Prime feed and prime care makes our prime beef
Step back in time with us to a period when open range was everywhere and overland cattle drives happened every day.
At ML Brand Beef, open range and cattle drives aren’t memories, they are reality, because the “Old West” should never be old.
Our baby calves begin arriving in March. This anticipated time is filled to the brim with 24-hour monitoring of mama cows and babies. Calving season days are spent feeding cattle, laying down clean bedding and caring for calves. As the weather warms, we begin preparing for spring turnout and our cows’ and calves’ next adventure.
The adventure begins with a slow and steady cattle drive across the St. Anthony Sand Dunes. Picture: Angus cattle hiking up and over white sand hills followed closely by mounted cowboys and cowgirls ready to help where they can. We spend half a day trailing a couple miles to an original 640-acre dry farm that our Great Grandfather Marvin Leonard “ML” Miller homesteaded after WWI.
This iconic, old fashioned trail drive sets the tone for the summer. Our cattle cross one paved road and never see the inside of a trailer. We opt to trail our cattle because stringing out and heading for familiar grazing ground matches their natural herding and migrating behaviors. We feel fortunate to ranch in an area where undeveloped landscape still reigns.
Our desert pastures grow nutrient-dense grass underneath Wyoming big sagebrush canopies and surrounded by lava rock islands. Our mountain forest pastures are thick with lodgepole pines and steep elevation changes. We would choose to do everything horseback anyway, but the rough terrain our cattle graze makes it impossible to monitor cattle needs and move pastures without the help of our beloved horses.
When fall paints the mountains it’s time for the cows to come home. Our calves are weaned and finished at home in the same place they were born. Our onsite ruminant nutritionist, who happens to be our brother, Zak, takes the reins from there. The calves eat rations specifically designed for their stage of growth. Our consulting veterinarian directs all animal health programs.
Reducing stress on the cattle and increasing sustainability are two major goals of ML Brand Beef. Once the calves come home, they stay there until harvest.
To be completely vertically integrated and self sufficient, our farm produces all of the feed the cattle eat. This allows for flexibility and reliability in producing our product. In addition to our potato farm, we raise alfalfa, corn and wheat. Because we grow all of our feed, we control the quality level quite literally from seed to steak.
Harvest reports from a USDA-inspected packing plant in Hyrum, Utah show our cattle grade 90% USDA Choice and Prime and of course, qualify and meet all Certified Angus Beef® brand specifications.
Generations of farmers and ranchers from both our mother and father have instilled in us a strong appreciation for the Earth’s natural circle of life in which nothing should be wasted and everything can serve a purpose. Manure from the cattle finishing operation is composted and spread on our fields in the fall. Soil tests show our compost enhances our soil and increases water retention.
Full-circle resource usage combined with true vertical integration helps ML Brand Beef reach our goal to be a low-carbon footprint and sustainable agricultural enterprise dialed in on quality.