In the fields of Sonoita, Arizona, just south of Tucson, Vera Earl Ranch.
Located in the Sonoita Valley and west of the Santa Rita Mountains, the original ranch Burton Beck 1968 and his wife Betty Ann Betty Ann continued her husband’s dream of maintaining the ranch, running it as a calf business and driving the quarter horse business.
After Betty Ann died, her daughter Cynthia Tomlinsontook over the reins of the entire Vera Earl Ranch with his son, Ian Tomlinsonwho keep the ranch running.
In addition, Ian’s brothers, although not involved in day-to-day operations, Sean Tomlinson, Sarah Tomlinsonand Rachel Preston All remain connected to the ranch and its mission.
home on the range
Since the late ’60s, it’s been all about maintaining a family run ranch. In addition, the family tradition continues to grow and he now has nearly 3,000 cows on nearly 200,000 acres.
“In 2012, we partnered with the Sands family on Sands Ranch, another old and historic ranch,” said Ian Tomlinson. “In 2015, we acquired another lease on a ranch in Cochise County.”
The family strives to raise “efficient, well marbling cows that not only grow but provide the best tasting beef”. out on the ranch, Black Baldies Roam the lands where Hereford and Black Angus cattle calve.these are Heifer They are then moved to Empire Ranch where they are bred. Charolais Or a Black Angus bull.
One of the things I found very interesting in my conversations with Ian was the process of creating a “marbled cow.” The cows are pasture-fed, but that’s just the beginning of the meal.
“Since our founding, we’ve always wanted to highlight what makes us different for certain customers,” says Ian. “So the cows go out to graze until they weigh between 600 and 900 pounds. Then they are brought to our ‘farm’ and a 180-220 day corn ration begins. increase. All of our corn is locally grown. Sourced by Marana and Wilcox. Give a richer corn diet as it can marbling the meat. ”
Vera Earl Ranch is also proud to have the following third party certifications: All Natural Beef (VNB), Non-Hormone Treated Cattle (NHTC), Age and sources verified, and Caredone by IMI Global again where does the food come from.
“No hormones, no antibiotics, no animal by-products,” Ian said. “We are third party certified for that particular thing. We are part of something called CARE, which is environmental management. We are not the only ones to say that we do all these things just because we are We’re looking at the different things we do to make sure. ”
charity
Community is also important at Vera Earl Ranch. Over the years, the family has supported young people by sponsoring youth soccer and baseball, as well as supporting 4-H and his FFA programs.of Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center, Santa Cruz County Fairand the Mountain Empire Rotary Club They are only in touch with each other.
In fact, since 2015, Ian has Los Charos Foundation. The group gives back to the youth of rural southern Arizona, and the foundation awards students in neighboring counties $50,000 to her $100,000 scholarships each year.
And contributing to the local community is closely related to taking care of the environment.
“We are really strong believers in the sustainability of entire ecosystems, not just cattle or anything else,” explained Ian. “We’re doing pretty well with that, which means we’re farming about 15 endangered species, and we’ve put a lot of effort into conserving water on our farms over the years.” We also do a lot of grazing management: “Every cow turnover is based on monitoring and science. I don’t know, but it certainly makes us proud.”
Shop Vera Earl Ranch Products
at this point wild garlic grill at 2870 E. Skyline Dr. #120 is the only restaurant to use Vera Earl’s marbled beef, but the family is now working with distributors to make the product more widely available.
The ranch has an online store if you want to cook a firm steak in the comfort of your own kitchen. They enjoy chatting with people on the phone as well as answering email requests, but perhaps one of their favorite aspects of their job is educating buyers.
“You know, one of the best moments is when people walk in,” said Ian. “We can take them home and show them all the different cuts, where we can meet them and choose what they want to eat, which steak they want. usually have the opportunity to choose their own meat., 20-30 cuts.
Ultimately, the family is truly proud of what they do and the products they provide to their extended community.
“It sure sounds cliche, but we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality beef while maintaining standards, stewardship and sustainability,” Ian beamed. “We have two lines, he says, and Black Label is the ‘top of the line choice. “Red Label is a middle ground choice when it comes to cutting steak. But the taste is the same, but the marbling is different.
For more information on Vera Earl Ranch, please visit: veraearlranch.com(520) 455-9317 or email beef@veraearlranch.com.
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