Dear Valued MGB Customers,

Once again we are adapting to keep your supply of Morris Grassfed Beef plentiful, safe and delicious.  I recently received notice from our new processor, Nexus Beef Packing, that they are closing their doors. Not sure of all the details, except that they are in the midst of refinancing and hope to re-open soon. Nexus’ closure is not only a problem for all those who work there, it is a significant problem for California grassfed beef producers. As many of you may know, ranchers have been advocating for increased processing capacity for decades. Local processing is crucial if we are to maintain our food security and ability to sell directly to you: our valued customers. The good news is, we have found an alternative processing solution for our current season. 

Our new butcher, Montgomery’s Meats will do both “cut & wrap” AND harvest with their on-ranch, mobile slaughter facility. This means, however, that we will no longer be USDA-inspected. This is a little complicated, but the short story is that Montgomery’s is USDA inspected in their butcher shop, but they are not yet USDA inspected as a slaughter facility.

The law categorizes this process as “custom exempt” which means the slaughter and butcher processes will now be overseen by the California Department of Agriculture (CDFA), rather than the USDA.  The only substantial change for us is that we will not be able to sell our beef in retail outlets.  Since we market almost 100% of our beef directly to families like yours, not being able to sell retail is not a big deal.  CDFA follows the same strict safety guidelines as USDA, so you can be assured that your beef still meets our high quality standards.

The only difference you will see is a slightly different label.  The meat is still ours, comes from single animals, and is subject to stringent standards for health, hygiene and animal welfare. It’s a return to our origins, almost 30 years ago, when we used a “custom exempt” butcher in Freedom, CA. Our beef was wrapped in white butcher paper and had the “Not for Retail Sale” stamp on it.  (It would be fun to know if any of you reading this has been with us long enough to remember those days.)

The upside to this change is that our animals will now be able to be harvested on the ranch. Though jumping in a trailer and going for a ride is not a problem for animals if approached properly, staying put on the ranch is even better!  This is a silver lining for everybody.  Win-win!

If you haven’t ordered your Morris Grassfed Beef yet, it’s not too late. We’re still taking orders for 2023, just hit the orange button below to reserve your split-half today. As always, we appreciate your support and look forward to stocking your freezer with the best meat you can buy.

Sincerely,
Joe Morris, Co-Owner & Founder
Morris Grassfed Beef