About Us
The Little Ranchers That Could
I often get asked how we came into this. A “Bio” or “Why Grass Fed.” My venture into this realm took a lot of years and we are still refining it. As I look back, a lot of my core values were always there. They were part of me though I had no idea of why they were, nor the fact that I was made this way for a purpose; a purpose that seems clearer to me as the puzzle pieces come together through me living my life. I’m often asked to summarize or check the box our product fits into. It has taken a lifetime to develop and there’s a uniqueness that doesn’t fit into a box or a few “Catch phrases.” Read through this and I think you’ll understand why.
I was born really poor. We participated in a variety of programs as a child such as free cheese. I remember living in a tent when we moved for my dad taking a new job until we found housing. I never felt poor as a child, nor did I realize we actually qualified as homeless for that time. We looked at it as we were camping. I have been without food and so food and serving those without it resonates with me.
Ever since I remember, I have had two fascinations: Cattle and meat. I had no other interest growing up. My dad worked weekends on farms and ranches, and I would always go with him. All I was ever told was “Ranching takes a lot of money; we can never do that.” Thus, the moniker, “The little Oregon Ranchers that could.”
I also remember in High School arguing with our science teacher that Soil was a renewable resource. For decades, the view has been that we can just keep what’s eroding away from doing so; there was no other answer. I countered, “Why do we have to dig up ruins of past civilizations if we can’t “grow soil?” I couldn’t describe why I felt so strongly. As I learned about regenerative Agriculture and grazing, it became clear to me that we can do so much for our Farm, Soil, Livestock and Environment by simply “Growing the soil.” This is why we steer away from Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides. If we focus more on “Growing our Soil,” everything else falls into place when managed correctly. Turns out, the soil has an incredible capacity to store Carbon and can have an incredible impact on Atmospheric carbon if managed correctly.
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I wanted to have my own Ranch with every fiber of being. I worked around cattle every chance and studied Animal Science and Ag Business management in college where I met Tam. Every year, you can look at Facebook and see her former students excited to go to school at the years beginning. Yes, she has made an impact by living out her “Why.” We have been married over 30 years and I made the absolute best decision ever asking her to be my partner. She has had a unique impact.
Out of College, I took a job at a large feedlot. I wanted to be around as many cattle as possible. I learned a lot there and eventually became the one doctoring sick cattle. We occasionally had what we termed “Chronic Cattle.” These cattle would get sick and never seem to respond to any treatments. After a time, they would heal well enough that we sent them to a 40-acre field in the middle of the lot called the chronic pasture. They had free choice grass and feed in a feed bunk. What was amazing is on the way to the pasture, you’d think all these cattle were likely going to die. The amazing thing is a lot of them responded and healed. It made me wonder if these did so well, how well would a healthy calf do on grass.
Long story short is we found out. They do really well.
Our Journey Continued
On my way to becoming the rancher I was meant to be, I went to work in food processing. It laid the foundation for me understanding the processing side of the business. It helps me to this day in communicating with Butchers and setting up programs that benefit us both. This helps us deliver the outstanding beef we raise at better prices than we otherwise would. I have also learned a lot about meat from Butchers and Chefs I have worked with. It has refined our product line with unique offerings that is hard to find elsewhere.
While working in a frozen food plant, I was putting together a herd of cattle. As we did, I started working at a vegetable packaging facility. The facility had a hard time getting rid of the frozen grader screenings. It wasn’t enough for the Dairies and Feedlots to take. The facility was paying to take it to a landfill. I decided to try it and it was a wonderful feed our cattle loved. We mixed it with Hay and fed it to bunks free choice to our calves on pastures. We also use it in the receiving pens for new cattle as they adjust, and we decide where to place them. We saved these vegetables from a landfill and are creating a great beef product with them.
As we began direct marketing our beef, we got a lot of feedback that customers wanted no grain in the feed. We looked at what we were doing and decided we could take grain out. We have found we were right. Our focus was always on great flavor and texture. I feel like the flavonoids the cattle are drawn to in our pastures and vegetables creates a unique and consistent flavor different from any other. We continue to refine that all the time.
Recently, I was drawn to two authors; Gabe Brown wrote “From Dirt to Soil.” Nicole Masters wrote, “For the Love of Soil.” We have never used fertilizers or Pesticides in our program. These two drew together my thoughts on “Growing Soil” with different ways of managing so that we can do this much better. We will sequester carbon back into the soil in better ways each year we go forward. We will feed the soil in ways that it grows the soil into healthy and vibrant biology and microbiology populations.
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Interestingly, as I have developed our “Why,” new partnerships are coming to us. Two of our new primary pastures are with people who own land for the purpose of Fish and Wildlife. We will manage the ecosystems on these pastures that benefit the soil that eventually cleans the water table, feeds the Fish and Wildlife and benefits our cattle in ways to enhance the quality and flavor of the beef we raise. All the while, we sequester Carbon into the soil and improve the ecological footprint we make. Future projects include incorporating unique poultry to improve our pastures and cattle and perhaps delving into rotating crops into these pastures in regenerative ways.
In it all, community is very important to us. From whom we choose to work with us to what we support. After all, what does it matter what we do for the soil, cattle, meat and environment if people fall by the wayside? A stronger community means all of those things are more vibrant. We Love supporting young people in their dreams.
We appreciate the relationships and friendships as we take this journey. With your support, we feel we can do amazing things.