Beef
Here at Old Soul’s Farm, we raise a beautiful herd of Scottish Highland cattle on a large swath of premium pasture ground in stunning Baker Valley of Oregon.
Our beef products stay in our pastures for 2 ½ years—living a natural life as domestic cattle. They are never given antibiotics, hormones or grazed on ground treated with pesticides. Altough we aren’t certified organic, the principles we follow in producing our beef would qualify as such.
Beef Buying Process
Our beef buying process is set up so the required downpayment covers the ‘kill fee’ (~$70/half animal) and a large portion of the final price. We know the approximate weight of each steer (500-550 pounds); however, the final weight will vary slightly based on genetics, age, etc. Therefore, final weight cannot be determined until after the animal is prepared for processing by Hines Meat Company. As such, there will be a remainder due after hanging weight is known.
Here’s what happens...
Once purchased, your steer carcass is shipped to Hines Meat Company. At that point, Hines Meat Company will contact us with a final hanging weight. We will invoice you for the remainder due and give Hines Meat Company your contact information. Hines Meat Company will contact you to get your desired cut-list. You will be responsible for all processing fees owed to Hines Meat Company (~$0.90/lb). At this point, you can either pick your meat up from their facility directly, or we can pick your meat up for you and then coordinate delivery/pick up in Baker City.
Never had grass-fed beef?
Grass-fed beef is an entirely different product than commercial beef.
The two processes follow the same regimen for most of the first year, but shortly after weaning, a commercial calf is sold to a feed lot where it is bulked up in a small area on a non-natural diet of high-protein foods. This process produces a finished product in about 1 ½ years…that’s 12-months sooner than a finished, grass-fed product!
In the cattle business, margins are tight and cows eat a lot of food that’s very expensive to produce. As the average consumer desires a cheap product, most commercial cattle operations aim to produce as many animals as possible, bulking them up on grain as quickly as possible.
Grass-fed operations require 2 ½ years to produce an optimal finished beef product for sale, and because of that, it takes much more land to operate a grass-fed program. With equivalent land, a grass-fed operation will support fewer calf-producing cows.
The difference in taste between grain-fed and grass-fed beef is very noticeable on the dinner plate. Grass-fed beef of any breed will make commercial beef taste flavorless and dull. Once you’ve tasted the flavor of grass-fed beef, it’s truly hard to go any other way. We liken it to vegetables grown in soil vs. hydroponically... credit for flavor goes to the dirt.
Never had Scottish Highland beef?
The Scottish Highland breed is the oldest breed of cattle on the planet. They adapted to the highlands of Scotland where the growing season is lush and the winters are harsh. These conditions require a thick hide and coarse hair, providing tremendous exterior insulation from the elements.
Due to their hair, the breed evolved without a fatty insulation layer around their bodies. Instead, all of their produced fats are marbled into their meat. This marbling is used as a slow-release energy reserve to survive the winter on very little nutrition.
These natural qualities are what produce the tender, mouth-watering, flavorful beef that Scottish Highland cattle are known for, with the added benefit of having fat and cholesterol levels similar to that of chicken.
This lean meat is sure to please – again and again we hear, “This is the best beef I’ve ever had." Try it for yourself…. we’re sure you’ll agree.
