Premiums for Natural
Beef
Compiled By Staff
Dakota Farmer
July 29, 2008
Beef producers have
new incentives to raise their animals the natural way.
North Dakota Natural Beef LLC,
Some markets are paying premiums for natural beef and with a
local processing plant starting up there will be significant transportation
savings, says Karl Hoppe, NDSU Extension Service livestock specialist at the
He estimates that it will cost about $60 per head to ship
cattle to a processing plant in
However, producers who are thinking about raising cattle the
natural way can't wait to make that decision until they sell their calves this
fall. They need to make that decision soon, while the calves still are out on
pasture, Hoppe advises. That's because what producers feed, implant or apply on
their animals could affect the cattle's eligibility to be sold as naturally
raised.
In today's marketplace, the generally accepted definition
for natural beef is "never-ever," which means producers have not
treated the cattle with antibiotics or hormone growth implants. A few companies
consider cattle as being naturally raised if they didn't receive antibiotics or
implants for a certain time period before they were slaughtered or if tests on
the meat show no traces of antibiotics or hormones.
Because of this variance in standards, producers should
check with the companies where they intend to market their cattle to determine
what criteria they would need to meet to sell their animals as naturally
raised, Hoppe says.
Producers also need to remember that raising cattle
naturally doesn't mean the animals can't be immunized. Producers actually are
encouraged to immunize their calves to ensure the animals have minimal health
problems.
Keeping accurate records of which animals receive
antibiotics or implants and making sure they are separated from other animals
going to market as naturally raised cattle also are important pieces of any
natural beef program, Hoppe says.
Source: NDSU Extension Communications
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