Carrie Richards

Richards Grassfed Beef (RGB) is run by three siblings, Carrie, Tom, and Noelle, on their great grandfather’s ranch in a small town outside of Sacramento, California. RGB raises and sells grass-fed, grass-finished beef certified by American Grassfed Association (AGA) and Savory’s Ecological Outcomes Verification (EOV).

The three siblings came together in 2012 to provide their community of friends and neighbors with the highest quality grass-fed beef, in the most transparent and regenerative way possible. In total, they regeneratively manage 18,500 acres, including their uncle’s ranch in Modoc County. They are encouraged by the demand for regeneratively grazed, nutrient-dense meat that is good for the people, planet, and animals. Richards Grassfed Beef can be found in butcher shops, retail stores, restaurants, and through online, direct to consumer sales.

How did you become a Good Meat® producer?

Our family has been raising cattle on our home ranch in Oregon House, CA since 1941. Frustrated with labeling and greenwashing in the stores, we found ourselves wanting more honesty and transparency in our protein sources. In 2012 we decided to create a grass-finished beef business focused on those two principles, trust and transparency, we did this by tracking our animals from birth to plate in our custom online database.

Richards Grassfed Beef raises livestock that aligns with these Good Meat® values because in our opinion, that is the only way! Regenerating the land using livestock is our passion and we are so excited to be able to share our products with families across the west coast.

What is one thing you wish more consumers knew about raising livestock?

There are many different ways of raising animals and so many labels, it can get so confusing! Know that organic doesn’t always mean grass fed, and grass fed doesn’t always mean it was finished on grass. Read your labels carefully!

What meat, or meat dish, do you eat most regularly and what do you eat for a special occasion?

We are a family of four, so we consume A LOT of ground beef. But we love brisket, and every once in a while, if the extended family doesn’t steal it out of the freezer, we get to enjoy a wonderful bone-in ribeye or filet.

What is one of your biggest challenges as a Good Meat® producer?

Currently, our biggest challenge is finding places to process our animals. Since COVID hit, we have seen where all the bottlenecks in meat production lie, and it’s time to reform how meat is harvested, shipped, and cut in this country so we don’t see this happen again.