeding of the pasture. We can create any size or shape paddock that we desire. We can feed only that amount of crop which will sustain the herd for a single day. This method increases natural fertilization from the animals, bolsters weed control through animal consumption, and minimizes waste.

We employ the use of a bottle to feed a calf who has lost its mother, or if the calf needs an boost. Occasionally, this happens when a cow dies or has twins, one of which she rejects. Also, a heifer(a first time momma) may need help to supplement her calf during the time she recovers from birthing the calf. While a bottle is not an equivalent source of milk for a calf, it will allow the calf to grow at an almost equal rate, but it will be weaned at a much earlier time. This will allow the calf to be put on a grain-based diet for balanced nutritional health.