July 19th, 2024

Hey everyone!

We wanted to share some highlights from our recent cattle drive last Sunday. It was an early start for us, up at 3 AM and part way up in our state lease, horseback, by 5:30AM. We trailed our mother cows and their calves to their summer pasture up in our state lease. The cattle move so much easier in the cool of the morning.

Take a look at the photos! In the last one, you can see some of our crew making the final hike on foot down a steep trail into Paintrock Basin. If you zoom in on the picture with Paintrock Creek in the background, you'll spot the lead of our cow/calf pairs crossing Laddie Creek around 10 AM. After reaching the bottom, we wait until all the cows and calves are paired up and nursing before hiking back up. It’s quite a trek, with a significant vertical drop on a very steep trail.

These cows are part of the herd from which your beef comes. They lost their calves last Summer on the mountain, so they were dry when they returned home from Summer pasture. We kept them pastured here at home until the snow fell, then fed them a home-raised hay diet for about 2 &1/2 months before returning to spring grass.

Exciting news – the first draft of beef will be butchered next week, with the next draft scheduled for the same time in August. They will be aged right across the county road at Paintrock Processing in a state-of-the-art cooler equipped with ozone to prevent mold growth. We prefer our beef aged for 25 to 35 days, and the butcher will provide his recommendation on the optimal aging period on the day of slaughter.

Important Reminders for Beef Orders:

1. Cut Sheets Needed: We need 3 or 4 more customers to print their cut sheets. Don’t forget to include the Diamond S sheet. Both can be found here.
2. Sign and Send: Please sign both pages, take a picture, and email it back to us.
3. Custom Cuts: Decide how you want your beef cut up. Check the sample provided. Make sure to specify:
   • Amount of fat you want in your burger
   • Thickness of your steaks
   • Number of pounds for roasts and burger
   • Number of steaks per package
4. Contact Info: Be sure to put your name and phone number at the top of the sheet so Paintrock Processing can reach you when your meat is ready for pickup.

We appreciate all your support and look forward to hearing your feedback on the beef. Please let us know what you like or if there's anything you'd like to see improved.

Happy trails and delicious meals,
Diamond S