Alternative Beef Systems n Does Your Operation Fit?

By Sarah Watson, Livestock Editor
Thursday, February 7, 2008 1:43 PM CST

Alternative beef systems are becoming more popular across the Midwest and producers are deciding which system fits their farm the best n natural, organic or grassfed.

Alternative production methods work well in Wisconsin because of the ability to produce high quality pasture and forages throughout the growing season.

“That’s one of our advantages over other areas,” said Rhonda Gildersleeve, Iowa County UW-Extension agriculture agent at Tri-State Beef Day held in Prairie du Chien last week.

With the higher grain costs, producers are looking for a less expensive method of production. Consumer interest also drives the alternative production.

When talking about different production systems, both marketing and production need to be taken into consideration, she explained.

Production is how the animals are raised and marketing is how they are labeled.

“The question is, how do you know if your production system matches a particular marketing claim?” she said.

The USDA has created standardized marketing labels for producers.

“USDA has overall regulatory authority and is divided in between two different agencies within USDA,” she explained.

The Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) provides service to help market meat and meat products and helps determine the minimum standards for common production and marketing claims. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for making sure the meat, poultry and egg products are safe and accurately labeled.

“These two agencies have to work together on any of these label claims,” she said.

There are several label claims including: Antibiotic use, breed label, geographic location identity, grain fed, hormone supplements, source verified, preconditioned, and the use vitamin E in feed. Meat has its own label claims: Aged, electrical stimulation, free range, grassfed, natural and organic.

Free Range

Free Range, free roaming or pasture raised is a rule that started in 2002. The rule states livestock have continuous and unconfined access to pasture throughout their lifecycle.

“Basically for cattle and sheep never confined to a feedlot and for swine they’ll have continuous access to pasture for at least 80 percent of their production cycle,” she said.

Producers have to verify the livestock are cared for during normal inclement weather conditions, during birthing and other times requiring special attention.

For red meat, FSIS adds the statement “free range and never confined to a feedlot.”

Grassfed

“The grassfed label is our newest label,” she said. “It was finalized in 2007.”

For some in the grassfed industry the rule is still controversial. USDA received around 20,000 comments on the grassfed rule.

The rule says that grass and forage will be the only feed source consumed for the lifetime of the ruminant animal with the exception of any milk consumed prior to weaning. It includes annual and perennial grasses, legumes, cereal grains in the vegetative or pregrain stage, hay, haylage, baleage, silage, and crop residues that don’t contain grain.

“One thing that is not included here is corn stalk residues because they feel there’s the opportunity to access grain out in those fields,” she said.

Vitamin and mineral supplementations are allowed. They have to have continuous access to grass pasture throughout the growing season.

If there is inadvertent exposure to grains n cattle got out in the corn field or corn stalks, or if there were adverse weather conditions and some grain supplementation was needed n the grassfed label does allow this. Full documentation of what they were exposed to, how long, and how much is required.

Natural

“We do have an existing, I guess you might say, basic definition,” she said.

The current natural label is a product containing no artificial flavors, coloring, chemical preservatives or other synthetic ingredients, and that is only minimally processed.

The natural definition is solely a marketing claim n it has nothing to do with production methods used on the farm.

This claim can include all production methods, conventional or alternative.

“As interest in this has increased, there’s also been a movement to add production claims that define this,” she said.

A year ago a proposal to “clear up” some of the language and add production practices to the natural label was introduced. The proposal covers more than just the processing and ingredients of meat. The proposal includes growing environment, ration, and health practices of producer.

The new label is for livestock used for meat products and need to be raised without growth promotants, no antibiotics and be fed no mammalian or avian byproducts from birth to slaughter. Approved for use are vaccines, parasite control products, feed grade microbials, vitamins and minerals.

Organic

Organic is the longest running rule. “It has very prescribed rules and protocols,” she said.

This has been in place from 2002 and can only be used on raw or processed agricultural products including ingredients that have been produced in accordance with the national organic program.

Producers selling over $5,000 of “organic” raw or processed agriculture products must go through the organic certification process. An application must be filled out and sent to AMS. AMS then assigns an inspector to the farm. The inspector has to examine the crops used on the farm during the growing season and write a report on the farm and send it to AMS. If inspection passes, then certification would be granted unless more information or production/management changes were needed.

The organic rule states beef must be raised under organic management from the last third of gestation; fed 100 percent organic feed and the land supplying the organic feed must be certified; use only allowed vitamin and mineral supplements; no use of implants, antibiotics, or wormer; kept separate from conventionally produced beef; and have continuous access to pasture and outdoors.

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