Stock Yards

Dan Cavadini wasn’t always a cattle rancher. Shortly after high school, Dan left his multi-generational family-owned farm for college, and then had a job in the big city. Dan earned a business management and agricultural degree, then returned home with his parents to form the Cavadini Partnership Ranch. The ranch sits in the northern part of Washington’s Douglas County. Along with cattle, the family’s primary livelihood is in dryland farming.

Dan’s 280 head of cow-calf pairs have almost 15,000 acres of private and public lands to utilize throughout the year. The Cavadini Partnership tries to interfere in the cow’s natural environment as little as possible. Cows are vaccinated, but never treated with unnecessary antibiotics. Dan and his father, son and cousin pride themselves in low-stress livestock handling. He hopes that partnerships like the one he holds with Cattle Company Beef will bridge the distance between the consumer and the product source. With the help of his family, Dan takes pride in leaving the ranch to the next generation – and in better shape than when he started.

After Table Butte Cattle – formerly Brown’s Ranch – was originally sold off in different allotments after a family accident, Sid Brown and his family have spent the last 25 years working to buy a fraction of it back. With the help of his son-in-law, Sid and son Spencer work with Cattle Company Beef to provide the highest-quality meat.

Each year, Table Buttle Cattle sends around 300 head of cattle to Cattle Company Beef. Of the 10,000 acres the cattle graze on, only 25% is private. So the animals raised in open pasture are in their natural environment, and can flourish.

Part of Table Butte’s grazing strategy is land rotation. “We strive to leave plenty of feed for the wildlife,” says Joe, who we share the land with.” Ultimately, for Spencer and Joe, it comes back to family. “We’re very family oriented...and very proud that we can work as a family.”

Like all the ranchers who work with Cattle Company Beef, Tom Norton of Norton Cattle Company in Madras, Oregon lets his cattle open-range. His cows are free to do what they instinctively know how to do. He is proud to know the animals are cared for in the most advantageous way.

Tom performs controlled burns on the land his cows graze on, then spends money reseeding the area. He also harvests the timber on his property, clearing away trees that are weak or dead, and leaving healthier, larger trees. This eventually helps with fire prevention.

“My kids aren’t as cowboy as when I was a kid, but it makes me appreciate it more when we go to move cows,” Tom says. With zero cellphone service, it’s a time to talk with his kids. Tom feels it’s just natural conversation amid hard work – this type of work allows him to be with his family, and keep up a tradition that’s slowly fading away.

For the Gotham family, ranching is in their blood. Bryan Gotham is a life-long cattle rancher in Ferry County, Washington, where his almost 500 head of cattle open-range for half the year in the Colville National Forest. Up in the high mountains, free from pesticides and herbicides, the cattle graze on over 74,000 acres.

It’s an old-world style that supports co-habitation. His cattle drink from pristine rivers fed from glacier snowmelt, while simultaneously clearing away tall grasses.

Gotham’s cattle are never given antibiotics or growth hormones. For Bryan, it comes down to heritage. There’s huge satisfaction for him in working alongside his children – also in knowing they’ve provided quality Angus cattle to the agricultural industry. The co-habitation the Gothams live their lives by is a simple reminder that the farm, like the farmer, gives back.