Creekstone Farms - A Black Angus Beef Processing Company In Arkansas City, KS

[Justin Bittner]

One point to note, they use Murray's chicken and Creekstone beef.  Neither are organic.  

I hear tell creekstone is buying in the open market..... Any truth to that?

[DonRocks]

I hear tell creekstone is buying in the open market..... Any truth to that?

Their website says this:

• Cattle sourced from Creekstone Farms Black Angus genetics and verifiable Black Angus genetics documented through our rancher partners

[deangold]

In Creekstone's standards for their All Natural program, you find the following:

• 100% Vegetarian Diet
• Sourced Verified to Ranch of Birth

Source verification is an american angus requirement and does not set any standard for what those sources are, as long as they are 51% Angus.  Knowing who's your daddy {and mommy} are good, they do not speak to what your mommy and daddy are.

The first standard does not rule out commercial corn feeds like those used in conventional CAFO facilities.  Roseda, for example, states their feed is

Then they are placed on a wholesome diet of chopped corn plants and kernels, corn, hay, alfalfa, soybean meal, vitamins, minerals and fresh 

water. We use no hormones or chemical additives, and no antibiotics unless medically necessary. 

So the standard for feed is much higher but they will use antibiotics on a sick animal with twice the withdrawal period required by USDA where Creekstone pulls the animal from the al natural program and sells it under the premium program.  Piedmont ridge follows similar standards to Roseda's.

Here is Roseda's standards on breeding

All our cattle are bred to Roseda bulls, or to bulls carefully selected from other farms, with the genetic traits that produce outstanding beef.

Again, verified black angus genetics just means that the animal in question meets the black angus association's standard for minimum % black angus genetic heritage. , currently 51% for the American Angus Association with a requirement for modest or higher degree of marbeling.  Roseda bulls and the bulls they use are all 100% angus from cows genetically tested to have the 6 genetic markers that Roseda deems to result in best flavor and tenderness.  Again, a very different standard.

I put Creekstone in the category of better than supermarket beef but not really a specialized product.  Meyer Red Angus {one of the Whole Foods Brands} would be the same.  Piemonte Ridge and Vande Rose {at least prior to their sale,} former suppiers as well as roseda are truly s[pecialized meats.  They are not grass finished, although they spend a lot more time on grass then do conventional animals like Creekstone which is a one year old product at slaughter whereas Roseda is 16 to 18 months +.  And they are feed lot finished, but the feed lots allow for movement and cleanliness, use whole plant based feeding which is better for mainting the animal's natural digestion and pH.

I think that many folk think beef is either grass fed 100% or it's commercial and the above points out how untrue this position is.  100% grass fed is one end of a spectrum and I feel that Roseda and Piedmont Ridge are fairly close.  Creekstone, Meyer and others are down the line towards commercial, Neiman uses CAFO's for final feeding assuring their buyers that they only get fed a special Neiman Ranch bland but not really specifying what the blend is.

[zoramargolis]

When someone asked Bev Eggleston if the beef he sells is 100% grass fed, he told the guy that the animal was grass fed until the last three weeks (IIRC)before processing, when it was fed corn and grain. I think that is fairly typical. A lot of people (my husband is among them) do not like the taste of 100% grass-fed beef, and the grain finishing is an effort to improve the flavor.