SonRise Ranch Grass fed and finished beef shank is particularly good for the following reasons;

• Shanks contain bone marrow, something the ancients called “bone brains”. Archeologists have discovered that peoples of antiquity actually broke bones in order to acquire the marrow. With such primitive tools and limited time, they expelled the energy to gather this valuable nutrient – why? Could it be because it was a rich resource of nutritional density?
• Bone marrow from grass-fed and finished beef has higher density of CLAs, Omega-3 fats and Beta-carotene. Cattle given grain for as little as two days had up to 50% less of these beneficial compounds than truly grass-fed and finished beef.
• Bone marrow has exception flavor and adds to the delightful taste of the beef shanks.

             ​Prep time – 15 mins                                    Cook time – 4 to 6 hours

• We generally recommend at least one beef shank per person.
• Plenty of root vegetables such as carrots, parsnip, potatoes, tomatoes and beans that tend to soak in most of the broth and in exchange add flavor to the sauce.
• Beef bone broth made with SonRise Ranch Bones, you can add a splash wine as well. Whatever you choose you need enough to cover the beef shanks by at least two-thirds. 
• Garlic, Onion, Spices such as smoked Spanish paprika, mild Chile powder, curry powder. Be cautious of salt content as the sauce reduces the concentration of salt will become more intense.
• A good high quality, unfiltered, organic olive oil.

I can't tell you how many times I've been asked, "So, what do I get in my CSA?"

The has answer is always the same... I don't know - until now!

Let me explain,

When we butcher a beef, we receive a certain distribution of various cuts of meat. I won't go into detail, but you can be sure I get plenty of ground beef and very few filet mignon steaks. I have always joked that I would someday love to raise a steer that is nothing but steaks, but I assure you that animal would be a hideous looking, non-functioning creature.

​God designed them a certain way for a good reason. ​

Not having a ton of steaks is a blessing in disguise, as it forces me to explore cuts that our grandparents enjoyed. 

Some years ago, I had the privilege of personally meeting a great chef. He introduced me to the world of "other cuts" in a dish made with beef shank. I had no idea this cut of meat (which we used to just boil because it was so tough) could be so flavorful if cooked properly. This was a turning point in my life, when a Rancher began to really appreciate the ART of cooking and the talent of a good chef, dedicated to his trade.

Here at SonRise we evenly distribute the cuts in each CSA from an entire beef - thus the share sizes of 7 and 14 lbs respectively. Each pre-made CSA, the ones where we choose the items, is a fractional, even distribution of ground, sausage, roasts, steaks and other ancillary cuts from a whole beef.

So, the other day, I had a thought. Couldn’t some of our customers, who want to choose their CSA items do so, based upon our current inventory - thus creating their own, self designed CSA?

And so began our latest creation - the Custom CSA. 

After hours of programming and work, we are now able to offer a CSA monthly shipment to our subscribers that allows them to choose the items they want in their CSA. This is an amazing feat for a small ranch, but we did it! 

The custom CSA is available in Full or Half Share, and requires a 6 month commitment, but, the consumer saves a ton of money, and runs no risk of being disappointed - since each item in the box is chosen by them.

When the customer signs up, we send them an email notification each month that opens their CSA fulfillment period during which they have a one week window to customize their order. If they don't change your order we will send them the same selection as the previous month (or as near as possible). 
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It’s a match made in Grass-fed heaven! Come check it out.

   As SonRise Ranch has grown, so have our customer needs. We have been innovative in Farming/Ranching, Feed profiles and we assume our customers expect nothing less than the best modus operandi in delivering our outstanding product each week.
    My chief complaint has always been that the USDA required packaging our product in plastic. I wanted to wrap it in white butcher paper, but they wouldn’t have it.

A side effect of having no true competition in the San Diego area is that everyone wants our product. This means we drive from kingdom come and back to service our customers making delivery. Sometimes our customer density doesn’t grow in correlation with customer breadth – meaning we have a few customers over a large geographical distance.
To keep environmental impact at a minimum I have always discouraging shipping our products in exchange for hand delivering to the customer.
​
Why?

A founding principle that I’ve insisted on from the beginning of our little company was an unwavering commitment to environmentally conscious principles of operation. Overnight shipping has been off the list for many years now – it was never the fuel consumption, Gas was being used in a FEDEX van if we had a box onboard or not (and we had to use petrol to get product to our customers anyway).

