Welcome to the Ranch!

This is not part of Cross Creek Cattle Company, but is an example of an over-grazed pasture. Notice the bare areas and absence of tall grass.

For retirees and young families alike, a common dream seems to be for city-dwellers to move out on acreage in the country.  They buy some land, buy some livestock, and enjoy living in the slow-paced rural environment.  Since we live relatively close to Houston, we are personally seeing a huge increase of ex-Houstonians move into our county.  However, some make a common mistake.  They over-graze their pastures.

Over-grazing your pasture is bad for your land and your livestock.  Without adequate grass on your soil, erosion can occur very easily with any rainfall.  A heavy rain and a subsequent flood can devastate your land.  Grass also resists wind erosion, too.

Livestock must have grass to thrive.  Without adequate grass, horses can get sand in their gut and make them sick.  Cows and other ruminants must have plenty of grass, too.  If there is not sufficient grass available, then you must feed hay.  The last thing you want to be doing is feeding hay to your cows in the summer.  Hay is expensive to buy and/or produce; therefore, you will feel the consequences of over-grazing in your pocketbook.

So how do you prevent over-grazing your pastures?  At Cross Creek Cattle Company, we rotate our pastures regularly.  We want our cattle to be on fresh, green grass daily.  We do not want them to lose their good condition simply because we let them crop the grass too low to the ground.

If the grass is left between 4-8″ long, the plant is able to recover more easily.  Under that point, the grass struggles to rebound.  Therefore, we allow our cattle to graze while we monitor the condition of the pasture grass.  We don’t like the grass getting under 6″.

Over-grazing can also occur if you have too many head on a certain amount of acreage.  There is no magic formula for figuring this out as it depends on where you live.  For example, a rancher in Southeast Texas can have more cattle on a less acreage than a West Texas rancher.  In the more arid areas of Texas a rancher has to have thousands of acres for the same amount of cattle elsewhere.

Let me show you some photographs.  These pictures were taken on the same day, September 2, 2010.  The photographs below are of the front pasture on Cross Creek Cattle Company.  Compare the condition of the pasture and grass to the picture at the top of this article, which is of a place down the road less than a mile away.  Therefore, we have received essentially the same amount of rainfall and the same high summer temperatures.  The differences lie in pasture rotation and the amount of livestock on the land.  We have much more livestock on our land.

In the photographs of Cross Creek Cattle Company, our entire herd of cattle and then our nine horses had been grazing for days.  On the other property, a couple of head of cattle and a few horses have been grazing in the same pasture all summer long.  You are just going to have to take my word on it.

One view of the front pasture. Beyond the fence and lake is a second pasture. You can see for yourself the length and condition of our grass.

The same pasture under the trees.

Another angle of the same pasture. There are no bare spots even though the grass has been baking in the sun day after day.

If you are new to ranching or have been doing this for generations like us, we all want what is best for our land, our cattle, and ourselves.  Monitoring the condition of your pasture is an easy place to start to protect all three.  Even with relatively few acres of land, you can implement an effective pasture rotation program.

I field many emails and phone calls each week.  I am happy to receive them and work hard to answer the questions posed to me.  Many people are looking for other grass fed meats in addition to beef.  We get inquiries on chicken, pork, and lamb, too.  Some people also want to know what produce is available.  We also get questions about our goat milk.

Both my dad and my immediate family raise our own vegetable garden.  We enjoy seasonal produce throughout the year.  I am currently preparing my soil for our fall garden.  A long growing season is one of the great things about living in this temperate climate.

Our gardens are good producers.  We eat all we can, put up some more, and give the rest away.  But, we do not sell it to the public.  We farm the land for ourselves.

My family raises hogs once a year.  We milk dairy goats.  We raise chickens and enjoy fresh free-range eggs.  We also raise rabbits and we had a sheep until it recently grew old and died.  We also raise ducks.

All of our animals are for our own consumption.  My husband might make sausage and give it away to family and friends, but it is not for sale.  We might give away a surplus of eggs and occasionally we accept a tip for the eggs, but we do not have enough to go into the egg business.

Twice a day we milk our goat.  She gives more than we can consume in a day.  We freeze some for future use.  We make ice cream and yogurt.  I make and do sell goat milk soap.  But, we are not licensed by the state of Texas to sell raw goat milk nor do we want to seek that route.

