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Utilize those Cull Cows

Ben H

Well-known member
Now is the time to be utilizing our cull cows that won't grade. With any that I have, I plan to get the butcher to grind and package them for "Natural" Pet food. The current situation couldn't make this a better opportunity. Especially for those, like myself, living near a population. Some people are giving their pets Omega-3 supplements, they can get that from grass-fed beef and feed fido or fe-fe a "natural" food.
 

rkaiser

Well-known member
Almost as amazing as using corn or barley for SUV fuel isn't it. How have we sat back and allowed the multinational companies of this world to create this assbackward situation where the rancher or grain farmer is held hostage by ideology, when we hold the financial power. Might have to search out a Dog food plant that is not in the "cheap food policy loop". I don't know of any independent's off hand here in Canada Ben, but if we can't find one, we might have to buy one or build one beside the Tyson Beef Plant at Brooks that Jason and I are planning to buy.
 

Big Muddy rancher

Well-known member
A small group in Sask tried that. I haven't heard if they are still operating but they worked with the U of S to formulate a balanced ration for dogs. Good idea. Probably have to ship most out of Sask. but we have plenty of raw material.
 

Ben H

Well-known member
Have your local butcher do it. I've read about small processors doing it for their customers to resell. Some have gone as far as grinding up vegies and whole chickens with the meat. My vision is to simply take animals that are naturally raised but won't grade and grind them up the same way that I do hamburg. Then sell that a little less then my normal hamburg. The other thing I plan to do for the Farmers Market I plan to attend this summer is possibly get my butcher shop to smoke the dog bones so I can sell them for $5 a piece.

"When we hold the financial power"...the problem is that farmers don't work together. It's really that simple to me. We are way too independent.
 

IL Rancher

Well-known member
Ben, I don't know how Maine works but we had an add somewhere for Grassfed beef and we got calls from pet owners around Chicago looking to get together with friends and buy whole cows from us.. They didn't want it ground however, they wanted the bones in and chunked... They balked a bit at the price but we have gotten two calls in the past 48 hours about it again and might be selling some cows this fall after pregging them.. Will get a bit more than the 50 cents a pound that the cow normally would bring.. WEll, a lot more...
 

canadian angus

Well-known member
In the plant we are building, we looked at pet food. Red meat gives dogs....... gas. You know, foul smell, not like chicken but fowl, bad, really stinky................. Like well you know. Not like Oldtimer, that is rotten when he posts hate, like Northern Rancher after a night of eatin chicken. Really bad!

CA
 

rkaiser

Well-known member
What are you building a plant for CA. Have'nt you heard Jason - we are just fine here in Canada.

In fact - I would also like to propose that instead of building you replace Jason on our team and help us kill two birds with one stone. Buy the revamped and decent plant at Brooks from Johnny Machine Gun and punt his low food policy out of this country.
 

mrj

Well-known member
rkaiser said:
What are you building a plant for CA. Have'nt you heard Jason - we are just fine here in Canada.

In fact - I would also like to propose that instead of building you replace Jason on our team and help us kill two birds with one stone. Buy the revamped and decent plant at Brooks from Johnny Machine Gun and punt his low food policy out of this country.

Have you done research to see if there enough consumers in your area who will give up low cost food even for superior quality? It seems most consumers really like the fact they can buy their food for less than 10% of their income (in the USA). That is, IMO, a major reason even lower income people in the USA can buy luxuries like cars, TV with cable or Dish antenna coverage, and $150.00 basketball shoes for their kids, which previous generations could not do.

Seriously, have you done consumer market research for your project? If you have, did you hire professionals to design the surveys? If not, what sort of questions were asked? It may help others to get on your bandwagon, or go for their own project in areas removed from yours.

MRJ
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Looks like folks want organic, an M-COOL, and more labeling for their dogs too...
Ben might have hit on a fortune maker...



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Pet food recall spurs demand for more organic
3/30/2007 9:53:31 AM
Associated Press

CINCINNATI -- Debra Tarter's two-year-old boxer, Patchez, is just like a member of the family. That's why the national recall of the dog food Patchez had been eating for two years prompted Tarter to switch to brands that cost twice as much, but contain organic and natural ingredients.

