Ranch FAQs
How do we raise our Cattle? And why?
Our beef is grass fed and finished, which means they eat nothing but grass. They are raised until they are 27 months old. This is because a beef will typically put on bone and muscle growth (on grass) until reaching 24 months. The last 3 months are key - they are for fat addition, both inter-muscular and exterior (back fat). If harvested too soon the beef will be lean and bland - something that in the past, has given grass-fed a bad name. The best grass-fed beef is "grass-fat" beef. A beef should finish out at 75% of its mothers weight (Cow 1500 lbs = Steer at 1125 lbs). They should not eat junk, leftover veggies (save that for the hogs, or dump it on the ground for better grass growth), hay (unless absolutely necessary) and certainly no grain.
What inputs does our farm require to raise cattle?
Really, none... or that is the way it should be. Cattle following Pigs and Chicken will work in unison to make a micro-eco-system that should require, no (yes I said no) petroleum inputs. The pigs should go on fallow ground (at rest for 1 year out of 3) they are fed everything from egg shells to raw, spoiled milk and veggies. They will manure like crazy and move each week. This will re-nutrient the soil (remember in a year we will extract those nutrients via beef). Next, come the chickens - moving very quickly on a single or two day rotation cycle, they will add nitrogen (and lots of it - as my kids would say "one step and poop, one step and poop, Dad, that's what they do"). If left in a single place too long they will actually kill the grass.
Finally, the beef come and harvest the grass, naturally grown, and not cut with a combine, mower or bailer - cut with teeth from a grass harvesting, beef producing mother cow. Simple, low impact and rapidly moving (Cows, Steers and Heifers should move every three days). Their hooves aerate the soil as they graze, when done the plot should look like a football team played a nasty, rainy day practice on it. Then it should recover - not be re-grazed until the grass is 6-8 inches tall again. Don't be fooled the whole process can take up to 3 years to complete, so you will need lots of land to do it right - but if done correctly the inputs are human muscle, brains and lots of well trained animals.
Do you sell your beef?
Yes, on our website and sometimes direct from our freezer warehouse. We do not sell directly at the Ranch(es).
Our Beef is USDA butchered, so, we tax-payers provide an actual white-lab coat, government official must physically look at the beef, while still alive and determine it is safe for harvest (I still have yet to figure out how they do that - must be real geniuses). Then it gets killed, hung for 21 days (on average) and cut into sellable portions. We then ship it to Oceanside, in the center of San Diego County at our warehouse.
Most of our customers come from San Diego, but we feel that we are a “foodshed” for the San Francisco and Sacramento area too.
We offer Quarter beeves, CSA's, and individual cuts. We sell Beef, Pork, and Chicken (they all work together). You can purchase from the web and have it delivered to your home for free (San Diego and Orange counties).
What would you say are your customers most interested in when buying beef?
This is a really fascinating question. I have often described Grass-fed as a super-highway with a bunch of "on-ramps". We get so many people, from various walks of life to join us - it's really amazing...
Our beef is grass fed and finished, which means they eat nothing but grass. They are raised until they are 27 months old. This is because a beef will typically put on bone and muscle growth (on grass) until reaching 24 months. The last 3 months are key - they are for fat addition, both inter-muscular and exterior (back fat). If harvested too soon the beef will be lean and bland - something that in the past, has given grass-fed a bad name. The best grass-fed beef is "grass-fat" beef. A beef should finish out at 75% of its mothers weight (Cow 1500 lbs = Steer at 1125 lbs). They should not eat junk, leftover veggies (save that for the hogs, or dump it on the ground for better grass growth), hay (unless absolutely necessary) and certainly no grain.
What inputs does our farm require to raise cattle?
Really, none... or that is the way it should be. Cattle following Pigs and Chicken will work in unison to make a micro-eco-system that should require, no (yes I said no) petroleum inputs. The pigs should go on fallow ground (at rest for 1 year out of 3) they are fed everything from egg shells to raw, spoiled milk and veggies. They will manure like crazy and move each week. This will re-nutrient the soil (remember in a year we will extract those nutrients via beef). Next, come the chickens - moving very quickly on a single or two day rotation cycle, they will add nitrogen (and lots of it - as my kids would say "one step and poop, one step and poop, Dad, that's what they do"). If left in a single place too long they will actually kill the grass.
Finally, the beef come and harvest the grass, naturally grown, and not cut with a combine, mower or bailer - cut with teeth from a grass harvesting, beef producing mother cow. Simple, low impact and rapidly moving (Cows, Steers and Heifers should move every three days). Their hooves aerate the soil as they graze, when done the plot should look like a football team played a nasty, rainy day practice on it. Then it should recover - not be re-grazed until the grass is 6-8 inches tall again. Don't be fooled the whole process can take up to 3 years to complete, so you will need lots of land to do it right - but if done correctly the inputs are human muscle, brains and lots of well trained animals.
Do you sell your beef?
Yes, on our website and sometimes direct from our freezer warehouse. We do not sell directly at the Ranch(es).
Our Beef is USDA butchered, so, we tax-payers provide an actual white-lab coat, government official must physically look at the beef, while still alive and determine it is safe for harvest (I still have yet to figure out how they do that - must be real geniuses). Then it gets killed, hung for 21 days (on average) and cut into sellable portions. We then ship it to Oceanside, in the center of San Diego County at our warehouse.
Most of our customers come from San Diego, but we feel that we are a “foodshed” for the San Francisco and Sacramento area too.
We offer Quarter beeves, CSA's, and individual cuts. We sell Beef, Pork, and Chicken (they all work together). You can purchase from the web and have it delivered to your home for free (San Diego and Orange counties).
What would you say are your customers most interested in when buying beef?
This is a really fascinating question. I have often described Grass-fed as a super-highway with a bunch of "on-ramps". We get so many people, from various walks of life to join us - it's really amazing...
- Foodies - love the taste, I mean where can you get dry-aged beef anymore?
- Environmentalists - love the low impact to the environment. Conventional Beef is so hard on the ecosystem most environmentalists don't eat it just as a matter of principle.
- Concerned Mothers - who don't want their kids eating pink slime, antibiotic ridden beef and gross pork.
- Those Concerned With Animal Welfare - who want animals to be raised properly, killed with dignity and fed right so they don't live a tortured life.
- Cross-fit / Paleo dieters - who are eating tons of meat and need the absolute best for their fitness program and Paleo lifestyle.
- Anyone with a conscience.