All scientific studies prove there is zero risk to humans, and laboratory tests consistently support this finding. Although safe to humans, Maverick Ranch’s policy is that we are opposed to some of the implants and provide an economic incentive to discourage use. In 1995, several strong androgen implants became popular. If used, they tend to make steers a little more like bulls, and some of the beef becomes too lean to qualify for USDA Select or Choice grade which are the USDA grades that Maverick Ranch uses. Colorado State University has recently completed a study that shows that several implant strategies not only reduce USDA grade, but they make the beef so lean that it decreases tenderness and palatability.

Since it is important for a branded beef program to have the best possible eating qualities, we respond by simply not buying cattle that have been managed in a way that creates poor eating quality. Genetic improvement throught genetic breeding for leanness in cattle has been so great that implants have lost their economic edge by creating more cattle that “won’t grade” USDA Choice and Select.

Our Maverick Ranch system is blessed with the fact that we have an abundance of producers, so we can buy based on rigid requirements, which continue to get more stringent in order to ensure that our beef remains tasty and tender.

Since we permit certain natural implants and analyze each management system individually, we are often asked “Why do you still test for hormones in the laboratory?”

We test because we realize that each animal responds differently and we want to make sure that there are no unintentional human mistakes which would result in a detectable residue. Producers must follow FDA rules and Maverick Ranch’s rules as well. We feel that if any man-made steroid can be detected, we can’t represent the beef as natural. Also, all natural levels have to be within a safe range; it doesn’t appear that the animals own endocrine system was functioning abnormally. (Exceeds levels taken from the Code of Federal Regulations 21 CFR Sec. 556.240)

Therefore, if we detect an antibiotic, man-made steroid, any unusual bovine growth hormone, or any chemical in our test for over 50 substances,
THOSE CATTLE ARE REJECTED.

There is no way we can test for every possible chemical influence, as there are over 80,000 chemicals used in the world today. However, we can and do test for the substances that we believe are likely to occur. Sometimes, over 30% of the cattle are rejected. When that happens, we have to eliminate some producer’s cattle and allow new producers to enter the program. Our producer requirements and restrictions are listed in the section for producers.

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