Exploring the possibility of a grass-fed and grain-fed beef producer co-op in Michigan

 

Beef producers who are interested in learning more about cooperatives are invited to attend a gathering with two guest speakers. The speakers will share the reasons for the success of farmer/rancher owned cooperatives that they are involved in. It is difficult to be successful on an island, those producers that are fortunate enough to belong to a group of like-minded individuals that bring different strengths to the table should be more successful than a person that tries to go at it alone.

 

In 2010, a team consisting of MSU animal scientist Dr. Jason Rowntree and MSU Extension educators Jerry Lindquist (emeritus) and Kable Thurlow began working with producers that were interested in producing grass-finished beef. Since that time, the idea of needing a marketing cooperative in Michigan has come up time and time again. Marketing alone in the good times can be easy to accomplish, but not so much in the tough times like we have experienced in the past three to four years. In those times, strength of the herd is important.

 

We urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to learn from the experts. Make 2020 the year of change in the right direction for your farm or ranch. Both Country Natural Beef and Desert Mountain Grass-Fed Beef are suppliers for Whole Foods among others. You are encouraged to learn more about them by going to their website ahead of time.

 

 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.