If goat milk is what you are interested, I can refer you to a great dairy in the area.  Swede Farm is a family-owned and operated goat dairy that sells pasteurized and raw goat milk and related products.  Tell Tim and Leeanne Carlson that I sent you.

Currently Cross Creek Cattle Company is only in the grass fed beef business.  We are working towards opening a store here on the ranch in which customers can purchase cuts of beef in addition to ordering 1/4, 1/2, and whole portions.  This is our next step.

From there we will see what the needs of our customers are.  We are not ruling out the expansion of our ranch into other meats.  If and when we decide to expand in the future, you will be the first to know.  Until then, let us supply your family with flavorful, healthy grass fed beef.  Call or write today to get on our waiting list.

If you are a seasoned rancher or just beginning your ranching adventure, Texas A&M University holds a three-day short course for you.  It is almost always the first week of August, which I realize is late for you this year, but mark your calendars for next August.  This event is held on campus in College Station, Texas.

It is a great event in the ranching community that draws people from all over the world.  Dr. Jason Cleere, who grew up in the same area as we live, heads the whole course.  TAMU is known world-wide for its premiere agriculture and animal science programs and research.  At this short course, the university combines its knowledge and discoveries in various seminars with a trade show and social events.

The Beef Cattle Short Course is not only informative, but it is fun.  It is a way to meet and mingle with fellow ranchers and make contacts.  The trade show provides an opportunity to see and hear what is new in the cattle industry.

Last year, the short course actually told ranchers to not get involved with grass fed beef.  They claimed that it was a fad and was hurting the cattle industry.  My husband just rolled his eyes.  Sometimes it takes people a long time to accept change.

This year they put on an entire seminar explaining the differences between organic, all-natural, and grass fed beef.  A woman rancher spoke about her grass fed operation in Texas.  I think the tide has turned.  Perhaps, TAMU is seeing that consumers want an opportunity to purchase beef that is raised naturally on the range.  They want a healthier alternative to traditionally raised beef.  Maybe they realize that grass fed beef is not a fad, but here to stay.

Regardless of TAMU’s stance on grass fed beef, the Beef Cattle Short Course is a valuable tool for the modern-day rancher.  You learn a vast amount of information.  You take home an immense volume that includes all the slides and information from each seminar.  This way you get all the information and do not worry about missing something or choosing the wrong seminar to attend.

My husband said there were about 1300 ranchers in attendance.  If you are interested in attending the 2011 Beef Cattle Short Course, check out course’s website for all the information and the dates.  I will try my best to remind you in an article here on “Welcome to the Ranch.”

For years someone from Cross Creek Cattle Company has attended the short course.  We feel it is a small investment in our future.  We have been ranching for so long in our family, but there is always something new to learn.  The cattle market and industry change, and we like to keep abreast of the climate to better serve our ranch and, of course, our grass fed customers.  We highly recommend the three-day course for anyone interested in ranching.

Today I thought I would let you hear from one of our customers.  They are Jason and Bobbi Brooks from College Station.  They ordered a quarter of grass fed beef from us.

Before ordering from Cross Creek Cattle Company, they had never eaten grass fed beef before.  They found our website by a link on the website, Mark’s Daily Apple: Primal Living in the Modern World.  And, they are happy with their purchase.

They really like grass fed beef, especially the t-bones.  This cut is their favorite.  The Brooks family said, they “love the flavor and tenderness” of our beef.  The only criticism the family had was that our roasts were too small; however, the “Pike’s Peak Roast was perfect.”

This is the nature of raising grass fed beef.  We cannot guarantee the size of the cuts nor the amount of beef you will receive, which is why we sell the beef at $3.50 a pound instead of a base price.  Each animal is built a little differently from another, just like people.  We cannot make uniform and identical sides of beef.

It is one way to know that we are raising beef the natural way.  We do not feed our cattle grain to make them gain weight rapidly.  We do not give them growth hormones in order to achieve a certain size.  Instead we do things differently from traditionally raised beef.  We give the herd fresh, green grass and plenty of fresh water.  We give them pastures in which to roam.  In turn, our cattle produce lean, flavorful beef.

