WHAT WE DO
Pride You Can Feel From Our Pastures to the Plate
Our commitment to vertically integrated beef begins at Châtel Farms, our 1,155-acre farm in Reidsville, Georgia. Châtel Farms provides a consistent supply of high-quality cattle throughout the year. This enables the FPL Food team to meet our customers’ demands for all-natural* Angus and Wagyu beef.
STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITIES
Châtel Farms encompasses three finishing barns, a working facility, outside pens and a feed mill. We are equipped to raise 5,500 head of cattle inside the barns and feed an additional 3,000 head in the feedyard pens to balance the yearly supply. Châtel Farms’ state-of-the-art open barns are designed with high roofs and open walls that maximize airflow and allow cattle to move around more freely, keeping them cool and comfortable on hot summer days.
FEEDING CATTLE AND THE LOCAL ECONOMY
At Châtel Farms, we produce much of our own feed and forage and source additional needs from local family farmers. These purchases provide support to local farmers and communities around us. We were the first to bring the steam-flaked corn process to the Southeast. This process creates corn flakes that make the grain more digestible and nutritious for the cattle consuming it. This process helps our cattle produce more flavorful, tender beef with increased marbling – all of which is important to today’s discerning consumer.
THE BEST CATTLE BREEDS
We begin with the very best breeds of cattle including Akaushi and Black Angus sourced from our own Châtel Ankony pure-bred Black Angus cattle herd. Châtel Ankony Black Angus cattle are known to produce beef with superior marbling, flavor and consistency. Akaushi is a breed of Japanese cattle (think Wagyu) renowned for producing beef with exceptional marbling and “buttery” texture. These cattle have a high heat tolerance and therefore are ideally suited to the Southeastern U.S.
SUSTAINABILITY STORY
Renewal
At FPL Food we are passionate about operating our business in ways that respect the land, animals, our neighbors, and employees. Our Châtel Farm is designed to meet and exceed all Georgia EPA requirements. We believe that we must return to the land what we take. To that end, we have state of the art manure recycle and composting allowing us to return this to the land providing nutrients for our crops and reducing fertilizer and water usage.
Pasture Raised and Grain Finished
At Châtel Farms our cattle have plenty of room to roam. Cattle are raised on native Southeastern grasses and forage and then fed a diet of natural forage, sileage and corn to produce highly marbled great tasting beef. Grain used for cattle feeding is sourced directly from our farm and supplemented with grain from local Georgia farmers. We have the only steam corn flaker east of the Mississippi. Steam flaked corn provides greater nutritional value and is easier to digest.
Complete Traceability
To provide full traceability, cattle for the FLP Food brand are purchased directly from the ranches where the cattle were born. By sourcing cattle born and raised locally in the Southeast, we lower the overall carbon footprint of FLP Food beef. Electronic identification tags allow us to track the location and health records of all our cattle. Then once the cattle have been processed, we utilize an advanced traceability system with DNA testing provided by IdentiGEN to maintain supply chain transparency.
QUALITY IS IN OUR GENES
The quality of our beef starts with superior genetics. Our beef comes from the very best breeds including Black Angus and Akaushi both known to produce tender, juicy and flavorful beef. However, breed alone does not ensure great quality beef, it also takes the right genetics. Our Châtel Ankony pure-bred Black Angus cattle provide us with the genetics to produce the eating experience our beef is known for. Châtel Ankony cattle are known throughout the industry for producing high quality, flavorful, tender, and juicy beef.
FARM IMAGE GALLERY
*No added hormones or antibiotics ever.