No, the main issue was contributing to our carbon footprint by using tons of non-biodegradable products to insulate our frozen meat during shipment only to shoulder our customers with the burden of guilt by tossing everything in landfills after their shipment arrived. Over the years we looked at Styrofoam, Glass-Packs and just about everything else you can imagine – but none of it fit the bill. So, I stuck to my guns and discouraged shipping as much as possible.


​​
​Recently, Marcia (our awesome Office Manager – shameless plug here!) ordered a frozen, free-range Turkey from a small farm back east. When it arrived the shipping instructions said the insulated foam inside was made from Corn Starch and was environmentally biodegradable. And could be rapidly dissolved in water!

Our house here at the Ranch has a front and back yard. We love having a really nice grass stand and a well trimmed lawn – it looks nice, and feels great. Each year we take care to make sure the grass is nice and neat for the fun of the summer season.  Usually, about Spring time, we get real serious about it, trimming, edging – all the things normal “city folk” do to their yards to make them look neat and pretty. During the winter months, we let it get ragged and overgrown. 

Overgrown, that is, until I break out my lawn mowers. Yes, I said mowers with an “s”. I have a bunch of them. My mowers don’t take gas, do not require oil changes and never need their blades sharpened. I never have to empty the grass bag where the clippings are collected – they do that on their own. I don’t have to push them – they have “power assist”.  My kids don’t complain when I ask them to mow the lawn, on the contrary, they rather enjoy it.

It usually takes me about a day to mow the entire yard, and both sides of our 1/8 mile long driveway. When I am done, the place looks nice and clean.  All the weeds are gone, the grass is tidy, and my mowers are very happy.  I run them until I find them standing all day. I can tell the mower bags are full when the Cows sit down and chew cud. If I find them standing all day looking for grass, they are not getting enough. When you drive by Cattle and see them lying down, they are full and have plenty of feed. If they are standing all the time, they are underfed and the grass is usually overgrazed – you can tell when you see them in the same spot each day that they are not managed very well. Cattle need to rotate from one setting to the next to keep themselves and the grass healthy.

So, I don't sweat very much doing my lawn care... oh and my Cows are happy too.

If you own a milk cow, you always have Milk Calves around. I ran into a guy the other day who bought a Milk Cow. He wasn’t sure what he should do next, so he just put her out to pasture. She was not in lactation, so his goal was to get her bred again then calf, then milk.  Cows gestate for 9 months, like humans, and then 83 days after birth are re-bred to have another calf. This makes for a nice 12 month cycle. 

Anyway, we've been there... the romantic thought of having your own milk source. I had a rude awakening years ago when we got our first Milk Cow - I was absolutely amazed at how much work they were. I remember coming back from the barn after milking at 5 AM, before heading off to work that day. I had 8 gallons in my bucket (from one Cow!) and told the kids to start drinking... 

"Yep, Dad, we had a few cups, we made Hot Coco", they replied.  
So, I went to Eve and asked, "Hey honey, did you get some milk?" 
"Yes", she replied, "it tastes great, I even made butter".
"Ok, uh, what are we going to do with this?", as I held up the 8 gallons of fresh milk.
"Just put it in the fridge", she blurted out...
"Sure, sweetie, I will, but the fridge already has 25 gallons of milk in it", I replied.

By the end of that week we had 85 gallons.  It was time to call all our friends, and get some pigs (milk fed Pork is really awesome). I learned quickly - Milk Cows are bred to produce!



A few days before Christmas this year, one of our Jerseys had a real nice heifer (female) calf. You can see her in the video above.  The Cow in the background is not the calf’s mother. The heifer’s mother approached right after I stopped shooting the video to check me out. She is an excellent mom, and a great producer to boot (about 9 gallons per day).

A few things about calves – first and foremost, Mother Milk Cows cannot keep their calves. Our average Jersey produces between six and ten gallons per day. A calf needs about 1-2 gallons to be healthy, so within a few days of birth, a young calf will be die because it cannot stop drinking her mother’s milk and mama won’t tell them to stop either (she likes the relief).  The Calf gets "Scours", or diarrhea, and actually dehydrates as it just can’t process that much liquid.


Our management technique is to separate mother and calf for a portion day and all of the night. Milk calves get a nice warm stall with a heat lamp, during the night, and time with their mothers while mom grazes during the day. Time with mama is limited to a few hours at a time - so as to prevent over-drinking.  I tell Eve those darn calves need to join "MA", or, Milk-Anonymous, as they all clearly have a drinking problem. 

