Verdant green and pale golden hills. Thick, rolling Bay Area fog. Crisp, salty breezes. Rich, unadulterated soils. The terroir of west Marin and Sonoma County is the secret ingredient to our delicious veal. We honor this land, sea, and air by raising our animals in the most humane manner possible, and this is how Rossotti Ranch produces some of the most delicious veal in the Bay Area. And now that we can ship across the country, anyone can experience the magic of humane, pasture raised Bay Area veal.
Our veal cattle spend their entire lives out on the coastal pastures of west Marin, which is one of the most beautiful locations in the Bay Area. Our family has lived here for generations, with my great grandfather and Tony’s great great grandfather emigrating out here together in 1892. That makes 125 years of our families ranching out on this spectacular land.
Fresh Air is Better for Everyone
One of the reasons why west Marin is perfect for ranching is the fresh coastal air that our beef cattle get to breathe every single day of their lives. Because west Marin and Sonoma County are so sparsely populated, the air remains unpolluted by cars or home furnaces or factories. I’m actually on the board of directors for MALT, the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, which works to protect ranches like ours and our neighbors from subdivisions, commercial development, and unsustainable ranching practices. MALT’s work is a model for other Bay Area organizations, and it is just one of the many factors that helps our veal live happy, healthy lives.
Sustainable Grass Cycles
We can also attribute the health of our beef cattle to the delicious diet they consume. The primary diet of our veal is the milk, enjoyed as nature intended, directly from the mothers who birth them. But once the cattle are old enough, they get to supplement their diet with the sustainable native grasses that grow on our coastal pastures. In the spring and summer months, the feast directly from the land. When the grass goes through its natural sparse spell, they are given access to hay that has been organically or sustainably grown nearby. The waste from the cattle act as a natural fertilizer, spurring on the growth of new grass. Then, the cattle keep the native grasses in check by consuming the grass once it is tall enough, thus completing the cycle and beginning it anew. If the cattle weren’t here to do this, the native grasses would grow unchecked, which would diminish our natural habitats and access to the beautiful bay.
Perfect Weather Creates the Ideal Environment
Relative to the rest of the Bay Area, the climate in west Marin is ideal for cattle ranching. We usually don’t have the soaring summer temperatures of the more inland areas, which means that even in the height of summer, our cattle aren’t overheating. In fact, the warm inland temperatures actually help pull the cooling fog off the bay, which acts as a natural air conditioner for our cattle! The Bay Area has winters mild enough to not suffer through frigid snowfall, ensuring our cattle get year-round access to the outdoors. That same fog that cools us down in the summer also helps to insulate us from extended freezing temperatures in the winter as well. So the west Marin climate really is ideal for humanely raising veal cattle.
Humane Means Something to Bay Area Consumers
The people of the Bay Area are savvy. More and more consumers are demanding ethically sourced coffees and chocolates, wine grown from biodynamically raised grapes, and produce uncontaminated with pesticides. It’s only natural that they have also demanded local, healthy and humanely raised meat. At Rossotti Ranch, we raise our cattle free from pens or crates, free from artificial formulas or antibiotics, much as nature has always intended. We’ve done this for centuries. We believe that by giving our cattle a good, happy life, we are acting ethically and creating a delicious, healthy, and valuable product.
Want to learn more about our practices? Check out our FAQ page. Ready to try the most humane and delicious veal available in the Bay Area or beyond for yourself? Visit Grotto Rossotti for packages to get you started, or create your own ideal shipment of veal.