History

When BSE was discovered in Canada in May 2003, our two cattle operations were hit hard like many other farmers in the country. We watched our income cut in half overnight... and to make things even worse, our cull cows, (which are cows that aren't good enough to raise calves) were only bringing $100 at the auction mart when they used to bring at least $ 1000. This situation led us to look into alternative ways to market our cattle and meat sales were the logical option. Grant was a certified meat grader and had been raising top quality Natural livestock for 25 years.

After many hours of thought and discussion, we saw a huge need for an old fashioned butcher store that specializes in farm raised beef that comes directly from the field to the consumer’s plate. We started to sell beef locally from the farm and learned that the consumer wants to know how and what these animals are fed. They also want as natural and fresh of a product as possible with no hormones, steroids or preservatives. After some more thought and planning, we decided we could provide such a product while giving the “old fashioned butcher shop” service.

In June 2004, Hirsche Fraser Meats opened the doors in Okotoks, Alberta. We enjoy the challenge of providing quality, rancher direct meat at competitive prices. Our growing clientele is proof that this venture is really worthwhile. Our original dream was to build a slaughterhouse with a retail store off the front, but this was not an option at the time. Now that we have been in business for 3 years, we have finally been able to see this dream move to the next step as we are working on building a packing plant. This will enable us to guarantee the supply and quality that we need and demand.