Our Vision - At Maverick Ranch Natural Meats, our vision is to lead the way for our livestock producers to raise natural meats that are safe and nutritionally superior, while providing the ultimate dining experience for all of us. We believe that the producer that achieves these goals should also be paid a premium for raising those animals.

PRODUCTION

   Value Based Marketing - Producers that excel in management and invest in superior genetics should be rewarded. Back in 1987, Maverick Ranch was one of the first branded beef systems to pay producers according to the true value of each animal, rather than paying an average price for cattle. Producers soon found that there was a $300 per animal variance in values from a high to low quality animal. By participating in our program, producers were then able to select for the positive traits and remove the cattle from their herds that produced beef with the less desirable traits. These producers are serious ranchers who enhance their bottom line by producing cattle that are in the top 10% of the industry. At Maverick Ranch, we pay our producers a bonus for these top cattle.

   Sustainable Ranching - Some people may be familiar with the term sustainable farming. Organic farmers practice this system by using natural rather than chemical fertilizers. They use crop rotation and resting to sustain the land and prevent erosion. Sustainable ranching uses these same principles, but to a greater degree. This is because we must sustain the land in a natural way and practice management techniques that take into consideration the animals' safety, comfort, and health. This management philosophy results in safe, healthful beef for our consumer partners.

   We sincerely believe that all of our ranchers are environmentally focused and take exceptional care of their animals and their land. Some of these ranches have been in the same family for more than one hundred years.

   On a Western ranch, such as our own Rocking M Ranch, there are hundreds of species of native plants. Our range consultants study these plant species, and then a management plan is implemented to provide both forage for wildlife habitat and forage for our cattle. Proper management allows native species to flourish. In addition, we consider the need for public access and recreation. Working with federal, state, and county agencies, we have developed a cooperative management plan that is truly a model for sustainable ranching and is being closely watched and applauded by environmental groups, sportsmen, and ranchers alike.

   Western Ranch Raised Cattle - In selecting our ranchers and beef sources, we choose cattle that are raised in the West. There is a very sound reason for this. Cattle raised on the semi-arid ranges of the West have less exposure to parasites than cattle raised in high rainfall areas or highly irrigated pastures where insects and parasites are plentiful. Soils that receive over 24"of rain annually may contain more parasites. Western ranch cattle need very little pesticide treatment when compared to cattle raised in other areas. Cattle raised on irrigated pastures on farms and ranches or in medium to high rainfall areas must be treated much more frequently. The facts are that pesticides are necessary to produce a food supply free of parasites. However, pesticides may create possible carcinogenic residues and are often endocrine interrupters, immune system interrupters and affect brain function, nervous systems and behavior. Although beef is safer than most fruits and vegetables when it comes to pesticide residues, we feel that pesticides are our greatest long-term risk in the food chain. That is why we have spent twelve years developing a testing system designed to test our beef to prove the absence of pesticide residues. At Maverick Ranch, we feel that testing for pesticides is a very important issue that others often choose to ignore.

TECHNOLOGY

   During Cattle Production - Most ranchers today are well educated. Modern technology allows ranchers to utilize this knowledge in animal science, agriculture economics, and veterinary medicine as well as range and crop management to produce superior beef. Technology has made more progress in the last ten years than at any time in history. Today, we use many tools such as DNA testing, embryo transfer, artificial insemination, ultra sound, tenderness testing, and computerized data-bases to constantly improve the nutritional values and eating quality of our products. Consultants for Maverick Ranch are some of the country's leading meat scientists and food safety experts.

   During Beef Processing - Giant technological strides have been made in the last few years such as SANOVA that reduce bacterial contamination by as much as 99%. At our own processing facility, our equipment and our products are monitored for bacterial counts contiunually each day. Maverick Ranch Natural Meats goes to extremes to put your safety first. Special clothing must be worn in our production rooms. For example, no one can enter our processing rooms wearing street shoes-each person must wear rubber boots that are sanitized as they enter the room.

