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Sustainability

We believe that true sustainability focuses on symbiotic biological systems (i.e. nutrient recycling via livestock, crop rotation, pasture-based production, and soil) a.k.a. regenerative agriculture. Detailed further:

 

Farming As Nature Intended

Sometimes the pasture is a frozen tundra but we believe that ruminant animals are best suited to move freely across pasture, drink clean water, and be treated humanely. Our hogs are free-raised outdoors in the warm months and provided shelter and deep-bedded pens in the winter.

Animal welfare is centrally important to us. If it's important to you, please know that we're on the same page. There is NO animal rights organization that cares more about livestock welfare than us. Animals provide us a living - we don't receive our sustenance via donations through infomercials - so rest assured, we treat our animals with dignity.

  • Hogs: pigs that enter our pork program are free-raised & roam within an expansive outdoor pen filled with trees and nut brushes. We are working on an expansion to a forest-based hog-raising operation later in 2020. Our hogs can root, explore, and relax in comfort. We feed a diet that is mostly comprised of small grains. We feed canola meal (no soy), cracked corn, wheat and barley. We also recycle composted leftover food from a local restaurant (The Watershed Cafe) and feed that weekly to our hogs. Most of our hogs are Berkshire x Yorkshire crossed. Designed to blend the carcass quality of the Berkshire breed with the prolificity and production of Yorkshire.
  • Lamb: although we don’t raise the sheep ourselves, we expect our partners to align with our standards to minimize stress, provide ample animal comfort and deliver genetically superior carcasses. Thus, our lamb represents a diet very similar to our cattle and the expectation of quality care stands, too. We work with 4-H families that we’ve known over the years. Most of our lamb is Suffolk-cross.

    We employ safe handling practices when handling all livestock. This includes chutes and systems designed to reduce nervousness and anxiety. We give ample room to maneuver for decision making. We do not use any hot shots or sharp objects.

 

Proprietary Butchery

Each of our carcasses undergoes a proprietary dry-aging process (via relative humidity, temp, air flow) before breakdown. By controlling the entire process we can ensure quality from harvest to packaging.

We welcome visits to the farm. Early summer is perfect for demonstration because of the beginning of the growing season. Please note: we’re restricting farm tours during Covid-19 to prevent virus spread.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Are you 100% grass fed beef?

    We are not 100% grass fed. We implement two biological systems (managed organically): crop rotation & rotational grazing. We utilize non-gmo grains/grasses (oats, corn, wheat, barley) in rotation with our pasture legumes (pink clover, alfalfa). We use the grains for feed, bedding, and key nutrient recycling as part of a regenerative soil system. Our cattle graze legume/grass pastures while building soil/sod.

  • What does “free-raised & grazed” mean?

    Free-raised & Grazed is our regenerative agriculture term to best describe our animal husbandry and stewardship practices. We keep our livestock in their natural environments whenever possible. Given the dormant nature of winter, we are not able to graze year-round but we ensure ample, clean space.

  • Are you certified organic?

    We are not certified organic. We manage our pastures organically but we do not use certified organic seeds for crop production. However, we raise non-gmo cereal grains/grasses. We do not administer synthetic growth hormones nor feed antibiotics to our livestock.