Country Natural Beef Looking for Like-Minded Ranchers

Country Natural Beef Looking for Like-Minded Ranchers

I’m KayDee Gilkey with today’s Open Range.

Since 1986, Country Natural Beef has been a cooperative providing natural beef to customers. The cooperative has more than 75 family ranches as members located throughout the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the Western United States.

Stacy Davies, Country Natural Beef’s Marketing Director, says the cooperative is looking for new members at this time. What are the characteristics of potential members?

Davies: “The kind of producer that works well in Country Natural Beef is somebody who wants to be proactive rather than reactive; wants to be business for many, many generations; wants to be viewed as a sustainable operation; wants to have their operation in the family for many generations in the future. So we find ways to deal with the economics, the environment, and the social issues that face the industry.”

Although there aren’t breed requirements for cattle to participate, Davies says for cattle to make the needed carcass quality half-English and half-continental cattle seem to perform well within CNB’s program.?
Davies: “Mostly we are looking for an attitude of the rancher, but the minimum number s a truckload of cattle whether that is 100 head of 5-weight calfs or 60 head of 8-weight cattle. It takes a minimum of a truckload to fit within the organization.”