good breeds for pastured organic?

[bibliophile birds]

after many years of thinking i wanted nothing to do with the family farming business, i've finally realized that it's what i love... i just needed to find my own niche, so to say. that niche is organics. i've finally convinced my family to experiment with organics and now have until spring to come up with some really great ideas.

we've always run pastured, grass-fed beef cattle, but for this i want to get away from the Longhorns we've raised for years and do something new and interesting. i'm looking for something resilient and hardy in our Southern heat and humidity. i'm also particularly interested in heritage breeds and the ALBC endangered breeds. i would love to find a breed that is great for beef and milking, but i'd be happy with two different breeds as well (we've never had dairy cows, so i really know nothing about them).

so, i am just wondering if anyone has experience in this area and could suggest some breeds for me to look into. i'm doing some research, but going into this without a direction is quite difficult.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Why do you want to get away from the Longhorns?

As far as breeds for grass-fed besides TL's, the best ones to stick with are the hardier British-type breeds, both popular and not so much. Murray Greys come to mind, as well as South Devon, Red Poll, Red Angus, Shorthorn, Hereford, and many others. Many of these breeds, if selected right to be easy keepers on grass-only (which all of these listed have been), will do great with your grass-fed operation. I'm not as familiar with the rare breeds, but I hope I started rolling the ball for you.

 

[bibliophile birds]

i've really loved the longhorns. we had one bull that we bottle raised from day 1 and he was just the sweetest, most beautiful, gigantic thing i've ever seen. he passed away last year at 14 years old.

we've had some problems with fences being torn down when a rowdy longhorn or two decides it wants to eat the grass on the other side of the driveway. but mostly, i just want to try something new. we don't have any plans on getting rid of the LTs altogether, but we're definitely downsizing a bit.

i've been thinking about Angus, but the other suggestions are really helpful. i don't know anything really about Murray Greys, but i think i'm going to have to do some research.

thanks so much!

 

[hcammack]

For a duel purpose breed that can produce both milk and meat I would go with an american milking devon or a dexter. Devon's were some of the first cows in the US and the milking lines are very rare although beef lines are more common.

Henry

 

[Bossroo]

Too, dairy cows need to be milked morning and night, 305 days a year... this is labor intensive. For beef, I would go with the 1) Angus, 2) Hereford or 3) Shorthorn for the most return on investment.

 

[Royd Wood]

What breed did you end up choosing

 

[Jovid]

after many years of thinking i wanted nothing to do with the family farming business, i've finally realized that it's what i love... i just needed to find my own niche, so to say. that niche is organics. i've finally convinced my family to experiment with organics and now have until spring to come up with some really great ideas.

we've always run pastured, grass-fed beef cattle, but for this i want to get away from the Longhorns we've raised for years and do something new and interesting. i'm looking for something resilient and hardy in our Southern heat and humidity. i'm also particularly interested in heritage breeds and the ALBC endangered breeds. i would love to find a breed that is great for beef and milking, but i'd be happy with two different breeds as well (we've never had dairy cows, so i really know nothing about them).

so, i am just wondering if anyone has experience in this area and could suggest some breeds for me to look into. i'm doing some research, but going into this without a direction is quite difficult.

Red Poll

 

[Stepbystep]

Anyone doing truely grass feed pure organic in texas and if so what breed to you run?

 

[Stepbystep]

I guess no one out there truly does organic cattle raise by the lack of response.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

I guess no one out there truly does organic cattle raise by the lack of response.

Because there is no such thing as "truly organic." Redtailgal explained it beautifully in the Meaning of Organic thread:

I DONT buy organic from the grocery store. I dont trust the "organic" label and I'll tell you why.

It's over used and underqualified and misrepresented. I've seen organic honey.........Now, tell me how HONEY can be organic? No one can control where those bees go, they dont know to only go to organic flowers.

The same thing with eggs.....if those hens have been out with grass between their toes, they eat bugs. THere is no way to ensure that your farm only has organic bugs. The flies that hatched out of the poop from a drugged up cow on the neighboring farm get eaten by the chickens on my farm.......drug residue in my eggs.


NEighbor treats his field with chemical fertilizers and the rain washes it onto my field. (this has happened here). My livestock eat the grass out of their "chemical free" pasture, but they are eating the neighbors chemicals.

I buy a new field, one that was used before me by a farmer who relied heavily on chemicals. I go organic, and can be labeled organic, because I dont use those chemicals. However, how long does the residue stay in the dirt that feeds my crop or livestock?

To be truly organic, you need organic dirt (oddly enough, that would be hard to find) and organic bugs etc.


Organic farming is healthier for the livestock, IMO, but I don't believe anything can be as truly "Organic" as people like to believe. Perhaps "reduced chemicals" would be a better term, lol.

Organic farming is much like the natural husbandry practices that I have seen out there. Many many people use the word organic or homeopathic or natural husbandry to cover up being lazy or just plain cheap. The people that do organics and natural husbandry correctly and to the best of their ability, bust their butts to do it. It is a shame to see folks who take a label and use it as a cover up

'Nuff said. Besides this "organic" labelling stuff should really be Naturally-raised, not "organic."