Cattle Links

Cattle International Series - extremely thorough overview of international beef and dairy cattle breeds, by author/researcher Theo Oosthuizen in which he discusses not only various traits and history of each breed, but also their disease and climate adaptations, calving ease, meat qualities, etc. A great resource to help you pick the right breed for your beef ranch!

Cattle Breeds - online directory of the world's cattle breeds, maintained by the Oklahoma State University Department of Animal Science.

Cattle Today - listing of purebred cattle breeds, with links to their breeding associations and individual breeder lists.

Livestock Conservancy - dedicated to conserving rare livestock breeds, includes an overview of a wide number of heritage cattle breeds including some of their valued traits and how common or rare they are today.

American Grassfed Association (AGA) - provides a grass fed certification program for marketing grass fed beef. Farms using their logo must use pasture-based farming techniques without any grain. So, while organic certification programs allow both organic feedlot production and organic grain feeding, the AGA's grass fed certification program remains true to the spirit of what consumers imagine they are getting when they reach for non-conventional beef products.

Certified Pasturefed (Australia) - industry-led certification program in Australia, which certifies pasturefed or grassfed production methods. This is a multi-tiered certification program with additional levels for farmers who are also antibiotic-free and do not use growth hormones.

17 Mistakes to Avoid With Electric Fencing - electric fencing tips from range management consultant Wayne Burleson.

How electric fencing works - by Gallagher Electric Fencing: online step-by-step guide to electric fencing, by one of the leading producers of high-quality commercial electric fencing equipment.

Expert Fencing Tips - by Zareba Systems: this electric fencing equipment manufacturer provides a handy list of tips for designing, building, and maintaining your electric fencing system.

Eatwild.com - consumer information site about grassfed meat, eggs, and dairy, as well as a directory of farms that sell grass fed products. Site maintained by nutritional journalist and author Jo Robinson.

How to Direct Market Your Beef - free online book by Jan and Will Holder in which they provide advice and share their experiences with building their direct-marketing pipeline for their beef, courtesy of the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education website.

Manitoba Grass-Fed Beef Association - association of grass fed beef producers, processors, butchers, retailers, chefs and restaurant owners. Includes a Producer Directory.

Reducing Cattle Shrink - Ontario Ministry of Agriculture article about the unnecessary weight loss caused by stressful cattle handling practices during processing, transport, and marketing.

Dr. Temple Grandin's Web Page - cattle behavior, corral and facility design, and slaughter tips. 

Bud William's Stockmanship - site dedicated to low-stress cattle handling methods and cattle marketing strategies.

National Cattlemen's Beef Association - the association for US Cattle Producers - conventions, farmer education, political action, beef research.

Canadian Cattlemen's Association - the national voice of Canadian Cattle Producers.

Cattle Council of Australia - the Australian Cattlemen's Association, which even has their own 'Pasturefed Cattle' certification program.

National Beef Association (Britain) - the voice of the British beef industry.

American Cattlemen - US-oriented cattle farming website + subscription-based magazine. Includes some free online articles and a large cattle breeder directory with over 300 cattle breeders.

BEEF Magazine - website + subscription cattle farming magazine for cow-calf producers, stocker-growers, cattle feeders, veterinarians, nutritionists and the cattle farming industry.

Canadian Cattlemen - Canadian website + subscription-based magazine dedicated to cattle production - includes free online articles ranging from how to raise cattle, to forage crop production, veterinary advice, markets and weather.

Stockman Grassfarmer - a monthly newspaper dedicated to pasture-based livestock production, along with some online grass fed resources. Founded and edited by author Allan Nation.

Ranching for Profit - contains a fantastic collection of articles about 'Ranching for Profit' by Ranch Management Consultants, co-owned by author Stan Parsons. They also run a school and 'executive link' program to help cattle farmers with their businesses.

Savory Institute - promotes the large-scale restoration of the world's grasslands through holistic management using livestock to heal the land. Co-founded by Allan Savory, who created the philosophy and practice of Holistic Management. You may also want to check out Allan Savory's presentation on TED Talks in the video below.

Holistic Management International (HMI) - land management education for farmers, ranchers and land stewards, providing a whole farm planning system. Although Allan Savory (see Savory Institute above) is no longer involved, he was one of the founders of HMI and his principles of holistic management continue to be at the core of HMI's teachings and management practices.

AcresUSA - magazine and bookstore dedicated to organic and sustainable farming information, covering both livestock and crop production.

Storey Publishing - book publisher with a comprehensive selection of practical how-to books covering a wide range of topics surrounding country-living, gardening, farming, and more. My book, Grass fed Cattle: how to produce and market natural beef, was published by Storey Publishing.

Polyface Farms - respected author and public-speaker Joel Salatin's family farm, which provides organic farming education (books, DVD's, lectures, farm tours, etc) built around the farm's organic, multi-species, local direct-marketing farming model. 

Permies.com - forums dedicated to permaculture enthusiasts, from grass fed cattle to honeybees, pasture production to forest gardens and everything in between.

Insteading.com - website and community forum dedicated to practical hands-on advice for homesteaders and people interested in sustainable living.

Beef Cattle Research Council - Canada's industry-led agency for beef research. The site has a wide range of fantastic educational resources useful to anyone interested in raising beef cattle regardless of where your farm is on the conventional to organic farming spectrum.

BeefResearch.org - this is the US industry-led agency for beef research. Their research and education focuses on Beef Safety, Human Nutrition, Product Enhancement, Sustainability, and Market Research.

Kinsey's Agricultural Services - soil fertility consultants; provide soil analyses and fertilizer recommendations  based on the Albrecht system of soil mineral balancing for both conventional and organic farms, for both crops and pastures. Owner/author Neal Kinsey also puts on excellent public and fertilizer industry-oriented courses.

Soil Carbon Coalition - a non-profit organization that does systematic organic matter testing on ranches to monitor how various farming techniques affect organic matter content in the soil, with the goal of promoting farming techniques that turn atmospheric carbon into soil organic matter. Find out whether your farm could join the program to monitor the effects of your farming strategies on organic matter in your soils!