Black Butte Beef FAQs
We believe in providing a low-stress environment and optimal free-choice feed for our animals. Our process is not rushed and our animals come first. They are born and raised on our ranches, handled with care, are are processed using the highest humane standards at a USDA inspected plant. Our animals never leave the state of Montana until after they are harvested. We strive to keep our animals happy, not only because it is the right thing to do but also because stress leads to a low quality product. Thus holding our high standard with our animals' happiness in mind, enables us to provide our customers with the highest quality beef possible.
Black Butte Beef itself is a business coop between two ranches that supply the beef. We decided to create this collaboration because we share a mission to bring quality beef straight from our ranch to our customers' tables. Further, our Angus animals are from the same family lines (in fact Rockin L Genetics raised many of the Angus bulls that Beard Cattle Co. uses) and thus are of the same high quality. Both ranches are located in Central Montana 23 miles apart. Beard Cattle Co. is located in Fergus Co., home of approximately 5k people. Rockin L Genetics is located in Petroleum Co., which is the least populous county in the state at ~500 people in a county larger than the state of Rhode Island. Both locations are prime cattle country. The Lunds and Beards are stewards of the land and deeply care for the land that provides for their animals.
Both ranches primarily raise Black Angus cattle. These animals produce prime grade quality beef and we are proud of our herd with great genetics for superior marbling, flavor and consistency.
American Wagyu are a cross between Black Angus and the Japanese Wagyu breed. Pure Wagyu is pretty rich for the American pallet so by crossing it with Angus we get a product that maintains the extremely high marbling and butter-tender meat with the Angus flavor we know and love here in the states.
Our American Wagyu are from the same herd as those from Snake River meats and are about 25% Angus and 75% Japanese Wagyu. This is why most of our Wagyu cows have horns, a feature rarely seen in Angus. We keep a very small herd of American Wagyu so that we can closely manage our quality.
We are not ‘certified’ organic, so legally we cannot use the organic label on our beef. However, our process from birth to butcher is completed with natural, pasture-raised practices in everything we do. We believe in providing our customers with full transparency in where their meat comes from, how it was treated, and how it was processed. We do this to ensure our customers can have full transparency in our operation, and know they can trust us as their source for high-quality, pasture-raised, grass-fed beef. This promise means more than a certification sticker on a package and avoids the red tape and extra cost to the consumer associated with and organic certification. We are 100% mindful to practice and produce natural, pasture-raised, happy cows. We raise what we believe is the best product to feed our own children and share it with our customers.
Yes, all of our livestock feed on the ranch is 100% GMO-free. We do not feed any soy to our cattle. We only feed locally-raised corn to our cattle if you want your beef grain-finished which leads to a higher marbling. We do offer grass-finished options for both the Wagyu and Angus on our custom orders meaning the animals is not fed corn ever. Grass-finished beef need to be processed in June or early July for the best quality, as this is when the best nutrition is in the grass.
Never. The meat we sell through the Black Butte Beef brand is always 100% antibiotic free from day one.
We only administer therapeutic antibiotics to animals on the ranch if they are needed for life saving situations or illness, but those animals are “red tagged” and pulled from our meat program. We still find other outlets for those animals after the proper and safe withdrawal period like local families or friends who understand the history of the animal. Animals given antibiotics in their lifetime are perfectly safe to eat after the standard withdrawl period - but we choose to have a clear designation for our customers that all meat sold from Black Butte Beef is 100% free of any lifetime antibiotics.
Our cattle live on pastures or mountain country at Beard Cattle Co. or Rockin L Genetics year round. During the summer months they eat a mixture of native grasses, irrigated alfalfa, and ranch pasture grasses. When Fall and Winter come, our cattle eat a grass/alfalfa hay mix. We finish our cattle on a thoughtfully balanced ration of alfalfa and grain hay (plus grain for grain-finished beef) for the best possible quality in marbling and taste. We believe this combination is the optimal way to raise our beef for consistent, excellent quality and flavor with all the benefits of a grass-fed lifestyle. We never feed soy (or corn for grass-finished), GMOs, and all of our meat is 100% free from antibiotics, and growth-hormones.
