Grass-fed beef producers could be “price-makers” not “price-takers.” It’s even more interesting given the fact that I had shown how this is possible with virtually no heavy farm implements (or bank loans) at all, and with the assurance that the price one can receive for properly-raised beef will not have the extreme price fluctuations seen with commodity beef - or, for that matter, like prices fluctuate with commodity grains. An organic corn producer raised his hand and stated, in all seriousness, “I still don’t understand why I would want to take my land out of production …” I wasn’t sure how to respond to that comment, given that I had just shown figures explaining how the top producers who finishġ00 percent grass-fed cattle were pocketing $500 or more profit per acre per year. (Then, as now, THCC is actively recruiting new producers.)Īfter going through several hours of financial and nutritional data derived from producers, I asked if there were any questions. A Southpoll cow, bred specifically to perform well on grass in warm climates.Ī few years ago, in Ankeny, Iowa, just outside Des Moines, I gave a lecture to an audience of organic farmers and ranchers about how one could become a producer for Thousand Hills Cattle Co. The few remaining bison are mostly nourished, fattened anyway, from silage and grain, just like the cattle, hogs and poultry. Now the prairie has been reduced to less than 0.01 percent of its original size. The stocking density was incredible, and the annual “harvest” by the ruminants just made it better. This land, before we got here, was 70-80 percent polyculture perennial prairie loaded with millions of bison. Good old grass, that is nutrient-dense, high-Brix and abundant, has become hard to find anywhere, but particularly in the land formerly known as the Great Plains. Just because it’s green doesn’t mean there is anything in it.
For one thing, most modern cattle are no longer structured in a manner to achieve this, nor is the quality of our grass what it once was.
I’m not saying that it can’t be done, just that it’s not very likely to work that way. It’s a common mistake to assume that one can merely throw some mediocre sale barn cattle onto old worn-out row crop land and come back in a year or two to find glistening happy cattle that are fully fattened and ready to go to town.
Getting off on the right foot is important. When you attend a conference these days, the packed classrooms are the ones explaining grass-fed beef production. Demand for grass-fed beef continues to rise, whereas the feedlot beef industry is stagnant.
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