Practices
Grass & Barley Fed Beef
In previous generations, the fall season was considered the best time of year to harvest cattle for meat. There are several reasons for this. First, the weather begins to cool so meat wouldn’t spoil as easily. There are significantly fewer flies and other insects that could potentially contaminate the meat. However, the main reason is because fall is the time of year that cattle are in their best physical condition, having eaten fresh grasses all summer. Towards the end of summer, the grasses begin to set seed. The seeds are high in energy and protein, which the cattle eat to prepare for the cold winter. Cattle harvested for meat right before winter have beautifully marbled meat that is high in Omega 3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
We offer grass and barley fed beef year round. In order to do this, we store grass hay and alfalfa that we feed to the cattle through the winter and early spring. However, this feed lacks the grass seeds that the cattle normally get in the late summer/early fall. This means if we harvest a beef in March we risk the beef being a little too lean, and thus a little dry when cooked. We sometimes hear from a customer who tried a “grass fed steak” from the store, but was disappointed in how lean and dry it was. To avoid this, we offer our cattle barley to mimic grass fed beef that is harvested in the fall. Barley is a grass, and unlike most corn and soybeans are not genetically modified (GMO). Also unlike corn, the barley will produce beef that maintains the health benefits that grass fed beef is famous for and still be low in cholesterol.
As always, the cattle roam on large open pastures and eat non-GMO feed. The cattle are never force fed—they always have plenty of hay and alfalfa in front of them.
The barley is fed to them in rations similar to what cattle would find in a late summer pasture. This allows us to offer our customers beef that is marbled as nicely as a fall-harvested beef, year round. Like a fall-harvested beef, the carcasses yield more meat, which means our customers get a little more for their money.
We believe that you will truly be happy with your beef purchase! As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions.
BERKSHIRE Cross PORK
Our Berkshire cross hogs are the best of the best. Berkshires are known for their rich flavor, darker colored meat, and beautiful marbling. We cross our gorgeous Berkshires with other wonderful breeds including Yorkshire and Hampshire hogs, giving us an incredibly well-rounded hog that is revered by some of the top chefs and butchers in the state.
Our pigs are raised in the fresh outdoors! They love to wander around their 5 acre paddock where they can graze on grasses, root through the dirt and wallow in their self made mud holes. They have a large shelter that they can escape the elements when they want to. Otherwise, they are free to run around and explore.
Our pigs are allowed to run, root, and wallow. We herd them gently when needed and never use electric prods. We believe the natural, stress-free environment aides in the quality product you put on your table. Quite simply, by not cramming our pigs into unnaturally small areas, the pigs don’t stress out. This means they don’t chew on each other, get sick and spread disease.
Basically, by keeping pigs in a natural and comfortable environment, it makes it easy for us to keep things simple without all the extra steps, procedures, and medications that are often found in commercially raised pigs.
Our pig feed is formulated by us. Our feed consists of oats, wheat, barley, and alfalfa. Our precise formulation produces a beautiful fat that is firm and white.
This is part of the secret to our Farm Fresh Lard. ALL of our feed is grown in Utah, mostly from local farmers we know personally. Our feed contains no animal bi-products and no medication/antibiotics. We do not feed our pigs any bread, donuts, or other garbage that ruins meat quality.
The maximum stocking density of our pigs is 20 pigs/acre. This allows each pig nearly 2200 sq ft, versus the commercial average of 6.8 sq ft. This means that in the space we provide just one pig, the average commercial farm would raise 320 pigs! Now that’s hog heaven!
Grass & Barley Fed Lamb
Our young lamb is raised in the beautiful grassy mountains in Utah. The sheep thrive on high altitude pasture in a stress-free, outdoor environment. Pasture-raised and finished with barley (with no animal bi-products), our lambs are never given antibiotics or hormones. The result is tender and mild lamb meat which is a favorite among our customers.
