Includes bibliographical references and index.

The consumer demand for grassfed, pasture-raised, and antibiotic-free meats is growing, and farmers seeking the most effective, and profitable, ways to respond. The New Livestock Farmer is the definitive book for anyone interested in raising and selling ethically produced meats directly to consumers, restaurants, and butcher shops-from beginning farmers to large-scale ranchers-and in the process help to create a new, ethical meat supply chain. The regulations and logistics are daunting enough to turn away most would be livestock farmers, and finding and keeping customers often challenges the rest. Here to help navigate this terrain is farmer, consultant, and author Rebecca Thistlethwaite (Farms with a Future) and her husband and coauthor, Jim Dunlop. The couple has extensive experience raising and marketing a variety of pastured livestock in California and now on their farmstead in Oregon. This book's aim is to transform the meat supply chain by making it easier for meat producers to raise healthy animals and get them to market in a way that achieves four equally important objectives: keeping farmers in business and ensuring them a fair living, treating animals humanely; using natural resources wisely and sustainably; and providing nutritious and tasty food. The New Livestock Farmer provide pasture-based production essentials for a wide range of animals, from common farm animals (cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep, and goats) to more niche species (bison, rabbits, elk, and deer). Each species chapter discusses the unique requirements of that animal, then delves deeper into the steps it takes to process and get them to market. The authors also profile some of the most innovative and creative efforts farmers are using to market their meats. The New Livestock Farmer is a clear, thorough, and well-organized resource for anyone who is serious about raising meat animals ethically, outside of the current consolidated, industrial system. Book jacket.