BRAHMAN BEEF PRODUCERS SUPPLYING QUALITY MEAT ACROSS THE COUNTRY
The demand for homegrown Brahman Beef is on the rise.
Consumers are concerned with the origin of their food. They are asking important questions about where their beef is grown and how it was raised. With packaging in the grocery stores often being vague regarding the backstory of individual products, buyers are turning to local sources of farm fresh beef they can trust.
“The demand is there!” Brooke England of England Cattle Company said. “Now, more than ever, the American consumer wants to know where their food is coming from.”
Brahman breeders are selling their beef in a variety of locations – on websites and in person at their ranches, local farmers’ markets and brick-and-mortar retail stores in addition to supplying restaurants, food trucks and school districts with quality protein sources. They are engaging in direct dialogue with consumers about their food, where individuals can ask questions and get answers.
“People love the fact they know where their beef comes from,” Babe Scott of Scott’s Gulf Coast Beef said. “They also love that there are no hormones, additives or preservatives in our beef.”
Processing The Beef
With ranch-raised beef, there are two ways producers can sell their product to consumers.
The first is finished beef – “on the hoof”. A cattle producer sells a live animal to an individual or group, who 12 | THE BRAHMAN JOURNAL JULY 2025 then has it slaughtered at a private processor. Consumers purchase in bulk–quarter, half and whole carcasses, usually by weight.
The second option is branded beef that can be sold at retail. A cattle producer takes their animals to a USDA-certifi ed slaughterhouse, where it is processed and packaged into individual cuts of meat with government-approved labels.
In both cases, the animals go through a processor.
“People think we process animals personally,” Natalie Herzog of Herzog Beef LLC said. “We take it to a Texas Department of State Health Services inspected facility. Also, people are not used to purchasing frozen beef. Some are scared. They don’t know how to thaw and cook it.”
In addition to making customers comfortable with utilizing frozen beef, a few breeders occasionally must combat untrue stereotypes about eared cattle.
“Some of our buyers didn’t realize Brahmans were even a beef breed,” Carolyn Falgout of K Bar Farms said. “They thought Brahmans were just rodeo stock. We have had to educate our customers, but once they try the meat, they are sold by the quality and flavor.”
When meat is processed at a USDA-certifid slaughterhouse, the carcass is presented to a USDA grader. The U.S. grading system has two sets of quality grades that apply to steers, heifers, and cows: one for young carcasses and one for old. Old carcasses are generally graded as USDA Commercial, Utility, Cutter or Canner. Young carcasses can be graded as USDA Prime, Choice, Select, or Standard. Bulls do not qualify for USDA quality grades. Prime and Commercial are associated with the greatest amount of marbling; Standard and Canner are associated with the lowest. Most of the meat sold at retail is categorized as Prime, Choice or Select.
When a beef carcass is presented to a USDA grader, the carcass is cut, or “ribbed,” between the 12th and 13th ribs of the carcass. This cut allows the grader to view the ribeye muscle, which is the only muscle in the carcass that is evaluated when assigning a quality grade according to the U.S. system. The grader will evaluate ossifi cation and lean color to determine if the carcass should be classified as old or young beef. Then, the grader will determine the amount of marbling, or flecks of fat, within the ribeye muscle. A greater amount of marbling correlates to a higher quality grade.
“For years, Brahman cattle have been mistakenly perceived as a breed that produces tough meat with little marbling,” Kaysee Schulte of Schulte Cattle Company Beef said. “We find this perception to be completely false. Most of our beef grades as Choice with a high yield, and we have even had purebred Brahman cattle that grade as Prime. To debunk this misconception about Brahman beef, we utilize photos and occasionally off er a one-pound package of ground beef to illustrate our point.”
Education Is Key
Extensive studies conducted by the University of Florida have shown that Brahman beef stands out as a leaner, more nutritious protein choice. It’s lower in saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories compared to other breeds, making it an ideal option for health-conscious individuals. The presence of healthy fats, such as Omega-3 fatty acids, in Brahman beef further enhances its appeal, contributing to a heart-healthy diet.