In the winter, Mother and Calf are together from after morning milking (at about 10 AM) until sundown. It works really well, we end up with a very friendly, easy to lead calf (she is led out and in by us via her halter) and a happy Mom who gets to look after her calf all day. Our Calves also learn herd behavior as the Mother and baby forage with others in the group. Grazing is a learned behavior and calves watch what their Moms eat  as they slowly transition from Milk to Grass over about 3 months time.  These elements are missing from most Dairy Cows as they are conditioned to live in confinement and only eat grain.  We need to have efficient grass-to-milk converters who have heard and grazing skills. This is only the case for our dairy heifers, not our bull calves – bull calves are fed enough milk to grow up and are quickly put on a grazing rotation, so they can be of use as a feeder steers or sold at market.

In theory, it's pretty simple, but in practice, it can be quite challenging.  This is something we will teach to each of our apprentice and interns during their time here at SonRise (beginning in 2016). They must know how to manage Milk Cows as they are the center of the sustainable farm operation. Here is a brief summary of how it works…

• 40% of the earth’s surface is grass
• Cows eat grass
• Man cannot eat grass
• Chickens and Pigs can eat grass, but in very small quantities
• Other farm animals eat milk and milk by-products (Chickens, Pigs)
• By correlation Chickens and Pigs eat grass
• Man eats Cows and milk, milk by-products, Chickens and Pigs
• So by correlation, Man eats grass

The pro-GMO world’s talking points include the argument that we can’t feed the world without the large production levels that GMO’s with immunity to pesticides allow.  However, I propose that we just use the worlds grass supply, that is, if we can get to the grass before desertification can. 

Howdy, folks!

I would like to share with you an incredible TED talk from Allan Savory—an elephant lover and an environmentalist extraordinaire!  It's short, jaw-dropping, and it's the kind of video that could change the world if everyone saw it! 

I hope you have a chance to give it a view, but here is a short summary for those with busy schedules:

• Grass and ruminants (Cows, Sheep, and other grazing animals) have a powerful symbiotic relationship that is foundational to our planet's health—the survival of every person and animal on the planet depends on this relationship.
  
  
• Land in the absence of grazing animals naturally tends towards desertification—Allan has some pretty sad photos of American national parks which are turning into deserts due to “unknown reasons” (unknown apparently to the government that poorly manages these national treasures).
  
  
• Reconnecting ruminants to the land actually reverses desertification and restores a lush green landscape by rebuilding topsoil and improving water retention after rain fall.  In short, it restores a natural cycle that can turn deserts into incredibly productive and beautiful land.
  
  
• Lush growing grass sequesters CO2 from the atmosphere, taking it from the air and putting it back where it belongs—into a rich, diverse, living layer of soil and plant life.
  
  
• Proper land management—specifically, rotational grazing (which is what we do here at SonRise) is not only necessary, but is actually the most powerful step we can take towards healing our planet.

By supporting your grass-fed rancher, you are doing wonders for the environment!  Many folks understand that eating healthy animals is good for their health.  But most people are still under the impression that eating meat is environmentally unfriendly.  Well...it all depends on what animals you eat....

When you take Cattle off of grass and put it in a CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation), it poisons the land (and water) with overly concentrated fecal matter.  The subsidized mono-crops (corn, wheat, soy) that are fed in CAFOs are incredibly energy intensive to produce and result in desertification (thank you, MONSANTO).

At SonRise, we follow a different model.  Our beef are solar powered!  Instead of killing the land, they restore and rebuild the land and the soil.  Not only do our beef not contribute to greenhouse gasses, they are actually net-negative!  This model of rotational grazing that we use here on the ranch is not new.  It is simply a return to a healthy and normal relationship with our planet and our environment.  Once upon a time, there were millions of buffalo roaming the American landscape.  Tragically, I don't think they will be returning anytime soon.  This means it is us, a handful of ranchers doing what we do, and a few visionaries like Allan Savory (and Joel Salatin) who are on the cutting edge of environmental progress—feeding people and having a positive impact on our planet at the same time.  As our customers, you are the most important link in this chain.

When you spend your hard earned dollars on grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork and fowl, you are supporting ranchers like us—we can't do it without you!  You are also supporting sustainable and profoundly necessary change in the way we interact with the environment.  Here at SonRise Ranch, we are proud to be a part of positive change, and we are extremely thankful to our customers who make it all possible.  Hope for the future, and I hope to see you at the market!