Our History/Background:

Prior to starting Beaver Brook Ranch, my father and I had a 330 acre ranch in Meredithville, VA (in the boondocks) about 1.5 hr south of Richmond,where we had a herd of Black Angus breeders (mom cows) that had a calf each year. When we bought the ranch in VA in the mid 2000’s, we didn’t have a clue about what we were doing.

A fellow farmer helped show us the ropes and for the first few years we were excited to raise our own calves. The breeders would “calf” in the spring and the calves would nurse on their mothers for 6 or so months and be on grass permanently for another 3 months thereafter. At around 9 months 450-600lbs, the fellow farmer would bring our calves, along with his calves, to the auction and we would get a check in the mail from the sale barn, which was pretty cool, since we started the ranch from scratch with out knowing much about ranching etc.

Being new to the whole ranching thing, we never looked below the surface to find out exactly where our calves were ending up. Just about the time, the word “Grass Fed” was becoming a popular term among the main stream consumer, around 2011-2013, my father and I started reading more and more about the commercial beef supply chain and asking more and more questions to fellow farmers about how the whole thing works. We knew we were delivering calves that were 100% Grass Fed, but what led us to ultimately build Beaver Brook Ranch, was our lack of control from the time the calves left our ranch to when they ended up on someone’s dinner table.

Commercial Beef Supply Chain:

Phase 1: Cow/Calf Operation: (What we were doing prior to Beaver Brook Ranch.)

Raising calves until 9 months and selling at the sale barn(auction). Ranchers get paid extra if the calves are exposed/trained to eat corn/grain prior to delivery (many times the calves would get sick at the time of corn/grain intro and have to be fed antibiotics) and if the calves were injected with hormone implants behind the ear (help them grow more quickly), the rancher would get paid an extra $10. We never bothered with either, that said, this wasn’t our main source of income so I can’t say we wouldn’t have back then, if this was our only source of income.

Phase 2: Sale Barn(Auction)

The calf drop off would occur a day or two before the actual auction. The sale barn had corrals setup and each ranch would be given a designated pen. We were a small timer compared to some of the cow/calf operators who had weekly deliveries and 100s of calves. Every Tuesday, the sale barn would have auctions and buyers would come and bid on the calves. At this point, in the process, the calves are called feeders. Some of the female calves “heifers” were sold as replacement heifers/breeders to cow/calf operators but most of heifer and steer calves went as feeders to ranchers who owned either intermediate ranches (feed the calves from 600-900 lbs) or to the calf’s final destination, feedlots.

Phase 3: Feedlots

The majority of calves purchased at the auction, are hauled by the tractor trailer load, to commercial feedlots, where they will live in stock pens and fed/fattened up with a mixture of corn and other grains. You seen the pictures, so enough said.

Phase 4: Slaughterhouse/Processing/Wholesale Distributors

Once the cows reach peak weight, they move on to the next stage which may be up to three separate stops. The slaughterhouse where the cows are brought down to the hanging carcass “hanging weight” , the butcher/processor where they are cut up into individual retail cuts and moved on to wholesale distributors who sell the individual cuts to grocery stores and restaurants etc. Some of your larger retailers have their own wholesale buyer/division who will buy direct from the processors.

I think you get the point, there are a lot touch points involved before it ends up in your refrigerator/freezer.

Why we started Beaver Brook Ranch:  

1.  Quality:  Utilize a rotational grazing program which produces ultra pristine 100% Grass Fed and Finished Beef
2. Transparency: Provide a fully transparent supply chain that only includes 2 touch points before being delivered direct to you. Our ranch and our local USDA inspected gourmet butcher, who Dry Ages the beef for 12-15 days and custom cuts the steaks and roasts to your specification.
3.  Value:  Provide high quality locally Raised, Dry Aged 100% Grass Fed Beef in 1/8 (45-50 lbs) or 1/4 (90-100lbs) shares at a reasonable price that includes free local delivery.

Pretty Disgusting!

If you don’t think the beef your are getting from your grocery store comes from places like this, think again. Don’t fall for the cute “certified black angus” emblem on the deli counter. There are lots of “certified black angus” sitting in their own filth, gobbling down corn, grain and other things you shouldn’t being eating.

If you want full transparency behind the food you are feeding your family, start by asking the question, “where is my food coming from”, and find local farms around you, that you can actual visit and see with your own eyes and answer the question for yourself.