It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:19 am

All times are UTC - 6 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 5 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Sat May 29, 2004 9:40 am 
Offline

Joined: Sat May 29, 2004 9:17 am
Posts: 1
Location: ,
We have two famility 'ranches' outside of Lulling--one is about 500 acres on the San Marcos River, the other is about 500 acres with well water.

We are quite serious about raising organic beef on these properties (and leaving corporate America behind!). We've done a fair amount of internet research, but are looking for other Central Texas ranchers who have gone organic or who are considering it.

We are looking for info on everything from how many head we could run on that acreage to vets and slaughterhouses.

Thanks in advance!
Chris


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun May 30, 2004 10:13 pm 
Offline
Moderator
Moderator

Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2003 12:45 am
Posts: 420
Location: Whitesboro,TX
Lots of questions.
Do you know the difference between
organic beef and grass fed? Grass fed
with out chemicals and drugs is heart
healthy - contains omega III and CLA -
heart healthy and believed to prevent
cancer and obesity. Organic is better
than store bought but not a lot better.
What breed do you intend to use? Large
mutants that are tough, no marbling to
speak of and don't do well on grass
because they were bred to only do
well on grain and hard to keep in and
hard to handle.
Do you know the difference between
pure bred and out crossed? PB of any
breed will always taste better and if
you have to many out crosses you will
have fertility problems.
Did you know you can raise more beef
per acre with small and/or miniature cows.
There has been a law suit in the WTO
against the US for subsidizing and making
cheap grain and creating cheap meat. The
US has lost so far - which is good. If they
continue to loose, the gov will have to
stop making cheap grain. Hopefully this
will do away with feed lots and the torture
they do to animals and the toxic feed and
chemicals they give them. If this happens,
the beef industry will have to go back to
smaller animals that do well and finish on
grass. Who many small animals do you
think there are - very few!
You can graze at least 2 minis in the space
of one big momma cow - sometimes 3
under the right conditions.
Do you know any thing about cattle?
I understand you desire to get out of
the city - we live on 44 acres with access
to a total of 51 and I will never go into
small town much less than the city,
buttttttttttttttttt maybe you should not
give up your day job. Can you commute
for a while - wife and kids on farm and
you commute.
This is not a good time to be buing cows
because they are not cheap.
I will be glad to help you in any way I can.
Robert D Bard


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon May 31, 2004 2:39 pm 
Offline

Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2003 12:41 pm
Posts: 92
Location: Austin
Chris,

I'll second Bob's comments about grass-fed versus organic. If you haven't already found them, there are a couple of good websites to check out -- http://www.eatwild.com (on grass-fed meats) and http://www.hrm-texas.org/ (Texas Holistic Management group).

While there are a lot of advantages to minis, I have to disagree with Bob that the larger cows are tough and not tasty -- we raised a couple of Charolais cows on our place (organic and grass-fed), and came away with some incredibly good meat. Toughness generally has more to do with age and the animals' stress levels and condition than anything else. The minis do have a lot of advantages -- more efficient feed to meat conversion being a big one -- but they are hard to find. As well as thinking about minis, you might want to look into regualr (non-mini) Herefords and Angus, both of which do well in Texas.

On your more specific questions ... before we can make any suggestions about how many head you can run, we need to know the condition of the land. Is it overrun with mesquite? Go walk around and see how much is grass versus weeds -- if it's a lot of weeds, you might add some goats to the mix. What type of soil do you have? How much work are you prepared to put into this? You can run a lot more cows, and have healthier land, if you're doing frequent rotations (moving pastures once a week).

I've used a couple of different slaughterhouses in this area, and I've liked Ron Ivy at Taylor Meat the most. I have yet to need a vet for any of our livestock -- we focus on good nutrition, and I know some herbal and homeopathic medicine.

Judith


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 11:38 pm 
Offline
Moderator
Moderator

Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2003 3:45 pm
Posts: 2884
Location: San Antonio,TEXAS
In your Internet research, did you find the following websites?

http://www.rossfarm.com/index.html

http://homesteadhealthyfoods.com/index.asp

http://www.whiteegretfarm.com/

_________________
David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2004 4:22 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2003 11:56 am
Posts: 33
Location: Tyler, Texas
We have programs for hay and grazing pastures. Our programs work specialy well with rotational grazing practices. Give us a call, we can get you started

_________________
We manufacture and sell Organic Fertilizer Products. We specalize in Hay and Grazing Pastures. We also grow and sell Oranically Grown Horse Quality Coastal and Clover/ Coastal Hay. 903 858-2030
www.watsonranchorganic.com


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 5 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 6 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by eWeblife