When the “certified organic” label surfaced, many people misunderstood that the terms “organic” and “natural” could be used interchangeably. There is a much higher standard and set of regulations established for certified organic beef. It is a more expensive and labor intensive process for raising organic beef than natural beef.

The definition for natural beef from the USDA is: Natural beef: Beef that has no artificial ingredients and is minimally processed. The standards are much higher for organic beef and the criteria is as follows as set forth by the USDA:

Organic beef: Beef must come from a verifiable production system that collects information on the history of every animal in the program, including breed history, veterinary care and feed. The cattle must also be:

• Born and raised on certified organic pasture
• Never receive antibiotics
• Never receive growth-promoting hormones
• Are fed only certified organic grains and grasses
• Must have unrestricted outdoor access
• Must receive humane treatment
• Never fed any type of animal source protein

The Prather Ranch maintains a “certified organic” herd and a “natural” herd. The natural cattle are raised in almost identical conditions as the organic animals, other than we have the option to treat an animal for infection if needed (which is a humane approach), and the cattle from the natural herd may have eaten hay or grain that has been raised using conventional farming practices.

It has been the ranch’s intent to have both organic and natural beef available for our customers. The ranch strives to have products available to people of all economic means and we encourage people that live in our local, rural communities to purchase our beef.