Thundering Hoof Ranch

About two weeks ago I wrote about making Bone Broth.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2016/04/the-benefits-of-bone-broth.html

I have been drinking a cup a day for about a month and look forward to it.  I really believe in the healing powers it has.  I feel great, although I felt fine before I started it.  My only problem was finding the organic bones needed to make it.  I had a friend get me some from her source, but I haven't been able to get them from her yet.  Then on a recent trip to my daughter's house, I noticed this sign.

My other daughter also makes bone broth.  Her neighbor gave her some soup bones to cook.  Guess where they came from?  Yup, Thundering Hoof Ranch.  I took this as a sign to research this place near Berlin, Wisconsin.  I went on their website  http://www.thunderinghoofranch.com and found a lot of good information.  I found the principles of the ranch are that they use no antibiotics or hormones.  They use forage based farming which means they use permanent ground covers to protect the soil from erosion and ground water contamination.  They do not use any chemical fertilizer.  The animals are allowed to roam without any unnecessary confinement.

Being impressed with this information, I called to see if they sold bones.  A very nice man told me they do, and they have a farm store which is open on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.  I was very happy to make this discovery, and today we took a little drive.  The ranch is less than a half hour from our house.

As we were driving in, I had a little pang of guilt and sadness.  Along the fence line I saw the cutest cows I have ever seen.

Calves on this ranch nurse and stay with their mothers for up to ten months giving them a very strong immune system.

I proceeded into the store and purchased two large bags of bones.  The store not only had beef, chicken, lamb and pork but also spun wool from the sheep and homemade soaps made from the beef tallow.

Two bags of frozen bones.

I never thought in a million years I would spend money on bones, but here they are.  I came home and started a batch of broth, but couldn't think about how I got them and where they came from.  I am not a vegetarian but after seeing these animals I am getting close.