Our Story: Chugwater Beef Co.
What do you get when you have a 4th generation cattle rancher that marries a former fashion sales director from NYC with a sales and marketing background?
Well you get a company that offers premium beef products to as many people as we can reach with a cool logo!
Sketch by Claudia’s father and artist Mario Argiro
The initial thought was to have a packaged product simply to offer our friends and family, but quickly that turned into the question, why stop there, why not think bigger? Why not create a company & website so we can reach all 50 states and get our beef from our home to yours.
We as a family business strive to bring you the finest meat and a story behind it so you can know and trust where your food comes from.
We can assure you we do it all by ourselves with the help of close family and friends. We take pride in how we raise our red angus cattle here at our ranch because we are in charge of what happens to them from birth until harvesting.
Why Red Angus Cattle?
We feel they have some of the best genetics for producing quality meat with the right feed program. Not only are they beautiful to look at and mild mannered, they are very adaptive to their environment and thrive on the Wyoming prairies.
From Our Family - to yours ♥
Our Story: Cole
Raising Cattle is a way of life for me. It isn’t the easiest way to make a living, but it is a great way to work with nature and support my family. I was born in Texas into a family that was already blessed to enjoy such an amazing career of cattle ranching. I am a fourth generation rancher and very proud to be carrying on the family tradition.
My parents decided to move my family to Wyoming in 1997 and the opportunities that have come from that move have been amazing for me. To spend my youth on the high prairies of Wyoming alongside my dad was an opportunity that helped me make the choice to continue this journey in life of being a rancher and a steward of the land. Every day the land teaches me a lesson and new things are learned as nature is constantly changing and evolving. It definitely keeps me on my toes because every day is different. I can honestly say it is not a boring job. I chose to have this quality of life for myself and my family and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Raising Cattle is a way of life for me.”
Our story: Claudia
I was born and raised in South Florida where I grew up watching my parents live the American dream running successful retail stores for over 45 years. It taught me that you can be your own boss and make the life you want for yourself wherever you are.
After navigating my own career and businesses in PR, Fashion Styling/Sales and Retail between Los Angeles and New York City I felt it was time to slow down and escape the big city life.
Deep down I knew small town living was going to be the path for me and all it took was a vacation to Cheyenne during Frontier Days to make that a reality. I not only fell in love with Wyoming but also a handsome cowboy named Cole!
“You can be your own boss and make the life you want for yourself wherever you are”
Being an entrepreneur is in my blood so naturally when I met my husband and moved to a ranch seemingly in the “middle of nowhere” I created my own business so I could work from the ranch and raise my daughter.
A few years ago BB West Vintage was born, which is a successful Etsy shop where I sell vintage western clothing and accessories for adults and kids. It’s the best of both worlds. I can travel and explore our great state searching for treasures and keep my creative juices flowing with styling and photo shoots.
It was only a matter of time before my skills and my husband’s dreams merged and Chugwater Beef Co. was taken from just an idea to a reality. Who knew a big city burnout could lead to such happiness and a better quality of life? Here I am raising kids, dogs, horses and cattle in one of the most gorgeous places on earth. Make the change and good things will come and I am happy to share some of that goodness with you!
Our story: the ranch
Wyoming home
Located in the Chugwater area, which is in Southeast Wyoming just north of Cheyenne, we graze our Red Angus cattle on the high Wyoming prairies. We are a family owned, family run cattle ranch where everyone gets involved from Grandpa to our kids big and small. We are very lucky to call this beautiful area our home where we raise our family and our cattle. We are excited to share the beauty and goodness of our life and cattle program with all of you. With all the uncertainties in today’s world, it’s nice to know where your food is coming from and we are thankful to have the opportunity to nourish your family just like we do our own.
Chugwater Cattle Co. Feed Program
“When using grass with grain you get both benefits of heart healthy good fats along with the tenderness and steak house quality flavor. ”
When calves are weaned they are grazed in our rotational program on grass with some supplemental hay and minerals during certain months. They are grazed on quality prairie grass until their last few months prior to harvesting.
This is what we call the “finishing phase” of our feed program. At this time, we incorporate a grain-based ration primarily using Barley to ensure flavor, tenderness and beautiful marbling throughout.
We never use corn in our grain ration because we feel that there are better quality grains to enhance premium flavor and marbling for each cut.
Cattle that are barley fed rather than corn fed in the finishing phase grow slower which causes less stress and a better quality product.
When it comes to the health benefits of grain finished vs strictly grass fed, we are not only worried about the flavor, we are taking into consideration not only what goes into our cattle’s diet but also what you put in your body.
When using grass with grain you get both benefits of heart healthy good fats along with the tenderness and steak house quality flavor.