The Brooks family said they would definitely order grass fed beef from us again.  They only thing they would do differently is “order more.”

We could not be more thrilled with this feedback from one of our beef customers.  Thank you, Brooks family!  We look forward to doing more business with you.

First of all, I want to thank the people who send me information or let me know about articles in other publications pertaining to grass fed beef.  I cannot possibly know each time a television show, news report, or printed publication does a story on grass fed beef; therefore, I am sincerely appreciative of the help.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article by Peter King entitled, “Ordering Up Beef that Roamed the Range.”  Mr. King wanted to find out if grass fed beef was really tastier than traditionally raised beef.  First, he explains what grass fed beef is.  Then he gives an interesting statistic.  He writes that “3 % of  beef sold in the U. S. is from grass fed cattle. ”

He looks online for mail-order grass fed beef.  Cross Creek Cattle Company is not one of the ranches.  We do not sell our beef this way yet.  Mr. King finds and orders from five different ranches.  He purchases comparable cuts of steak from each ranch .  Then he rounds up a group of people to be his taste testers.

He gives a very fair and honest critique of each ranch.  From the ease in which you order online to the taste of the steak, he was interested in the whole grass fed beef experience.  The taste of course was what prompted the entire article.

I believe that Mr. King and his taste tasters were pleasantly surprised at the quality and flavor of the grass fed steaks.  He writes, ” our tasters agreed that all the grass-fed beef tasted fresher and less greasy than supermarket beef.”

He is absolutely correct.  You can tell a difference between traditionally raised beef and grass fed beef.  At the end of the article, he inserts a chart with a row for each of the five ranches from which he bought.  You will notice the price per steak and the shipping charges.

As I stated earlier, Cross Creek Cattle Company does not sell by the cut nor does it ship our meat yet.  However, we are working to accomplish that goal.  We sell 1/4, 1/2, or whole orders for $3.50 a pound based on the hanging carcass weight.  You get the most bang for your buck this way.

I am excited anytime grass fed beef is the topic of conversation in the public arena.  It just means that interest and awareness is growing about the alternative to grain fed cattle on a national scale.  To read more about our grass fed beef and its health benefits, click here.

Our new barn.

Horses play a big role here at Cross Creek Cattle Company.  First and foremost, we enjoy riding horses.  All of us ride even the smallest members of our family.

Isaac and Andrew, aged 3 and 2 respectively, ride in tandem saddles.  If you have not seen a tandem saddle, they are great.  The saddles are made out of a canvas material.  It is like a saddle and blanket in one.  They connect to a regular saddle and sit behind it.  It has a handle on which to hold much like a saddle horn.  You need great horses to ride in tandem as most horses will not like the feel of the second saddle.

My older children are all members of the Grimes County Jr. Deputy Sheriff Mounted Posse.  They each need their own horse.  They also enjoy riding on the ranch for pleasure.  My sons, Jake and Clayton, ride with a neighbor on our ranch almost every day.  They ride for hours.

Horses also help us work our cattle.  We believe that low-stress handling directly affects the quality of our grass fed beef; therefore, we use a sing-song cattle call to move the cattle from pasture to pasture.  A horse or two following behind the herd ensures that all the calves and stragglers move into the next pasture.

Utilizing horses as part of a low-stress management program works well for us.  It is also good for the horses.  They are allowed to work for us and they enjoy it.  Our horses are not just put out to pasture.  They have a purpose on our working ranch.

A horse stall.

For months we have been planning and preparing for our new barn to be built.  The task is complete.  We have a new barn on the ranch.  Its main purpose is to facilitate the needs of our horses.  We have a stall for each of our horses.  The stalls are custom built for each horse.  As some of our horses are larger than the average horse, we enlarged their stalls to give them a more comfortable place.

Our barn has a tack room and a feed room.  It has plenty of room for square bales of hay and some equipment.  One of the most exciting aspects of our barn pertains to our grass fed business.  At this time we only sell beef by the whole, half or quarter section.  We do not have the facilities to store beef and sell it by the cut here at the ranch.

Well, now that our barn is finished, we have the room.  With the addition of some deep freezers, we will in the near future have a store in which you can purchase beef by the cut.  It is exciting!

