OUR HISTORY, OUR FAMILY, OUR BEEF
Our family currently consists of 3rd, 4th and 5th generation farmers. We are all ages working together to continue a sustainable, ethical farming program. Our acreage boasts high mountain peaks and the low river canyons – of both the mighty, majestic Fraser River and the playful whitewater of the Nahatlatch River.
As farmers and purveyors of craft beef, our goal is to have a direct relationship with our consumers, to eliminate the mystery of buying from a grocery store, and to be completely transparent about every aspect of both the livelihood and the death of our animals. You, as a consumer, have a right to know exactly what you are purchasing – What happens during the lives of the animals, what they eat, and in turn, what you are putting into your body. This is the meaning behind the “Farm to Fork” or Farm to Table” movement.
We believe that our beef is good enough to feed our family, and that we have a product worth sharing with yours.
Farming has been a way of life for us for longer than we can remember… Literally! Pappy Washtock Family first staked his claim in 1912.
We have remained 100% “Off the Grid,” generating our own electricity with a Pelton Wheel in the creek, and heating our homes primarily with wood stoves. An abundance of fresh water creeks irrigate our fields provide drinking water for us – and our animals.
We produce a bounty of vegetables and fruit in our gardens and orchards, and our chickens provide us with fresh eggs every morning.
We have an abundance of wildlife that contribute to our ecosystems in our mountains, such as: bears, cougars, bobcats, wolves, coyotes, deer, beavers, eagles and various birds, and fish.
Nestled among the hay fields and hop crop, we host campers, RV goers, and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
The closest communities are North Bend and Boston Bar, which host a small elementary / high school, gas stations, and a few local restaurants among other amenities. We are a small but close-knit community with a big history in the Fraser Canyon.
We have great respect for our animals and believe in nothing less than ethical treatment and humane handling. We follow the national farm animal care council code of practice and our meat is inspected by class A, provincially licensed butcher shops. The animals are processed in a clean environment, & the meat is packaged and stored as per government regulations.
Free Range
We have over 460 acres – our animals roam freely around our ranges, fields, pastures, never in confinement.
Grass Fed
Our calves are born in the spring and start eating hay as early as a month old! They enjoy both their mother’s milk and hay, and once the grass starts growing, they graze freely with the rest of the herd, for life.
Grain Finishing Options
Two months before harvesting, we feed a mix of premium rolled oats, peas and barley coated with sweet molasses. The steers love it, and there is no mistaking that this mixture adds to that tender, flavorful beef that you all love in your finished product.
Dry Aged
Dry aging beef has a remarkable depth of flavor – but it is hard to come by in grocery stores. We hang our sides for at least 2 weeks which allows the beef to breathe and lose water, while science does it’s thing – microbes and enzymes act upon the meat to help breakdown the connective tissue, making the meat more tender. While meat snobs prefer dry aged beef, it is expected that many people are accustomed to the taste of the wet aged beef in the stores.
On Farm Hay Production
We irrigate, cut and bale up to 3 crops of hay from our fields each year to feed our cattle over the winter months. We believe that all of the hay that our cattle eat should come from home, in the same sense that we strive to grow all of our own food for our family in our own gardens.
No Growth hormones or steriods
We have the choice as to what we put into our bodies. As farmers, we can control what goes into our food with anything we raise and grow. We would never add anything to our animal’s diets that we ourselves would not want to consume. It is as important to us that our customers have the same 100% natural food to eat as our family does. With that in mind, the water that our cattle drink is the same pure, fresh water that we drink in our houses, that flows from the mountains and through creeks in the fields and on the ranges.
