Natural vs. Organic Beef

Why Does Deck Family Farm Offer Both Organic and Natural Beef?

At Deck Family Farm, you may have noticed we offer both Certified Organic and Natural beef products — not because we’re cutting corners, but because we believe in doing what’s right for our animals and our land, even when that means stepping outside the strict lines of organic certification.

The Dairy Herd Drives This Distinction

Our beef cattle operation is fully certified organic through Oregon Tilth, one of the most respected certifiers in the country. However, our dairy herd is not certified organic, and there’s a good reason for that.

Organic certification requires that every animal in the program be born to a certified organic mother and consume 100% organic feed from day one—including the milk they nurse. That means any calf born to an uncertified dairy cow, even if it grazes the same organic pastures as our beef herd after weaning, cannot ever carry the organic label.

Our dairy herd lives on the same organic pastures, breathes the same clean air, and is managed with the same regenerative practices as the rest of the farm. However, we occasionally supplement their diet during Oregon’s long, wet winters to maintain health and milk production. This includes molasses, grains, and alfalfa hay—some of which we source organically, but not always. And when a cow is sick, we treat her. That’s not just good animal husbandry; it’s basic decency.

Animal Health Comes First

One of the main reasons we do not certify the dairy herd is because organic rules prohibit certain effective treatments, even in emergency situations. We’re not willing to risk the health of a cow by withholding care to keep a certification. If a treatment is necessary to restore health, we use it—period. That cow may no longer qualify as organic, but she's alive, well, and still part of our farming ecosystem.

This means calves born to the dairy herd do not qualify as organic, and their meat is sold under our “Natural” label—still raised on pasture, still hormone- and antibiotic-free, and still raised according to the principles we apply across the farm.

Certification: A Serious Commitment

To be clear: we believe organic certification matters. It’s not just a marketing term—it’s a long, costly, and rigorous process. When we certified our beef operation, it took eight full years:

• 3 years to transition the land to organic standards,

• 2 years to raise certified breeding animals,

• and another 3 years to raise offspring to harvest.

We’ve made that investment because we believe in it. But it’s not always the right tool for every situation.

Doing What’s Right—Not Just What’s Certified

Our decision not to certify the dairy herd is not philosophical—it’s practical. Certification would mean raising milk prices beyond what most customers can afford and would prevent us from treating sick animals when necessary.

We farm with integrity, whether it fits inside a label or not. Nearly 600 acres of our land is certified organic, and we uphold those same values throughout the farm—even when the paperwork doesn’t reflect it.

So when you see “Natural” on a package from Deck Family Farm, know this: it reflects a choice we’ve made to put animal health, sustainability, and transparency first.