FAQ
HOW DOES SHIPPING WORK?
Please refer to our Shipping page for all shipping related information.
WHAT SHIPPING PROVIDER DO YOU USE?
We ship via UPS.
HOW IS MY MEAT SAFELY SHIPPED?
Everything is vacuum sealed, frozen, and shipped with dry ice within a 2 to 3 day transit time.
WHAT IF MY ORDER IS THAWED?
We take food safety and shipping our products very seriously. We take as many measures as possible to ensure your order arrives in a safe condition. It is possible that a portion of your order may not arrive completely frozen, especially when the weather is very warm. We suggest consuming any beef within seven (7) days or refreeze the items upon arrival. If any of your order is warm to the touch upon arrival, we suggest sending us a photo of the item with the label and the cooler lid and your order number to sales@montanaranchandcattle.com, and then discard that portion of the order. We will take the necessary steps internally to identify the problem, and work with you for a resolution that's reasonable and manageable by everyone.
CAN I REFREEZE MEAT?
The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) advises: “Once the food is thawed in the refrigerator (40℉), it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing.” After cooking raw foods that were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If you believe the temperatures didn't drop below average refrigerator settings, we suggest you refreeze. If you are concerned about any of your products, we suggest cooking them and then freezing.
WHEN CAN I EXPECT MY ORDER?
All orders are packed on our ranch, not in some order fulfillment center in the middle of the country. We are a small ranch, so we don't have an elaborate warehouse or a high-tech inventory system. Vertical Integration means all functions are kept at Montana Ranch and Cattle Company, where we raise, slaughter, butcher, and package all of the beef we offer to our customers. Due to the perishable nature of our products, we ship on Monday through Friday. This means your packages may be delivered over the weekend. If you are traveling or have plans to be out of town, please note this in the comments section of your order. It is the customer's responsibility to let us know if they won't be home to retrieve a package.
We try to process every order within 7 to 10 days, if not sooner. You will get an email with tracking information as soon as your order leaves our ranch.
IS THE PLASTIC PACKAGING USED ON YOUR PRODUCTS BPA FREE?
Yes! All of our plastics are BPA free.
CAN PRODUCTS BE RETURNED?
Once meat leaves our ranch, we are not able to accept returns. When dealing with perishable products, ensuring that the cold chain was never broken is required. When it leaves our hands, we are unable to guarantee that the product is safe for resell. However, if you have a complaint, please reach out to our customer service team at sales@montanaranchandcattle.com
WHAT IF I AM NOT SATISFIED OR HAVE A COMPLAINT?
If for any reason you are unhappy with the quality or packaging of an item you have received, please let us know. Contact customer service at sales@montanaranchandcattle.com
Please send a photo of the item label (with the item code and LOT number), packaging, the product, the cooler lid, and any other helpful information. Also include your order number and we’ll be happy to resolve the issue quickly.
WHERE DO YOU DELIVER?
We ship everywhere in the lower 48 states of the United States. (We do not ship to Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam or Puerto Rico.)
HOW WILL MY ORDER BE SHIPPED?
To keep the meat nice and cold, we use an insulation called Recyclable Thermal Panels along with dry ice in a standard perishable shipper. It is important for us to echo the sustainable practices we adhere to all the way through the packaging experience.
WHAT KIND OF FARMS DO YOU WORK WITH?
We source all of our meat directly from family-owned and operated Cattle Ranches. All our animals are raised with the highest animal husbandry and environmental standards. Our animals are raised outside on pasture never in a concentrated animal feed operation or feedlot.
IS YOUR MEAT HUMANELY RAISED?
The compassionate treatment of our cattle is incredibly important to us at Montana Ranch and Cattle Company. That is why we put care into our procurement choices and are transparent about our ranchers, all of whom are committed to ensuring animals are treated humanely.
Our cattle are never confined to feedlots, and spend their lives eating well and growing at their own natural pace without hormones or vaccines.
DO YOU USE ANY HORMONES OR ANTIBIOTICS?
Never, Never...
DO YOU USE mRNA VACCINES?
Never, Never, Never...
IS YOUR MEAT SUSTAINABLE?
Yes! We source exclusively from family ranches with the highest sustainability standards. We know all of our ranchers by name and frequently visit them to ensure our high standards never waiver.
DO YOU HAVE 100% GRASS-FED BEEF?
All of our cattle is pasture raised, so they feed on all that nature provides, and are never fed hormones or antibiotics.
HOW LONG CAN MEAT LAST IN THE REFRIGERATOR?
On average you should consume or freeze your (vacuum sealed) product within 7 days of its arrival.
Beef is unique. Beef that is the whole muscle (not ground) should be eaten or frozen within 10 days of delivery. That being said, beef can last longer - 6 months if frozen properly. As long as the meat doesn’t smell sour or feel slimy you are good to go.
