I have never ordered beef from a ranch before.  Can you help me?

Absolutely, we'd be glad to.  Feel free to give us a call any time between 7 am and 8 pm MST and we'll help you with the forms and any other questions you may have. Just call 575-403-6904. 

What if I want to split a beef with someone - can we still send in our own Order Forms, or do we have to agree on using one form?

Yes, you can each send us your own Order Form and deposit and still pay the lower price of a whole beef.

How many steaks, roast and ground beef etc. do I get from a side of beef (1/2 beef)?

On a side of beef (1/2 beef), if you use our JX Ranch Package Order Form, (there are too many variables to estimate what you would receive using the Custom Order Form) depending on the size of your beef, you would receive approximately :  9 - 10 roasts (arm, chuck, sirloin tip, rump, pikes peak);  25 - 40 steaks (1" thick T-bone, Rib-Eye, Sirloin);  18 - 24 other steaks (Sirloin Tip Steaks if you don't order the roast instead); 1/2" flank steaks, skirt steaks, round steaks; 30 - 50 lb. of ground beef, 3 - 4 packages short ribs; 4 - 8 packages Kabobs or Stew Meat; 6 - 8 packages soup Bones; 1/2 a Brisket whole or cut in two; Organ meat if you want - liver, heart, kidney, oxtail, tongue (only guaranteed on whole beef orders).   For a whole beef, just double these numbers.  You can also request bones for your dog(s).

I want to order 1/4 of a beef.  Why do I have to use the JX Ranch Package?

It will be very different from what you are probably used to, especially if you purchase your meat in your grocery store.  Even in specialty stores will you rarely find beef that has been dry-aged for 14 - 21 days, and it does make a difference in both flavor and tenderness.  Dry-aged beef is what you may sometimes find in high-end steak houses. Our steaks are probably smaller than what you are used to as well, since our animal are considerably younger at harvest. You will notice that the meat actually has taste (!) - a wonderful, clean flavor. Although the roasts also have little to no fat, you will be surprised at how tender they are, and will fall part when you try to move them from your slow-cooker to your serving plate!  The ground-beef (we only use the extra-lean ourselves) has a distinctly clean flavor, and our hamburger patties will remain the size you put on the grill, and not bathe in grease. We also suggest you read our Customer Testimonials to read what others have to say about our beef.

Is your beef organic, and what is the difference between organic and natural?

Our beef is not certified organic.  Organic certification is costly and involves a lot of time spent on paper work etc. We would have to pass that cost on to our customers.  Instead, we strive to keep the cost down so we can offer affordable beef that is essentially organically grown but we cannot call it organic since it is not certified. In fact, in many ways our beef standards go way beyond the standards set for certified organic beef. 

The true meaning of "natural" can vary depending on the individual beef producer, what they mean by "natural".  As of now the USDA standard for "natural" is very broad and really doesn't mean anything.  So it's really up to the individual beef producer, what their definition is. In our case, natural means that our beef are raised naturally their whole lives - they are born in the pasture, raised by their mammas in the pasture, and live their whole lives in the pastures.  The beef you buy has never ever been given any antibiotics, hormones of any kind, GMO's, animal by-products, or pesticides.  Our pastures are never fertilized or sprayed with pesticides.  They never spend any time in a confined area such as a feedlot.  They are grass fed and grass finished.

Many consumers assume that "Certified Organic" automatically means that the animal has been living its entire life eating grass.  Certified organic beef" does not necessarily mean that it is 100% grass fed or grass finished; The USDA organic program stipulates that animal must spend at least 120 days a year on pasture and that they receive at least 30% of their dry matter intake from the pasture. The remaining time, 245 days, they could, in theory, spend in a feedlot or other confinement being fed other organic feed stuff. That is not to say this is a common practice among "Certified Organic" growers, but that is what the rules allow. 

Does your grass fed beef differ from others also selling natural grass-fed beef?

Yes, for the most part it does.  The majority of cattle producers selling their beef to individuals butcher their beef at 18 - 24 month of age weighing around 1,200 pounds live.  At this weight and age, the meat requires a substantial amount of fat and marbling in order to be tender.  Without the fat (marbling) the meat would be very tough and dry. Also, some organic or grass fed producers purchase year-old steers and finish them on pasture. The history of the steers may, or may not, be known.

Our beef are born and raised on our ranch. We therefore know the history of each animal and can stand by what we say.  We harvest our beef at a younger age, anywhere from a year old to 14 month of age, weighing between 650 and 800 lb live. The 14 - 21 days of dry-ageing is a big difference from many other grass-fed producers. Because of the young age, our meat is very lean, while still tender and very flavorful.

