Pasture Raised Grass Fed Beef in Colorado: The Green Place Ranch is located about 12 miles west of Montrose, Colorado and southwest of Olathe, CO . GPR raises natural grass fed beef for your table, and the hay on the ranch for winter feeding, without use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides, herbicides or antibiotics. During grazing season, rotational grazing is employed to allow for re-growth and variety.

You are welcome to call 970-209-0085 or email: greenplaceranch@gmail.com with any questions or concerns you may have. Thank you for your understanding and stay healthy and safe as much as is possible. We will survive this by remaining courteous, civil and considerate of our neighbors and community needs.

   Fall of 2022: After a devastating  drought in 2017 and the first half of 2018, the ranch is finally recovering as a result of  the winter before lasts'>200% of normal snowpack (and thus, finally some water for irrigation). There was zero forage growth in the 2017 year and tough times all  around. This summer of 2022 has brought some much welcome rain (now recorded as slightly over 11" for the year) to our particular part of the Uncompaghre Plateau. The entire ranch was reseeded last fall, so the forage is recovering, pasture is being stockpiled and all of the growth has gone to seed, so should spread even better this winter and next spring. It's been a rough 5 or 6 years. The ranch is in a cooperative reseeding of the grazing allottments also. Likely more challenging times ahead in addition to the current pandemic. The Green Place Ranch is rebuilding in terms of pasture and livestock. Orders will be filled (use our order form) for halves and wholes of beef for next fall. There is a limited selection to choose from and the ranch is happy to hear from you again if you're getting ready to restock your freezer or, if you're new to the process, give a call and we'll walk you through it. Thanks to all our old and new customers for supporting our endeavours to raise good clean food. It was a dry summer last year and, while the begining of 2019 and 2020 looked promising, the second half of the year was very short on moisture.. 2021 was still challenging. . . It will likely be several years in recovery and result in the betterment of the operation. Time will tell whether the right moves were made or not and your support of the ranch, by letting GPR provide you with good beef, chicken and turkey enables the work to continue.

  In the past several years further improvements have been made with the spring water distribution system and more cross fencing to better utilize the grazing cycles in the future.  GPR worked with the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) on a comprehensive irrigation system ten years ago for the upper 100 acres and finished digging the mile long ditch and laying 12" underground pressure line for the system. In addition, the water line from the spring on the ranch (the only water source for miles around) was extended all the way to the bottom of the ranch and has filled the biggest pond on the place year round. Because of the herd reduction, right now there are more elk than cows in the fields. Morning might find you waking to the sight of an elk herd in the field or some wild turkeys acting as your alarm clock.You can ride a horse or mountain bike or hike from here to Utah and not touch a piece of private ground. The Roubideau Wilderness Study Area is within a couple of miles from the ranch and stretches from the top to the bottom of the Uncompahgre Plateau. The area is rich with stories and evidence of the past and full of hiking, riding and mountain biking opportunities.

     Call or e-mail to make arrangements for your order. Other animals come to maturity throughout the season, so give a call to ask about availability.   If you would like to get on GPR's list of buyers, give a call or send an email. Plan on a pick-up date for the halves or wholes after two weeks of aging. Bon Apetite!

Natural Grass fed beef from GPR to your table. Know your food source.

The Green Place Ranch was originally homesteaded in 1884 by a fellow named John Marsh. John was known as a kinda crazy and very determined engineer. He built a ditch that ran over 28 miles long out of the Roubideau Canyon to the Southwest and brought water down from the top of the Plateau down to the reservoirs and fields at the ranch. This water is the life blood and along with the natural springs in this high desert area provides an attractive habitat for all manner of creatures. In mid-December, I was pleased to see some wild turkeys had taken up residence in one of the canyons on the ranch. And then there are the crows. Crows are valuable partners in the grazing practices, as they migrate through and stay on the ranch breaking up the manure and spreading it in the fields. Just like our chickens, they aid in distribution of our fertilizer resources and keeping the bugs and parasites under control. Working with the creatures that nature presents allow us to raise healthy animals and crops. We are motivated providers of clean food sources for you, your family and friends. All animals sold in GPR's program are born and raised right here on the ranch. No cross-country road trips in a semi with a bunch of strangers in coach class, these cows are content to feed in a rotational grazing program and soak up the sage scented southwest Colorado sunshine of the Uncompahgre Plateau. GPR is a sustainable operation with all of the power for water pumping, tools and buildings & systems, including ranch headquarters being produced by solar electric and wind power and hot water and space heating produced by solar thermal systems.

