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Why We're Not Certified Organic
Because we are located in the
Permian Basin area of West Texas it would be impossible as a practical
matter to certify any of our ranches as organic. The reason being is
that we have an ever-present drought and the oil field requires a
variety of chemicals to treat and process their products. There is
little we, as ranchers, can do to limit the oil company’s use of
chemicals.
One of the management practices
that our family has adopted over many years of ranching here in West
Texas is to have the flexibility to move cattle between ranches during
periods of drought. If we were to certify organic, we would have to
restrict activities on many sections of ranchland located in several
counties.
Another challenge of ranching in the
desert
is the presence of several species of plants that are toxic to
livestock. In order to control these plants, many of which are not
native to this area, we are required to utilize herbicides. Organic
would take away that option and cause us to lose cattle to these toxic
plants.
Our cattle have access to all of
the fresh air, nutritious grasses, clean water, and the finest mineral
supplements that they care to eat. When we work our livestock, we take
care not to cause undue stress to them. It is our best interest to
have contented cattle, because if they are stressed, they don’t gain
weight.
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Benefits of Spanish Cattle
Longhorn and Corriente cattle were
introduced to the New World from Spain over five centuries ago. After
the Civil War, the men who fought came home to Texas to find Longhorns
thriving in the brush and thickets. Many ranches began with a “long”
rope and a “hot” branding iron. These Longhorn cattle received the
name “Texas Longhorn” when they were driven up the trail from Texas to
the Kansas railhead.
Because
of their heritage, Spanish cattle are an environmentally friendly
breed adapted to the desert. They are able to travel long distances to
search for water and grass, and don’t require supplemental feeding.
Their natural resistance to diseases of all types means that Spanish
cattle require no antibiotics in their life cycle.
Most of the grain that is fed to
Longhorn cattle goes directly into producing muscle not fat. In fact,
a study by Clemson University revealed that Longhorn / Corriente beef
is lower in total fat and saturated fatty acids than Angus and
Hereford beef. Numerous other studies have shown Longhorn beef to be
lower in cholesterol than mainstream beef. This results in a leaner,
lower fat meat for today’s health conscious consumer. This is good
news for people who need to limit their fat intake, but still want to
include red meat in their diet. |