Frequently Asked Questions
Where are the beef sourced?
Our beef are sourced from One Lazy Diamond Ranch, a ranch that lies along the San Pedro River in Southern AZ. It has been in Micah’s family for the last 100+ years.
What breed of cattle do you have?
Our herd is predominantly black Angus with a few Charolais and Charolais/Angus crosses.
How is the herd managed?
Micah cares for all the cattle from conception to butcher weight, using them to manage the land with soil regeneration as a high priority, allowing the animals and environment to work together to create a better ecosystem for both man and beast and a more nutrient dense finished product.
What is soil regeneration?
Soil regeneration is a way of grazing the land to create a healthy, dense foliage growth as well as rejuvenating the soil with fungi and bacteria’s that in turn give the cattle a more nutrient dense diet.
We are very careful not to over graze, which in the end depletes the soil of important fungi and nutrients. Of the grasses and plants that grow, we want some of that being trampled back onto the field, creating a protective layer from heat as well as creating a more gentle rainfall, minimizing soil erosion.
Do you vaccinate your breeder herd?
Our cow herd gets vaccinated once a year for a few diseases that are prevalent here along the river; Blackleg, Respiratory and Reproductive issues. We have lost calves in the past when we didn’t vaccinate or a cow got missed in the summer booster schedule. It’s heart breaking to see big healthy animals suffer and die within days when it could have been prevented. By vaccinating our breeder herd once a year, we have had very good success with keeping any issues at bay. We NEVER vaccinate with an mRNA vaccine. There is no reason for us to use it and it would undermine all the positive we focus on when providing good clean beef!
Do you vaccinate the grower herd?
Yes, once when they are a couple months old, they get the same vaccinations that their parents get. Once again, we NEVER vaccinate with an mRNA vaccine. There is no reason for us to use it and it would undermine all the positive we focus on when providing good clean beef!
Do we use hormones or antibiotics?
We do not use any hormones at all on any of our beef! Regarding antibiotics, accidents do happen and there has been times we have an animal that we needed to give antibiotics to. That beef was then pulled from the list of available beef.
Are your beef always on pasture?
Our breeder herd is kept predominantly on range land here close to the home ranch. The calves are born on range land and stay with their mothers until close to 6 months of age. Once they are weaned the calves are then brought back to the ranch to be raised on our irrigated pastures here.
How do you finish out your growers?
When the time comes to finish them out, approx 6 weeks before their butcher date, they are kept in a pasture where they have access to the grass growing there as well as being supplemented with alfalfa/triticale hay mix and gmo free barley.
Why do you use barley in your finishing and not keep it strictly grass fed?
We use some barley in our finish diet for four reasons:
It is a grain that has not been genetically modified nearly as much as corn or soy.
It is grown during the winter, which means it doesn’t get the spraying of herbicides and pesticides that summer crops tend to get.
Barley is lower is PUFAs. PUFAs (Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids) are highly inflammatory. Ruminants are able to eat these, convert them and release them.
Grass fed only beef can have a stronger flavor and be more on the lean side. By adding in the gmo free barley, it gives the beef a really good flavor as well as helping to marble the meat, making it flavorful and juicy.
How big do you raise your beef?
The goal is to get each beef to approx 1,200lb by its butcher date. Some don’t quite hit that weight and some go over, depending on the frame and genetics of that specific animal.
How does the deposit process work?
Once we have a butcher date scheduled we will choose a date to open deposits for whole and half beef. A week or so before that date, you will get and email with the deposit date and details for that butchering. On the day deposits open, you will get another email with the Golden Rule Dairy online store link. You will place your deposit through the online store, securing your name on a whole/ half beef. It is $200 for whole and $100 for a half. That deposit in non refundable and is taken off the total of your cost.
When is the remainder payment due?
Once your beef is butchered, packaged, frozen and ready for delivery, we will set and delivery date and charge your card on file with Golden Rule Dairy the day before the meat is delivered.
So do you deliver to my house?
We have a drop point per city/town area where the customers meet us to pick up their finished beef.
How does the butchering process work and do I get to choose which cuts I want?
Once your deposit is placed and the butcher date is getting close, we will contact you for a filled out cut sheet. You will fill out your cut sheet per how you want your whole/half processed and we will turn that into the butcher when we drop off your beef.
How long does it take from butchering to delivery?
The butcher will harvest your beef and let it hang in a cooler to age for about 2 weeks. They then will start the process of breaking it down, per your cut sheet instructions, and then package and freeze it. We then schedule a delivery date to get the finished product to you. In all the process takes appox 4-5 weeks.
Price is by carcass weight, what does that mean?
Carcass weight, or hanging weight, is what your whole/ half beef weighs after it has been harvested, skinned, and eviscerated, but before being broken down into specific cuts.
How much meat do I get to put in my freezer?
Once the beef has hung to age for 2 weeks, the butcher will then break it down into cuts, removing a lot of bone, tendon, and other unwanted items such as glands. You should get approx 60% of your hanging weight back in packaged and frozen cuts. That percentage can change due to how you request your beef to be cut up. It can be higher if you choose bone in and also request the offal to be saved, or lower if you are turning most of your whole/half into hamburger, which would mean a lot more deboning and taking out of unwanted gristle and tendons.
Example: 300lb half hanging weight should give approx 180lbs of cut and wrapped meat for the freezer, give or take depending on your cut instructions.
Can we request bones, fat and offal?
Yes, and we encourage you to do so! If you placed a deposit for half beef and want the offal saved, you will get a half of each piece of offal that you chose.
When bones are requested, the butcher saves out the best bones for soup.
How much freezer space do we need?
We recommend 16 sq ft of cubic space for a whole beef and 8 sq cubic ft for a half beef.
How does the finished beef arrive?
Once the butcher is finished with all the cuts, it gets frozen and packed into boxes for delivery.