ROUND ROCK, Texas — It’s been a lifelong love, the way Nolan Ryan cares for cattle. As a young boy in Alvin, Texas, he purchased his first calf for just $1.50 back in 1957, bottle-feeding it himself. He enjoyed the animal so much, he told his mother he was going to buy a few more. He had to pay $2 each for the next ones, and learned a bit about profits and price increases back then, according to the American Cattlemen. The love of cattle stayed with him as he grew.
With time out in his teens to play baseball, he was so talented as a pitcher that later Ryan made it to the big leagues and helped the New York Mets win the World Series in 1969. He played Major League baseball for 27 years before he retired.
Round Rock has been the location of Ryan’s boutique butcher shop, Goodstock, since this past June, and the company now announces it offers online ordering and delivery of Goodstock Angus and Goodstock Black Label beef products. The shop is located at 3800 E. Palm Valley Blvd., Suite 110. The store is closed on Mondays each week.
Since the early seventies, the Hall of Famer and his wife, Ruth, have owned a cattle ranch, and he studied about the business in between travel for ballgames. In 2000, Ryan and some partner cattle ranchers launched Nolan Ryan Beef. In the fifty years since buying a ranch, Ryan’s dedication and focus on the cattle business have allowed him to build such a successful product and brand that he was given the Golden Spur Award in 2011 for his service to the ranching industry.
As an industry leader, Ryan has been committed to safe animal and food practices via involvement with the Temple Grandin Responsible Cattle Care Program, which is under the auspices of Food Safety Net Services Certification and Audit. Ryan’s is the first beef company to utilize the program which monitors animal conditions prior to harvest and conditions at the meat processing facility, according to Food Navigator.
Ryan’s commitment to the cattle care program means the welfare of the animals is a priority, based on what is called the Five Freedoms:
- Freedom from pain and injury or disease
- Freedom to express normal behavior
- Freedom from hunger and thirst
- Freedom from fears and distress
- Freedom from discomfort
The business is now taking orders for delivery for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and more.