Here's a question we think more families should ask:
Do you know where your beef comes from?
Not just the store where you bought it.
Do you know who raised it?
Do you know how the cattle were cared for?
Do you know what they were fed?
Do you know the family behind the beef you're putting on your family's table?
Recently, someone reached out to Original Carter Cattle after learning that our beef was being featured at a restaurant near her in California.
Her question was simple:
“What are you feeding your cows?”
We loved that she asked.
Because those are exactly the kinds of questions we want people asking about their food.
Knowing Your Beef Starts Long Before the Freezer
When most of us think about beef, we think about the finished product.
A steak on the grill.
Hamburgers on a summer evening.
A roast cooking on a Sunday afternoon.
But there's an entire story that happens before that package ever reaches your freezer.
For our family, that story happens every day here at Original Carter Cattle.
It happens in our pastures.
It happens in our cornfields and alfalfa fields.
It happens in the feed yard.
And it happens during early mornings, late nights and every season in between.
So, What Do Our Cattle Eat?
This is one of the questions we're happy to answer.
Our cattle are pasture-raised, hay and corn silage fed with rolled corn grain-finishing, and what they eat changes depending on their age and stage of production.
Our cattle utilize pasture and forage, and we grow and put up feed here on the farm, including alfalfa and corn that we chop and ferment into silage.
As cattle move into the finishing stage, they receive a balanced ration that includes rolled corn grain, corn silage along with hay all mixed together to provide the nutrition they need.
If you've followed us on social media lately, you've actually seen part of this process happening.
We took you into the cornfields.
We showed you what we were looking for before harvest.
We showed you the enormous amount of work involved in chopping, hauling, unloading and compacting corn to make silage.
And we've taken you into the feed yard, where we recently had 1,180 weaned calves—with more to come.
Those aren't random glimpses of ranch life.
They're pieces of the story behind your beef.
Why Does Knowing Your Rancher Matter?
Buying beef directly from a rancher gives you something that's increasingly important to many families:
The ability to ask questions.
Want to know what our cattle eat?
Ask us.
Want to understand the difference between pasture-raised and grain-finished?
Ask us.
Want to know how we put up feed?
Ask us.
Want to understand how your whole or half beef is processed and packaged?
Ask us.
You don't need to become a cattle expert to care about where your food comes from.
You just need to be curious enough to ask.
And we believe the people raising your food should be willing to answer.
From Our Ranch to Restaurant Tables
We're also excited to see Original Carter Cattle beef reaching people outside our local community through restaurant relationships.
That means someone who may never have heard of our family or visited our Utah ranch can sit down at a restaurant, enjoy a meal made with our beef and then wonder:
“Where did this beef come from?”
That's exactly what happened when a California customer recently contacted us.
And we hope it happens more often.
Because behind that meal is a ranch.
Behind the ranch are cattle.
And behind those cattle is a family doing the work to raise them.
There's a Family Behind Our Beef
When you purchase Original Carter Cattle beef, you're not buying from an anonymous beef company.
You're buying beef raised by the Carter family.
We're the people checking cattle.
We're the people growing and putting up feed.
We're the ones watching the weather and trying to get another cutting of hay off.
We're the ones feeding cattle and making decisions about their care.
And our kids are growing up alongside all of it.
That's why sharing our ranch with customers has become such an important part of Original Carter Cattle.
We don't only want to show you beautiful steaks.
We want to show you what happens before the steak.
Ask Us Where Your Beef Comes From
We think families deserve to feel confident asking questions about their food.
So whether you purchase Original Carter Cattle beef for your freezer, enjoy it at a restaurant, or simply follow our family online, we invite you to ask questions.
Ask us about the cattle.
Ask us about the feed.
Ask us about the ranch.
Ask us about the beef.
Because knowing where your food comes from starts with knowing the people who raise it.
So the next time beef is on your plate, ask yourself:
Do I know where my beef comes from?
We hope that when it's Original Carter Cattle, the answer is:
Yes.
The Carter Family
Original Carter Cattle
Know your rancher. Know your beef.