Remember Joe and Bonnie of Hill & Vale? For many years, they supplied Seward Co-op with 100-percent pastured-raised, whole carcass beef. In 2015 they retired from farming and we bid them a bittersweet farewell. Paul Smith, his son Jared Smith, and a neighboring farmer Aaron Anderson took the torch and continued on the path paved by Joe and Bonnie under a new name “Blooming Prairie Natural Beef.”

Blooming Prairie has grown with Seward Co-op as we’ve expanded into the Bryant Neighborhood with the Friendship store, which is something Hill & Vale were concerned about being able to achieve. We are happy that we can continue working with a small beef producer instead of needing to rely on a much larger beef operation to meet our increased demand. Thank you Seward Co-op shoppers for supporting this growing, family business in our local community.

This week, we will retire Blooming Prairie’s grass-fed, grain-finished beef and replace it with their 100% grass-fed beef—at the same great price. The animals will continue to be hand-selected when ready, delivered to us every week, fresh from the farmer. The only difference is that the livestock is grass fed from start to finish. If you’re not used to 100-percent grass-fed beef, it is slightly leaner than its grain-finished counterpart, so be sure to cook it lower and slower so it doesn’t dry out.

All of the beef we receive from Blooming Prairie Natural Beef is whole carcass and cut fresh in house. The product available in the case comes from the same steer, ordered directly from the farmer and prepared for you by our highly-skilled butchers. Blooming Prairie brings a lot of passion and care to their work. Their single-origin calves are raised on their mother’s milk until they are old enough to be weaned, then graze on their own in the pasture, where they are well taken care of and live a good life. Farmer Paul Smith says, “If you’re looking for beef with great flavor, texture, and no additives—this is it—Blooming Prairie is the only beef I feed my family.”