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We are a small family-owned and operated farm in Central Texas that raises certified organic, certified grassfed, grass finished beef cattle for direct sale to consumers as well as certified organic hay for those who need it. We have been Certified Organic for crops since 2015 and for livestock born after mid-March 2018. Our current certifier is OCIA International (our certificate) [from 2015-2025, we were certified by Natures International.] This means that we do not use growth or other hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, GMO plants, and a wide range of other practices that are thought to diminish the wholesomeness of food. We were certified by the Real Organic Project (our certificate) in June 2020. This means that we are located in the United States, are not a large corporation gaming the National Organic Program, and are what you are probably looking for: a small family-run farm that does things the right way.
We are also Certified 100% Grass-fed by American Grassfed Association effective 2019. Please note that this certification standard includes rigorous animal welfare requirements, which we meet. The word "regenerative" has recently become popular, referring to improving the soil by nurturing the bacteria, fungi, and other microbes therein. This includes sequestering CO2, which helps with the high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere these days. So how can you know which operations are "regenerative"? The USDA is now using that term a lot but does not define it specifically. There are a number of companies that are competing with each other to be the "definitive" certifier for this label. When I called them, each wanted an annual fee that was three to four times the cost of maintaining organic certification in exchange for processes that focused on soil rather than on your food. Then I came across the National Organic Coalition.
They take the position that Organic is a leading form of ecologically regenerative agriculture. Decades of research demonstrate that organic farms build healthy soils, fight climate change, increase their resilience to extreme weather, and support healthy communities. Policymakers, companies, and institutions that want to invest in regenerative practices should understand that organic is a leading form of regenerative agriculture and a proven way to meet sustainability goals.
So we take that position too: Organic is Regenerative. We are Certified Organic, and therefore our operation is Regenerative also. Please note also that the term "grassfed" properly implies "grass finished". However, it has been distorted by marketers who say to themselves, "Gosh, all cattle are grassfed for the first year or so of their lives so if we feed them grain for the last 6 months or so of their lives (which is the finishing phase), were they not grass fed early on? So we will call ours grass fed too!" Thus, unfortunately, we have to add that our cattle are "grass finished" too. They never receive grain or synthetic sources of nitrogen like urea. The certifiers like the American Grassfed Association look carefully at how we feed the cattle during our regular inspections, and of course they forbid feeding grain or synthetic sources of nitrogen. Several prospective customers have asked us about this so we added this paragraph to our home page. Thanks for reading!
News from our Farm (updated 02/19/2025)
In January 2025, we were able to perform formal testing of our ground beef for fat content by Food Safety Net Services in San Antonio, Texas. We had 4 batches in the freezers: three of our usual lean ground beef and one from a 5-year old animal that we harvested rather than sell into the commodity food system.The fat content of the three lean lots were 6.00, 6.09, and 7.30%; respectively, these correspond to 94%, 93.91%, and 92.7% lean.
The ground beef from the 5 year old animal had fat content 21.96%, and was 78.04% lean.
Which is better? The leaner ground beef has fewer calories but is less suitable for people on keto diets, who need fat for energy. The 5 year old's ground beef, at approximately 80/20, retains the health benefits of 100% grass fed / grass finished beeef but has the extra energy that people on keto diets require.
When you order, please let us know which type you prefer (while supplies last).
| Grass-fed Beef cattle (Certified Organic and Certified 100% Grassfed). Our grassfed steers have been processed since June 2020. The meat is USDA inspected and is now available for purchase. The meat is dry-aged 14-30 days before packaging to improve flavor and tenderness. The reports from our customers are favorable: "delicious" and "tastes like real beef and requires minimal seasoning" are common. Some of our customers with chemical allergies, food sensitivity, diabetes mellitus, and rare diseases of poorly understood etiology have told us that their conditions are improved when they eat our meat compared with when they eat industrially produced meat. We do not understand why diabetes mellitus glucose control should improve, but it is possible that substances in the industrial beef are triggering the other conditions. Our beef is not unique, of course. Any beef produced under organic conditions should yield the same benefit. Please note that this meat is grass-fed, not grain-fed, and must be cooked properly to avoid excessive toughness. These animals are also certified organic. The first USDA-inspected certified Organic processing plant in Texas, which is where we process our animals, was certified in November 2024. Our meat processed after that date is also certified Organic. (And, hats off to All Hale Meats LLC in Wolfforth TX, tel 806-771-0340, which was the first certified Organic processing plant in Texas!) Please see here for shipping options. Please see more information about pricing and our grassfed beef and/or Sign up for farm visits, occasional emails, and access to our online order forms. |
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| Hay (Certified Organic). We make 4×5 ft net-wrapped rolls and small two-wire square bales from WW B-Dahl Old World Bluestem. Cattle find this hay quite tasty, and sometimes prefer it to Coastal. We also make some Coastal hay. Please note that the square bales are relatively light, 28-40 lb, because we have to lift them off the ground into the trailer and from the trailer into the pole barn for storage, and then from storage onto transport (yours or ours). The square baler varies the length of the bales by itself. Most are about 2 feet long, but some are a bit shorter and some are up to 6 inches longer. The cross section of all of them is the same. We are trying to figure out the fairest way to price these. All suggestions are welcome. ] Please note that this hay is not horse quality: the crude protein is usually about 5%, which is pretty low even for cattle. For cattle, though, it is a useful source of fiber and energy. Protein in non-organic, non-grassfed cattle can be supplemented from a variety of sources, however. Please see here for pricing. |
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Eggs (Certified organic chicken). Not available at this time. Predators successfully penetrated the flock's protections during the winter of 2022. We plan to restock when we have improved the protections. |
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Local merchants We are pleased to bring to your attention Estes Collision Center in Comanche, TX, if you have need of such services. John Bec DDS has recently opened his dental practice Mountain View Dental Ruidoso in Ruidoso NM 88345. He is a personal friend and enjoys our beef. He also did a great job taking care of one of our children a few years ago. |
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Other sites we like The ECG Quiz, launched in April 2025, helps anyone interested in improving her or his skills in reading electrocardiograms. Using a quiz format, it presents a real electrocardiographic tracing and invites the user to list all the abnormalities in it. After the user submits the answers, it compares them with the diagnoses found by a team of a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist and a PhD biomedical engineer with expertise in ECG analysis. It also provides a text description of the abnormalities and a "ladder diagram". For tracings that could have more than one rhythm diagnosis, it shows the ladder diagram for each. The site has a database of hundreds of tracings in 12-lead and telemetry (1, 2, and 3 lead) formats. Central Texas Organic Beef Company, launched October 2025, is hoping to bring locally produced organic beef from certified organic dairies in and near Comanche County to consumers in Texas and beyond. The goal is to provide a reliable, locally sourced, fully verified product to consumers while providing better prices to the dairies for their older cows than they can get at the sale barn, and business to the first USDA-inspected certified organic processing plant in Texas. The Company is now in discussions with potential buyers and with the dairies. Please contact them if you are interested! Texas Grassfed Farms.com is a start-up online marketplace for consumers and producers of healthy Texas products including meat and eggs. We wish them good fortune as they gear up their efforts! Cardiothink.com is a technical site with helpful tips for adapting software to run on the Debian and Ubuntu variants of the Linux operating system. |
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