Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
which means his animals were given the space and environment to engage in natural beha-
viors from birth to slaughter and were not given antibiotics or hormones. He did not like haul-
ing his animals 100 miles away. He knows not everyone will have a choice in this because of
the limited availability of USDA-inspected facilities, but he did not like putting his animals
through the stressful trek to a slaughterhouse. He said there is no set mileage limit for haul-
ing animals, but “the closer the better.” His facilities are designed to keep the animals calm.
“The animals are never excited in the process of being dispatched,” Harris said. “First of all,
it is the right thing to do. We human beings assume dominion over these animals, and that
makes us responsible for the stewardship of the animals. Not getting them excited and pan-
icked is the right thing to do. Further, when you panic an animal and it goes into that fight-or-
flight mode, it releases adrenaline into the system, and it literally changes the pH in the
muscle tissue. And that changes the eating quality of the beef.
“We do it one at a time, the old-fashioned way: a man with a knife. It is just a professional
man with a knife generating a quality product for which a sophisticated customer will pay a
premium. We are professional cowboys, and we know how to work cattle. It is a full-time job
for everybody who works in my plant. It is what they do for a living.
“For every farmer who does not own his or her own plant, it is incumbent upon them to go
and be there to see that the processor does it correctly.”
Harris runs about 650 cattle on 2,000 acres, which gives him the largest certified organic
farm in Georgia. He also has a handful of associate producers raising grass-fed cattle for
him. He weans calves at about 8 months old, and fattens to between 1,000 and 1,100
pounds when they are about 22 months old.
He takes advantage of the South's warm climate to provide beef year-round with a calving
season that lasts from September to April. His grazing system depends on warm-season
perennials including Bermuda grass, Johnson grass, and Bahia grass. In winter, he over-
seeds cool-season annuals, including rye grass and clover. He also uses a sheep herd to
graze down undesirable plants.
He sells much of his meat to the grocery chains Whole Foods and Publix and to upscale At-
lanta restaurants, which charge a premium for grass-fed beef. Having his own processing fa-
cility gives him even more control over the final product, which ultimately depends on quality.
If you are targeting your product to an upscale market, the final product must be as good as
it can be.
There a few terms you can use to describe your products according to USDA standards. Here
are some examples:
