Foreword

Like the authors of this book, and countless

other couples in agriculture, we function as a
team. Rather than each of us heading out separately every morning to a distant job, on a typical
day we live and labor alongside one another. We
share household and ranch chores, take our daily
meals together, cooperate in child-rearing duties,
and consult with each other about our meat
business. Occasionally, we share the speaking
stage and sometimes even write collaboratively.
When we first met in 2001, Bill was the founder
and CEO of Niman Ranch, a collective of
hundreds of farmers and ranchers raising livestock using traditional methods, and Nicolette
was the senior attorney for an environmental
group whose top priority was addressing pollution from the livestock and poultry industries.
Both of us, in our very different ways, were fully
engaged in what we viewed as the essential task
of remaking the norms of how farm animals in
the United States and elsewhere would be raised
in the twenty-first century.
At the time, more than a decade ago now,
concentration, confinement, and concrete had
become so widely accepted and entrenched that
returning animals to grass seemed more than a
monumental task; to many, it seemed an impossibility. Other than animal rights activists, who
argued completely against animals in farming,
few publicly questioned the appropriateness of
the ways in which farm animals were being raised.

The industrialized approach had taken hold

gradually. At the dawn of the twentieth century,
time-honored husbandry methods were starting
to be abandoned. Various human inventions were
ushering in the era of mass-scale total confinement systems. One such technology emerged
around 1880, when incubators came into widespread use for hatching chicken eggs, especially in
Petaluma, California, just up the road from where
we now live. A history of poultry farming notes
(approvingly) that this set poultry farming on an
unerring industrial course. It separated the hen
from her eggs and her chicks, usurping the hens
brooding and mothering role, and reducing her to
nothing more than an egg producer. By 1930,
chicken raising had become quite industrialized:
Breeds were specialized into egg-laying and meat
types (so-called broilers) and a single incubating
machine could hatch 52,000 chicks at one time;
broiler flocks were kept indoors and numbered in
the tens of thousands. In 1938, the DeWitt
brothers in Zeeland, Michigan, invented automated feeders for poultry, which substantially
reduced the human care required.
Within two years of the United States entering
World War II, the government set an annual
production goal for chicken meat of four billion
pounds, an 18 percent increase over the previous
year. Farmers were encouraged to contribute to the
war effort by raising defense chicks, which would
be raised as food to be shipped abroad to American

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The New Livestock Farmer

soldiers and allies. Over these years, the value of
domestically raised chickens went from $268
million (in 1940) to over $1 billion (in 1945),
nearly a four-fold expansion in just five years.
Novel feed additives soon reinforced the trend
toward total confinement. Since the birds were
deprived of sunshine, laboratory-manufactured
vitamin D had to be included in their feeds.
Starting in the early 1950s, antibiotics were
added, too. Initially, this was to stave off diseases.
Morbidity and mortality had risen sharply as
flocks expanded. When poultry farmers first
began keeping sizable flocks in confinement,
typical rates of death loss quadrupled, jumping
from 5 to 20 percent. With commercialization
and greater intensification have come [new]
disease problems . . . the chances of disease spread
are materially enhanced, two professors of poultry husbandry wrote in the 1930s. Adding antibiotics to daily feed and water reduced rates of
death and illness. The continual drug dosing was
soon discovered to have the added bonus of
dramatically increasing the chickens growth rate
as well. By mid-century, some pigs and dairy cows
were being kept in large, total-confinement herds.
Antibiotics thus cheapened production and
enabled crowded total confinement by keeping
animals alive in otherwise unlivable conditions. In
the decades that followed, adding antibiotics (and
other drugs) to animal feed became standard. The
Union of Concerned Scientists has estimated that
97 percent of hog finishing operations continually
feed antibiotics.
However, the meat industrys heavy reliance on
these pharmaceuticals has come with a high
public health cost. In 2010, the Food and Drug
Administration reported that over 80 percent of
antibiotics used in the United States were going
to farm animals, with over 90 percent of them

used in the daily feed or water of animals living in

confinement operations. Overuse of antibiotics
contributes to the rise of pathogens that are resistant to the drugs. Such pathogens travel through
the soil, air, or water, leave farming operations,
and populate the meat and eggs produced.
Research by Johns Hopkins University School
of Public Health and others has connected the
livestock and poultry industrys drug overuse with
the rise of antibiotic-resistant diseases. A few
decades ago, most staph infections were readily
curable with antibiotics, but no longer. In 2005, one
such infection, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (known as MRSA) resulted in 18,000 deaths
in this country, more than were killed that year by
HIV-AIDS. A University of Iowa study demonstrated that 49 percent of pigs and 45 percent of
farmers at confinement operations in Illinois and
Iowa tested positive for MRSA.
Despite such sobering study results the livestock and poultry industry still strenuously resists
Congresss repeated efforts to rein in antibiotic
use. The meat industry now declares that these
drugs are essential for preventing illness and death
for animals living in intensive confinement. For
workers and farm animals, exposure to antibioticresistant infections is just one of many dangers of
confinement operations.
Keeping animals continually confined invariably alters their diets. Where livestock have no
access to foraging and grazing, all feed must be
planted, watered (in some cases), harvested, transported, and dispensed to them. Because this
process is expensive and labor-intensive, there is a
strong incentive to feed concentrated feeds
(mostly grains and soy) rather than forages high
in roughage, and this is how animals in confinement operations are typically fed. Thus, an animal
in such an operation loses not only the manifold

