In today's agribusiness beef production, the goal of most operators is to add weight as quickly and cheaply as possible to the cattle without regard to flavor, quality, or health of both the animals and the consumer.

In contrast, at Niman the cattle are grazed in open rangeland until they reach 800-900 pounds. Then they are placed in a feed lot where they are grain fed for an average of 140 days. Niman ranch cattle are never administered growth hormones or sub-therapeutic antibiotics as a growth promotant. The cattle are never fed meat by-products or chicken feather meal that is common among large beef producers. Niman Ranch cattle are treated with dignity and respect and their ranch managers do whatever is necessary to reduce the amount of stress in the animals' day-to-day lives.



Niman Ranch hogs are raised outdoors on pasture and in deeply bedded pens. Ample space allows livestock to live out their natural instincts. Sows build nests for their young and wean piglets at a minimum of 5 weeks of age. Natural antibodies passed on through the mother's milk give the pigs the strong start they need to thrive in a natural systems where no antibiotics are used.

Hogs are raised according to a protocol endorsed by the Animal Welfare Institute. Feed is primarly composed of corn and soybeans, and when rotated as one of three main crops, hogs provide a nutritive means of keeping fallow ground productive. Bedding enriched with manure is spread on fields and naturally replenishes critical nutrients. Although this traditional system requires more hard work than the modern confinement alternative, it produces little or no odor, helps preserve water supplies, and sustains the land and community for future generations.



Niman Ranch lambs are raised on small family ranches ranging from the Pacific Coast to the Midwest and graze on open pastures. Niman Ranch lamb producers practice crop rotation methods which transform the naturally fertilized grazing pasture into a nutrient-rich field for planting. This exceptional care for the land is certain to influence the high-quality of the lamb they produce. All Niman lambs are free of hormones and antibiotics.


Making Great Beef Even Better

Niman Ranch continues to use dry-aging practices that were common twenty years ago, but are almost non-existent today. Today, most meat processors use wet aging in which the meat is vacuum-sealed in heavy plastic, boxed, and shipped for distribution. The reason most meat companies no longer dry age their beef is because of the increased cost of dry aging. The producer must pay the cost of aging the meat for four to six weeks while it loses water weight from the aging process, and then is further trimmed to include only the perfectly aged portions. Wet aging takes only a few days and is cheaper and more efficient, but in terms of tenderness and flavor, it doesn't compare to meat that has been dry-aged.

In the four to six weeks it takes to dry-age, the enzymes in the meat have time to break down muscle fiber and naturally tenderize the beef so that end result is a much more tender cut of meat.

As the meat ages, it also loses as much as 20% of its weight in water which concentrates and enhances the flavor of the meat. Another 20% will be trimmed off after aging, which makes dry-aged beef more expensive than wet-aged beef and increasingly rare.

Dry aging is as much an art as it is a science. The cuts of meat are first wrapped in muslin and hung in a 34° to 38° cooler for at least four days. The meat to be dry-aged is then moved to another cooler where the cuts are evenly spaced on metal shelves. Each piece is tagged with the date it is put in the room so it can be easily tracked. To successfully dry-age meat, the temperature, humidity, and air circulation must be carefully controlled. If the temperature is too cold, the meat will freeze and dry aging will not occur. If the room is too warm, the meat will spoil. To much humidity will reduce evaporation of water from the meat so proper air circulation helps regulate humidity levels.

Not all cuts of meat benefit from dry aging. At Niman Ranch Rib Eye steaks, New York steaks, and Rib Roasts are all dry-aged.


(Box Fee Applies)

Niman Ranch cuts and packages all Planet Organics meat to order for each individual customer. The meat is then delivered to Planet Organics where it is kept at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (the optimum temperature for keeping meat fresh) until the delivery trucks leave the warehouse. At that time, each order is placed in a Styrofoam box with frozen gel paks. This packaging has been tested by Niman and shown to keep the meat at 45 degrees Fahrenheit or less for 24 hours in 90 degree temperatures. Of course, we never expect your order to be in 90 degree heat for 24 hours, but it's nice to know that your meat delivery has a significant margin of safety when it comes to freshness and proper handling.

The Styrofoam boxes and gel paks are reuseable just like our green totes and so we ask all customers to please leave the Styrofoam boxes and gel paks out with their green totes. There will be a $10 charge for any Styrofoam boxes not returned.