Our Cattle

Calf with its mother (from istockphoto.com)

All of the beef we sell were born on our farm in Vinton, Iowa. We have 60 cows in our herd that calve once per year. Several weeks after they are born, the calves and their mothers are moved to pastures where they feed on grass all summer. Late in the summer the calves are started on oats, corn and hay as a supplement to their mother’s milk.

Several weeks prior to weaning, the calves are vaccinated to keep them healthy and prevent many diseases that could sicken or kill them. The calves are then weaned in the least stressful way possible. (This allows the mother cow to nurture the calf she is carrying.) After weaning, the calves are fed twice daily on a diet of grass or alfalfa hay, ground ear corn, and silage (the whole corn plant chopped and fermented to preserve all of the nutrients). All of these are our home-grown ingredients. As the calves grow, their diet changes to meet their needs. A protein supplement is added and the proportion of hay and silage is slowly reduced. This allows the animal to grow quickly and produce a juicy, tasty product that is high in protein, iron, and zinc. The average age of an animal harvested on our farm is 14 months, optimizing the beef's tenderness. We do not use growth hormones on our cattle.

Our cattle always have clean, dry bedding and shelter from bad weather. They also have constant access to clean water, from the same well our family uses. Our cattle are usually fed before we sit down to eat, and always given the best care right up to harvest.

We process our beef through the Newhall Locker in Newhall, Iowa. They are an FDA-certified facility, allowing us to provide the highest-quality products to our customers. You choose the cut options you would like - see our Beef Guide and Beef Prices for more information.

Sustainability

Our family has farmed in Benton County for five generations, and we care about sustainable farming. We work hard to reduce soil erosion and manage chemicals responsibly. Some of the corn we raise is pest-resistant. This trait comes from a gene that is found in nature, and it helps control two damaging pests, the corn borer and the corn rootworm. This trait reduces the amount of insecticide we use.

We practice responsible farming.

Our corn has another trait that allows us to use the weed killer Roundup. This effective herbicide reduces tillage, which results in less soil erosion during the growing season. This helps keep soil and nutrients out of our waterways and oceans. Both of these traits also help our corn produce a maximum yield, lowering the cost of our cattle feed. We pass these savings on to you when we sell more affordable beef.

The crops that help us keep our farm sustainable are considered genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Both of the traits we use have been approved by the FDA, USDA, and EPA for almost 20 years. Neither has ever been shown to have any harmful effects. We eat beef from our farm, and if we had any concern about the safety of this product, we would not produce it or serve it to our children. You can trust that our beef is sustainable, safe, and healthy for you and your family. Check out the Food Dialogues website to find out more about agriculture and GMOs.