![[Angus Index]](image/but-ang.gif)
@ Allen Family Farms
@
Allen Family Farms
January 25, 2006
| About our feeding system | Angus beef in shipment |
In a nutshell
We breed,
raise, feed & sell fancy 100% pure Angus beef. We mill all our own
rations using non-GMO corn and alfalfa grown right here on the farm mixed with
proteins & mineral products by Kent Feed
Company.
Finishing cattle are provided ample shelter with wheat straw bedding, deep well water and an ''all you can eat'' corn based ration supplemented with choice alfalfa hay. (You know "Iowa corn fed beef" except in this case it's "Illinois")
Our rations are prepared here on the farm with protein and vitamin products from Kent Feed Company. Kent was the first company to meet BSE safety requirements. We have their and our BSE certificate on file. Not only is Kent an excellent leader in both the food safety and feed quality departments, we are using some of their premium and most expensive feed lines as well.
Due to the natural health and growth genetics built into our line of cattle along with the stress free finishing environment in a closed health system where no outside feeder animals are brought into the group, we see no real need to constantly add antibiotics to the feed ration just to minimize stress related illness in the finishing program. Neither do we see much advantage in adding even the simplest and safest growth additives to hurry the growth process.
No animals have EVER been implanted with growth hormones. Antibiotic treatments are only used as part of a veterinarian recommended animal health program to provide you with healthy, disease free product.
No it's not organic farming. It's just smart farming. When an animal shows signs of illness we do not let a simple cold or flue develop into a chronic illness that festers until the product eventually ends up on your dinner plate. That would plainly be just stupid farming.
Neither do we feed a constant ration of low level antibiotics just to maintain feed efficiency and produce a quicker, cheaper, gain. We are all reading about how mutated bacteria untreatable by current human antibiotics are making their way into the food chain especially in the new "factory farm" pork & chicken complexes. For older folks, young children and persons with weakened immune systems this is becoming a life threatening problem and we do not intend on contributing to it.
Beginning in 2001 even feed growth promotants (feed based hormones used in almost ALL other cattle operations in the nation) have been removed. This means our 2004 beef available has never seen growth hormones at any stage of production. How unusual is this ''hormone free'' program? We have to order Kent 44 plain in advance from a special location. Getting any feed without an antibiotic or hormone additive is special enough. In addition Kent 44 is a premium finishing protein designed more for breeding herd and show quality animal feeds than commercial operations. It is not a product commonly stocked. We are the only cattleman in our area using it!
Corporate farms live by large volumes & "least cost, most profit" rules alone. Family Farming operations take more into account than just minimizing the cost of production. What we do is NOT cheap but in good conscience our family will not produce food for your family any other way.
On the other hand the choice of where you purchase your food, whether you care if you never know what went into making it or where it came from and how much you wish to spend on your family members or restaurant customers for this added assurance is up to you.
Yes there are producers like us out there. Unfortunately our supply is limited. Good luck finding the others!
Identity preserved
Consumer Beef ''in the system''
