SCHERLER-ABNEY CATTLE CO.

Premium Grassfed Beef requires premium grassfed genetics

We raise low-input, heat tolerant and forage adapted Cattle.

Mark Schatzker, author of Steak, said the best steak he’d ever eaten was grassfed, and the worst steak he’d ever eaten was grassfed. The huge range in grassfed beef quality, size, taste, and tenderness is one of the hardest things to control in this field. We as producers can’t fault a consumer that isn’t interested in our product because of a bad eating experience as a result of ranchers using a breed and forage utilization program rooted in commercial (grain finishing) operating systems. What we can do, is try our darndest to make management decisions that result in a more consistent, high-quality product that can be relied upon by the consumer time after time.

What does that require? Well, the only thing we know for sure about farming and ranching is that there is never a single answer to a problem. Agricultural products are living organisms, and our job is to prepare and plan as best as we can by using appropriate genetics and forage utilization for a grass-fed and finished program, and then adapt to the changing needs of our land, animals and customers.

We believe appropriately sized and ethically raised animals are capable of consistently producing a tender and flavorful eating experience, and regenerating the landscape they are raised on. We chose the American Aberdeen Angus as a base cow breed for our grassfed and finished program for this very reason. Aberdeen Angus cattle are a product of selective breeding of traditionally sized full-blood registered Angus cattle by Trangie research center. As a result of strict selection for smaller framed cattle than modern commercial breeds, Aberdeen Angus are generally about 70% of the size of their registered Angus full blood cousins, require less food intake, develop marbling more quickly, and are able to maintain/improve their body condition on well-managed pasture with no grain supplement required.

The larger the person, or cow, or engine, the more energy they need to maintain their body condition. The modern commercial cow that weighs 1,300-1,500 lbs at mature weight requires more high energy feed (usually grain) than our native pasture alone is usually able to provide. Our 750-1000 lb fullblood and moderator Aberdeen cows are able to maintain their condition on pasture and hay alone, and our steers can finish on grass without supplementation. Their smaller frame naturally takes the extra energy intake above their survival requirements and turns it into marbling and fat, which means our (and your) customers have access to a tender, flavorful steak without having to supplement with GMO grains. One of the best parts about Aberdeen Angus is the fact that they have a larger ribeye steak size relative to their body weight than most cattle, which means even though it’s a smaller animal, the steaks are still big enough satisfy a Texan.

We think it’s vitally important to have the proper genetics in order to get a premium product that customers can rely on every time they buy from us. Does your current beef producer have the right genetics for the product they are selling? That’s a question we think more people should be asking.

If you have questions, want to come see our herd for yourself, or start your own Aberdeen herd using cattle we currently have for sale, drop us an email on the contact page and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!