Beef Sales

Castle Rock Ranch beef is grass finished on irrigated pastures along the North Fork of the Coeur D’Alene River. We move our animals onto fresh pasture everyday which allows us to closely manage the quality of forage and thus the quality of our beef. All of our cattle are raised naturally without the use of hormones, antibiotics or grain and we never use synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides on our pastures. We grass finish, which requires special expertise to achieve inter-muscular marbling that makes meat tender and flavorful. Our meat enjoys all the health benefits of grass finishing vs grain finishing, and it tastes AMAZING.

We are committed to the health of the Coeur D’Alene river drainage system and use our cows to manage the pastures in such a way that sustains nature and mimics the way wildlife herds graze. Our daily pasture moves are the key to our soil and grass health which increase water infiltration, reduce sediment runoff, increase biodiversity and promotes habitat for the wildlife we coexist with.

Purchasing

All animals purchased by the quarter, half or whole are harvested on our pastures which is very low stress. Animals purchased by the cut are harvested at a USDA facility and optimum care is taken to minimize stress during transport and harvest. We harvest July through October and all of our beef is dry aged for 14 days and then custom cut and frozen.

Prices are as follows and all beef is sold be the ‘hanging weight’, which is defined as a carcass after the removal of head, feet, hide and offal. This generally corresponds to 60% of the live weight and is variable by the animal.

You pay the butcher fees (typically $0.60/lb) and we arrange all the transportation of livestock and coordinate with the butcher.

For example, a 1200 lb steer will have a hanging weight of about 700 lbs and after cutting and wrapping will correspond to about 500 lbs of meat. You pay $3.75/lb for the hanging weight plus the $0.60/lb processing fee to the butcher, so your 500 lbs of meat costs $2,800. This works out to about $5.50/lb for premium, healthy, sustainable beef.

Confusing? Kind of. However, it’s the best way to ensure you only pay for what you get as each animal is a different size and the cuts you request will dictate how much meat you get (for example, ‘bone in’ cuts weigh more than deboned cuts, but provide the same amount of ‘meat’, so paying by the hanging weight keeps that consistent).

Bones are shared on a ‘pro rata’ basis (meaning if you buy a quarter, you get a quarter of the bones if you want them, great for bone broth and dog chews!)

Organs and tongues are available by priority of who puts a deposit on an animal first, but we can usually accommodate everyone.

Heads, hides and feet available by special request.