The organic beef market is growing about 20 percent annually.
Organic food, once a limited market, has gone mainstream. In 1990, about $1 billion of organic food was sold. By 2009, that number had soared to $26.6 billion, according to the Organic Trade Association. More than half of that food was sold in mass-market stores that historically haven't always catered to organic consumers. A series of high-profile problems with industrial food, ranging from salmonella-contaminated chicken eggs to mad-cow disease have reaped premium prices for producers even as many commodity prices have remained steady or fallen.
Instructions
1. Know the origin of your livestock. Organic beef shouldn't come from genetically modified animals. As a general rule, it's best if you can buy your livestock from another organic producer.
2. Provide your animals with plenty of pasture and natural grass. Organic means natural, and there's nothing natural about raising animals that are confined to a pen and fed processed grains.
3. Buy organic feed. You'll pay more--about 50 percent more than conventional grain--but you'll make up for it by letting your livestock feed on pasture and grass. When and where possible, use the feed as a supplement, rather than the main source of nutrition.
4. Remove sick animals from the herd or flock. They can be treated with antibiotics, but you won't be able to sell their meat as organic. High doses of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic-resistant diseases spreading throughout your herd.
5. Treat your animals well. A body of evidence suggests that healthy, content animals suffer fewer health problems and grow faster to maturity than animals raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), also known as industrial farms.
Tags: your livestock, food sold, your animals