“Brahman beef is naturally leaner, with a clean, rich flavor,” Lauren Watkins of Watkins Brahman Beef said. “When handled properly and dry-aged or aged post-harvest, it is incredibly tender and fl avorful. Our customers often comment on the diference in taste and how they feel better about eating beef that’s raised without unnecessary additives or stress.”
Consumers are often surprised by the health benefits of Bos indicus beef.
“Brahman beef is diff erent not only because of the flavor profile, but it’s leaner and cleaner, while still maintaining tenderness and moisture,” Amber Gonzalez of Brahman Darlin Beef said. “As a certified personal trainer, I have spent many years helping individuals become a more fit, healthier version of themselves, and I believe that beef, and especially Brahman beef, plays a critical role in assisting in lowering inflammation and body fat, while providing the protein needed for building lean muscle.”
Flavor and palatability are key factors for consumers, and ranch-raised Brahman beef checks all the boxes while still being a healthy, leaner option.
“Our customers tell us the flavor is unlike beef they get through traditional sources,” Allison Meharg of Nowak Farms said. “We see that too. I think it’s because the fat has a more butter-like flavor and the calves marble well without putting too much fat into the internal portions of the cuts.”
While nearly all Brahman ranches offer fresh, hormone and additive free beef, most are finished on grain to achieve higher levels of marbling and quality grade. However, for the truly discerning beef buyer, cattle can be fed out differently, for example exclusively on grass if that is the buyer’s preference.
“We have health conscience folks that only want true grassfed beef with no grain at all,” Falgout said. “Some people advertise grassfed, grain finished. Well, that’s not truly grassfed then. In addition to our grain-fed crossbred steers, we raise purebred Brahmans for three years on grass with no growth hormones. We utilize only wormer, minerals, salt and hay.”
Using The Whole Cow
In addition to being able to talk to the people responsible for the animals, buying directly from ranchers comes with other special perks, like being able to purchase cuts of meat that are uncommon in the grocery store.
“We offer everything from oxtail, heart, liver, osso buco, beef tallow and sweet breads to roasts, ribeyes and all other steak cuts, beef tenderloin, dino-ribs, Brahman humps and ground meat,” O.W. Schneider of +S Brahman Beef said.
Marketing is crucial, though most breeders interviewed said they sold out quickly.
“Word of mouth and community connections, restaurant owners, and some custom food businesses, like Good Golly Tamale… They love the chuck roast for their homemade tamales,” Mike West of MW Ranch to Table Brahman Beef said.
It is obvious that Brahman cattle have humps, but many consumers do not realize that in addition to being a unique physical attribute, it is a delicious cut of beef. The Brahman hump roast, also known as Cupim, is a well-marbled, tender cut of meat that is popular for slow roasting or grilling on low heat for long periods, like one would cook a brisket.
“By far our cut that is the most in-demand is Brahman hump,” England said. “We have shipped hump roasts as far north as Washington state and have sent several of our Winter Texan customers from Canada home with Brahman humps. We often joke that we wish we could put two humps on a Brahman, because the demand is so high!”
Another bovine product people may not immediately think of is tallow. Tallow is rendered animal fat. It’s made by melting and clarifying the fatty tissue surrounding an animal’s organs. Tallow has various uses, including cooking, making soap and candles, and as a lubricant. In recent years, it’s also gained popularity as a skin care ingredient.
“We also handcraft beef tallow soap and whipped tallow moisturizer using rendered tallow from our cattle, which has been a popular addition to our product line” Watkins said. “It reflects our commitment to using the whole animal and creating sustainable, ranch-raised goods that our customers appreciate.”
Brahman tallow lines are in high demand as consumers begin to look for natural beauty alternatives.
