The Product
Our beef provides the ultimate beef eating experience. This is because our beef is raised in accordance with our stringent, USDA-approved protocols. These protocols bring together all the pieces of the puzzle to create the best beef possible.
Our beef meets the following USDA-approved requirements:
Each animal is 100% black Angus and 100% source verified.
No antibiotics are fed or administered to any animal at any time.
No hormones, steroids, or other artificial growth promotants are given or administered to any animal at any time.
No animal by-products are fed to any animal. We only feed vegetable-based ingredients, such as, for example, silage, cottonseed pellets, corn, corn gluten pellets, legume hay and grass hay.
All the animals are born, raised and processed locally (within about 100 miles) to the Austin/San Antonio area, primarily in Gillespie County.
100% Black Angus
The foundation of our product starts with 100% black Angus beef. Black Angus is the “gold standard” in the beef eating experience. Further, all these Angus are locally bred and born—no imports from other states, countries, regions or other cattle producers. So we start with that wholesome beginning, and then go through the additional steps in our process to make sure our beef reaches its full potential.
Genetic Tenderness Profiles
To help ensure tenderness of our beef, we use DNA genetic profiles to select our herd sires and replacement females. We do this to determine whether the herd sire or replacement female has the right genes to produce animals with the genetic ability to be tender and juicy.
We use these genetic profiles and our special finishing program to help insure our beef will be as tender and tasty as possible.
We also use ultrasound measurements of marbling to ensure that our beef is well-marbled. If an animal does not meet our strict marbling requirements, that animal if put into ground beef.
Special Finishing Program
In our finishing program, our animals are finished right here in Stonewall. None of our animals are sent to a dry lot, commercial feedlot. They are finished on grass pastures in our rotational grazing system, where they have free-choice access to our special feed. Our rotational grazing system allows the manure from our animals to fall on our pastures and be recycled right here on our ranch. In our system, the manure replaces commercial fertilizers, which is better for the environment. This helps make our operation as sustainable as possible.
We don’t “push” our cattle for rapid gains like dry lot, commercial feedlots do. That can be harmful to the animal. Instead, we allow each animal to develop at its own pace. With our program, it takes a little longer to finish an animal, but it is a whole lot better for the environment and the health of the animal—not to mention the taste.
Dry Aging
The final step in our process is dry aging. Without dry aging, beef cannot achieve its ultimate tenderness and flavor, no matter what the genetics, and no matter what an animal eats.
During dry aging, moisture evaporates from the muscle tissue, causing a greater concentration of flavor and taste. Second, natural enzymes in the beef break down the fibrous, connective tissue in the muscle, increasing tenderness. This process is a very important to producing tender, flavorful beef.
USDA-Approved
Each animal is 100% black Angus and 100% source verified.
No antibiotics are fed or administered to any animal at any time.
No hormones, steroids, or other artificial growth promotants are given or administered to any animal at any time. If a sick animal requires treatment with antibiotics, it is removed from our program.
No mRNA vaccines are administered to any animal.
No animal by-products are fed to any animal. We only feed vegetable-based ingredients, such as, for example, cottonseed products, corn, corn gluten pellets, legume hay and grass hay.
All the animals are born, raised and processed locally (within 100 miles) to the Austin/San Antonio area, primarily in Gillespie County.
No animal is ever shipped to a commercial dry-lot feed lot operation; all animals are fed at the ranch in Stonewall.