Foreword
benefits of sunshine and exercise, but it is also
deprived of a diet comparable to that for which its
body type evolved.
In the United States, the feeding of concentrates was made especially advantageous after
World War II by federal grain subsidies, put in
place partly to help feed the hungry masses in
Europe. When pigs and poultry were kept in small
flocks and herds, those omnivorous animals had
been fed from a combination of foraging, excess
crops, scrap foods, and farm by-products, supplemented with some grain. Thus, their recycling
assisted farms and households in optimally using
resources. However, as those animals were increasingly kept in large flocks and herds separated from
the land, it became necessary to raise crops dedicated to feeding them. Dairy cows were grazing
less and fed more concentrates, and beef cattle,
too, were increasingly being kept in feedlots for
several months before slaughter, where they were
fattened on grains and soy.
In the United States today, about 55 percent of
grain produced is fed to livestock and poultry.
(Lower, actually, than the average for all industrialized countries, which is around 70 percent.)
Omnivorous animalspigs and poultryare
nearly all confined and fed a diet of grains and
soy. An estimated 99 percent of turkeys and
chickens (of both the egg-laying and meat types)
and 95 percent of pigs live in metal buildings with
24-hour ventilation to manage the fumes, mechanized feeding and watering, and elaborate
waste-handling systems for their feces and urine.
For those fortunate farm animals raised freerange, the overwhelming body of scientific
evidence confirms what common sense already
tells us: Animals are happier and healthier when
raised with sunshine, fresh air, and grass, and
when given the opportunity to exercise. Not

surprisingly, animals raised on pasture also

produce healthier, safer, and (many people agree)
tastier food.
Compare a dairy cows situation in confinement to living on pasture. Given the opportunity,
bovines spend most of their waking hours in an
ambulant state of grazing, walking an average of
2.5 miles a day, all the while taking 50 to 80 bites
of forage per minute. But confinement allows
virtually no exercise and zero grazing. Standing
on cement for hours every day is murder on cows
legs, as animal welfare expert Marlene Halverson
says. For every 100 US dairy cows, for instance,
there are 35 to 56 cases of lameness. Conversely,
welfare and health markedly improve when cows
exercise outdoors. A 2007 study in the Journal of
Dairy Science found that continual access to
pasture cured cow lameness, and a 2006 study in
Preventative Veterinary Medicine found it also
eliminated joint swelling and open sores.
Chickens, too, fare better in both welfare and
health when they have access to pasture. Caged
hens have extremely weak and brittle bones due to
their physical inactivity, leading to frequent bone
fractures. Animal welfare expert Dr. Sara Shields
notes that free ranging has multiple benefits in
terms of food safety as well as animal welfare.
Disease risks, a report she authored notes, are
minimized by factors associated with the outdoor,
free-range environment. Natural sunlight kills
many pathogens and virus particles, and the lower
stocking densities and access to fresh air typical of
free-range flocks lower infection and transmission
rates. Compared to battery-cage egg production,
studies have found the odds of Salmonella enteritidis contamination are 98 percent lower in freerange systems; for Salmonella typhimuriumthe
most common US source of Salmonella poisoning
the odds are 93 percent lower in organic and

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The New Livestock Farmer

free-range systems; and for the other Salmonella
serotypes found, the odds are 99 percent lower in
free-range birds.
Finally, various studies have documented that
food from free-ranging animals is more nutritious.
Research, summarized in the Union of Concerned
Scientists 2006 report Greener Pastures showed
higher levels of vitamin E and omega 3 fatty acids
in grassfed beef, and that grazing dairies produce
food higher in both the beneficial fatty acids ALA
and CLAan effect that was particularly
pronounced in cheese. Likewise, research done by
Clemson University and the USDA has found
that grassfed meats have more calcium, magnesium, potassium, thiamin, and riboflavin. A 2003
Penn State study found a dramatic difference in
the nutritional qualities of eggs from pastureraised hens: On average, we saw about twice as
much vitamin E and 40 percent more vitamin A in
the yolks of pasture-fed birds than in the caged
birds, the lead researcher reported. The longer
the animals were on pasture, the more vitamins
they produced.
The consensus among credible sources
scientific research, practical farming experience,
and common sensetells us that farm animals
are healthiest when provided the opportunity to
thrive in environments where they can breathe
fresh air, graze, forage, exercise, and soak up the
sun. Our parents told us as children to go outside

