Does meat contain antibiotics?
The weather in northeast Kansas has been up and down and all over the place. While we can all enjoy the nice days, the up and down weather has been hard on the cattle. We have experienced some below zero wind chill days.
Nature takes care of itself. Cattle grow thicker hair in the winter (their winter coats) and shed in the spring, just like your dog does. They, unlike us, can’t just shed all those layers on the days that are much, much warmer. Because of this, I’m watching the cattle extra close. Just like humans, the elderly and the young are most susceptible to sickness.
How Do We Use Antibiotics?
At the first sign of sickness, I tell Matt that we need to doctor. We’ve been running pretty hard applying fertilizer to the pastures and hay ground, but the cattle take priority. If I don’t catch them on their first day of showing signs of sickness, it takes a lot longer and more medicine to get them well again.
We give a shot of antibiotic. We take the dosage rate very seriously. I want my sick babies to get better and don’t want to sabotage that by over or under dosing. Then I write down on my cattle list the date, medicine type and how much we gave. And we’re done. We let the medicine work. Just like with humans, we want to minimize the stress on sick animals. We get the medicine in them and then leave them in peace.
Are There Antibiotics in Meat?
We get a lot of questions about antibiotics in meat. ALL meat is antibiotic free. Every single ounce. There are strict withdrawal periods that ranchers must abide by when administering medication. Cattle producers take this very seriously, but there are bad apples in every industry. All meat is tested for antibiotics. You never have to worry about antibiotics making it into meat you are consuming. So the extra money you’re putting out to buy a label that says antibiotic free is quite literally a waste of your money. 100% of the meat on the grocery store shelves is antibiotic free.
I completely understand that you care so much about your family that you don’t want to feed them anything that will harm them in the short or long run. I feel you. I grew up and married into another family where we have our own beef in the freezer all the time. I know exactly how that beef was raised and how it was treated. I don’t know that about the pork and chicken I buy off the grocery store shelves. I’ve seen all the labels and scare tactics used to make you choose one product over another. I must state this again. If you want to buy organic, natural, or anything else you go for it. But I ask that you understand what it is you’re buying and you’re not buying out of fear and potentially wasting your money in the process.
Why We Don’t Produce Organic:
For example, our eggs are not organic. We won’t go through the process to be an organic producer because of all the regulations they tell you. We’re doing all the things, but I don’t want some bureaucrat in Washington that doesn’t know what a chicken eats to tell me how to take care of my birdies. We take care of our chickens so it’s what is right for them, not to meet some ridiculous regulation that might harm our flock. I’m not saying organic is bad. I’m saying that just because it’s not labeled something doesn’t mean it’s bad.
As always we encourage you to ask any and all questions. We will not make you feel less than because you don’t know something. I love answering questions. I love sharing our lifestyle, just as you like sharing yours. This life is too short to go through it fighting about unnecessary things. We’d love to be your farmer resource.
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~Matt & Kelsey