Hello everyone! Thanks for taking the time to see what is going on here at the ranch. I can't believe Autumn is here already, the bright green colors of the grass are fading away as the cattle are grazing away to put on some more weight before winter arrives.
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Life On The Ranch:
Fall time is filled with lots of projects, which normally includes building: fences, corrals, and water tank sights, while getting some hay hauled as well. This year projects have also been geared toward houses with moving a wood stove in my (Denver's) house, cutting firewood (got to love a wood stove), and David building a house for his family (what a guy). And of course, regular time is spent taking care of the cattle herd.
l want to share about our mineral program with you here. We quit using the conventional feed store livestock minerals years ago, because of those pesky toxins and heavy metals that seem to be almost everywhere. We learned that it is nearly impossible to buy a clean mineral package, so we started relying on naturally mineralized sea salts (such as: Redmond Salt, Independent Salt Company, and C-90 Salt) to supply our cattle's mineral needs. Feeding the salt is accomplished first by having dry salt available all the time in a covered feeding tub, and second by making a salt brine solution (or simply Mineral Water as we call it) in a water tank located close to a fresh water source. Mineral Water is not complected to make, first you fill your water tank with fresh water, then we put the salt in a burlap bag, place the bag of salt in the water tank and let it sit still for 4-12 hrs., now pull the bag out of the tank and you have Mineral Water. What this does is it allows the water to pull the needed minerals out of the salt to create a balanced solution with roughly the same mineral break down that is in a mammal's blood. Crazy right, it's almost like someone designed a mineral package for us in nature that has just what we need, praise God! Another great thing about mineral water is the minerals in salt are 3-4 times more available to a cow when drank as a liquid opposed to eating dry salt. But the very best way for a cow to get her minerals is from her grass, minerals consumed through forage are around 90% available to the cow! Thats another reason regenerative grazing is important, the better our soil becomes the more minerals are in the cow's grass, and we get to eat even more nutrient dense beef!
As the cows graze, they leave behind manure and urine that supply vital nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and microorganisms to the grass and soil. The prairie is a big and complex ecosystem, and large grazing animals have always been apart of it. We love being in the middle of raising healthy beef, and regenerating the soil!!
Another advantage of our regenerative grazing is the quality of forage available for our herd. Since we move the cows every 3 to 5 days, they always have fresh grass available, and are able to keep themselves in good flesh. When they are able to quickly graze the tops of the plants (which is where the plants sugars are stored) and then move on to a fresh pasture, the cows nutritional needs get met, and delicious fat is put into the meat. This is why we butcher in the fall, after the cattle have spent all summer fattening up on the nutritious native grasses!
The cycle continues past the cow/grass relationship, and onto the meat/consumer relationship. A healthy soil will produce healthy grasses. Cattle that eat healthy grasses produce healthy meat (while adding more nutrients to the grasses!!). When you and I consume this healthy meat, we are fueling our bodies with natures richest source of protein, not to mention all the vitamins and minerals that just aren't found in feedlot beef.
It is a beautiful cycle, and we are blessed to be apart of it. We hope you will join us in this journey from soil to food!
Order & Shipping Update:
We are still taking pre orders on all our Beef Bundles, so head on over to the website, and secure yours before they are all spoken for!
Customer Spotlight:
We want to congratulate Alison for winning 20 lbs. of our hamburger, from our giveaway that we had!
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Cooking Beef:
It seems like Hamburger is always the first thing to leave the freezer, and when it's gone I wonder, now what? Well, my wife and I (Denver) have been enjoying some roasts recently, in an effort to clean out the freezer, and I'm definitely not an expert roast roaster. But here's 2 cents of advice that my Mom (who is a fabulous cook) told me, just in case you're in the same boat with me. A lot of cookbooks tell you to cook a roast to high, say at 350 F. It's better to turn it down some like 325 F for 4 hrs. so it doesn't turn out as tough as old boot leather. Or if you have time just put it in a crock pot on low for a day. Also make sure you have enough liquid, cover the roast with beef broth or just water and salt would work.
Thank you for letting us be a part of your day. I hope you have enjoyed this edition of our newsletter. Please feel free to reply to this letter with any comments or questions you have. We love getting to know you better and hope we can be a blessing to you in some way.
God Bless,
The Paul Family
Wild Prairie Beef
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