and run around a while because they knew physical activity and fresh air would help keep us in
good health. And so it is with farm animals. The
healthiest, safest, and most nutritious food comes
from farms following that wisdom.
Can animal farming be returned to grass? As
The New Livestock Farmer demonstrates, its not
only possible, its vitally necessary. And to do it,
we need a brave new generation of farmers
throwing their hearts, minds, and bodies into the
task. Rebecca and Jim have tackled it head on by
creating their own Next Generation livestock
farms. This book is a distillation of their
combined knowledge and experiences, both
good and bad. In addition, they have sought out
and included the wisdom and examples of many
other successful farmers and ranchers, all of
whom reflect the best management practices and
savvy business sense that define any successful
animal farming operation, regardless of its size
or location. Now they are sharing what they have
learned. Thank goodness.
Bill Niman and Nicolette Hahn Niman
Bill Niman is the founder and former CEO of
Niman Ranch. Nicolette Hahn Niman is the author
of the books Righteous Porkchop and Defending
Beef. Together they own and operate BN Ranch in
northern California.

xii

Introduction
Neither one of us is a farm kid, nor are we part of
some glorious multi-generation ranching lineage.
Jim grew up on a pre-suburban homestead in
New York raising small livestock and poultry with
his family for their own consumption, before the
area became dotted with modest middle-class
homes. Rebecca grew up in a homeowner
association-ruled neighborhood in Oregon where
a couple of eccentrics grew vegetable gardens but
mostly manicured lawns dominated the landscape. Jim went on to do a four-year service with
the US Marine Corps and got out wanting to surf
and travel. As he learned about conventional meat
production and its less than humane practices, he
opted to avoid meat in his diet. Rebecca decided
in high school that the environmental impacts of
conventional meat production were too much for
her to swallow, so, right before her grandparents
fiftieth wedding anniversary pig roast, she became
a strict vegetarian.
A decade or so later, one winter I (Rebecca)
remember myself arguing with a grassfed beef
producer, one who has since become my friend.
We were at the Ecological Farming Conference, a
large gathering of the organic tribe that occurs
near Monterey, California, each January. I was
making my case for vegetarianism with the
rancher, who kindly nodded his head listening to
my dogma going around in circles like a broken
record. I was probably saying something about
the amount of grains used to feed livestock and

how the planet could not sustain that increasing

amount. Exactly one year later, I was introducing
my new rancher husband Jim to that same cattle
rancher and gushing about my newfound love for
meat. It was like I was making up for lost time,
going from twelve years as a vegetarian straight to
dedicated meat enthusiast.
Jim too was a vegetarian for almost the same
amount of time before he began raising animals,
first starting out with poultry and then progressing
to raising pigs, sheep, and some cattle on two
different farms in California. He prides himself on
his understanding of electric fences, building innovative animal shelters out of junk materials, and
producing really tasty meats. If there were such a
term as cowboy, except with pigs, that would be
Jim. Pigboy just doesnt have the same ring.
Newly married and recovering vegetarians, we
progressed quickly from raising animals to killing
them, cutting them up, and eating them. We
started a farm on the central coast of California
called TLC Ranch, beginning with broiler chickens, and then including laying hens, pigs, sheep,
and some cattle. Our goal was to eventually make
a living from farming, and a few years into it we did
just that. By our fifth year of production we were
grossing nearly half a million dollarsnot too
shabby on just twenty acres of irrigated pasture.
Slowly, we cultivated our knowledge of cooking
meat, relying on favorite books such as The
Grassfed Gourmet and even The Joy of Cooking. We

The New Livestock Farmer

began more complicated meat projects such as
curing pig jowls and bacon, brining meats, stuffing
and roasting, and making pts. We wont claim to
be full-fledged nose-to-tail eaters, nor the best
home cooks, and there still are a few odd bits of
meat that we wont eat, yet. But we have a much
greater understanding and appreciation for the
whole animal and the logistics that bring meat to
our plates. We know now that for us, and probably
the planet, finding our way to the balanced
middle of meat consumption is how we probably
should be eating. But this book is not a treatise on
meat consumption. You can find that subject
extensively researched in Simon Fairlies outstanding book Meat: A Benign Extravagance or Nicolette
Hahn Nimans new book Defending Beef. We just
wanted to give you a little background on our
thinking about meat and meat consumption, and
how we got to where we are today.
We now live on a patch of ground in Oregon
and are trying to figure out the best animal fit for
our land in a careful and considered way. We have
started with a small pig herd of American Guinea
Hogs to take advantage of the copious acorns
that drop in our oak woodland. This year well
add ducks to enjoy our half-acre pond, as well as
some chickens and rabbits for our garden and for
home meat consumption. Right now, were rotationally grazing a small flock of Jacob sheep
around our property to fireproof our land, instead
of using fossil fuels to do that. We are also experimenting with different breeds to find the ones
that best complement our geography. We are
taking our time to see if commercial production
of animals is right for us in our new surroundings,
taking into consideration the land base first, then
our familys holistic goal, our access to critical
inputs such as grains and slaughter facilities, and
also market conditions. We also have a huge

