There are many time honored traditions in beef production that are not common knowledge to most. Managing the herd is one of them. For generations ranchers have been producing a “calf crop” that goes to feeders and turns into the beef that supplies the broader consumer market. To produce this calf crop, ranchers have a few bulls and many cows. In the process of herd management, every season some of the cows are replaced with heifer calves from the prior year’s calf crop and the cows go to market.

Typically referred to as “cull cows” these cows sold to friends and acquaintances or to local lockers. They don’t bring the same premium on the market as beef cattle, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the beef. In fact, a lot of farm and ranch families have come to rely on the value this beef delivers and it is a respectful way to honor these animals.

Notable features of this beef are a deeper red color similar to grass feed beef and a richer flavor than grocery store beef. Cows spend their life in the pasture eating grass that is supplemented with grain or alfalfa in the winter months. They’re not grass fed, nor are they grain fed; they land somewhere in between.

These steaks and ground beef are a cost efficient way to feed your family nutritious beef for an affordable price and honor an animal that has lived a productive life feeding the nation and the western way of life.