Three Generations of Ranching Excellence
Our Story
Fitch Ranch Artisan Meat Co., family-owned and operated is located primarily on the Western Slope of Colorado. It all started in 2011 on a small farm with a vegetable garden, a handful of cows & sheep, as well as free-range chickens, ducks, and turkeys -Fitch Ranch Artisan Meat Co. has grown to now ranch more than 20,000 acres with several hundred head of Black Angus cattle as well as owning and operating a USDA Inspected meat processing plant - recently licensed to process for Certified Angus Beef.
Unmatched Quality and Flavor
Specializing in Certified Angus Beef
It is the mission of Fitch Ranch to be sustainable by being excellent stewards of the land and following the principles and practices of regenerative agriculture & responsible grazing. Fitch Ranch was awarded the prestigious Ingenuity in Rangeland Management Award by the National USDA.
30-30-30-10
The First 30: Is the Base Product
In our case, it is our cattle. Their genetics– how they were raised & treated– were they calm and peaceful – did they experience a lot of stress from predators or did they feel safe? Were they raised regeneratively? What did they eat – how much did they eat and for how long? What was the weather like for them etc.
The Second 30: Processing
How were the animals transported – was it stressful or peaceful – were they handled & harvested humanely with care and compassion – were the butchers skilled in cutting – was the processing plant clean & food safe - what were the temperatures of the cooler & the processing room- how was it packaged – how was the beef stored and aged – was the cold chain intact when distributed out of the plant?
The Third 30: End user – Chef/Home Cook-Consumer
Was the cold chain consistent – or did the beef get put in a chest freezer with a strange defrost cycle creating ice crystals in the meat? Did it then get defrosted or cooked in a microwave? How was it prepared and seasoned? How was it cooked- did it get overcooked? Undercooked? Or was it prepared by a talented chef using other quality ingredients?
The extra 10% goes to any and all of these categories that were exceptional.
So if you have a fabulous animal & the processing was amazing - each category could get an additional 5% - and even if the home chef botched the cooking - the product may still have a chance of being edible since 2 categories were exceptional. Or - if you have an exceptional chef - and the beef or the packaging wasn’t amazing - that chef would probably be able to create something brilliant.
This concept really can apply to anything - honey, cheese, wine, bread - really anything and it is how we measure quality - trying to maximize each category.