Ranch promotes line of grassfed beef

Thursday, 08 October 2009 21:16 By CLAY COPPEDGE, Country World Staff Writer

Oct. 8, 2009 - In its first full year of operation, Green Grass Meats has had to face two of the most onerous factors a cattle producer can face -- a monumental drought and record-breaking heat. That hasn't curbed the enthusiasm of the people involved with the operation.

Megan Barnes, executive vice president for the company, said Green Grass is dedicated to selling only grassfed products and getting the word out about the benefits of eating grassfed beef.

"Our platform is really the importance of grassfed beef in the diet, and making the point that there is a clear distinction between organic beef and grass-fed beef," she said. "We do not feed our cattle any fillers or meat softeners. We give them no antibiotics and no pesticides. Our beef is true Texas grassfed beef and the nutritional benefits are significant."

The company was started by Peter Aman, an Austin stockbroker and avid outdoorsman, who bought a ranch near Llano two years ago. His twin passions of ranching and nutrition came together when he purchased the property and set about producing quality grassfed beef. He did his research and went to work.

"I have a passion for Texas and for health and I think that raising grassfed beef on the natural grasslands of Central Texas is the perfect harmony of those two things," Aman said. "I look forward to bringing red meat back to the table for families and for making healthy and quality eating habits available to them for years to come."

Dustin Haba, a lifelong rancher, manages the ranch and maintains the appropriate environments for the strict standards of the American Grassfed Association, of which Green Grass Meats is a member. Green Grass is also a member of the GO TEXAN brand of products from the Texas Department of Agriculture.

The Green Grass cattle are raised primarily at the Llano location, though the herd has expanded to a few parcels of leased property near Holland and Manor. The cattle are Angus and Brangus, which Aman was drawn to because of the excellent quality of the meat and the breeds' ability to adapt to variable environmental conditions. That has come in handy during the drought and the 100-plus degree temperatures of this summer when grass and water for the cattle were dramatically reduced.

"We were absolutely dealing with dry stock tanks, and a need for baled hay, which are two expenses that can really impact your bottom line, particularly when you are in your first real season of selling," Barnes said.

Under American Grassfed Beef Association guidelines, they were able to feed the cattle hay, but the hay has to be in rolls, not bales, and wrapped in plastic, rather than twine with open air on each end.

Our cattle are free-range cattle," Barnes said. "We do not pen the cattle until the day of slaughter, and we know that makes a big difference in the tenderness of the beef. When cattle are in stressful situations, hormones are released into the body that ultimately toughens and changes the meat. We allow our cattle to graze and at leisure."

Green Grass has been raising cattle and wild boar since last year, but did not launch a website until August of this year. The website serves as the business' "storefront" and as platform for the company's belief in the benefits of eating grassfed beef, including lower levels of fats and cholesterol.

"We sell directly to consumers via our website, and are priced very competitively, allowing folks to access all the nutritional benefits of grassfed beef, without taking a hit to their checkbook," Barnes said.

Green Grass also raises Texas wild boar and produces a sausage made up of half beef and half wild-boar. "That happens to be my favorite product that we sell, aside from our grassfed T-bones," she added.

Barnes said the company plans to offer lamb and goat, which like their beef and boar, will be grassfed. Green Grass products are marketed through its website and the company is working its way into local farmers markets.

"We are primarily selling directly to customers but our long-term goals for expansion absolutely include selling to distributors, and we hope to have our product on local market shelves by the end of 2010," Barnes said.

"We see a great need for folks to have grassfed beef available to them, and for them to know why it is so much better for their families. Allowing our customers to know exactly where our beef comes from, and that it is free of contaminants, is so important to us and the technique of selling at local markets and online allows us direct access and dialogue with our customers."