I will announce when we are open for business, but it will be months so don’t make plans this weekend to make the drive to the ranch for steaks.

We are proud of our new barn and the direction that our grass fed business is taking.  Our horses like it too.  Hopefully our grass fed beef customers will also share in our excitement.

This weekend is fast approaching.  From everyone at Cross Creek Cattle Company, “Happy Mother’s Day!”

Due to a death in the family two weeks ago and an unrelated illness the following week, I have not been posting any articles.  I hope that you understand.

Exciting things are happening here at Cross Creek Cattle Company.  We have just harvested more grass fed beef for a new group of customers.  We are excited by our growing customer base.  We also want to thank people for spreading the good news about our grass fed beef for us.

Cross Creek Cattle Company was invited to be in The Homestead Magazine for the April issue.  It is a magazine that “is about families that are innovative , creative, and ambitious in their pursuit of getting back to the basics.   Passionate about making simple living a priority for themselves and their family.”

We are happy to be apart of that description.  To see the publication, go to “The Homestead” magazine.  You can download the current issue and read it online.  We are on page 17.

On Monday morning, the owners and managers of Cross Creek Cattle Company were interviewed by a journalist, Clay Copperidge, from “Country World” magazine.  He was very interested in the grass fed beef aspect of our family owned and operated ranch.  I really look forward to reading the article featuring Cross Creek Cattle Company.

We are excited about all the interest in our ranch and grass fed beef operation.  I field calls and emails daily.  If you are interested in placing an order or asking a question, contact me directly at lndehaven@aol.com.  I am more than happy to respond.

In addition, the grass is growing in the pastures.  We are getting good soaking rains.  Calves are being born almost daily at this point.  Our herd is growing in number and in size.  The countryside is beautiful and green.  It is great to be here on the ranch.  Come by and visit sometime.

Just call beforehand so that we can make ourselves available.  You never know, we might just put you to work.

A mama cow and her calf on our ranch.

One of my purposes in writing articles for Cross Creek Cattle Company is to educate the public on the benefits of eating grass fed beef.  I occasionally find information from news reports, talk shows, documentaries, magazines, etc. and share them with you.

Time Magazine published an article by Lisa Abend entitled, “How Cows (Grass Fed Only) Could Save the Planet.”  It is an article refuting the claims on vegetarians who say something to the effect of “Save the Planet –Eat less beef.”  The article argues that grass fed cows actually have less a carbon footprint than the soybean farms and factories that manufacture tofu.  It also states that grass fed cows eating as nature intended is actually better for the environment through pasture rotation.  If you are interested, please read the article for yourself.

Dr. Mercola runs one of the top 10 health websites in the United States.  Dr. Mercola is a big proponent of eating grass fed beef.  He responded to the Time article with his own article, “The Ominous Beef Cover Up: The Hidden Truth Behind the Meat on your Plate.”

He believes that modern farming practices have not only hurt our planet, but have also damaged our health.  Dr. Mercola advises eating only grass fed meat.  He also advises to find local sources for the beef.

At Cross Creek Cattle Company, we are more than happy to supply families with our grass fed beef.  Our location in Plantersville, Texas allows us to serve a large area.  We are close to the 4th largest city in the United States, Houston, and its surrounding area.  We are close to the Bryan/College Station area.  We are also just as close to Huntsville, Conroe, Tomball, Waller, Brenham, and all the places in between.

If you have any questions or would like to place an order, contact Lara DeHaven at 936-870-5798 or by email at lndehaven@aol.com.  I look forward to hearing from you.

For many years it has been customary for farmers to give their livestock antibiotics regardless of the health of the animal.  Proponents argue that antibiotics promote growth and prevent disease, which in turn creates cheaper meat.  They insist that this is good for the consumer.  Whether you agree or not, most farmers do not have a choice in the matter.  Antibiotics are included in most feed on which both big-scale and small-scale farmers depend.  Therefore most of the meat in the United States has traces of antibiotics.

A few weeks ago on “Oprah,” she interviewed Michael Pollan.  I showed a portion of the show which included a Food IQ Quiz in an article called “Food, Inc.“  According to this quiz the amount of antibiotics administered to livestock was staggering.  It was 28 million pounds of antibiotics a year.  These antibiotics are given to healthy and sick market animals.  These are animals being raised for meat.

