As a member of Slow Food Denver, I had the opportunity to tour Flying B Bar Ranch through Slow Food Denver’s Farm Tour Series 2012. These tours are designed to cultivate the enjoyment of local food by connecting city-dwellers with local farmers. Each tour is an opportunity to learn about the food system and production practices while sharing a meal together and having fun.
Our day on the ranch consisted of a great discussion with Brad Buchanan, one or our hosts, giving us a history of the farm and discussion of his ranching practices. Following the farm story, we braved the rain for a hay ride to go out and “meet and greet” with the cows on the property. I myself, have never been to a cattle ranch before, but to see these cattle graze on over 1200 acres and to come up and eat out of your 
hand, is an experience like no other. I can say, it has changed the way I eat beef. I want to know that the animal I am eating is grass rather than corn or grain fed. That the meat I eat, roamed free and lived and died in a humane way. To think of the alternative, the factory farm mentality, the feed lot, just makes me more passionate about eating locally and knowing where my food comes up. In addition to the environmental effects of grass fed beef (less energy goes into growing grass than grain and corn), less of a carbon foot print, there are heath benefits. Grass-fed beef has 3 times more vitamin A than conventional beef and grass fed beef has less overall fat, and more omega-3s and other “good” fats.
Flying B Bar Ranch is an American Grass-fed Association Certified Beef Producer focused on providing local, sustainable beef through humane, ethical ranching approaches. The Flying B Bar Ranch is run by the Buchanan family — Brad, Margaret, Grace, and Will.
Our tour was followed by a lunch featuring beef from Flying B Bar Ranch and a spread that included, pimento cheese spread made from Windsor Dairy cheese, deviled eggs, sweet potato salad, farro salad with blueberries, burgers, and buttermilk pie, also made with Windsor Dairy buttermilk.
In my quest for eating local, the best part, in my opinion is getting to know the people who grow the food we eat. Enjoying the very best in local foods is just a bonus!
*some content in blog provided by www.slowfooddenver.org
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