Custom processing business helps area ranchers stay afloat
THE SCOOP: Third generation rancher Elin Ganschow, owner of Sangres Best Beef of Westcliffe, relies on Ranch Foods Direct to cut and package her beef for direct sale to the public. Getting access to processing can be a big hurdle for independent ranchers like Elin, who runs mostly Herefords and Red Angus cows at Music Meadows Ranch. “They do an excellent job for me,” she said recently at the Colorado Farm and Art Market (held Saturdays at the Margarita at Pine Creek and Wednesdays at Ivywild). “They are a huge asset.” Helping other ranchers was the intention of Ranch Foods Direct from day one, says owner Mike Callicrate: “We are the infrastructure that not only allows me to get to the market, but as many other ranchers as we can help.”