After years of being exposed to antibiotic-laden meat, doctors and health officials are beginning to see a correlation with antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.  Denmark is one of the first nations to discontinue the widespread administration of antibiotics in all of its farm animals.  Of course, farmers can give medicine to sick animals.  Katie Couric recently reported about antibiotic-free animals.  Watch the report for more information.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

As I watched the report, I was very disappointed with the woman representing the National Pork Board.  She was convinced in spite of the evidence of success in Denmark that reducing the amount of antibiotics would hurt the American consumer.  Change is hard for some people, but I believe that soon there will be a huge change in the way that farmers conduct their business and raise their animals.  I hope that it will be a move back to the way our great-grandparents raised food.

Years ago some farmers went against the grain like Applegate Farms (mentioned in the news report) and Cross Creek Cattle Company.  We do not give our animals antibiotics.  If one animal should become ill, then they are immediately separated and treated in a humane manner.  We follow the veterinarian’s instructions and restore the animal’s health.  However, we also remove the animal from the grass fed beef program.

We will not sell a cow that has been treated with antibiotics, growth hormones, and/or steroids for human consumption in our all-natural, grass fed program.  We do not have many problems with sick cows.  In fact I cannot remember the last time that an antibiotic had to be administered to any in our herd.  We provide ample room for grazing, good quality hay, great pastures of grass, and clean drinking water.  We consider these things preventive medicine.

Since we do not feed the cattle grain, then we do not have to worry about antibiotics being delivered to our animals in feed.  Eating grass fed beef from Cross Creek Cattle Company is safe.  No need to worry.  Our reputation depends on it.  We will not sell meat that we would not serve in our own homes.  Therefore, there are no antibiotics in our meat supply.

At Cross Creek Cattle Company, we do not just raise grass fed beef.  We garden organically.  We pick wild grapes and berries.  We tend our fruit trees.  We eat fresh fish from our lake and ponds.  Our family believes in the health benefits of eating real food.

Recently I received many phone calls by family and friends who viewed The Oprah Winfrey Show last week.  I did not watch it as it aired, but Oprah was interviewing Michael Pollan.  He is one of the most famous proponents of natural, healthy foods.  When he eats meat, Mr. Pollan chooses grass fed beef, which is why I received all the phone calls.

Michael Pollan has written many books like, The Omnivore’s Dilemna, and has delivered many speeches on the subject of food.  You can search his name on YouTube and you will have many different choices of videos to watch.  His most recent project has been a documentary called “Food Inc.“  I have not seen the movie, but it has intrigued me.  To see more about the movie as well as watch its trailer, click here.

To see a portion of Oprah’s show from January 21st about Food.  Watch this video.  It starts out with a food quiz.  You will not believe how much antibiotics are given to livestock in one year.  It is astounding!  The clip also gives a peek into the documentary, “Food Inc.”

Oprah’s interview, “Food 101 with Michael Pollan” is available to read.  Mr. Pollan also has a new-book out called, Food Rules.  In short, Mr. Pollan wants America to get back to what our great-grandparents ate, to eat real food.  He calls out other nations in the world that live on seal blubber or cow blood mixed with milk and have little heart problems and/or type-2 diabetes.  This line of thought and the desire to eat what our ancestors enjoyed daily is very similar to one of my favorite authors on food and nutrition, Sally Fallon.

In an article, “Review of Nourishing Traditions,” I go into further detail about Ms. Fallon’s theories on health and nutrition.  In my opinion, her book Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, is a must-have for anyone concerned about how and what their family eats.

In light of all the national debate on health care reform, I think that it is safe to say that we are all concerned about our health.  The connection that Michael Pollan makes is how our health is affected by the foods that we eat.

We are concerned about what we eat here on Cross Creek Cattle Company.  We are also very happy to be able to offer grass fed beef to the public.  Our beef might cost more than a steak at a Super Wal-Mart grocery store, but as Michael Pollan asked, “What are the long-term health costs of buying the cheaper food?”  I assure you that our grass fed beef has been raised as a herd on grass.  Our beef has not been raised on antibiotics, growth hormones, steroids, or grain.  If I might add, our grass fed beef is not only nutritious, but also very flavorful and delicious.