The Emperor's Breed
The Akaushi Difference
We raise our herd on pastures and flowing creeks. We don't chase labels, we just chase the best tasting beef we can grow, as natural as we can grow it.
We believe keeping the animals in low stress environments, with good quality forages will keep them healthy. We never use antibiotics to increase rate of gain. Just like ourselves or our children when we are sick and need antibiotics they will be used. We don't let animals suffer for a label. Antibiotics are used only to treat infections if, and when, necessary. Any animal receiving antibiotics is tracked and not for sale to customers without declaration. Calves do not receive vaccinations at birth or weaning. Tetanus shots will be used when needed and Bangs (Brucellosis) vaccination is given to heifers joining the breeding program. We can't predict where our heifers will end up and some areas in the US still require Bangs vaccinations.
No insecticides are used on the cows. Fly control is selected for in breeding, managed by moving the cows daily, and on occasion garlic or rosemary based oils are used. Akaushi seem to have better natural fly control and heat tolerance than other breed we have raised.
Healthy natural animals are what we want to feed our families. We are proud to share exceptional beef products with yours.
An operation that doesn't have to apologize for the smell
Honest words from the pasture
Natural prairies had hundreds of plant species including grasses, legumes, and broadleaves. So why all the hype about grass-fed and finished? Observing our Akaushi grazing in the pastures they don't just eat grass, they are also eating weeds, shrubs and trees. They may select different forages based on the growth stage of the plant or based on what else they have eaten that day. With highly diverse pastures, cows are able to select for what their natural feedback loop tells them.
As stewards of the land and animals it is our job to put the animals where they need to be, when they need to be there. How do we know where the cows need to be and when? By observing the land and animals. We look for erosion, plant community composition and plant growth stage. We may want to overgraze an undesirable plant to decrease its population but rest desirable plants so they can complete their live cycle and reproduce. At times we like to graze the land around the house short and at times we need to defer grazing to have a controlled burn. We observe the cows for behaviors that tell us they are or are not content, cow patties tell us about forage quality, wet eyes means it is time to move faster. Depending on the time of year our herd may need more space (during calving) or need to be split into two herds (pregnant and pairs, pairs and stockers). It is a science and an artform to properly steward land and animals. We have been developing our skills for decades, have learned from previous generations, and hope we are passing the skills on to the next.
We believe cows should do cow things the way they were designed to do it. We let cows graze pastures full of diverse grasses, forbs, shrubs and trees allowing each animal to select what forage they need. The cows don't manage the land, we do. Moving the herd frequently as appropriate for the stages of plant communities we are improving the land and creating healthy delicious meat. We eat the meat we sell and are proud to showcase the breed and our husbandry skills. Visit unannounced any time and you will see cows doing cows things!
Pasture raised and forage based meat is our goal. During the journey we were told we could not achieve high quality forage based meat. In 2024 we split the steers into two groups. One group stayed on the pastures, the other went to a family owned feedlot ran by a wonderful family that share our values. We are proud to offer the grain finished Akaushi meat now and offer pre-orders on our pasture raised forage finished beef available in the summer of 2027.
The No Name Creeks
Partner with our ranch
Whether you are looking for premium traceable beef or calves for your own ranch reach out to us.