Florida ranch takes 'farm-to-table' one step further

PUNTA GORDA (FOX 13) - In the fields of southwest Florida, a food revolution is in the making.  At Three Suns Ranch, the term “farm-to-table” takes on a new meaning, and a new flavor.

Owner Keith Mann is not your ordinary rancher.  "For me, this ranch is about accountability,” he said. “We decided we'd build a transparent business here where you can meet the cowboys, you can meet the butcher, you can see the animals. There's no secrets from the public here.”

Three Suns has about 5,700 acres of grazable farmland. And just what is grazing on that land? Bison.

"Bison has a distinct sweet flavor that's very pleasant to the palette. People have the impression that it's gamey, but that's not the case at all," Mann said.

The ranch also has cattle from which they harvest high-quality beef, USDA-approved, right on site. In addition to his prized wild hog offerings, bison, the other red meat, has seen a surge in popularity in the last 10 years.

By raising livestock raised without antibiotics or growth hormones, Three Suns is fueling the desire for an all-natural alternative to what you could find in a grocery store.

Mann's grass-fed natural approach has caught on in the culinary community. Clean Conscience Foods in Tarpon Springs sources the ranch for their line of protein-rich all-natural meats for people on the Paleo diet.

"We had to search through all different farms to find something that we could actually accomplish what we were looking for with bison and wild hog," explained Steve Edwards with Clear Conscience Foods.

And what made Three Suns stand apart? "They're organic, gluten-free and grass-fed. It's really hard to search for this stuff.”

The ranch even offers tours aimed at educating the public.

"If you really want to know where your food is coming from, you have a unique opportunity here to see where it comes from. There's no guessing games, no re-labeling no re-packaging, none of the silly stuff that takes place in the supermarkets," Mann told us.

LINKS:
For more information about Three Suns Ranch, visit http://threesunsranch.com/
To find out more about Clean Conscience Foods, visit https://facebook.com/cleanconsciencefoods/