Dear Friends and Partners,
Welcome to Alderspring’s weekend edition newsletter! Thank you for partnering in what we do!
Below you can find beef discounts, Glenn’s weekly story, and lots of photos from the ranch this week!
Scroll down for this week’s story:
“Where Surf Meets Turf”
We also have two new quarter beeves available!
This Week’s Store Update & Coupons
NEXT SHIPPING DAY: Monday, August 5th
What’s In Stock
Beef was restocked earlier this week. Unfortunately, many cuts have already sold out, but we still have:
This week’s coupon cuts
Use the code “ITALIANSAUSAGE” to get 10% off hot Italian beef sausage.
Use the code “SIXTEENTH” to get 5% off the top sirloin family box sixteenth.
Click the green button below or the green words above to access these cuts!
Special Mention:
We have two new quarter beeves available! Lot numbers 3141 and 3142 are quarter beeves that were raised entirely by us and have spent two summers grazing on our remote range in some of the most botanically diverse wild grassland ecosystems in the world. What that passes on to you the eater is extraordinary flavor and wellness all in one package. These two beeves could not be listed as organic because their moms were on non-organic ground while they were in utero. Quarter beef provides up to a 50% off savings from our a la carte cuts! Access the new quarters by clicking the green text under each picture below.
If you have any questions, observations, or comments, just send Kelsey an email at help[at]alderspring[dot]com.
Photos from the Ranch This Week…
Here in Idaho we are surrounded by wildfires, some nearby, some far away. Most days we wake up to a veil of smoke obscuring the sky, but the beginning of this week brought rain, cooler temperatures, and lovely, clear skies; a welcome reprieve. If ever a wildfire does burn too close, our inherding model serves us well by allowing us to evacuate the herd quickly without having to first track down and gather cattle scattered over miles of range. We estimate we can evacuate in 12 hours should the need arise.
When left to their own devices in the summer cattle tend to camp out near creeks and riparian areas. Understandably so as there is shade, water, and often the greenest grass. The problem is that their prolonged presence in these places can degrade the riparian habitat through erosion and over-grazing. To avoid this we inherd. During the day we gently direct where the cattle graze and drink taking care to avoid any sensitive areas. At night we pen the cattle in a night pen near camp, but far enough away from the creek that they leave no negative impact. To make sure the cattle have fresh water in their night we use small pumps (pictured above) to pump water from the creek into troughs in the night pen.
Some of the horses taking a well earned break.
How do you unstick a multi-ton pivot when it is up to its axles in mud? The easy way is lifting it out with a backhoe, the hard way involves jacking it up by hand and getting as many rocks or pieces of wood underneath the tires as possible. Keep repeating this until the wheels have enough purchase to move past the muddy patch. Last week we had to do it the hard way.
At the Tendoy ranch this spring, after two years of nourishing and working to regenerate the soil through a blend of annual plants that we’ve planted and grazed each year, we were ready to establish a perennial crop. To start building the more permanent ecosystem of the fields, we planted a blend of perennial legumes and grasses that we are excitedly watching become established and begin to thrive.
Want to follow along more day-to-day? Find us on Instagram and Facebook.
Quote of the Week
“We need to shift from a culture of extraction to a culture of regeneration.”
– Allan Savory
This week’s story:
“Where surf meets turf”
Dear Friends
Sometimes I forget how connected everything in the natural world is. I was reminded of this by an email friend from Maine (who I’ve never met) that fly fishes in the clear Atlantic-bound waters of one such stream, called Sunkhaze. He mentioned a story I wrote some years back that made an unlikely connection: that Alderspring beeves can influence the existence of the iridescent beauty called mother-of-pearl. This I knew not, until I pursued the reading of esoteric papers published by near-invisible authors; scientists probing the subtle mystery of quiet and non-shouting life on earth.
It’s not the stuff of lions, whales, sharks and wolves. It’s the story of life we tread on, or life underwater, its existence unseen and largely unknown.
But it is no less wondrous…
And that’s it for this week!
Thanks again for partnering in what we do!
Glenn, Caryl, cowgirls and cowboys at Alderspring.
We’ve been crafting our pastured protein here in Idaho’s Rocky Mountains for nearly 30 years and delivering it direct to our partners for nearly as long. This is wild wellness, delivered from our ranch to your door.
Why is Inventory Low Lately?
Here’s where we’re at on the “low inventory” situation…and why it’s low in the first place! We know many of you have been with us for a long time and rely on us as your source of protein (and we’re so grateful)!
In the last few months, we’ve been hit by a lot of unexpected demand.
When it comes to raising beef, changes in demand can be very difficult to respond to quickly. It takes us 2-3 years to raise an animal to finish. That means we plan our inventory needs about 2 years in advance.
Many companies and producers we know of that sell direct-to-consumer respond to sudden increases in demand by buying outside cattle (often at sale barn auctions) and then selling that beef under their label. This is VERY common.
But this kind of “cow flipping” isn’t something we’re willing to do.
We know the entire history of every beef we sell. That’s important to us, and we know it’s important to you and part of why you trust us to raise your beef.
We’re working right now to gradually increase our available inventory to hopefully provide more beef! But at a certain point, we actually can’t expand further without compromising our standards.
We know that the reason many of you order from us is because we’re small scale. We butcher our cattle at a small processor that only does about 80 head of cattle per week (compared to thousands at a big facility). This also limits our capacity to expand, because they, too, are functioning at capacity right now. We also raise only as many cattle as our pastures can support without degrading our soils. And we’re still small enough that Glenn personally looks at every single steak before he puts it in your box to ship to you. These factors are why you order from us! But it also means occasional inventory limitations.
Your partnership with alderspring directly supports our mission to improve soil health, wildlife habitat, and animal and human wellness through regenerative ranching practices.
Here’s what we’ve accomplished with your help & support in just the last 12 years!
More information about our regenerative practices and outcomes can be found at the button below.
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