A great beef eating experience begins years before the fork picks up that lean, tender, juicy piece of steak.
Genetic selections at HRB begin years before the high-quality beef is consumed. Crossbreeding has long been used to combine the traits of two breeds of cattle to produce individuals superior to individuals of either breed. A 1+1=3 situation if you will.
This is known in the beef industry as heterosis. British breeds of cattle such as Angus and Hereford have long been known for their maternal characteristics such as longevity, calving ease, and milk production as well as intramuscular fat in the carcasses known as marbling.
A continental breed such as Simmental, Limousin, Gelbvieh, etc. has brought carcass traits such as leanness, muscle, larger carcasses, and higher cutability. At High Ridge Beef (HRB) we have been using an Angus and Limousin crossbreeding program referred to as Lim-flex.
We strive to produce cattle that are functional in our environment here in southwest Nebraska and also produce offspring that produce premium beef for our HRB customers. A high cutability, lean, muscular carcass with adequate marbling, along with proper cooking procedures provides our customers with a premium beef eating experience. And why pay for fat that is going to be trimmed off anyway? All cattle at HRB are processed between 14-16 months of age. In the industry, these are referred to as “calf feds”. Harvesting at this age gives the beef added tenderness and flavor compared to older cattle.