Painted Hills Natural Beef – Hormone-Free & Antibiotic-Free Beef Sold Locally

painted hills beef
0 Shares

 

By Katie Hurley

painted hills beefPerhaps you’ve heard the phrase “necessity is the mother of invention.”  That phrase describes precisely how Painted Hills Beef and their product line of natural, hormone-free beef came into existence.  Nineteen years ago, some ranchers in Oregon noticed that in grocery stores they couldn’t find the kind of high-quality natural beef they wanted to feed their families.  They figured if they wanted to buy it, others would too.  So they formed Painted Hills Natural Beef to bring hormone-free, antibiotic-free natural beef to consumers.  Last year, Painted Hills Natural Beef ranchers raised over 30,000 Painted Hills cattle.

In the past 19 years, Painted Hills Natural Beef has grown to a co-op of over 300 family ranchers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho who commit to raising cattle according to Painted Hills Natural Beef’s strict protocol.  That means they are never given any hormones or growth stimulants or antibiotics, they graze freely in Northwest grass pastures for about 14 months, and then they are finished with Painted Hills’ blend of locally grown barley, corn and alfalfa hay for 90-120 days in order to produce extraordinary beef with a consistent flavor.  Painted Hills has also recently started offering beef that is 100% grass fed and grass finished.

Painted Hills Natural Beef ranchers are held to some of the highest standards in the industry.  Every Painted Hills animal is tracked from birth and backed by a producer affidavit. Every rancher in the program knows where each animal came from and follows strict company protocols.  The cattle are never fed any animal by-products.

painted hills beefJeff Saint Aubyn, President of Painted Hills’ distributor Northwest Natural Beef said, “The meat costs more because of the high quality.  They do an excellent job of raising cattle.”   It takes longer to raise cattle this way, and the feed is more expensive, so the cost to the ranchers is higher than that of lesser quality meat producers.  In the event that a Painted Hills rancher needs to administer antibiotics, that animal no longer meets the Painted Hills Natural Beef standards and is sold on the open market.”

Painted Hills Natural Beef’s product line stretches far beyond steaks and ground beef. In addition to tenderloin, t-bone and rib steaks, Painted Hills produces flank steaks, rib roasts and many other cuts.  They also offer beef bacon, jerky, breakfast sausage, pepperoni, deli roast beef and pastrami, hot dogs and German sausages, among others.  These are nitrite/nitrate-free, preservative-free natural beef products that meet the same high quality standards as the rest of Painted Hills’ Natural Beef products.

Over 180 high-end retail outlets nationwide carry Painted Hills Natural Beef products, including Olympia’s locally-owned Bayview Thriftway and Ralph’s Thriftway.

painted hills beefBayview Thriftway

516 W. 4th Ave., Olympia

360.352.4897

 

Ralph’s Thriftway

1908 E. 4th Ave., Olympia

360.357.8011

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
0 Shares