We raise cattle...and YES we eat beef.

         I recently came across a story from the state of New York that highlights upon the disconnect between modern society and the people that produce their food. The Benner farm, a small 15-acre family farm established in the 1700’s opens its doors each year to provide agriculture education to parents and children. The Benner’s are now being protested after a visitor to the farm disagreed with the reality that a 2-year-old cow owned by the Benner’s will one day provide beef for the Benner family. The individual who has started the uproar was quoted as saying “he doesn't need this cow to survive and feed his family. He puts a sob story on there. Please, tell him to go to Whole Foods and go get some anti-biotic free beef there.” I myself have been questioned by friends and family as to how I can raise cattle and continue to eat beef, beef that we raised.

To clarify…all the beef you buy in the grocery store was raised by someone, whether from Whole Foods, Kroger, Meijer or your local fresh meat market. The animals that produced the beef in the cooler were fed and cared for by an individual whose livelihood depends on providing a quality product. In the case of farmers and ranchers who raise beef cattle, the outcome is a healthy animal that can be sold for slaughter and produce high quality cuts of meat for consumers. That being said there are several types of beef farms. Our family farm for example is a cow-calf operation, meaning that we have a herd of cows (females) that are bred and have a calf once a year. Those calves are cared for on our farm until they are weaned from their mothers.  The calves are then sold in the fall to 1.) be show calves for young people involved in showing livestock, 2.) be replacement heifers (they will stay on our farm and start having calves by the age of two), or 3.) they could be sold to a farmer who ‘finishes’ the animal for slaughter. The term “finish an animal” means to feed them in a way that encourages fattening within the last 90-160 days before slaughter. A well finished animal will provide well marbled meat which makes for tastier, more tender cuts. While most of the steer (castrated male typically raised for slaughter) calves we have each year are sold, we will finish 2-3 steers for our families’ freezers. Could we afford to purchase our meat at the grocery store, the answer is yes, but instead we choose to raise our own because we have it available to us. There are many families like the Benner’s who do not necessarily make their living from raising beef cattle for meat but they choose to raise their own food. I can understand the women’s perspective that if it were her cow she may not be able to bring herself to slaughter the animal and have that animal end up in their family freezer. I myself would be lying if I said that ‘knowing the animal’ before they are slaughtered isn’t difficult, but I understand that they were raised for a purpose and I find my peace in knowing they were well cared for during their time on our farm. It is the Benner family’s right to do with their animals as they choose so long as the animal was well cared for during her lifetime. Farmers in animal agriculture have a love and a passion for the animals they raise or they wouldn’t put in the grueling hours it takes to care for them, but at the end of the day farmers also understand that the purpose of food animal production is to provide quality food for you at the grocery store and for their own family.

To learn more about the Benner farm, visit their website at: http://www.bennersfarm.com/