Regenerative agriculture (agriculture that utilizes practices that work with nature instead of against it) provides us with the opportunity to improve our land, increase biodiversity, sequester soil in the carbon, and to create more nutritious food.
Regenerative practices go back thousands of years in indigenous cultures and in communities of color and now there is a movement to shift our industrial food system towards a regenerative system for both our health and the health of our planet.
We are proud to feature Cowgirl Meat Co. products that ship straight to your door (frozen, FedEx overnight) from the ranch and are thrilled to share more from Cowgirl Meat Co. Founder and Rancher Jaimie Stoltzfus.
Can you tell us a little about your journey to becoming a rancher?
I grew up in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona but was always drawn to the western lifestyle and ranching. I grew up riding horses and would spend summers in high school and college going to different ranches to learn as much as I could! I attended Colorado State University for my bachelors degree in Ag Business and Equine Science and met my now husband there. He grew up on a ranch and ranching is his passion so naturally when we got married, we moved to a ranch in Montana. That began the journey of me really learning the ropes and diving deep into the love and art of ranching. We now raise our two kids on the ranch and are thankful to instill the values and lessons in them that come with the life we lead as ranchers.
What is your ranching philosophy?
My ranching philosophy is to be a good steward of the land and livestock. We are intentional about raising and treating our animals well, and having our animals work synergistically with the land.
Cowgirl Meat Co. utilizes regenerative practices. Can you you tell us about those practices and what regenerative means to you?
We intensively graze our pastures meaning we have large groups of cattle in small areas and move them very frequently during the grazing season. This most emulates how the land was traditionally grazed in nature with large herds of animals coming through eating the grass for a short duration of time. This is the best growth and health model for the grasses and land, creating a diversity and density of plants and grasses and nutrient rich soil. The nutrient rich soil in turn yields wonderful grass making a tasty and nutritious beef product!
What does a typical day look like for you?
Every day can surely look different for me. The seasonality of the ranch work is something I love with different work during different seasons. A fairly typical day for me is getting kids to school, doing chores, hopefully getting on a horse doing some cow work, and then computer work on the administrative side for Cowgirl Meat Co or my other businesses I am involved with. Packing and shipping/delivering meat is also a weekly task. Evenings I cherish for family time or if it's summer- evenings riding and adventuring outside!
What other projects are you directing your passion into? (chance to talk about equine therapy, art of the cowgirl, etc.
I am the Executive Director of an organization called Art of the Cowgirl which is an event and scholarship program dedicated to preserving and educating around the western lifestyle, arts, and horsemanship. I also own another business called Spurring Change where I offer equine coaching work to clients and offer retreats occasionally. The thread of horses, family, ranching, and the western lifestyle is a thread running through all I spend my time doing as that is where my passions are.
What do you want your customers to know about the Cowgirl Meat Co. beef they are purchasing?
Cowgirl Meat Co beef is raised on a beautiful ranch nestled up against the mountains and graze on some of the most nutritious and flavorful grasses which translate into the taste and quality of meat that reaches our customers. We value treating our animals with the utmost care and respect as well as the land and our beef is 100% grass fed and finished with no added hormones or antibiotics. We have started doing nutritional studies on our beef and results have shown higher levels of vitamins and nutrients than conventionally raised beef which is something we are proud of!