What are the health benefits of eating your natural, grass fed beef versus store bought beef?

The health benefits are numerous;  Studies have snow that lean, natural grass fed beef has more vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and a number of health-promoting fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than feed-lot finished beef.  Also, lean grass fed beef has less total fat, less saturated fat, less cholesterol and less calories.  In fact, a recent study by Penn. State University found that a daily dose of lean beef is good for the heart and helps decrease the LDL cholesterol in the blood. If you eat a typical amount of beef (66.5 pounds a year), switching to lean grassfed beef will save you 17,733 calories a year.  Grass fed beef and bison have approximately the same amount of fat and are, in our opinion, very similar in flavor.

You say you dry-aged your beef for 14 - 21 days.  What does that do and what does it mean?

Dry aging allows for tenderizing of the beef to occur naturally.  The beef carcass is hanging in a refrigerated, temperature and humidity controlled, cool room, for 14 - 21 days after harvest and prior to cutting into portion sized packages as per your Order Form.   

During the dry aging period, moisture evaporates from the muscle creating a greater concentration of beefy flavor and taste. Secondly, the beef’s natural enzymes break down the fibrous, connective tissue in the muscle, tenderizing it.  Dry ageing will add some shrinkage of the carcass.

Before the 1980s dry aged beef was common. Then it became too costly and time consuming to dry age, and commercial beef is now packaged and frozen immediately following the butchering. You will usually find dry aged beef in select high quality steak houses and fine restaurants, at a price!

I really like fat in my beef, even if yours is tender without it. Will I like your lean beef?

If you want a lot of fat, our beef is probably not for you.  Many people believe that for beef to be tender it has to contain a lot of fat and marbling.  This is true for full grown steers, however, with ours being harvested at a much younger age and weight, the meat is still very tender without all the fat.  The 14 - 21 days of dry-ageing also breaks down the fiber in the meat, and adds to the tenderness of our lean beef.   

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CATTLE AND THE RANCH

Humane handling of animals is important to me.  How do you handle your cattle?

We handle our cattle in a stress-free manner.  In fact, the fastest way to work cattle is to work them slow! Not only does it make it easier for us to be around our cattle when they are quiet and calm but stress can also affect the quality of your meat.  This is a top priority for us.  We "train" the cattle not to fear us, whether we show up horseback, on our four-wheeler, in a pickup or on foot, by approaching in a non-threatening, quiet manner, and "reading" each cows tolerance for how close she feels comfortable with having us around.  Over time they learn that we are not a threat to them, or their calves, and are easy to handle, move to new pastures etc.  The calves, when weaned in the fall, are by then very gentle and used to human interaction.  Human interaction is otherwise what causes the most stress to cattle.

Do you take care of your ranch in an environmentally sound manner?

Yes. In managing our ranch and pastures using holistic range management practices, we rotate the cattle through our many pastures frequently, to allow for long rest periods and short  grazing periods. This allows the cattle to be on an optimum plane of nutrition at all times, rather than grazing a particular pasture for a long duration, when the more desirable and nutritious plants would be grazed first (high level of nutrition - high level of gain) and the rest of the time spent grazing what's left which is the less desirable and less nutritious plants (low level of nutrition -low level of grain).  Our pastures receive an average of 350 days of rest every year, while being grazed for an average of only 5 days three times a year.  This promotes a maximum of grass growth during the growing season.  It also gives the wildlife exclusive access to more than 90% of the ranch at any time of the year.  We have received several range stewardship and range management awards over the years because of our hard work in this area.  We live on the ranch, and spend our entire days on the ranch.  We love this land, and want to allow it to be the best it can.  Human intervention over many years, such as fire suppression and continuous grazing, building of roads etc.  have caused an over-growth of invasive species and undesirable grasses to take over these arid lands of the south west.  We are working hard at restoring the land on our ranch to its ultimate ecological state.  Factors such as droughts and rising costs make this difficult, however, we will persevere!

Can I come and see the ranch and the cattle and meet you in person?

Yes, absolutely, we welcome visitors to our ranch.  We also had a "Ranch Day / Customer Appreciation Day" day this summer when we invited our customers, as well as other interested people, to bring their friends and family for a day at the ranch.  We may plan another soon again.

Please, if you have any questions not answered here, do contact us.  The only stupid question is the one not being asked!