“Along with our ranch to table Brahman beef, we handcraft Brahman Tallow skincare products,” Gonzalez said. “These products were created to help people with their skincare needs, in an all-natural, chemical-free way. Brahman Darlin tallow products have helped individuals clear up acne, rosacea, eczema, scarring, stretch marks, sunspots and fine lines just to name a few. Tallow is very beneficial when used as a daily moisturizer, due to its rich composition of vitamins and fatty acids that complement and balance all skin types.”
Performance & Bloodlines
Progressive ranchers keep detailed records not only to improve the quality and efficiency of their herd and beef products, but also to market their seedstock genetics.
“In addition to obtaining a full DNA profi le on every fullblood Brahman steer, every carcass is graded and given a USDA-certified grade,” England said. “Right now, we are using this information within our own herd to identify which sire lines are producing the steers with higher-marbling grades and larger ribeye areas, and also as a way to educate our customer base when they go to purchase bulls or semen.”
There are many aspects to consider when gaging profitability – from feed efficiency to frame score to ribeye area to muscling, marbling and tenderness.
“We meticulously track each sire used in the program to understand which genetics consistently produce the most profitable steers,” Rachel Cutrer of Brahman Country Beef said. “This data-driven approach has led us to expand the use of certain sires—and discontinue others… At the heart of it all, we believe every Brahman breeder should experience a program like this—because it’s one thing to talk about EPDs and breed traits, but it’s another to see how those decisions directly impact real-world profitability when you’re selling beef by the pound.”
Genetic lineages matter. Many beef traits are heritable, but producers must retain, report and analyze the data for EPDs and trends to be identified.
“We scan 100% of our Brahman steers and obtain 100% hanging carcass grades on them,” Schneider said. “We use the kill data to verify the accuracy of scan data and EPDs. The bloodlines that primarily enhanced the superior carcass traits in our herd are JDH SIR MARRI MANSO 557/4, JDH SIR LIBERTY MANSO 847/5, MR V8 212/3, JJ DIDORCRATA 389, JJ DIDOR CRATA 258 and US Sugar bloodlines. We crossed the carcass strengths of these various sires and their off spring to arrive at a superior carcass Brahman. In other words, if one of these sires or their off spring had strong REA and Marbling performance but lacked Tenderness performance, we would breed a bloodline to their off spring that had strong Tenderness traits. Thereby working towards a herd that is strong in all three carcass traits—Tenderness, REA and Marbling.”
Challenges & Considerations
One of the main challenges facing Brahman producers is that demand outweighs supply. Some breeders are forming co-op opportunities with other breeders using the same ranching techniques and genetic lines.
“As demand for Brahman Country Beef has grown, we’ve also partnered with like-minded ranchers, preferably those using BRC genetics, to source additional steers and meet our customers’ needs,” Cutrer said.
Some breeders struggle to lease enough land to run the quantity of cattle they desire to produce.
“The biggest challenge we are having with our branded beef operation is losing lease land to owners selling out or leasing to solar farms, therefore taking away our ability to raise enough cattle to keep up with the demand,” Scott said. “Less land equals a lower number of cattle we can raise.”
A Bright Future
“A few years ago, we coined the phrase “Beef is Better with Brahman” and we firmly believe this statement,” England said. “We must not forget that Brahman cattle are a vital part of the beef industry, and it is our job as Brahman breeders to do our part in making sure the cattle we are raising today are able to get the job done, from the ring to the rail. If you are a Brahman breeder and are wanting to start a branded beef program, we encourage you to do so! It’s time we take up space in the beef market and demand a premium for our fullblood Brahman steers.”
With an open dialogue between consumers and producers, the future looks bright for the continued success and expansion of branded Brahman beef programs. Innovative producers across the country are proving that their beef and tallow products fill an important gap in the supply chain. Brahman beef can stand the “Pepsi Challenge” so to speak when compared to other breeds in terms of flavor while offering a more heart-healthy eating experience.
