What does it mean to be Ranch to Table?

For FWTCC it means we personally know every rancher we purchase our steers from.  We know and have lived with these ranchers as neighbors and friends for years.  We also know exactly how the cattle are handled – without pesticides, without unnecessary drugs or chemicals and with great respect both for the animal and the land.  Ranch to table at Far West Cattle Company means that there are no middle men between you and your beef.  There are no feeding lots, no big food distributor or warehouse and no retail handlers.  It is literally from the ranch through us to you; from the ranchers around here who care about feeding the world.

Why do we care about Ranch to Table?

Increasingly in the United States beef is brought in from overseas.  While this may provide a less expensive product it does not always provide the kind of food protections guaranteed by the regulations in the US.  Many beef subscription offerings may allude to a ranch to table model but they are actually importing beef from Australia or other places.  FWTCC’s commitment is that we will source locally from ranches that are run responsibly and sustainably.  We offer certified grass-fed and grass-finished beef as well as traditionally finished beef.  But our traditionally finished beef is finished with grain that is harvested without roundup.  

What our ranchers are NOT doing!

Sadly the practice of fattening beef using  synthetic growth hormones and other chemicals is still popular, especially in imported beef.  Ranchers use growth hormones to produce more cattle in a shorter period —  with growth hormones one can grow a steer from say 80 pounds, to a selling size around 1200 pounds in 14 months.

The FDA today approves of five different types of hormones for beef production. Of these, testosterone and progesterone are produced naturally by the animals and zeranol and trenbolone acetate are synthetically made.

Our ranch to table beef works with ranchers who use little or no hormones, no chemicals or pesticides, and no inhumane feeding lots.  We source feed without chemicals from Mennonite farmers near where we finish our steers.  That is why you want ranch to table beef.  The difference is in knowing where your steak comes from and what, how and where it was handled.