FAQ's
Who/What is FLYING M BEEF?
That’s us! We are Whit and LaShae Braden and the name FLYING M BEEF came from the ones that inspire us on a daily basis, our children; MacKenzie, Macelyn, and Kase. We are proud to say that we are 100% family owned and operated.
Where are you located?
We are located in Garden City, Texas. We are about an hour south of Midland and an hour west of San Angelo in Central West Texas.
What do you mean by "Craft Beef"?
craft - NOUN
- an activity involving skill in making things by hand.
"the craft of bookbinding" ·
We are a family that farms and ranches across several counties in Central and West Texas. We raise our beef from conception to consumption, meaning everything about our product is overseen by us; Whit and LaShae Braden, the owner and breeder of the cattle. We base our day-to-day decisions on what is best for our cattle to remain healthy and happy. The Akaushi genetics are only the foundation. The vitamin, mineral, and immunization program we utilize, our soils that are responsible for the nutrients in the grasses that we rotate, and humane harvest of every animal, every single time - Those are the things that make our Akaushi, truly Craft Beef. Just like a micro-brewery, our Akaushi is our craft. We take our time to raise high-quality and healthy Akaushi beef, with an emphasis on ethics and quality.
Do you process your own animals?
We work on a weekly basis with a couple of different family-owned processors that are local to us and our facilities. The number one factor for us in selecting a facility is the humane harvest and treatment of all of our animals, every single time. We have personally stood on the kill floor of all of the facilities we partner with in order to ensure that our animals are treated with respect and nurtured, even after they have been harvested. Secondly, we only process with USDA inspected facilities, ensuring that these facilities are held to highest standards of food safety.
Why does your beef taste so good?
We work hard to raise a quality product from start to finish. The only way we can guarantee that to ourselves, is by over-seeing literally every step of the process. From mating decisions of our herd to customer service after the sale, that process takes us 4 years. It starts with great Akaushi genetics in our breeding age cattle for things like rib-eye size and marbling, as well as calving ease, mothering ability, and docility. Then, we make sure to feed our animals a high-quality feed for their entire life, while allowing our animals to age and mature slowly. Humane handling of healthy cattle when we work with them, and quality oversight by us, Flying M Beef, all the way down to the hand slicing of our steaks… those things all mean superior beef for our family and friends.
Is your meat certified organic/all-natural?
Flying M Beef is neither “certified organic”, nor “certified all-natural”. Certification for an operation of our size is very cost prohibitive and would only serve to increase our prices to you, our customer. We feel knowing the ranchers and the family behind your beef provides more peace of mind than any group of certification labels.
What happens if an animal gets sick? Do you give antibiotics?
We believe in the humane treatment of ALL animals. We live right here on the ranch and monitor the health of our cattle, daily. We follow a veterinary recommended vaccination protocol to help guard against preventable diseases in both our breeding age animals and the calves in our beef program. Additionally, should a calf become ill and require life-saving antibiotic treatment, that animal is permanently identified with a red ear tag and is removed from our Akaushi beef program.
Is your beef treated with antibiotics?
Absolutely not. Only our healthiest of animals are selected to enter our beef program and marketed with a Flying M Beef label. If an animal does become ill and life-saving antibiotic treatment is necessary, that animal is put into quarantine for treatment and receives a red ear tag. After the animal has recovered, we work to find alternative outlets for that animal that are not in our beef program.
Additionally, our "nevers" include: Never fed animal bi-products, never given synthetic growth hormones, and no fed antibiotics. Just fresh water, grass, grain, hay, and minerals for the last 20 months of their lives, nursing their Mommas until then.
Are your cattle grass fed?
Our breeding age cattle spend their entire lives roaming across our pastures in West Texas. Grass species and availability change throughout the year with our rotational system so to ensure proper nutrition, we provide free-choice mineral and protein supplements to keep our cattle in prime breeding condition. To finish the calves selected for our beef program, we use a specifically designed grain and silage program to help keep our Akaushi calves happy and healthy, while getting an immune boost from their surroundings.
Is your meat hormone free?
Absolutely! Our animals are never given any type of artificial growth hormones, implanted or otherwise.
How do you choose which animals go to harvest?
Our breeding age males and females never go into our retail beef program. They stay breeders on the ranch as long as they are able to, and sometimes longer. We produce our own full-blood Akaushi bulls from our herds located in Eldorado and Giddings, TX. At around 18 months old, they get to come meet the ladies in our commercial beef herd in Garden City, TX that are Flying M Beef. Our full-blood Akaushi breeding males are also not put into our retail meat program. They work 2 times a year and spend the time in between getting fat and fancy for the ladies. Only the calves born specifically from our commercial herds, are our market animals that are slated for our beef program.
Are all your animals born on the ranch?
We raise almost all of our animals that are sold for our beef program. Beginning with the breeding decisions and pre-natal care of our mothers, to overseeing the harvesting and packaging process for consumption. Sometimes we will add animals from other trusted ranchers in our area that uphold our high standards. Ranchers like Whit’s uncle’s, Elmer and Alvin Braden, who have been raising cattle for years on their row crop operations in Coyanosa, Tx. Or Rustin and Kristin Knight in Plains, TX who follow and support Flying M Beef’s message of humane, healthy, regenerative Akaushi beef…. both began with purchasing full bloods from our herd in Eldorado and are now raising calves for our beef program. This helps us support other cattle raisers in our area, while not increasing herd pressure or overgrazing the lands that we are blessed to be stewards of.
Where do you ship your meats?
Anywhere in the continental US! We ship out on Mondays and Tuesdays for Wednesday through Friday deliveries.
How to place an order?
Shop online at…..
Wanting a special package or have a gift recipient in mind? You can reach LaShae directly at 806-781-4127 for special requests or to place an order.