True West Beef Brings Production of World-Renowned Brands Snake River Farms and Double R Ranch to Jerome.
A rich history in agriculture and hard-working ranching families are the backbone behind True West Beef. True West Beef will be a new model for beef production jointly owned by Boise-based and family-owned, Agri Beef, and cattle ranchers and feeders from around the region. Once completed, the new processing plant will be operated by Agri Beef and its management team. Agri Beef has owned and operated Washington Beef in Toppenish, Washington since 2003, so they are already experienced in beef processing.
Agri Beef has been in the beef supply business for over fifty years. Founded in 1968 by Robert Rebholtz Sr., Agri Beef began with a small feedlot in American Falls and has slowly and steadily grown into a company that is involved in every aspect of the beef lifecycle from ranch to table and deeply committed and passionate about preserving the ranching and “Western way of life.”
Through decades of beef production with a focus on creating high quality beef, Agri Beef is now recognized for producing two exceptional brands, Snake River Farms American Wagyu Beef and Double R Ranch Northwest Beef, both of which are planned to be processed at the True West Beef plant in Jerome. Locally, these brands are already available at Albertson’s and Oop’s City Market and also served at Jakers and Elevation 486 in Twin Falls.
Snake River Farms is a cross between Japanese Wagyu and traditional American beef breeds like Angus and Herford and represents the best of “East meets West,” intense marbling from the wagyu breed of Japan crossed with the beefy flavor of our great American cattle breeds. It is one of the highest-quality and most recognized beef brands today. One of the brand’s earliest fans was the famous restaurateur, Wolfgang Puck. “You can give me a pound of the best wagyu from japan, or a pound of this, and I’ll choose Snake River Farms every time,” said Puck in a Men’s Health magazine article.
Double R Ranch beef was developed as an alternative to “Midwest corn-fed beef,” previously always cited as the gold standard in the industry. Named in tribute to Robert Rebholtz Sr., the founder of Agri beef, who passed away in the late 90’s, the company wanted to create an alternative marketing position for the high-quality beef cattle raised in Idaho and the Northwest. With long summers, cool evenings, mild winters, and clean air and water, our region is an ideal climate for cattle production. The amazing quality beef offered by Double R Ranch NW beef is now finding a fan base all over the nation and internationally.
The company’s beef products are sold in restaurants and grocery stores from coast to coast and in over thirty-eight countries around the world. The company also sells directly to consumers on-line at www.snakeriverfarms.com, where the growth in on-line orders has been exponential in recent years. The company’s strong demand is the primary impetus for the development of the True West Beef plant. Company spokesperson, Jay Theiler, Executive VP of Strategy & PR, summed it up, “True West Beef will produce world class products in Jerome. We will be a great neighbor, community-involved and environmentally friendly. We want Jerome to be proud.”