WHY IS GRASS-FED BEEF MORE EXPENSIVE?
Grass-fed beef costs a little more than industrial beef because it costs more to produce it. We are unapologetic about this. We do not use hormone implants, confinement feeding, antibiotics, or high carbohydrate feeds. These are tools science has developed to take costs out of producing beef. When a farmer ceases to use these cost reduction tools, the production costs are added back. A farmer would go broke if he produced high-quality grassfed beef and sold it for the same price as commodity beef.
THE CUT I WANT IS SOLD OUT, WHAT NOW?
At Montana Ranch and Cattle Company we practice whole animal butchery so nothing goes to waste. As a result, some of our most popular cuts are sold out on a regular basis. You should check back frequently as we restock Monday thru Friday. You can join the wait-list to be notified as soon as your preferred cut is available, or try one of our butchers alternatives for a lesser known, but equally as delicious cut.
WHY DO YOU DRY-AGE THE BEEF?
Dry-aged beef just tastes better. Supermarket beef is very rarely dry-aged, and the very best steakhouse beef usually is. Beef has a natural tenderizing enzyme in its muscle fibers. That enzyme works for up to 8 days.
Meanwhile, as the meat continues to age, it evaporates water from the muscle, which keeps the flavor concentrated. We dry age all of our beef for a minimum of 12 days so it has a chance to tenderize and develop its flavor.
HOW CAN I TELL IF MY MEAT ARRIVED IN GOOD CONDITION?
The meat should be cool to the touch when it arrives. Unless otherwise noted, the product was never frozen, so therefore it could not have defrosted. It is okay if the gel packs are not frozen, as long as they are still cold. If you’re still not sure, rely on your nose. Meat that is spoiled will smell sour and be very sticky to the touch. If the box is damaged or opened in anyway please contact us immediately.
I AM NOT HAPPY WITH ALL OR PART OF MY ORDER. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Please contact us by email or phone as soon as possible. We always do right by our customers. Our goal is to make sure you enjoy our meat as much as we do.
HOW DO YOU HANDLE RETURNS?
Given the perishable nature of the product, we do not accept returns. If there is a problem with your order, contact customer service and we will work to make it right.
IS YOUR MEAT CERTIFIED ORGANIC?
Because we work with family ranchers, they don’t have the official certification. Instead, we have developed incredibly strict farming guidelines with all of our partners, which almost always beat out the minimum organic standards.
We never use any growth hormones or antibiotics.
Our animals are raised outside on pasture.
Their feed is free from any animal by-products or hazardous chemicals.
AREN'T COWS BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?
In short, it depends on how you raise them.
The way food conglomerates raise commodity animals (grocery store meats), is bad because the majority of them are raised in CAFOs. CAFO stands for Concentrated Animal Feed Operations. Concentrating animals in one small location is a recipe for disaster. We could go on for days about this (call us anytime and we will), but the simple answer is yes - farm animals can be bad for the environment when they are raised as part of a factory, where they’re pumped with antibiotics and other things that make them grow faster, but also upset their stomachs and cause gas (Co2 emissions). And that’s just one of the issues.
On the other side of the spectrum, pasture-raised animals can can actually help the environment by regenerating and fertilizing the soil. We only work with farms that are serious about sustainability...and great steak. In fact, the farms we work with know the two go hand-in-hand.
DO YOU USE NITRATES OR OTHER PRESERVATIVES?
We never use dyes, fillers, or artificial flavorings in any of our products.
IS YOUR BEEF GRADED?
We care more about how the animal is raised versus how it is graded. With that being said, we do have a USDA inspector on-site every single day to ensure proper meat handling. Beef grading is a separate process completed by a different USDA office. Due to the small size of our farms and processing operation, we do not get all of our beef graded. When our farmers have opted to grade their meat, it has come back as either Prime or Choice Plus.
One of the many benefits of butchering the meat by hand ourselves is that we can inspect each and every cut before sending it out. Any piece of beef without beautiful marbling will not be sold.
WHEN WILL MY ORDER SHIP?
Please refer to our Shipping page for all shipping related information.
HOW IS OUR BEEF DIFFERENT FROM NATIONAL CHAINS?
All Montana Ranch and Cattle Company meats are sourced from Family Ranches. We believe it is important to support Family Ranching. Most national chains will import their grass fed beef and organic meats internationally from Australia and other countries to cut costs, which is hurting Family Ranchers' ability to get their beef in the hands of American consumers.
WHAT GRASSES DO THE ANIMALS FEED ON?
Our pastures are established in warm-season perennials including:
45% Bermudagrass
20% Dahurian Wildrye
20% Tall Fescue (endophyte free)
10% White Clover
5% Alfalfa
In the Winter, we overseed all of our pastures in cool-season annuals, such as ryegrass, red clover, and white clover. All of the grasses are non-GMO.