The New Livestock Farmer: The Business of Raising and Selling Ethical Meat

Including information on cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep, and goats, and exotics like bison, rabbits, elk, and deer

How can anyone from a backyard hobbyist to a large-scale rancher go about raising and selling ethically produced meats directly to consumers, restaurants, and butcher shops? With the rising consumer interest in grass-fed, pasture-raised, and antibiotic-free meats, how can farmers most effectively tap into those markets and become more profitable? The regulations and logistics can be daunting enough to turn away most would-be livestock farmers, and finding and keeping their customers challenges the rest.

Farmer, consultant, and author Rebecca Thistlethwaite (Farms with a Future) and her husband and coauthor, Jim Dunlop, both have extensive experience raising a variety of pastured livestock in California and now on their homestead farm in Oregon. The New Livestock Farmer provides pasture-based production essentials for a wide range of animals, from common farm animals (cattle, poultry, pigs, sheep, and goats) to more exotic species (bison, rabbits, elk, and deer).

Each species chapter discusses the unique requirements of that animal, then delves into the steps it takes to prepare and get them to market. Profiles of more than fifteen meat producers highlight some of the creative ways these innovative farmers are raising animals and direct-marketing superior-quality meats.

In addition, the book contains information on a variety of vital topics:

- Governmental regulations and how they differ from state to state;

- Slaughtering and butchering logistics, including on-farm and mobile processing options and sample cutting sheets;

- Packaging, labeling, and cold-storage considerations;

- Principled marketing practices; and

- Financial management, pricing, and other business essentials.

This book is must reading for anyone who is serious about raising meat animals ethically, outside of the current consolidated, unsustainable CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) system. It offers a clear, thorough, well-organized guide to a subject that will become increasingly important as the market demand for pasture-raised meat grows stronger.

Nicolette Hahn Niman served as senior attorney for Waterkeeper Alliance, running their campaign to reform the concentrated production of livestock and poultry. In recent years, she has gained a national reputation as an advocate for sustainable food production and improved farm-animal welfare. She is the author of Righteous Porkchop and Defending Beef, and has written for numerous publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, HuffPost, and The Atlantic online. She lives on a ranch in Northern California with her husband, Bill Niman, and their two sons.

Rebecca Thistlethwaite is the author of Farms with a Future (Chelsea Green, 2012). She runs Sustain Consulting, which specializes in food and farm issues, working with both nongovernmental organizations and for-profit businesses. Her website is http: //rebeccathistlethwaite.com.

Rebecca also operates a small farm and a community farm stand in Oregon with her husband and coauthor, Jim Dunlop, and their daughter, Fiona. They previously owned TLC Ranch in Watsonville, California, where they raised organic, pastured livestock and poultry, selling to direct markets across Northern California.

Jim Dunlop works as a horticultural research manager for a progressive fruit orchard in the Columbia River Gorge.

Jim also operates a small farm and a community farm stand in Oregon with his wife and coauthor, Rebecca Thistlethwaite, and their daughter, Fiona. They previously owned TLC Ranch in Watsonville, California, where they raised organic, pastured livestock and poultry, selling to direct markets across Northern California.