"My children are grown, and Patchez is our baby," said Tarter, 55, of Cincinnati. "We would pay anything to keep her safe."

And pay she does. Tarter, who has taken Patchez for tests to make sure her kidneys weren't damaged by the recalled food, had been paying 84 cents a can for the recalled pet food she mixed with a dry food costing about $20 per 16-pound bag. Now she pays $1.69 a can and $40 a bag for a brand with more-natural ingredients.

Concerned pet owners such as Tarter are helping to increase already booming sales of organic and natural pet food, according to industry officials and store owners. An executive at Wild Oats Markets Inc., the specialty food chain that caters to health-minded consumers, says that it's still a little early to measure the recall's impact on the natural and organic food segment for pets that's been growing at 15 to 25 percent a year.

"People are extending their food ethic to their whole family, including the pets," said Rickard Werner, director of dry grocery for Wild Oats, based in Boulder, Colo.

Daryl Meyerrenke, owner of Anderson Township Family Pet Center in suburban Cincinnati, will be stocking an extra brand of organic pet food this week, spurred by increased customer demand for organic and natural products since the recall.

"The demand for healthier pet food has been skyrocketing over the past few years, but since this recall, I've had a lot more people coming in asking for organic products," said Meyerrenke. "Sometimes it's not even organic they want -- just a higher quality food with more natural ingredients."

Before the recall, Meyerrenke had carried only one brand of organic dog food costing about $15 for a 5-pound bag. He has added a second organic brand.

Grocery stores charge as low as around $2 for a 5-pound bag of non-organic brands.

But Meyerrenke stocks more than 30 dog-food brands, many of which include ingredients such as carrots, rice, broccoli and even cottage cheese and often are geared specifically for dogs with sensitive stomachs or allergies.

As far as taste goes, Meyerrenke said, "dogs don't turn their noses up at much. They'll usually eat what's there. It's the owners that sometimes decide what they think looks tastier or more appealing."

Menu Foods Inc., which makes pet food for most of North America's top retailers, last week recalled 95 brands of products believed to be responsible for the deaths of cats and dogs around the country. A veterinarians information service said Tuesday that it had reports of 104 animal deaths. The maker of the recalled pet food has confirmed the deaths of only 16 pets.

Scientists identified the rodent poison aminopterin as the likely cause. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said the investigation was focused on the ingredient wheat gluten, that they maker said was purchased in China. Scientists have not offered any theories on how aminopterin got into the products.

Shelley Gunton, co-owner of Clackamas, Ore.-based Castor & Pollux Pet Works, reported an uptick in orders from stores. She also reported that she has received 10 times the number of usual hits to the pet product company's Web site.

"This is going to reinforce to pet parents that there are choices," said Gunton, whose company makes organic and natural pet foods.

Proponents of natural and organic pet foods and treats say those products can help prevent disease in dogs and cats. Some products avoid chemical preservatives, fats, fillers, salt and sugar. Others are free of ingredients exposed to pesticides, herbicides or insecticides that also may harm pets.

Dog and cat food sales in the United States reached over $14.3 billion in 2005, according to the Pet Food Institute that represents manufacturers of commercial pet food. Surveys by the Organic Trade Association indicated sales of organic pet food increased from $14 million in 2003 to $30 million for 2005.

The fast growth of the organic pet food industry and disagreement about what qualifies as organic food led to the creation of an Organic Pet Food Task Force. The task force has proposed labeling standards that organic manufacturers would have to meet in addition to existing requirements that apply to all pet foods. A committee of the USDA's National Organic Standards Board is reviewing the standards that could go into effect by 2008.

"Hopefully, it will clear up a lot of confusion and let consumers know more what they are getting when they buy pet food," said task force member Rochelle Lavens, president of Heidi's Homemade Inc., an organic dog and cat bakery in Columbus.

Meyerrenke, who has been in the pet store business for 34 years, said pet owners have become much more selective.

"People have increasingly elevated pets to family member status," Meyerrenke said. "And that means doing what you can to keep them healthy."
 
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