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Ever wondered how we care for our cattle on the Cunningham Ranch in Jordan Valley?

written by

Pamela Rozsa

posted on

July 29, 2025

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From Birth to Harvest: How We Raise Healthy, Grass-Fed Beef You Can Trust

At Cunningham Pastured Meats, we believe that what you feed your family matters. That’s why every step of our beef-raising process—from birth to harvest—is guided by care, transparency, and a commitment to natural, sustainable practices. Here’s a closer look at how we do things differently.

🐮 Birth & Early Life

Most of the cattle in our program are born and raised right here on our ranch, where they can grow naturally on wide-open pastures.
If a calf doesn’t start life on our property, we ensure they still meet our strict grass-fed and grass-finished protocols, so you know exactly how they’ve been raised.

💉 Vaccine Policy: No mRNA, Only Proven Protection

We know you care about what goes into your food—and so do we. That’s why:

  • No mRNA vaccines are ever used in our cattle.

  • Only proven and tested vaccines are administered, and they’re typically given 6–12 months before harvest, allowing plenty of time for anything to leave their system naturally.

On rare occasions, if an animal gets seriously ill and needs antibiotics to survive, we’ll treat them humanely—but they’re immediately pulled from our meat program and will never end up in your freezer.

🌱 100% Grass-Fed & Finished

From birth to harvest, our cattle enjoy a pasture-based diet:

  • Growing season: We use management-intensive grazing, moving cattle daily to fresh, lush grass.

  • Non-growing season: We supplement with non-GMO alfalfa from trusted local farmers.

We never use pesticides, herbicides, or toxic chemicals on our property or leased pastures. While we’re not certified organic (due to high certification costs and federal land weed-spraying), our practices are as close to natural, chemical-free, and sustainable as it gets.

🛠 Low-Stress Handling & Humane Harvesting

We go to great lengths to make sure our cattle are calm and stress-free every step of the way:

  • Transport is done gently, and cattle are given time to rest overnight at the processing plant.

  • Harvesting is handled humanely and efficiently, with cattle bled immediately and moved to a cooler right away.

  • Beef is then dry-aged for 10 days, allowing for the rich, tender flavor our customers love.

🥩 Limited-Time Ground Beef Savings – Order August 7–11, 2025!

There’s never been a better time to stock up on premium, pasture-raised ground beef straight from our ranch to your home:

  • $2 OFF per pound on our 48-pack

  • $1 OFF per pound on our 20-pack

📍 Available at Cliff's Country Market
🚚 Or enjoy fast, convenient delivery regionally and nationwide!

⚠️ Order window is open from August 7th, 2025 through 11:59 PM on August 11th, 2025. Don’t miss your chance to save big on the finest ground beef your family will ever taste.

Reserve your pack today and taste the difference that truly pasture-raised beef makes.

#CunninghamPasturedMeats #CunninghamRanch #FromOurRanchToYourTable #RanchRaisedRight #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood

#GrassFedBeef #GrassFinishedBeef #PastureRaisedBeef #CleanEatingBeef #WholesomeBeef

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Halter Collars

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When Disaster Strikes

Even in this modern day and age... Farming is hard. Farmers and ranchers frequently encounter a variety of stress-related challenges. These include significant financial burdens resulting from high levels of debt, fluctuations in market prices for their agricultural products, social isolation, pressures of keeping the family farming legacy running, stigma associated with mental health issues, and reliance on uncontrollable factors such as weather conditions. Due to this extreme stress, farmers and ranchers experience depression and suicide rates that are double those of the average person. Every season, those in agriculture face new uncertainties and challenges. Will it be a mild or rough winter? Will we have a storm that wipes out my crops? Did that hot, dry summer last year cause my cattle to not get bred? There was a fire on the range where I run my cattle, and now I don't have enough feed for all my cows. What will commodity prices be when I'm ready to sell? Unfortunately, our pasture-raised chicken provider, Brian, recently experienced a disaster. When chicks first arrive on the farm, they are too fragile to be put directly on pasture. Therefore, they spend their initial weeks inside a brooder, where the temperature is consistently maintained until they are old enough to tolerate outdoor living conditions. These cozy houses are typically heated with propane heaters or heat lamps. However, a downside to this heating method is that it can pose a fire hazard. A good friend's shed burned down because a heat lamp fell during the night and ignited a fire. Unfortunately, Brian experienced a fire incident. Fortunately, none of his other brooders caught fire, and the local fire department was able to contain the blaze quickly. It's truly heartbreaking to lose an entire batch of chickens; the stress and weight of that loss can be incredibly overwhelming. Though Brian is good at persevering, it doesn't lessen the financial impact that this type of event can cause.  Brian works hard through the hottest summer months to provide us with the highest quality chickens you can find in the area. Despite this setback, his first batch of chickens was already out of the brooders on pasture, so we will be receiving our first batch of fresh chickens the second week of June.  Brian is best supported by your loyal purchases of his delicious chicken. Season after season, he dedicates himself to raising chickens on pasture, ensuring that you receive the highest quality chicken for your family.  Your continued support of our business is what keeps us going, helping us navigate both emotionally and financially challenging times. Thank you for your continued support! ❤️ 

Boise's #1 source for 100% Grassfed beef & lamb, pastured pork & chicken and wild-caught seafood