ST. GEORGE — Over 100 deer graze in an open field set under towering red mountains as water flows to an open pond.

Sprawling acres feature canyons, arches, ponds and wide open fields, with a history that runs deep in the property’s soil.

The area is also home to some of the highest quality steers, which will soon produce prime Angus beef for others to enjoy.

“I’m blessed,” Lisle Babcock, owner of Buck Brand Beef, told St. George News during a recent site visit. “We were blessed to find this place and blessed to have it. It’s just so beautiful here.”

At almost 80 years old, Babcock is the proud owner of a high-quality beef company that grows its own beef and its own hay just east of Kanab. 

But this isn’t his first proud business venture involving high-quality food. In California, Babcock owned Buck Brand Citrus, which he said was the No. 1 organic citrus company in North America, selling 80 varieties of citrus.

In 2018, he and his wife sold the citrus operation and relocated to a ranch in Johnson Canyon near Kanab. Their main goal was to duplicate their business model by producing the best quality beef they could. Moving away from the hustle and bustle of California, they fell in love with Southern Utah and its wide open spaces and were ready to put in the work.

“When I got this place, it was just gorgeous,” Babcock said about his property. “The geology of this place is just absolutely fascinating. I studied archeology and there’s Anasazi all over. There are also open sea vents from when the land was under the ocean.”

At any given time, Babcock raises 50-70 steers, which start as young steers, or yearlings. He takes pride in the quality beef he raises and runs an open and honest operation – something he said wasn’t common when he worked in the California produce industry.

“For maximum quality you have to start with a young animal, a yearlying, and feed them for 180 days,” Babcock explained. “The first 90 days results in primarily fat on the outside of the animal and the next 90 days  results in fat on the inside. You start with a young animal to achieve a fat content throughout the animal as it grows. If you do that with an old animal most of the fat will be on the outside as the interior of the animal is already mature.”

“You want to start with a young steer so that as it grows, that marbling is part of its body, and that’s what we do,” he said. “We’re charging $5.99 a pound hanging weight, and that’s high, but you get the quality beef. There’s nothing these guys get but corn and alfalfa.” 

The flavor of beef is in the internal fat, and Babcock said the fat is created from flavonoids in the corn. While most people are unable to feed their steer all year long, they’re ahead of the game with steers that gain about 200 extra pounds when they start because they feed them all winter.

“We have the ability to do that because I’m blessed, so this is what we put our money into,” he said.

Babcock said their hay contains about 24% protein  –  some of the highest quality hay there is. If hay continues to grow all day and night, the nutrients are removed as it grows, but he’s able to keep the nutrients due to it’s grow location —  a canyon with cold nights and warm days, which stops it from growing at night. To give the steers energy for the cold nights, they are fed four-way grain.

“The quality here is our biggest advantage because nobody really does this,” he said. “They’re fed at the very least 180 days – six months – and that produces our quality beef.”

His land also includes a pond, which was only four feet deep when he first purchased the property. He has since removed mud and clay to create a bigger space and rerouted water from Spring Canyon through a pump system to fill a larger pond. The goal of the pond is to provide water to his fields and later use it as a place to recreate.

“I’m from California where water is gold and I owned a water company,” he said. “It’s almost a crime to waste it just because you don’t have the storage.”

As for future goals, Babcock said he’s in the beginning stages of offering farmers a sustainable alternative to raising their own steers. When he first arrived in 2018, he found that many farmers had no feed for their cattle and were forced to sell entire herds for as low as 50 cents per pound. 

“The idea would be to bring a cow and we’ll feed it out. And then they can sell it and actually make money,” he said.

This would also remove the need to use feedlots, which he said often contain fillers in their hay such as potato peels, donuts and old bread that destroy the quality of the beef. The co-op concept is still in the idea stage.

Babcock invited anyone interested in purchasing beef to come to the Kanab ranch and pick their own beef in person. Those who would like to set up a time to visit the farm’s acres and operations can do so by contacting him directly. He will continue to raise and produce some of the best quality beef on the market and can’t wait for others to taste the difference for themselves.

“We’re the real deal,” Babcock said. “We do what we say we do. And that matters.”

To order Buck Brand beef, call Babcock directly at 435-644-2825 or 559-333-8226. Inquiries can also be sent to [email protected].

Ed. note: Clarified Babcock’s comments about the agricultural community.

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