My family lived in Iowa, where we were corn farmers. Our family farmed 450 acres and milked 800 cows. Finally in 1989 we decided to mosey on south, away from that white stuff that comes out of the sky. My parents, two brothers and I moved to East Texas on our first farm of 225 acres and set about to design our first grazing dairy. Over the course of the next ten years we designed a second grazing dairy and started two beef ranches. We have been cattle farmers all our lives and corn farmers for a good part of our lives. So we have been completely at the other end of the spectrum growing and feeding grains and understand the facts about mold and fungus. That was the turning point for us.
My Grass-fed beef business started in 2007 and I satisfied my desire to market directly to the public. After three years of selling grass-fed/grass-finished beef, I added the beef sticks. My business took a whole new direction.
How many times have you gone to a convenience store, trying to find a snack to satisfies that hunger? Well that's exactly what happened to me and exactly why I made my beef sticks. I didn't want to buy products that had so much junk in them. My beef sticks were actually a spin-off of my grass-fed beef that I did for several years for the Farmers Markets. I could see the large demand for a healthy product. It fit with my healthy perspective of life and the way God intended for us to live. After looking at several names, I decided to call them Steve's Rancher Snacks. I did this for one reason. I named them after my dad, as a show of love and respect for the support and help he has given me throughout my life.
When I first heard of Know the Cause I decided to try out Doug's theory of cutting out grains. Now, I was 6 foot, 180 lbs and had no health issues. I threw out a 50 gallon trash sack of grain products and I had nothing left in my house to eat. The next day my mom took me shopping to teach me how to buy healthy products. I ended up losing 10 lbs in two weeks by not eating grains. I also felt healthier and had more energy. I met Doug when I started selling grass-fed/grass-finished beef. He educates us on the hazardous toxins in our food supply, specifically in grains and I have lived a much healthier life-style because of Doug. One thing I realize is it is harder to eat out with all the grains and preservatives in our foods. Now, I fall off the phase-one diet from time to time on weekends but the important fact is to get right back on it. The simplest rule was when I am at home, I eat Phase-one friendly meals and I take my Beta-Glucan, Probiotics and other Antifungal products to keep me healthy.
