A Ranch-to-Table Perspective and a Tradition of Quality

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The Chapman 3C Cattle Company is one of those small family-owned Texas cattle ranches that takes pride in the quality of their meats. First started in their current location by Wayne Chapman back in 1963, they have grown their cattle-raising operations and registered as an LLC by 2017. Their approach to distributing their meat products is through a ranch-to-consumer setup - ensuring high-quality beef that has been personally packed and shipped by the Chapmans themselves. This consistent attention given to both the quality of their products and the contentment of their loyal consumers stems from the collective experiences of this proud 4th generation Texas cattle-raising family. 

Coming from 4 generations of cattle raisers, Chapman 3C Cattle Company stood the test of time. Current co-owner Mark Chapman (Grandson of Wayne Chapman) points out how important it is for them as a family-run business to establish a sense of community between consumers and producers through educating their clients. This is a guiding principle with how the Chapmans run their business and as a result, they cater to a wide range of people coming from different parts of the United States. 

‘New people come to us all the time - a lot of references - we generally try to educate them with what is in a food source …. people should know that,’ Mark remarked when highlighting the importance of reminding people to look closely when buying food products like beef.

A Tradition of Quality

Based out of the picturesque town of Hico, Texas, the Chapman 3C Cattle Company is a simple operation that can stand behind the quality and safety of the beef that they produce. They practice regenerative farming when it comes to keeping their grazing fields healthy.

Mark pointed out the importance that they put on the value of grazing materials for their cattle. ‘Basically, if you’re gonna take care of the land, it’s gonna take care of you …. But here the people graze it so hard in hopes that something is gonna happen [to a point] that there’s no grass or whatsoever left. We don’t do that. We pasture rotate. We don’t fertilize and there’s no chemicals,’ Mark said. 

Paired with healthy grazing fields is how the Chapman 3C Cattle Company picks the right genetics for their cattle. This allows for healthy cows that are free from any growth hormones or antibiotics that may have indirect harmful effects to the human body. ‘And if I look at my cattle, I have to graze my cattle right. If you have the right genetics you don't put the hormones in….you’re working with nature to help them grow and produce the meat versus trying to pump them full of stuff [hormones],’ Mark said. 

To give their meats that extra flavor that they’re known for, they grain-finish their cows. ‘The grass does affect the flavor …. different things are growing at different times of the year and it will affect the taste of the beef …. We will continue to finish them with that grain to put that additional marbling on there and it works well for us,’ Mark mentioned. 

Safe Meats for Healthy Eats

One of the important aspects when buying meat is to know how and where your preferred proteins are being processed. The Chapman 3C Cattle Company stands by the safety of handling their livestock for processing by ensuring that the processing plant that they are using is certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This guarantees that all the meats from the Chapman cattle farm are handled under strict standards of hygiene and safety. ‘Actually right now we are using a USDA [Certified] plant in La Grange, Texas. These guys do a very good job for us,’ Mark said.

Expanding the Product Line

Part of running the family business is innovating their meat offerings into more workable set meat packages and also expanding their market to poultry and pork. This is because of the high demand from their consumers. ‘We recently started doing pork - we’re working on getting that perfected - and we’re doing chickens as well,’ Mark pointed out when explaining their planned expansion into the poultry and pork market. 

And like their cattle, their pigs and chickens are also pastured and follow specific patterns when it comes to grazing to ensure healthy livestock and fertile grazing fields. ‘With the pigs, we put the pigs in behind the cattle, and the chickens come in behind the pork….their fertilizer is free,’ Mark said. This ensures that there’s a good variety of fertilizing material that goes into the ground - offering an environment conducive to growing healthier grazing material.  

As for the new meat subscriptions and boxes, buyers can now tailor-fit their orders to their specific needs. ‘We’re still doing individual cuts but we’re doing more boxed [options] … We’re doing some [meat] subscription stuff too. I think we might pick up just a little bit … some of that’s a convenience for our customers.’ Mark discussed.

If you’re interested and want to know more about the Chapman 3C Cattle Company and their latest offerings, you check them out on the link here.

And if that doesn’t give you a hankerin’ for beef, listen to the chickens! (See below!)

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