Meet the Owners
Brianna
Brianna
Brianna
Cattle Acquisitions & Marketing
Brianna oversees the ranch from the business side. She also monitors our herd structure and breeding schedule as well as new acquisitions and sales. She runs our Instagram and website page as well, so if you find yourself messaging with us you are probably chatting with her!
Nick
Brianna
Brianna
Ranch Manager
Nick oversees the daily operations of the ranch and makes sure it continues to run smoothly.
He is slowly moving our ranch towards regenerative practices and away from traditional management.
Sheri
Brianna
Sheri
Orchard/Garden and Small Herd Manager
Sheri oversees and cares for our orchard and is our resident green thumb. Our orchard currently has over 70 different fruit tree varieties; over half have been grafted by her!
She also cares for our chicken and duck egg layers.
Jeff
Brianna
Sheri
Special Projects
Jeff is in charge of any one-off projects the ranch may need. It is hard to write a description for his job because of the wide variety of these projects.
Most recently, he has been working on water treatment and solar for the ranch.
Why Regenerative Practices are Important to Us
regenerative practices can help reverse the effects of environmental damage
Cattle naturally produce methane during digestion, and decomposing manure releases both methane and nitrous oxide. Continuous grazing in one area can lead to overgrazing, exposing soil, and releasing stored carbon, while dried manure sits on the surface, emitting gases into the atmosphere.
By rotating cattle through pastures, we can maintain healthy grasses and cover crops, protecting carbon stores in the soil. This practice allows cattle access to younger, more nutritious grass—reducing the need for grain supplements—and minimizes methane emissions.
Responsible grazing mimics cattle’s natural behavior. As herd animals, cattle graze and travel, moving to new spots for extended periods. By adopting this grazing style, we can improve soil quality, enhance carbon storage, and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from cattle.
Although this is our ultimate goal, we are still building out the infrastructure to achieve it. Recently, we removed the 30-acre vineyard that came with the ranch to restore the land to its natural state. Each year, we aim to improve, and over time, we hope to see a noticeable difference in our soil quality.
Regenerative practices allow us to maximize land use while working in harmony with nature. It never made sense to us to grow crops solely for feeding cattle in another location; we believe this approach benefits neither the land nor the animals. Instead, we keep our cattle year-round, rotating them through our ranch to allow for rest and recovery—mirroring their natural grazing patterns. Over time, this will regenerate our soil and restore essential microbes for healthy land.
Cattle play a crucial role in this process, significantly contributing to soil health and regeneration!
To be truly regenerative, a farmer needs to understand that they are a part of the ecosystem, not apart from it.
Terry McCosker
Why Dexters and Why Grass-Finished
Dexter beef is a great choice if you are looking for a high quality, environmentally friendly beef
For those of you that don't know, Dexters are small! To be more specific, this Irish breed is the smallest of all European cattle breeds. A mature cow can weigh about 800 pounds versus an average 1,200+ pounds for other breeds.
Because of their smaller size, Dexters have a lighter environmental imprint, and are easier on the soil. Though small, they are incredibly hardy and are efficient foragers. They have a docile and sweet temperament as well as a wonderful maternal instinct.
Out Dexters are generally harvested around 24 months. Their meat has a spider marbling effect (generally seen in Wagyu beef) and cuts will contain higher amounts of CLAs and omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids. Dexter beef is also extremely tender and has a beautiful visual appearance.
What are CLAs?
Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLAs) are a group of fatty acids found naturally in grass-fed beef and dairy products. Research has suggested several potential health benefits of CLAs, including:
- Anti-carcinogenic properties: Some studies indicate that CLAs may help reduce the risk of certain cancers
- Prevention of obesity: Research suggests that CLAs can assist in fat reduction and weight management
- Anti-diabetic effects: There is evidence to suggest that CLAs may improve insulin sensitivity
- Anti-atherosclerosis (Heart Disease): Some studies indicate a potential role for CLAs in reducing heart disease risk factors
Incorporating more CLAs into your diet may help decrease the occurrence of cancer, obesity, and adult diabetes, along with aiding in fat loss. Grass-fed beef is particularly advantageous for increasing CLA levels, as it typically contains 2-3 times more CLAs than grain-finished beef. Notably, a cow that is grass-fed but later finished on grain may lose much of its CLA content.
Most Beef it not Grass Fed AND Grass Finished
The label "Grass-fed" may seem to imply that the cow was fed a diet of grass its entire life, but it can also refer to meat from cattle that started on a grass diet but were later finished on a grain or supplemental grain diet. While calves may spend the first six months on pastures, many are then moved to feedlots, where they are fed grains for the last few months before slaughter.
This practice became more common in the U.S. post-1950s due to a grain surplus that followed World War II. After the war, advances in agricultural technology and increased production led to excess grain, which the government sought to manage. This surplus prompted a shift towards grain-finishing cattle as a more efficient way to utilize available resources
ThoughtCoDole Archive & Special Collections.
If eating beef that is grass-fed for its entire life is important to you, look for labels like "Grass Fed and Grass Finished" or "100% Grass Fed," and avoid misleading labels.
Final Thoughts
We researched several breeds of cattle, but felt that Dexters best embodied our ultimate goal of producing a quality product while doing right both by the animal and the land.
Being a carnivore comes with the knowledge that a living thing had to give its life to feed you. Having that understanding, we want to know that our cows lived the best life they could, being grass raised AND grass finished without ever seeing a feed lot. We let our cattle live as naturally as possible, with mothers self weaning their calves, and eating a diet natural to them year round. Cows are incredibly intelligent and curious creatures and provide so much for us. As their custodian, we feel that the least we can do in return is provide them with the best care possible including but not limited to lots of love and head scratches!