Recommendations for Raising All Natural Beef

Pasture

• A big part of a natural beef program is to ensure that all pastures the cows feed on have not been sprayed with any sort of non-organic growth chemical or pesticide. Remember that there are certified organic solutions to deal with certain issues that arise. For example, garlic water can be quite effective at keeping pests away. Insect traps and strains of disease-resistant grass can be employed as well.

Shelter

• While healthy cattle are a hardy species and can survive brutally hot summer days as well as bone-chilling winter nights, there's no sense in forcing them to face the elements unprotected. A simple barn or lean-to could offer a place to take shelter while still allowing access to plenty of fresh air and water, sunshine, and room to roam. Outbuildings can be as simple or complex as you like, though incorporating a dedicated space to store hay for the winter and your stock of organic grains -- if you decide to use them -- makes sense.

Stock

• To get your natural beef operation started, you'll need to purchase some yearlings to kick things off. A yearling is a calf about a year old; you'll want those that have been weaned from their mother's milk and have eaten only an organic diet since then. The mother should also be certified organic. After you have a few cows in place on your land and a few seasons have gone by, your operation should be self-sustaining as new calves are born. Of course, if you want to increase the size of your operation more rapidly, buy more yearlings.

Food

• Natural beef can be classified into two categories. The first has been raised on nothing but grass and mother's milk. The second includes organic grain as an additional diet component. Some people claim that beef from grain-raised cattle yields a slightly fatter animal and tastier end product. When buying any sort of food for your herd, always be vigilant that the products are certified organic or natural, while being aware that the term "organic" simply means derived from natural sources and not synthetically manufactured.