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Eating Well, Doing Good
Lately the news has been talking much about the growing world hunger
crisis. Even in the U.S., we’re all aware of the increasing costs
of food. There are several reasons for what is happening. First, the
rapid run up in the cost of oil has added both to the transportation
cost of moving produce and meat from one location to another, and
has made growing that food ever more expensive as the cost of chemical
fertilizers based on petrochemicals has gone up. Secondly, the use
of corn to make ethanol has taken foodstock out of the global market
and again driven the cost of that foodstock up. Farmers who grew wheat
and soybeans are now planting corn because they can make more money.
This in turn has driven the price of scarcer wheat and soybeans up.
Finally, with less subsidized corn available to feed feedlot cattle,
pigs and chickens, the price of milk and meat has gone up.
So where is this all going?
Hopefully to a new, healthier and saner place where food is concerned.
Now, let me be both candid and honest. I am not happy with people
starving, and people are starving. But I am happy to know that my
company is actively doing something about the situation.
Free range, grass fed cattle means no use of grains for fattening
out. We don’t need corn or grains. We don’t use subsidized corn and
we’re not out there feeding our beef with something that could be
feeding people instead.
Free range, grass fed cattle means no concentration of manure causing
green house gases. To be blunt, our cattle spread out their waste
over pastures that re-absorb it as another nutrient. There is almost
no methane or carbon dioxide created in this process.
Free range, grass fed cattle produce meat that is healthier for you
the consumer. There is no hormone and antibiotic use because cattle
eating what they are suppose to be eating doesn’t need additives.
And because they are eating nature’s best, they offer up more beneficial
minerals, vitamins and omega-three fatty acids in their meat.
But Bastrop Cattle Company doesn’t expect the cows to do all the work!
In February, we spread compost tea on our back pasture. It’s a nice
rich mixture of nature ingredients. The grass is thick and lush back
there. In May, we’ll add organic fertilizers to give it another kick.
The irony about all of this is that one of the arguments against organic
is that its more expensive than “normal” agriculture. Well, guess
what, even with both of these treatments, our costs per acre are ten
to twenty percent less than just chemical fertilizer alone.
What else are we doing?
Well, Bastrop Cattle Company is local. The only time our calves get
in a trailer to travel anywhere is from the ranch to the processing
facility. Since all our ranchers are in a three county area right
around the processing facility, the longest round trip is eighty miles.
That’s still too much gas as far as we’re concerned, but it sure beats
the heck out of the ranch to auction ring to Montana pasture to Nebraska
feed lot to Kansas slaughter house trip! Now, I can tell you that
once you join this circle, you’re also making a difference. Naturally,
I want you to buy Bastrop Cattle Company meat. You can eat well and
do good at the same time. But if you want to feel even better about
yourself, a couple more steps will make a bigger difference.
Buy locally when it comes to all your foods!
There are weekly Farmers Markets in Austin, Manor, Smithville, Bastrop,
and Elgin. Austin has three every week. Manor is just getting started
on Tuesdays and is Elgin’s. Smithville is Thursday and Bastrop is
Friday and Saturday. In fact, Bastrop has a brand new, bigger Farmers
Market starting May 9th and 10th. It’s the 1832 Bastrop Farmers Market
on Chestnut, right next to the Railroad tracks! We’ll be there.
You can also visit a new establishment called the Bastrop Producers
Market on Hwy 71, just west of Bastrop that opens May 13th. This one
is for all you commuters who don’t have time on Friday and Saturday.
Now you can stop on your way home! It’s even on the right side of
Hwy 71, so you can just zip in and zip right back out!
Finally, there are several stores in Austin that carry us and several
other local producers and meat providers. Give them your business.
They will get the message. The more local foods you buy, the more
these stores will stock local products. And just remember, whether
you buy Bastrop Cattle Company or Betsey Ross or Bandera, we all raise
a product that is good for you, good for the cattle and good for the
planet.
Thank you,
Pati Jacobs
Bastrop Cattle Company
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