Our Story
Brandon
Brandon is the fourth generation to the West family ranch. He was born in Raton, New Mexico, where he spent his first few years growing up on the original ranch in southern Colorado. However, as a result of the family’s move to the present day ranch at age three, his heart has always been in Wyoming.
After High School, Brandon attended the University of Wyoming receiving a bachelor’s of science in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management specializing in vegetation ecology in hopes of bringing knowledge back to the ranch to improve pasture conditions and increase efficiency.
Brandon uses his knowledge and experience to help complete the everyday operations of the ranch as well as owning and operating West Cattle Company. Brandon’s goals are to provide people with high quality grass fed & grass finished beef that is both full flavored and healthy.
His love and passion for agriculture and his family’s ranch run deep and can be seen in the way he and his family care for both the land and the animals that call their land home.
Brittany
Brittany is an Ohio city girl whose story is one that could come right out of a book or movie. After falling in love with a Wyoming cowboy, she moved to Wyoming in 2009 and began her homesteading journey! Not only does she manage the homestead with chickens, vegetables, flowers, guineas, and bees, but she also runs the business side of things including marketing, and communication.
Brittany is a former teacher who uses her managing and communication skills to run the unseen side of West Cattle Company. She runs the marketing, scheduling, and overall communication of our company as well as taking care of our future ranch hands.
Brittany’s goal is to be the friendly voice on the other end of the line and to provide people with high quality customer service.
Our Beef
We raise genuine, Wyoming raised, grass fed/grass finished beef on our family owned ranch in Southeast, Wyoming.
Our cattle graze freely on our pastures consisting of native grasses and forbs and in the winter time enjoy hay that is harvested by the West Family from meadows located on the ranch.
Our cattle are never introduced to artificial hormones or growth promotants. Our animals never see a feed lot. Ever.
Our cattle are an extension of our family and are vital to the continued success of the West Cattle Company. We treat our animals with the utmost respect and care, using humane animal welfare practices.
In July of every year, our mother cows are partnered with carefully selected bulls. Calves are born each spring in May and June. We choose to calve later in the year compared to traditional operations to avoid the harsh Wyoming winters and the sicknesses that are associated, to give our calves a better chance of survival. The mother cows raise their calves until they are fully able to sustain themselves. At that point, they are weaned and begin to live on their own. It is also at that point that we hand select the best calves to go into our grassfed/ grass finished beef program.
After one year the calves become what are called yearlings. These yearlings will continue to freely graze through our pastures until they have met our desired weight. At this time, they are ready to be harvested as pasture raised grass fed/ grass finished beef and the animal is ready to leave our ranch to be delivered to your table.
Adeline and Flynn
Did you know that more than half of the ranch/farm operators in the state of Wyoming are over the age of 55? The average age of ranch/farm operations nationwide is ever increasing which means that our youth are so important to the future of agriculture in this country.
Adeline and Flynn are our future. We strive everyday to raise our kids with the upmost respect, morals, and character. We teach them to respect the land, the livestock, and the people. Though only 5 and 3 years old, these two have already shown a love for the ranch and its animals.
Adeline has already taken care of orphaned calves by feeding and showing love with lots of petting. She enjoys raising baby chicks in the spring and naming each and every piglet.
Flynn is an expert ranch hand who is always wanting to help whether in the corral or gathering from the pasture. Rain or shine, Flynn is always ready to lace up his boots and tag along.
The “Bar-Flying-W”
The Bar-Flying-W is the brand that was chosen when Brandon and Brittany West returned to the ranch in 2013. It is a symbol that designates the cattle in their herd from the cattle of other herds within the ranch as well as a symbol of the high quality grass fed/ grass finished beef delivered from our pastures to your table.
Our Ranch
The West family has lived and run a family cattle ranch for the last 75 years. What started out as a modest family ranch in southern Colorado has been passed down and woven into the family’s blood for four generations. For the past 27 years the West family has been running their cattle operation on the beautiful plains of southeastern Wyoming. Today the ranch focuses on running a cow/calf operation. Recently a demand and a desire to provide high quality grass fed/ grass finished beef has spurred the formation of the West Cattle Company. Our family values have been, and always will be: hard work, love of family, love of land, and above all, a love of God. Our land and our cattle are an extension of our family and have been and always will be treated as such.
