The below article was printed in "The Bagpipe" magazine, Fall 2009 edition. The Bagpipe is published quarterly by the American Highland Cattle Association.
Fifteen years ago, the Rocky Mountain News tried to do a story defining Colorado food. They struggled with what it was. “Buffalo? Sure, right after we hunted them down in our front yard. Beef? Sure, but we also ate chicken. Peaches? Yes, when there was a crop worth talking about. “That may sound like heresy these days, because Colorado has slowly but surely put its name on the culinary map,” says Marty Meitus, Rocky Mountain News.
Three years ago a group of independent restaurant chef/owners came together to form DINR (Denver Independent Network of Restaurants). Their mission is to support, encourage and promote independent restaurants and chefs, which are the soul, spirit and identity of Denver, through education and the formation of a restaurant network. In the fall of 2008 DINR created Harvest Week, a week-long celebration of Colorado’s exceptional produce and products. Harvest Week is presented in partnership with the Colorado Wine Board, Colorado Proud, a statewide program that promotes local food and agriculture, and Visit Denver.
Who would have thought sixteen years after the newspaper struggled to define Colorado food, that Highland beef would be a part of the definition?
This past September when DINR presented its second cornucopia of locally grown or raised bounty, Sister Ranch Natural Beef grain finished Highland beef, was part of this equation. Highlands Garden Café is a Denver favorite housed in two Victorian homes thoughtfully renovated and surrounded by chef/owner Patricia Perry’s lush gardens. www.HighlandsGardenCafe.com Highlands Garden Café invited Sister Ranch Natural Beef to come and present their product and farm philosophy.
Sister Ranch Natural Beef is comprised of two individual Highland cattle ranches. Brigadoon Scottish Highland Ranch, located in Kiowa, www.BrigadoonHighlandCattle.com and Thistledown Ranch, in Elizabeth, www.ThistledownRanch.net . Brigadoon Scottish Highland Ranch is owned and operated by Rodney and Sharon Green. The ranch is comprised of 61 acres at home and another 65 acres of leased grass pasture. The Green’s first became involved, with the Highland breed in 1999, with their purchase of one cow/calf, one bred cow and a weanling bull. The herd has grown over the years to eight cows, two herd sires and an age progression of steers. Besides raising grain finished Highland beef, they also find time to prepare and show their best at various events.
The other half of Sister Ranch Natural Beef is Thistledown Ranch which is owned and operated by Charles and Wendy Pearse-Groesbeek. They own and operate an 80 acre grass pasture facility in Elizabeth and have another 700 acres to the northeast of Trinidad, Colorado. The southern facility is a rugged canyon land, covered with high prairie grass, pinion and juniper pines.
Thistledown acquired their first Highlands in 1970 and has grown into a formidable cattle facility, currently running 25 cows and numerous heifers, bulls and steers at any given time. They have shown their best animals, over the years, at the National Western Stock Show and other events walking away with top honors more than a few times.
Brigadoon Scottish Highland Ranch raises all natural Highland beef grass fed and grain finished. Thistledown Ranch raises all natural Highland beef grass fed and grass finished. Two distinct products, marketed together as Sister Ranch Natural Beef.
Sister Ranch Natural Beef has been in the works for 10 years, without either ranch being aware of it. Ten years ago Brigadoon Scottish Highland Ranch began, with the original seed-stock from Thistledown Ranch. Sister Ranch Natural Beef came to be just a year ago, with the term “sister ranch” being used to refer to like blood lines in the cattle. They still operate as individual ranches but market their beef under the name of Sister Ranch Natural Beef.
A year ago they made a brochure but weren’t sure where to distribute it and how to sell their product. Thistledown Ranch owns and operates an English saddlery and riding apparel business located in a shopping center in Franktown. Their next move was to create a fall farmers market, “Christmas in Franktown.” They acquired advertising in a local farm magazine, with plans to grill hamburgers and educate the public about Highland cattle. Timing and weather did not allow this to work out.
Things did fall into place come April. Another business in the shopping center had the idea of an antique bazaar. OK, antiques and heirloom beef, that works. They sold some meat at the April event while introducing and educating a few folks regarding their product. May brought another antique bazaar. This time they teamed up with another business in the shopping center, a BBQ/fireplace store. The idea was to highlight the store’s BBQ grills by cooking mini burgers. The antique vendors took the day off. But, they set up and grilled the mini burgers anyway. Grilled mini burgers really sell the product and the day was a success!
June came and another antique bazaar. This month a fruit and vegetable vendor joined in. A mere nine vendors and everyone did quite well. The Sister Ranch team not only grilled mini burgers, they put them on a tray and when people didn’t stop by to sample their meat, they went to them and offered a burger.
July was missed because of haying. They will be grilling mini burgers and talking the talk, again and again until the weather shuts the bazaar down.
The marketing has been successful and fun. “We are enjoying the people we are meeting while building the business. The amount of work it takes to put a farmers market on is balanced by this joy of people. Slowly the sales are picking up and slowly we are adding repeat customers. The most rewarding comments have been to compare our beef to a regional, up scale, meat market. Our customers feel “our beef is better”. This is a tremendous accolade,” states Sharon Green. “Zinn Family Farms, a fruit and vegetable vendor, has contacted us regarding starting a new antique bazaar/farmers market. Summer is winding down and our supply of beef is dwindling. We will have a grand opening of another market place in the spring. This venue will be at a local ranch supply store.”
January 2010, during the National Western Stock Show, Sister Ranch Natural Beef will again pair up with Highlands Garden Café, www.HighlandsGardenCafe.com, for the taste of beef.
As with many new beef operations they have to pay attention to building their reputation and the speed at which they grow. Both operations are small with Brigadoon Highlands starting with three finished Highland steers and Thistledown Ranch having five.
Both ranches have similar philosophies when raising animals. Their cattle graze on grass pasture, never receive steroids, antibiotic feed additives, growth hormones or animal by-products. They have a minimalist attitude toward vaccination. They have been known, at times, to use homeopathy in lieu of conventional medicine. Additionally they pay close attention to the land.
At roughly 21 months of age, steers are pastured at home for grain finishing at Brigadoon Highlands. They will be trained to come into an open corral, morning and evening, for feed. A feedlot scenario is never used. Gradually they increase the amount of grain intake until the steers are consuming roughly six pounds per animal, in the morning and evening. The cattle eat the grain in the corral each day but continue grazing on the pastures, this minimizes stress. They slaughter at roughly twenty four months old with an approximate live weight of 1100 pounds. The grass finished beef at Thistledown will be harvested at about the same age but at around 900 lbs.
The ranches’ emphasis on minimal stress is shared by the USDA processing plant that harvest the steers. The beef is dry aged a minimum of 28 days, for extra tenderness and flavor. The product is cryovac wrapped and frozen allowing clients the ability to view the product, in addition to the extra freshness and shelf life.
The dry age time, cryovac wrap and minimal stress philosophy are used as marketing points when selling the beef. “When we speak with potential customers we stress that it’s the whole picture that makes a good product and it begins with the Highland breed,” says Sharon Green.
