On this Earth Day, I thought I would take a moment to highlight the real warriors for a healthier ag biz. Our friendly farmers and ranchers are doing the real work, one pasture, one animal, one incredibly long day at a time. Today, I celebrate the efforts of these men and women who are trying to change the way we enjoy meat, for the better.
Read MoreIn the US, Lamb are typically born and raised in the fields on pasture and fodder for about six months. At that point, they’re shipped to a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) or “feedlot” that looks much like the Harris Ranch facility in Coalinga I wrote about last year. Animals are corralled in mud pins, sometimes with shade sometimes without, and “finished” for 30 to 45 days.
Read MoreWhat I love about farmers is that they’re just so damned practical. Just when I think I’ve got things figured out, and my dogma down, some farmer comes along and schools me in how logic, nature and, history can challenge all our assumptions.
Read MoreModern day grass-fed ranchers are not your run of the mill luddites resisting progress. Grass-fed beef is a tough business. Less than 5% of the market, it’s expensive to raise, complicated to manage, and hard to process. It would be a lot easier to raise cattle for nine months on the same pasture, and then sell them to a feedlot. But Seth has chosen a different path.
Read MoreI’m still not used to retail life around the holidays. I feel a little like I’ve been aboard the Millennium Falcon for the last six week, Hyperspacing (if that’s a verb) from planet to planet of work, family, and friends, just holding on tight so I don’t fly right through a holiday Turkey, or bounce to close to a Christmas present.
Read MoreA couple of weeks ago, I interviewed White Oak Pastures’ Will Harris, and got things straight from the horse’s (or dare I say steer’s) mouth. You can learn more about Will and his beautiful Georgian regenerative farm in last week’s post, but suffice it to say, he’s got plenty of grass-fed street cred. The largest grass-finished beef rancher in the country, Will is also one of the...
Read MoreEighteen thousand acres of wetlands, native grasslands, old growth Oak forest, walnut groves, and ancient grain and bean fields are shaped by the meanderings of rivers, creeks, and undulating canals and levies that ripple through the property. This is Rancho Llano Seco. The ranch is so old, granted in 1841, that it was originally measured in leagues (four square leagues to be exact).
Read More“The truth is, there is (a lot of) beef out there that is bad for the environment,” says Loren. “Grain-fed beef transported halfway across the country has a big carbon footprint. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Grass-fed beef that is raised responsibly, finished on local forage, and processed and sold locally, actually reduces carbon footprint.”
Read MorePaul is just as concerned about re-invigorating the soil, as he is about raising chickens. If he only worried about the size of his hens, he could easily pump them full of antibiotics and hormones. Instead, Paul worries about rotating the birds regularly to actually rebuild the organic material and microbial diversity of his pastures. This effort protects the land from erosion, and builds up biodiversity. One look at his green fields and plumped chickens, and it seems he’s on to something.
Read MoreThe founding fathers (and mothers) of the organic movement had the right idea: food should come from local, renewable sources that conserve soil and water, and improve the environment. But then the established food industry discovered they could increase their profits by getting on the organic bandwagon. That’s when things started to go “crazy,” according to Paul.
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