vegetable garden, are installing an orchard and

cane berries in the fall, and own and operate a
farmstand in town to sell our produce and other
farm goodies from our community.
This book draws upon our mistakes and wisdom
gleaned raising animals for close to ten years in
California and the knowledge of countless inspiring
and innovative meat producers around the country.
Just like Rebeccas last book, Farms with a Future,
we rely heavily upon the knowledge earned by
hardworking farmers who have graciously shared
their stories with us so that others may learn from
their mistakes and perhaps pick up some successful
practices to integrate into their current systems.
Maybe your current animal management system
needs a 180-degree turn: if so, this book is for you,
too. We have met producers who are struggling
with an entrenched way of raising animals but who
honestly crave a way out of the muck, literally. Go
climb up to the highest place on your land or get on
the roof of your barn and take a peak down. Is this
the animal production system you want to continue?
Ask yourself the ethical questions described in the
next chapter and see where that leads you.

The Purpose of This Book

Our goal for this book is to transform the meat
supply chain by making it easier for meat producers to raise healthy animals and get them to
market in a way that achieves four equally important objectives:
1. keeps them in business and earns them
a fair living;
2. treats the animals humanely;
3. is gentle and even restorative on the earth; and
4. provides nutritious and tasty food to
a wider audience of consumers.

Introduction
The first half of the book will focus on raising various livestock and poultry species in the best way we
know how (this is a collective knowing based on
interviewing lots of farmers and some solid scientific references). Each animal chapter will be broken
down into the key bits of production information
that we think you ought to know, with highlights of
best practices. These chapters are not comprehensive production manuals but rather distilled drops
of wisdom for pasture-based systems. We figure
you already have a bookshelf dedicated to books
about single-species production, and we dont plan
on duplicating those efforts. This book also
emphasizes profitable, commercial raising of
animals, not backyard self-sufficiency production:
there are many homesteading books out there
already. Because the focus is on profitable animal
production, we try to steer clear of the hobby-scale
advice as much as possible, but hey, we all have to
start somewhere.
The second half of the book is about the business of getting those animals to market, including
the transportation, slaughter, butchering, packaging, labeling, cold storage, market channels, pricing, financial management, and other pertinent
odds and ends of running a farm business.

Book Overview
What will this book cover? We will summarize the
best practices of pasture-based animal production
from around the country, taking into account the
large variations in climate, soils, vegetation, breeds,
access to inputs, and other variables. There is no
one-size-fits-all approach, and we understand that
producers need to build the most sustainable
systems that work for them given where they live
and farm. You may not agree with a particular
system or may think there is only one right way to

raise animals or one perfect breed. You are encouraged to have that passion and conviction, but our
goal is to include many different production
systems that are balancing sustainability, animal
welfare, and economics. We also aim to be broad
enough that this book can be as useful for a sheep
rancher in New Mexico as it is for a grass farmer in
Minnesota as it is for a pastured poultry producer
in Georgia. It will not be all-encompassing for one
region, one animal species, or one production
model. There are other great books, periodicals,
blogs, and other online resources that will help you
hone in on your specific system. Look to the references section in the back of the book for some of
our favorite animal production resources.
This book will delve into how to go about
processing and selling your meat in different
market channels and ways you can collaborate
with others to scale up over time. We will present
farmer-based advice to successfully direct-market
your meats and some of the significant pitfalls that
we hope you can avoid. By addressing those challenges in this book and illustrating that this business is not easy, nor is it for everyone, we hope to
interject a serious dose of reality into the conversation. To improve the robustness of this information
and get more boots-on-the-ground realism, we
sought the advice of hundreds of other meat
producers around the country to put this book
together. If we left you out, were sorry, but we are
confident you are doing amazing things too.
One thing we have learned in writing this book is
how very little we actually know. It has been both a
humbling experience and an enlightening one. We
wish we could have done this extensive research back
when we were producing animals on a commercial
level, but at least now we are ready for the future. We
hope that you, too, will be better prepared for this
new meat market by reading our book.