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We’re in the best of hands….
….a friend opined the other day that I was going a little far in my rants about Big Government. He conceded the abuses but he said he’d rather have the safety of federal inspections than the alternative. Turns out he…and we…have neither. http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2530619#.UaTHlkWFi0w.twitter Not to belabor the point: know your farmer and know his processor. Yes, all our meat is USDA-inspected but what really counts is the Thistle Hill label. Incidentally, we don’t ship our meat but if you contact us we’ll put you in touch with a reputable supplier near you. We also have been impressed with the meat offered on the internet by US Wellness.
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The antibiotic menace….
….is real and growing. Antibiotics are not used primarily to treat sick animals, but as a weight enhancer. They’re at least as effective as growth hormones but, just to be sure, commercial producers of meat use both. In fact, antibiotics are used more in farming than among humans. Dr. David Kessler, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, recently said this about the practice. “While the F.D.A. can see what kinds of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are coming out of livestock facilities, the agency doesn’t know enough about the antibiotics that are being fed to these animals,” he writes. “This is a major public health problem, because giving healthy livestock…
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Still more on marketing grass fed beef….
….my recent post on the price disadvantage American producers face when competing against foreign grass fed beef (see below “Roundtable: Can I make money selling grass fed beef) needs some fine tuning. My point was that I pay almost four times as much for butchering as my competitor in Tasmania. And so foreign beef can absorb the shipping costs and still undersell American beef. But my good friend Bill Roberts of 12 Stones Grasslands Beef files a mild disagreement (that’s what friends are for, to tell you when you’re wrong. Mildly.) Bill says we’re not up against price competition alone. As I understand it, price is not the main issue in…
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Roundtable: Can I make money selling grass fed beef?
It’s a question that comes up whenever a new Devon breeder recognizes the gourmet quality of the meat in his pasture: can I sell this animal at a reasonable profit or do I have to settle for the price dictated by the auction barn? That same new Devon breeder also quickly becomes discouraged when he realizes he can’t produce enough meat for the commercial marketplace. Not many Devon breeders have the numbers necessary to supply the needs of just one store much less a major supermarket chain or a wholesaler that buys thousands of steers at a crack. The marketing problem seems insurmountable. Edward Taylor of Vermont wrote us recently…
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Comparison shopping….
Our son-in-law Curt sends a picture of the grass fed beef case at the Central Market in Dallas. We found the prices, let’s say, “impressive”. Of course, there are all those wealthy oil men out in Texas. We followed (in parentheses) with the Thistle Hill price, assuming any individual cuts were available. Filet Mignon 31.99 (22.00) NY Strip 18.99 (16.00) Sirloin steak 11.99 (10.00) Burger 6.99 ( 4.50) No, this isn’t laying the groundwork for a price increase. Certainly, one reason prices for grass fed meat are higher than conventional cuts at the market, or on line, is that not only does it take more time to raise a grass fed animal (increasing the cost) but grass…
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Sign up for Thistle Hill beef….
This note from a neighbor and customer reminds me that we haven’t invited you to try Thistle Hill beef for yourself: We had DELICIOUS (Thistle Hill) t-bone steaks last night…cooked rare! Emphasis is the writer’s. In the past few years, we’ve been unable to keep up with the demand but we have been setting aside some animals to remedy the problem. Right now we expect to double our production in late Spring. Meanwhile, we have just put another Devon in for processing. And if you’d like to add your name to our mailing list so you can place an order, just send an email to info@thistlehill.net. For those of you impatient…
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What’s in a name – 2
…continuing our rant about labeling (See What’s in a Name below)… Our daughter, Carolyn, is a cancer surgeon in Texas though her career has moved more and more to nutrition and integrative medicine. She is now the director of the Baylor Medical Center integrative medicine department and it was in that role she was interviewed on a Dallas radio program the other day. Naturally, she was singing the benefits of grass fed beef and was surprised when one of the callers to the program said he was a grass fed beef farmer and at that very moment was delivering meat to one of his customers. Almost seemed like a plant,…
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The looming meat “cliff”….
…and we could be falling off that, too. Kit Pharo linked to the drought monitor today and it demonstrates that while the drought over much of the country is forgotten….it certainly isn’t gone! http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/12_week.gif The drought has forced many ranchers we know in the Midwest and West to cut back their herds or even close down completely. The increased number of cattle going to slaughter earlier in the year has kept cattle prices fairly low, despite the high cost of corn. But now the overall national herd is at record low numbers and demand has been forcing cattle prices (and beef) to rise. But the worst is yet to come. …
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Planning ahead…
…a few months back we initiated a sign-up program for our neighbors who wanted to reserve grass fed beef and pastured pork. That seems to have worked well, with most people finding it convenient to program their freezer supplies to make room for our meat packs. The final steer in that series will be coming out in just a few days and, as always, all the shares have been spoken for. Excuse me, Miss Ady. * But this program also helps us schedule our steers for market and right now we are looking at beef being available in the middle of October, November and December. Again we’ll be selling halves, quarters and…
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We get letters….
….whenever we send out our latest boxes of beef and pork. Those who are new to Thistle Hill meat apparently never quite believe what we’ve been saying: not only is it healthy but it’s delicious. Here’s an email we just received about our PorkPak from Susan B.: We are so enjoying the pork we purchased from you. I have made the sausage as well as the bratwurst. Both were absolutely delicious. We were wondering if you might have more of the bratwurst for sale? We would love to have it at a family get-together ~and keep some in the freezer for later use. Definitely keep us on your mailing list…