Tallgrass Beef Company is a

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

-based

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

company that sells

grass fed There are different systems of feeding cattle in animal husbandry. For pastured animals, grass is usually the forage that composes the majority of their diet. In turn, this grass-fed approach is known for producing meat with distinct flavor pro ...

and grass finished

. Tallgrass Beef became the first

beef producer to sell steaks in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 2005 when

Harry Caray Harry Christopher Caray (; March 1, 1914 – February 18, 1998) was an American radio and television Sports commentator, sportscaster. During his career he called the play-by-play for five Major League Baseball teams, beginning with 25 years of ...

’s Restaurant began selling Tallgrass Beef. Its beef is sold via restaurants and grocery stores throughout the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, East Coast, and

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

, in addition to

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

. Tallgrass Beef Company raises some of its cattle on founder

Bill Kurtis Bill Kurtis (born William Horton Kuretich; September 21, 1940) is a retired American television journalist, television producer, narrator, and news anchor. Kurtis was studying to become a lawyer in the 1960s, when he was asked to fill in on a ...

Sedan, Kansas Sedan is the county seat of and the largest city in Chautauqua County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,000. History Sedan was founded in 1871. The city was named in commemoration of the 1870 Bat ...

ranch. Tallgrass also has a network of

family farmers A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family. It is sometimes considered to be an estate passed down by inheritance. Although a recurring conceptual and archetypal distinction is that of a family farm ...

and

ranchers A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often applied to li ...

who raise and finish grass fed cattle that fit the standards of the Tallgrass protocols.

Beef production

Tallgrass' production process involves scientists employed by the company searching the United States for cattle whose genetics naturally causes the animal to fatten quickly and tenderly on grass. Beef producers have no databank of

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

with which to compare their findings, and so Tallgrass scientists use

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound with frequency, frequencies greater than 20 Hertz, kilohertz. This frequency is the approximate upper audible hearing range, limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply ...

technology to determine the tenderness of its potential herds. The company philosophy places a greater emphasis on the quality of production than the

feedlot A feedlot or feed yard is a type of animal feeding operation (AFO) which is used in intensive animal farming, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called conc ...

system. In feedlot cattle operations, cattle are typically subjected to an aggressive

growth hormones Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in ...

implant strategy in order to induce rapid growth of

lean muscle Skeletal muscle (commonly referred to as muscle) is one of the three types of vertebrate muscle tissue, the others being cardiac muscle and smooth muscle. They are part of the voluntary muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bo ...

. Cattle in feedlots are fed a formula feed that consists of 70% to 90% grain and are also injected with rounds of parasite treatments and fed low grade

antibiotics An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

to induce growth and negate diseases that spread in feedlots. Tallgrass’ cattle, on the other hand, are allowed to roam in open pastures without the space restrictions that feedlots impose on their cattle. Additionally, they are not implanted with any synthetic

, or fed

animal by-products An animal product is any material derived from the body of a non-human animal or their excretions. Examples are meat, fat, blood, milk, Eggs as food, eggs, honey, and lesser known products, such as isinglass, rennet, and Carminic acid, cochinea ...

or antibiotics. Tallgrass has a policy of not using

in any of its cattle herds. In 2001, the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...

stated that it opposed the regular use of antibiotics in all levels of livestock agriculture because of scientifically verified

risk assessments Risk assessment is a process for identifying hazards, potential (future) events which may negatively impact on individuals, assets, and/or the environment because of those hazards, their likelihood and consequences, and actions which can mitigate ...

Non-payment to suppliers

In 2009, Tallgrass was fined $402,816 by the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and production ...

($50,000 plus the amount owed to the suppliers) for failing to pay the full purchase price of livestock, operating as a packer without maintaining the required bond and engaging in business of a packer without meeting financial requirements set out by the

Packers and Stockyards Act The Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 (Title 7 of the United States Code, 7 U.S.C. §§ 181-229b; P&S Act) regulates meatpacking, livestock dealers, market agencies, live poultry dealers, and swine contractors to prohibit unfair or deceptive pr ...

. The deadline for paying the suppliers was set to December 31, 2013. Tallgrass paid its suppliers by January, 2014 including the fine of $50,000. The matter was settled in full.

Forfeiture of Kansas LLC registration

On July 15, 2013, Tallgrass Beef Company, LLC forfeited its registration with the

Kansas Secretary of State The secretary of state of Kansas is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kansas. The current secretary of state is the former speaker ''pro tempore'' of the Kansas House of Representatives, Scott Schwab, who was sworn in on J ...

to do business in the state of Kansas.

References

External links

* http://www.tallgrassbeef.com (official website) {{Authority control Food manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Chicago