LABORATORY TESTING

   In the early years of our company, we employed several of the leading laboratories in our vicinity to monitor residues, bacteria, and nutritional values. This was slow, sometimes inaccurate and expensive. As a result, we decided to build our own laboratory and hire top researchers that could develop a testing system that is fast, accurate, and economical to test our beef carcasses as well as a statistical sampling of primal cuts. Today, we probably run more tests in a year than the entire USDA testing system, and we still work hard daily to improve our system.

Our laboratory system includes:

   Tenderness Testing - Tenderness is measured by shear force. This is similar to the force it takes for a person to chew. Our tenderness database proves that, on average, Maverick Ranch Beef has less variance in tenderness and is more tender, on average, than the world's largest selling brand of beef.

   Microbiology - Pathogenic bacterial contamination is the greatest risk in nearly all foods. Our laboratory constantly monitors possible bacteria on equipment and product so that we may provide you the best possible degree of safety.

Residue Testing:

1. Antibiotics -Maverick Ranch Beef carcasses are tested for sixteen antibiotics using a USDA-developed testing system. Many people are allergic to antibiotics, so we eliminate any beef that show positive for any of these antibiotics.
   
   
2. Steroids - At Maverick Ranch, we test for synthetic steroids. Our system is designed to eliminate any beef where the animal appears to have had illegal or incorrect steroid stimulation resulting in a positive residue test. In addition to relying on producer management affidavits, we test to provide you the greatest degree of protection.
   
   
3. Pesticides - (Endocrine Interrupters) - Pesticides are chemicals that control pests by interrupting some phase of their life cycle. We spent more than 3 years with researchers developing a system that meets AOAC and USDA requirements and is still fast enough to test the high volume of samples that we require daily. Using Maverick Ranch Beef in your diet can lower your total lifetime pesticide exposure.

MAVERICK RANCH NATURALITE EXTRA LEAN GROUND BEEF

   Although today Maverick Ranch provides a wide range of natural meats including pork, lamb and chicken, natural beef is still our "flagship" product. Maverick Ranch started the nation's lean ground beef trend in 1986 by producing 91% and 93% lean ground beef. Today, our NaturaLite Extra Lean grinds are as high as 96% lean. We are proud to say that many people in the beef industry credit Maverick Ranch as one of the leaders in ground beef quality, safety and leanness.

Quality

   Our ground round, chuck and sirloin taste like steak because that's what they are... steak, with that great corn-fed flavor. Our beef is ground fresh in the store for you from USDA graded and inspected steers & heifers. We do not use cow beef, bull beef, trimmings, or mechanically deboned beef which constitutes approximately 90% of the generic ground beef trade. We do not use imported beef, as we believe strongly in supporting the American ranching family and their values. (Note: Several fast food chains use a formula that includes imported beef and American beef, plus fat trimmings.)

Safety

   Most generic ground beef today is ground twice at the meat packing plant and again one to four weeks later at the store where it is sold. Maverick Ranch Beef's primary system allows the retailer to use our trimmed fresh primals (muscle from chuck, round, and sirloin steak) and grind it fresh daily at their stores. Statistics in the National Ground Beef Survey show this is the safest system. For those retailers who want a pre-packaged product, we also offer another safe program: Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). This is a leak-proof, case-ready sealed package.

   In 2002, Maverick Ranch became the first retail-oriented meat plant in the nation to install SANOVA, the newest USDA-approved system for eliminating pathogenic bacteria. This organic, citrus-based cold water rinse kills 99% of pathogens such as Listeria, Salmonella, and E.coli 0157:H7. While SANOVA destorys the harmful bacteria, it leaves the "good" bacteria that provide a line of defense against the possibility of new bacteria being introduced in the store or at your home. Maverick Ranch does not irradiate any of its products.

Leanness

   The trend toward more lean ground beef has lowered the average fat content in beef by 26% since 1990. Sometimes we are told, "I like the taste of fat. How can 96% extra lean beef taste good?" The answer is the type of cattle, the feed, and the cuts that we use. Our four Extra Lean 96% grinds taste just like steak because that's exactly what they are! Additionally, they are certified by the American Heart Association's Heart-Check program, so not only will you enjoy eating them, but you can do so with peace of mind. For more information, click here.