Collection: About The Beef
Cattle lifestyle and our sustainable agricultural practices:
The beef is raised by Blake and I on Blake’s Family Ranch- The Balzan Ranch. Our cattle spend 100% of their lives on pasture; and not just any pasture, but our pastures. That’s right; from birth until processing, they happily coexist with nature right here, in our little valley. In winter they feed on hay that we grow for them in the summertime. The bulls roam alongside the mothers, naturally fulfilling the breeding cycle. Our cattle are not going to and from sale barns, or feed lots, or in and out of any other unhealthy environments. But on occasion, we will resupply fresh blood and new genetics with a clean mamma and her calf, or a clean bull calf. We use the paddock rotational grazing system to best utilize our available pastures and to increase soil and forage health and growth, while simultaneously stock piling standing grasses for winter feed. This method of grazing also encourages growth of native wildflowers and grasses and gives essential insects and soil microorganisms the conditions in which they can thrive. We can truly say that we know EXACTLY how these cattle were raised and EXACTLY what these cattle were fed and given for their entire lives. Our provided supplements are a salt block and high-quality protein/mineral tub year around.
The scoop on Vaccines, antibiotics, and growth hormones:
We administer minimal vaccines to our herd. The mammas are given a legally required brucellosis vaccine one time, at the age of puberty. The select young females, who we later beef, are spayed and are not given any vaccines. The steers are given one tetanus vaccine at the time of castration. We pride ourselves on the health of our herd and their natural immunity against common diseases that are often vaccinated against. With healthy gut microbiomes, they build strong immune systems as they grow, and they are able to utilize pasture forage efficiently for growth and production of delicious beef. Our herd is antibiotic free. Due to their strong immune systems, antibiotics are never a necessary treatment for our cattle, and of course NEVER any growth hormones, or steroids.
The big question, why only grass? Why not grain finished?
The nutrient differences between a grain finished vs a grass finished animal are night and day. Here’s the gist Per 8oz. serving: Less calories, exponentially more protein, less fat. Double the amount of omega 3's, vitamin E, vitamin K, Niacin, Folate. Triple the amount of vitamin B 12. More Iron, Magnesium, Zinc, Choline, Betaine and lower in saturated fats. You can find the entire chart posted in the FAQs section. You can tell truly grass-finished longhorn beef by the beautiful dark red color, the delicious fresh smell, and the straight off from pasture-truly mind-blowingly delicious-flavor. It really is a sensory experience in every way. It is true that 100% grass fed beef is much leaner than grain finished beef. But there is a common misconception that less fat means dry beef. This is simply not true. Fat content has nothing to do with the moisture content of the muscle fibers themselves. Our beef is loaded with moisture within the muscle and is always juicy! Once you've tasted 100% pasture raised grass-finished Longhorn, there is no going back. Full of nutrition, flavor, and moisture and just the right amount of tasty grass-fed fat skirting the muscle, you get the best of all the worlds with this beef.
Why longhorns for beef? Why not angus or any other breed?
Over 30 years ago, my fiancé’s (Blake Balzan’s) family started raising Texas longhorns as a lifestyle. They admired their beauty and the fact that Longhorns are one of the most multipurpose breeds of cattle. With their beauty trait: they can be shown, and their heads and hides make incredible décor for any household. Longhorns produce some of the creamiest milk, and it can be consumed raw and fresh or turned into cheeses and yogurts etc.( I hope, in the next couple of years, to have a milking longhorn.) Their meat too, has a distinctly fresh, and delectable flavor and retired longhorn mammas, once processed, result in beef that is “aged on the hoof” and contains cuts with incredible marbling and even MORE flavor, resulting in quite the delicacy. In combination with all of these already mentioned facts, longhorns are known for being quite hardy on the range- in extreme seasonal conditions- and have naturally strong immune systems, and they utilize forage efficiently. Also, let’s not forget to mention the mammas birth their own babies unassisted, like pros. Fast forward to today, with Blake and I raising beef together, all of these facts hold true even still. For all of these reasons, we will forever raise Longhorn cattle as our breed of choice.