History of Salazar Natural Beef Ranch, San Luis Valley, Colorado

History

The Salazar family came to the new world in the 1500s from northern Spain. They helped found the city of Santa Fe in 1598, then became ranchers and farmers in Northern New Mexico.

In the mid 1800s Francisco Salazar moved his family to the San Luis Valley of Colorado with the family livestock. The Salazars have been raising cattle on their Colorado Ranch for over 100 years. Many breeds of cattle have been raised on the ranch, and in the 1970s Henry Salazar began crossbreeding Limousin and Black Angus cattle resulting in beef with superior carcass and taste qualities.

Salazar's Natural Beef Philosophy

Cattle are raised on the ranch with a holistic management approach. Calves are born in April and May in the shelter of willows and cottonwood trees along the San Antonio River. The calves are raised alongside their mothers on summer pastures of grasses and other legumes in the meadows and pastures near the ranch headquarters.

Cattle are rotated from pasture to pasture during the summer and early fall. In this way meadow production is maximized and the manure from the cattle is spread naturally and efficiently throughout these pasture lands. Some land is reserved from summer grazing for winter feed. Grass hay and alfalfa are harvested from here to serve as winter feed. The calves are weaned in late fall and they are then pastured and fed supplemental grass hay and alfalfa until the following summer. They are turned out to green pasture again the following summer where they continue to gain weight until they reach about 1000 pounds.

Besides the hay and alfalfa the steers are provided with essential minerals and supplements. Depending on the request of the consumer, some calves are supplementally fed a combination of grains in the final few weeks, while others are grass fed through the entire cycle. The calves are harvested and delivered to your favorite processing facility to provide the lean and tasty beef that customers demand without the use of hormones or antibiotics.

A Century of Cattle Ranching Experience Producing Quality Beef Your Family Will Enjoy

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