01 Cattle breeding






The Verbist Group mainly breeds cattle from the Belgian White-Blue race. But we also fatten Limousin cattle. The clients (amongst which all the large supermarkets in our country) appreciate the lean and tender meat of these races. Thanks to the many years of experience Verbist has developed into a unique player.

The Meritus label is an IKB label for beef that is becoming more and more known with the consumer. We are a prominent supplier. The places where our Meritus animals are being bred, are animal hotels as it were. The animals are put in large group boxes which makes them calm, as cattle are group animals by nature and we want to keep that herd feeling. In every compartment a group of animals is put that (mostly) come from one and the same location in order to prevent any stress with the animals as much as possible.

They are fed once or twice a day, get a fresh straw "mattress" and are checked for diseases. If necessary, we can call upon the company vet. Both drinking water and feed are freely available and can be taken in to their content. All feed is bought from a GMP certified supplier. GMP is the standard that most feed producers are following in order to guarantee full feed traceability. This means that obviously the feed does not contain any animal fats. We do all we can to guarantee a quality that is as high as possible, without however forgetting about the animals' welfare!

Verbist has been working with nearly all cattle breeders and cattle dealers for years and years. They clearly trust each other mutually and follow the "cash down" principle. The final months before they are slaughtered, the animals are permanently monitored. Therefore they have to stay on one and the same farm. Meritus prescribes that bulls must be slaughtered before they reach the age of 26 months. In practice the clients more and more ask for bulls of 24 months at the most. Because the younger the animal, the leaner en juicier the meat.

Verbist guarantees naturally pure quality beef from breeder to consumer. All this cattle is bred according to the highest standards. External control services check if the guide's instructions are followed correctly.