Anne Mitchell: Perseverance pays off

Published 3:00 am Thursday, July 6, 2023

: At Trodaire Farms near Elba, Idaho, Anne Mitchell breeds Black Angus bulls on Baldy cows and finishes them on potatoes.

ELBA, Idaho — Instead of feeding grain to cattle at a feedlot to finish them, Anne Mitchell turned to Idaho’s iconic crop — potatoes — at Trodaire Farms near Elba in southeastern Idaho.

To maintain a General Animal Practices 4 certification, she cannot use a feedlot, antibiotics or added growth hormones.

“Potatoes add a lovely and noticeable difference on our finished beef,” Mitchell said. “Our genetic program ensures the desired marbling, and the potatoes have added a wonderful finish. We do still supplement with some grain just to give them a little sweet indulgence, but they love their potatoes.”

Mitchell said it took several years for their ranch to receive GAP4 certification last year. The program’s standards require animals be raised on pasture 75% of their life, that pastures have 50% cover, and that specific weaning and castration guides be followed.

“I wouldn’t give up and received the certification in the spring of 2022,” she said.

“It’s a huge marker for Trodaire and sets us apart on a national scale. I’m shipping our pasture-to-plate beef as far as Florida and California.”

Although she decided not to apply for the official certification for 2023, GAP protocols are still followed.

Along with a specific diet to finish cattle, Mitchell is equally adamant about the herd’s genetics — breeding Black Angus bulls on Baldy cows.

“The first year that we had a pasture full of little black calves with gorgeous white faces on beautiful Hereford cows I knew I would never run a different type of commercial herd,” she said. “I got what I wanted. These cows checked all the boxes. Now seven generations later, we have added really good bull power to strengthen the desired genetic traits and keep improving year by year.”

With GAP4 certification and an ideal breeding program in place, she found a USDA-certified butcher in Wyoming who could handle their production schedule. Last summer, she shipped Trodaire Farms’ first box of pasture-to-plate beef.

“It was emotional because we’d worked so hard to get to that point,” Mitchell said.

She and her husband, Brady, established their 80-acre ranch in 2019. Considering different names for their ranch, they chose Trodaire, an Irish word meaning fighter, one who never gives up.

“It’s who we are and reminds us to never quit, to be persistent and optimistic, so we can turn our dreams into reality,” said Mitchell, showing a tattoo on her left wrist of Trodaire Farms’ brand, a combination of the letters T and F. “It’s my visual aid to not quit.”

Mitchell, 34, said, “You’re never too old to start checking off your bucket list dreams.”

She chronicles the challenges and satisfaction of raising cattle at www.trodairefarms.com.

A Capital Press’ annual special section that highlights the contributions women make in the agricultural sector.

Read the stories of the exceptional women featured Women in Ag 2023:

Erika Ackley: ‘I like the independence of farming’

Geri Byrne: ‘I love to organize’

Lerrina Collins: Fluent in the language of stockdogs

April England: ‘It’s not just a job, it’s a life’

Suzanne Gallagher: ‘I love the work, I love the land and I love the cattle’

Denise Godfrey: A love of plants, and for the community

Mary Hood: Shattering ceilings in ag banking

Sharon Hoyt: A passion for the ranching lifestyle