Meet Nancy Oswald | Rancher
e had the good fortune of connecting with Nancy Oswald and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Nancy, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We are third generation ranchers in Colorado and started raising grass fed and finished beef in the 1990’s. We already had a starter herd of cattle, and were raising them naturally.,so it was an easy leap to begin the direct marketing part of our business. We chose a small family processor in Elizabeth, Colorado because they are USDA inspected and we knew, without a question, the animals we took in there would be the same animals that came back to us, cut and frozen and ready to deliver to our customers. We started out with one sale, and now we process around 30 animals a year. Our advertising is mostly word of mouth because once our customers realize how different the taste is from a feed-lot raised beef, they return year after year.
What should our readers know about your business?
What sets apart from others is the quality of our beef. We’ve had customers say their doctors have recommended they eat grass-fed beef and vegetarians who have converted back to eating meat for various reasons. We deliver our beef, for a fee, and try to meet our individual customers needs. One customer wanted a mobile processor to come right to our ranch for slaughter, so we helped to line that up. We take a lot of our orders by phone so we can answer questions, if needed. But we also get a lot of orders via our website. www.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Since we live in a rural area, we’d send out friends on a hike in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains which are right behind our house. The views, in our area are superb and worth the drive. Salida Colorado is about 45 minutes from here to the east. In the summer, Salida closes off the main road to town for walking only, and visitors can have access to restaurants, art galleries, and the Arkansas River water park, only a short distance from downtown.
In the other direction, to the East, is the Royal Gorge Bridge, a dinosaur museum, rock shops and restaurants. The Arkansas River has great fishing and a myriad of rafting companies are located between the cities of Canon City and Salida. In Canon City, you can visit the Prison Museum on the west side of town or eat at the historic St. Clouds Hotel which has recently been renovated and reopened.
South of our ranch is the little town of Westcliffe, which hosts an annual Blue Grass festival, has small theater productions, and a variety of restaurants. One of our favorites is the Alpine Lodge, tucked into the trees above Westcliffe. Reservations are advised.
Between our ranch and Westcliffe is the historic Beckwith Ranch–open for tours in the summer or a self-tour year round. The ranch hosts a yearly Round-up event. This year it is June 1. It’s a family event with music, activities for the kids, food, fun and access to all ot the historic ranch buildings. https://www.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Ranching For Profit, an organization that promotes learning for ranchers and others in agriculture who want to learn more about the business aspect of ranching. We’ve also had a lot of support from the NRCS,, National Resources Conservation Services. There are NRCS offices all over the state with the goal of helping to educate and preserve the land. We share that mission, with plans to conserve, regenerate, and improve the health of our ranch so that future generations will have the benefit of eating healthy food and understanding where their food comes from.
Website: www.oswaldgrassfedbeef.com
Facebook: Oswald Grassfed Beef
Image Credits
Nancy Oswald, Steve Oswald
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