Tom Schaefer – Cattleman & Happy Cows

Because we practice high intensity rotational grazing we're around our cattle and handling them all the time. They're gentle and accustomed to us and they don't get overly stressed. We can walk among them, touch them and many we can even hand feed. That's the way I want them, gentle and calm. I think it makes for a better quality meat when they re not being stressed.

The only time we buy outside cattle is to change bulls so we don't breed too closely back to the same animals. Our animals are never given hormones or antibiotics to increase growth rates. If any of our animals become ill and require antibiotics then they're tagged and kept in the herd until they are healed and then they are sold at public auction. We want our cattle to be chemical and drug free when they go to slaughter.

We bale our own hay so we can control the protein content and make sure it's chemical free (no pesticide or herbicide). We do not put any herbicides on any of our grazing pastures. If we develop a weed problem we control it through mowing, or if we have to, we remove the cattle from that paddock and do spot treatment for specific plants and the cattle are not returned to that paddock for months. After the pastures are found to be free of residual herbicides in any of the plants that paddock can go back into the rotational grazing system.