Local Vendor Spotlight: Bastrop Cattle Company
Wheatsville has been offering Bastrop Cattle Company Beef for many years now. We are privileged to be able to offer beef that is raised entirely on grass and in pasture their whole lives right here in Texas. Pati Jacobs helps the ranching community here in Texas by utilizing cattle from other local ranchers. This helps keep families on the land and by sharing the same standards, protocols and values we get beef that is raised right and is consistently top notch. Pati was kind to take time to answer a few questions for us:
How did you get started in ranching?
My family went into ranching when I was a child. I learned how to work cattle from my Mom and Dad. After my Dad died and my Mom became sick, my brother and I returned to the ranch (from living and working overseas) to take care of Mom and raise cattle. At the time, I thought there had to be a better way to make a living than just raising the calves and selling them across the auction ring. That's when my brother, Cleve, and I started doing all grass fed (2008) and looking to sell direct to customers.
What is your philosophy about raising cattle?
My folks always raised cattle on grass, but during my Dad's life the USDA started pushing the hormone implants and all kinds of stuff like heavily fertilizing the grass and using herbicides and pesticides. My Mom started getting away from that when she took over the ranch after his death. My brother and I had been looking at the grass fed movement and so we just decided to stop using all the artificial chemicals and went straight natural and organic. Even though we're not certified organic, there hasn't been any chemicals on the ranch in over eight years. We also started working with other family ranchers because we knew we would need more cattle than we could raise by ourselves.
Everyone who works with us commits to NOT using any antibiotics or hormones and no fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides on their ranches.
We also think that the better you handle the animals, the better the beef. We use low impact handling methods on the cattle. This means having them gentle enough where you can call them into corrals and enclosures to work with them. We don't use prod sticks or any rough ways of moving them. We use squeeze shuts to immobilize them when we need to check them.
Also, the processing plant where we take the calves has a humane approved butcher.
How do your ranching practices differ from large scale ranching?
The difference between our ranches and our cattle and the big Agro-industry operations is:
- Our animals are on grass all their life. They are pastured and are free to roam within the rotation programs that we have. This means that they are not standing in their own manure being force fed on grains and other additives.
- They never receive hormones or antibiotics (if an animal becomes sick and we have to treat them with antibiotics then they are not sold for human consumption. They are on natural grasses, fresh water and are not exposed to any chemicals.
- Our cattle are processed at a small, family owned processing facility in Schulenburg where each and every one is inspected by a State Inspector who also makes sure that they are killed properly and that the meat is healthy. This is not an assembly line processing plant. They take great pride in handling the animals properly and they cut up the meat with skill and pride.
What is your favorite thing about Wheatsville?
Wheatsville Co-op has carried our product from the very beginning of the start of the company. You helped me get started by offering a place for me to sell my beef.
Wheatsville is a great place that really cares about what you offer and you are very honest about where those products come from, how they have been raised, grown, handled and made. I come in once or twice a week to do deliveries to you and I always buy my vitamins, cheeses, breads and veggies from you. I know I'm getting what you say it is!!