GPR is pleased to pass along our particular flavor of the Colorado mountains to you and look forward to visiting with you and making your healthy food sources a vital part of our work. GPR continues to add folks to its' family of thoughtful food buyers. The drive to the ranch is a bit of an adventure and the oasis you find when you get here is a pleasant suprise. GPR considers the relationship with the land, and as your food provider, a sacred trust and privilege to be respected and cared for.

Shiloh, past livestock handler. A good dog can do the work of three people.

Natural grass fed beef is clean and healthy. The meat is lightly marbled by the forage. Word is, the cow’s digestive system was never meant to handle grain anyhow. The animals, raised on clean forage, never leave the ranch area. They were born here and live their lives being handled with a minimum of stress, with readily available feed and water.

Natural grass fed beef has low Omega 6 fatty acids (associated with heart disease, the kind you hear of as saturated fat) and has a relative high natural Omega 3 fatty acid content: "pasture finished beef cattle has a higher content of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)= a fatty acid in beef linked in health research to prevent heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes" {University of Missouri Forage Systems Research Center}.

The Green Place Ranch is a pasture-based operation utilizing minimum input rotational grazing principals and no chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or GMO's (genetically modified organisms). Pasture rotation techniques are employed and livestock is treated with care in a low stress, non-confinement environment.

How it works:

All animals to be sold as natural grassfed beef are born and raised here on the ranch. Each animal is sold between the age of 22 to 28 months with a target weight of 1250 pounds to 1350 pounds live weight and will provide approximately 700+#'s to 800+#'s of hanging weight, bone-in. We sell the animals directly to you, 1/2's or wholes and provide transport to the processing facility. You make your arrangements directly with the processing facility regarding cuts, # of pieces/package, aging time, etc. (we recommend a hanging time of two weeks for proper aging of grass fed beef). Processing costs for a half generally runs in the $250 to $275 range (depending on hanging weight of the half). You pay us when you make the order and the processor when you pick it up. We send out a beef chart, which is helpful in visualizing the possible cuts from your half or whole order, and a cut sheet when we receive your order form w/ payment. We will take your order form with payment for the amount of the order and provide you with a scheduled date of delivery to the processing facility and an order cut sheet. You are welcome to split a half with a friend, though you will need to agree on the cuts for the half and split it with your partners after you pick it up. This works best for the processor being able to cut the beef on a per order basis. You will have the two weeks of hanging time from the scheduled butcher date to send in your cut sheet to the processor (plus whatever time between your order and the delivery date to the processor. People sharing a half will need to agree on the nature of the cuts for the processor. You pay the processor when you pick up the order. You may expect the total cost of the meat to run between $ 6.00 to $ 6.25/lb overall, bone-in weight (depending on the total weight of the animal). This means the average cost of the meat per pound (bone-in) after you have paid us and the processor (all costs associated with your order when you pick it up). You will need around a 17 cu ft freezer to hold a whole and about half that for a half a beef. Five to seven (15 to 17 qt.)full size coolers should hold the half a beef when you pick it up at the processor to take home with you or you may cover it with blankets and should be able to get it home without anything thawing out on the way.

Halves are for sale for $ 1,975.00 and wholes for $ 3,950.00 (add to each a $55 transport fee/order (half or whole) to get the animal to the processor).

Chickens/Turkeys:

How they are raised: We let them run around, follow the cows, eat the bugs, munch on grass-whatever they are interested in.

We don't keep 'em penned up, force feed them or throw treated grain at them.They have plenty of feed and water available.

There was a good response in the past to our free-range eggs and poultry (chickens and Thanksgiving turkeys, make your orders between now and next spring)-we will be taking orders for the 2020 summer/fall season) products, and organic produce along with the natural grass fed beef. We dropped out of the chicken and turkey production last year because of the drought. Let us know if you would like to order free range chickens or turkeys for summer or fall pickup. Price is $6.25/lb for chickens (dressed weight) and 8.50/lb for turkeys. Chickens will run in the 3+# to 5+ # range and turkeys can grow out anywhere from12+ #'s to 30+ #'s. I once raised a 42# turkey but had to leave the oven door slightly open in order to cook it, even with all the racks out. If you want a larger bird we will try to accomodate, though I think the 12 to 30 pound range is generally more preferred. GPR has a minimum of 25 chickens per order and Turkeys for Thanksgiving or Christmas may be ordered individually. We take a deposit of 65% of the estimated order value upon reservation, with the balance due at pickup time. Feel free to give us a call for more information regarding these products.

