CAIN USA BEEF: Name is ‘country of origin’
are sick but there is no antibiotic residue at harvest,” Don stated.
Key to their operation is a USDA -approved line of “custom vaccines” that assist in the health of their cattle. Don created the first of the vaccines in 1994 and has enhanced them over the years. “I developed them here in Broken Bow with clients in Broken Bow,” he said.
An outside catalyst that spurred them to sell their own beef occurred in 2015 when the US beef industry lost Country of Origin labeling. Without that, any beef, even imported beef, can be labeled as a product of the US, as long as the meat was harvested and/or processed in the United States.
That means if Canada or Mexico ships cattle or carcasses to the US and the beef is processed and packaged here, it can carry a “Product of the US” label. Maureen said she didn’t want to see Cain beef lumped in with that. “I kept hounding Don, telling him, ‘We’ve got to find another way. Our beef is too good!”
Country of origin also played a role in the name they chose, Cain USA Beef. “That is our stamp, our country of origin,” Don said.
In 2019, Cain USA Beef became an LLC. The first sale was in March, 2022. Maureen said those three years are a good indication of how long it takes to get this kind of business up and running. Part of the reason it took three years is that they both knew they wanted to be fully USDA inspected and raise “conception to consumer” All-Natural Premium beef It takes 30 months from breeding to harvest alone!
Many people may be familiar with buying a quarter or half of a beef and receiving the beef. In that process, the beef is sold while the animal is still alive and the packing and processing house doesn’t have to be USDA inspected. To sell by the cut after the animal has been processed, the processing facility, labeling and selling location must be USDA inspected as well as the product.
The label on USDA beef must show specific information: what it is (i.e.,