Feeding & Finishing
Our cattle are all conceived, born, weaned, and raised under our care, so we control their environment and feeding from day one to ensure the healthiest, most content cattle. All our cattle are grass fed and grain finished (except a few that are exclusively grass fed). We follow a three-stage feeding program we designed based on input from multiple cattle nutritionists as well as a fellow cattle rancher, Mark Bradford, who learned his feeding techniques directly from the Japanese and has a Master’s in Ruminant Nutrition. We are constantly trying new things, as every herd is different and proper feeding is more of an art than science. The efforts instilled are to strive to our goal of providing you with the best beef experience you’ve ever had.
What We Feed
The non-GMO corn fed to our cattle for finishing is raised by local farmers in the Central Washington Basin.
All the hay we feed is locally grown and consists of local grasses and alfalfa. It’s non-GMO and export quality.
Our nutritionist-formulated mineral supplement is designed to complement what the cows are able to get naturally from our soil. The mineral supplement is also non-GMO.
Our Three-Stage Feeding Program
Weaning
Cattle start in the weaning pen, where they are hand fed hay and a protein and mineral supplement, all in linear feed bunks. It’s more labor intensive to hand feed with the pitchfork twice a day, but this way we are able to keep a close eye on them, catching illness quickly and getting them acclimated to our presence.
Growing
Once they’ve been properly weaned, they go to the starter pen where they’re fed a higher protein diet to promote frame growth and size. In the starter pen, they get everything they got in weaner pen but in larger quantities. They have free choice hay, and we feed them their supplement twice a day.
Finishing
When they’re finally promoted to the fat pen, they get even more corn (though still much less than commercial cattle). We’ve found that their digestion is cleaner and the flavor is better when they’re fed slower. In the fat pen, they continue to get free choice hay and their mineral supplement.