THE cattle are fed hay raised on the 320-acre ranch during the winter months, relying on the spring for water and stored hay cut from our fields in the mid summer. We then let the pastures recover for the balance of the season while the animals are on our adjacent grazing area of 5700 acres.

Organic Certification is something the Green Place Ranch is eligible for, considering the terms of qualification. We are
GPR is , it turns out, "organic by default". Other criteria require a three year resting period during which no prohibited substances are used on the land or animals. Since GPR was essentially a cow "drop camp" for many years (previous owners simply dropped the cows off to graze and then would return to collect them) and no chemical fertilizers were utilized, GPR is eligible for organic certification. "We are considering becoming organically certified, though would like to see the direction that the USDA goes in with regards to their regulations." The big corporate ag-industries are continually pushing for modifications of the certification regs so they will be able to make the claim of being organic, at which time we feel the certification is worthless. Actions are more important than words. As a politically savvy fellow once said, "Watch their feet". Considering the latest developments of the USDA allowing the designation of "natural" to include feedlot finishing and confinement feeding, It should be clear to the customer that GPR's animals are entirely raised on pastured grass and winter feeding is non-confinement hay raised on the ranch without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

     The recent bending of the phrase "natural grass fed" (originally developed by independent pasture based rotational grazing small family farmers) by the USDA and big industrial producers to grab market share disappointing, to say the least. The animals are not fed grain or feed corn based supplements in the ranch's raising protocol and we are careful to avoid being grouped with conventional producers' operational methods. It is important to ask for this information when choosing your provider, and you will often find that those claiming to be "natural", in fact, still feed grain and supplements to their animals, vaccinate and inject hormones and the big marketing labels in your grocery stores claiming to be "natural" are not. In fact, they haven't changed a thing about the way they are bringing beef to your table. They still go from the field to the feedlot and then to the grocery store. When you are driving past those stubble corn fields with cows in them feeding, you can be sure that that corn has been sprayed all through the growing season and it is saturated with the very petrochemical based pesticide products you are trying to avoid by choosing the natural label. Better to know your own personal farmer/rancher and how the food you are buying was raised than accept the word of the big box labels content to bend the definitions and allow conventional industrial ag practices to fit the definitions.

Our Products: Green Place Ranch has a USDA source verified, approved label. For those of you who would like to get your friends together to place multiple orders, let us know and we will work with you to develop a buying club to deliver your orders and share the costs of getting them to a location central to your area.The ranch is about a four hour drive from the Denver side of the hill and if you are buying a half a beef and/or chickens and turkeys from us once a year, it's not to much of a chore to come over the hill to pick up your year's supply. Drop a line if that is of interest to you.

     We are registered with Eatwild.com and Local Harvest.org (since the beginning) and endorse the idea of people "following their food to the farm" promoted in Michael Pollan's landmark book, "The Omnivores Dilemma". Green Place Ranch would like to be your source for healthy food and are open to ideas for what is raised here on the ranch. We look forward to visiting with you and your visit to share your ideas. Perhaps we will meet at one of the local farmers markets in the area or you may drop an e-mail.

What else we do. You may also drop a note to Sundance Solar Designs, LLC.   www.sundancesolardesigns.com is the website that describes our 38+ years of experience designing and building solar homes that heat, cool and power themselves. We were doing this a long time before the current emphasis on renewable energy. If you do visit the ranch you will find an example of these technologies in action. Sundance Solar Designs provides passive and active solar home design services, renewable energy systems (solar electric/photovoltaic, solar thermal/hot water and space heating). Energy efficiency equals cost efficiency in the long term. This premise determines how the ranch operates (all of the energy on the ranch is provided by solar and wind, including water pumping for the animals, electricity and heat for the home and office, etc.) and guides daily decisions. Feel free to give a call at the same phone number 1-970-209-0085 if you would like to discuss your project.