OUR FARM PROTOCOLS
Grass Finished
Our cattle are raised completely on grass for their entire lives. We move them to new pastures daily…sometimes twice a day. This way they have access to the freshest, most lush forage, and provide the rich fertilizer our pastures need to thrive. Of course they are never fed grain of any kind! Just ask American Grassfed, which audits our ranch every 15 months.
Pasture Raised
You see, chickens love to follow behind cows, just as wild birds followed the buffalo across the Great Plains. They have a symbiotic relationship, cleaning up behind the cows by scratching through cow dung.
What the chickens are doing is hunting for fly larvae, which gives them the protein they crave. Ignore those “vegetarian diet” claims you see on egg boxes, because chickens are not vegetarians, as every cricket and earthworm knows.
As they hunt for larvae they are also spreading the manure, incorporating it into the soil. This not only hastens the breakdown of the fertilizer, but also allows the cows to more fully graze the pasture when they return. You see, cows won’t graze near one of their own fertilizer spots (this is to avoid parasites). So the chickens fix it where it’s gone by the time they return and they’re free to graze the entire paddock!
Everyone wins! The soil is enriched, the cows are happy, the chickens live a great life outdoors and you get the most nutritious eggs and chicken imaginable!
No Animal By-Products
No Artificial Hormones, Steroids, Drugs or Antibiotics
Our cows are never fed anything but grass and minerals. And, of course, we never give drugs or antibiotics. If an animal were to get sick, it would just be removed from the herd.
Non-GMO, Soy-Free & No Corn!
It makes no sense to use so much American farmland to grow corn and soy for livestock feed, when animals are perfectly capable (and thrilled) to harvest and hunt for their own food. If only they were allowed to do so.
On Rafter W Ranch, they are. So our sheep, cows, hens and broilers are never fed corn. Why is this important? Because 80-90% of corn is GMO and we don’t want to eat GMO’s if we can avoid it.
Dry Aged
When we dry age our organic grass-fed beef, the whole carcass is held fresh and is exposed to the air so that dehydration can further concentrate the meat’s flavor.
Of course, this process is costly because the meat loses weight from dehydration the longer it is aged, but ultimately results in a more tender, flavorful product.
And, let’s be honest…when you buy dry aged beef you’re not paying for excess water, which you would be if you bought beef that wasn’t dry aged.
FROM THE FARM BLOG
Do you know how to say “chicken” in Arabic?
I'll give you the answer upfront. "Farkha" = "chicken" in Arabic. But why does that matter you may be asking? Recently our farm has been working on hammering out a deal with an Islamic Halal butcher. They reached out to us over the winter time, wanting our local and...
Can Honey Help With Seasonal Allergies?
Can Honey Help With Seasonal Allergies? I don't know about you, but the fresh air and warm sunshine that spring brings is like a breath of fresh air for my winter worn self. And with the weather having that cold rainy snap that we experienced in the last week or two,...
Is mRNA in our meat
mRNA: U R What U Eat Truly, people are wising up and becoming very smart consumers, and we couldn’t be happier to see this trend!! Freedom Valley has been fielding a lot of questions from our customers about whether or not we give the mRNA vaccine to our livestock....
