WAURIKA — Over the years, when they’ve described the Circle N Ranch to friends in North Texas, Gary and Lauren Nitschke have touted the unique nature of their land in Jefferson County.

Unlike the stereotype image outsiders have of Oklahoma, Circle N Ranch is 3,100 acres of gently rolling hills and forest in the Red River Valley; a creek wanders from north to south through the property, and wildlife abounds.

“It’s not at all what some people think Oklahoma looks like,” said Lauren Nitschke. “It’s not dry and flat and arid. People always comment on the beauty of the land.”

The topography of the ranch three miles south of Waurika is unique, which fits well with the couple’s ranching strategy of making Nitschke Natural Beef a unique product. So unique, in fact, that Circle N Ranch has been awarded an “Animal Welfare Approved” seal for high-welfare animal husbandry.

Animal Welfare Approved is a certification granted to family farmers who adhere to high animal welfare husbandry standards outlined by the non-profit Animal Welfare Approved program.

Accredited farms use the Animal Welfare Approved logo on their products, assuring consumers the animals were raised humanely on pasture, and the animals are allowed to exhibit natural behavior with minimal environmental impact.

That’s a long description of what Gary Nitschke called “ranching the new, old-fashioned way.”

Circle N Ranch has a 55-year history in Jefferson County, which began with Nitschke’s father, John.

“Gary is from Wichita Falls, and his dad bought the ranch in 1954. So, Gary’s been going back and forth from there all his life,” Lauren Nitschke said. “John is kind of a legend as being a gentleman’s gentleman. He was in the oil field supply business in Wichita Falls, and he ranched more for fun than for profit.”

When the ranch passed on to Gary Nitschke, the focus turned to beef production, and the theme of the operation took an ironic step back in time, to an era when cattle were raised naturally, which now seems a cutting-edge, New Age approach.

“We believe in sustainable agriculture, so we decided to take the ranch’s beef production in that direction,” Lauren Nitschke said. “For us, it’s been about a six-year turn in conventional thinking to kind of ‘out there’ thinking. But open-pasture ranching is catching on in the United States and Canada.”

Circle N Ranch’s cattle roam the ranch, feeding on pasture, which is reflected in the “All Pasture All the Time” phrase on Nitschke Natural Beef’s logo.

“Animal Welfare Approved aligns with our vision,” Gary Nitschke said. “We appreciate the standards, because we want to treat our animals correctly, and this is a way to assure our customers that we do just that.

“The seal is also meaningful to them, because it’s a great endorsement of our way of doing business.”

Gary and Lauren Nitschke work out of the company offices in Dallas, Texas, and the ranching end of the business is also a family affair.

Chris James is Circle N’s ranch manager and full-time cowboy. James’ 82-year-old grandfather, Buck, and father-in-law, Richard McGriff, are key contributors on the labor end.

The Nitschkes and James plan their forage development carefully, so there’s always ample grazing supply and healthy pastures. There are 200 cows roaming the range and their calves are grass-fed and “grass-finished,” which means keeping them on pasture for about two years.

The cattle are never confined to a feedlot, and the Nitschkes pride themselves on maintaining a low-stress environment, always making sure the cattle are handled gently and with respect.

“It’s very rigorous work, but we feel this is really how to treat animals and the land. Open pasture produces better beef and it’s better for the animals. They’re not born to be confined to feedlots,” Lauren Nitschke said. “Gary and I don’t eat everything organic per se, and it’s not that everybody else is wrong in how they produce beef. This is just our conviction.”

Circle N Ranch was the first in Oklahoma and Texas to adopt the Animal Welfare Approved standards. The Animal Welfare Approved program was recently endorsed by the World Society for the Protection of Animals as having “the most stringent” animal welfare standards of any third-party certifier.

The Nitschkes belong to the Grassfed Livestock Alliance, which Lauren Nitschke said is a “group of 12 ranches and farmers throughout Texas,” who practice open-pasture production and high-welfare animal husbandry. The group sells its beef to Whole Foods Markets, which distributes to WFM stores throughout Texas and in the Tulsa area under several different brands, including Frontier Meats Ft. Worth.

The company also privately sells beef in the Dallas area, labled as Nitschke Natural Beef. Nitschke Natural Beef is also sold directly from the ranch.

For information about the operation or ordering beef, call Lauren Nitschke at 214-942-0518 or go to the Web site www.nnbeef.com.

For information about Animal Welfare Approved, go to the Web site www.AnimalWelfareApproved.org.