Practices

The Land
Everything starts with and depends on the land. Karst Topography is the dominant feature here. Thus, we not only have to worry about the surface, but also the cave system underneath, which is one of the reasons we have rejected application of petrochemical herbicides and pesticides.
Our Cattle
We raise small framed Galloway/Angus cross cattle. Being roughly 70% the size of commercial breeds, they are easier on the land, while still producing well marbled beef efficiently on pasture.


Calving
Calves are born primarily in May & June, about the same time that deer fawn. By conforming to Nature's schedule, we have found that mothers and babies do better. This is contrary to commercial beef calving, which typically happens in January and February, when fresh grass is not available.
Pharmaceuticals
We do not administer hormones, antibiotics, pesticides (wormers and fly treatments), or vaccines to our cattle. We have found that regular pasture rotation takes care of most health issues regarding cattle. Should a bovine require antibiotics, we will treat it. Any beef we have given antibiotics is removed from our program. Cattle immune systems are very resilient, if given half a chance.


Diet
While our cattle are 100% grass fed and finished, they eat what ever grows in the pasture. Because we don't make use of herbicides, we also have lots of clover in our pastures and hay meadow. We didn't plant it. But we have managed pastures to promote it. Cattle love clover. Diet does affect flavor to some extent. In the winter months when forage is not available, we feed hay that was harvested from our farm. The only supplement we supply is Redmond's Trace Mineral Salt.
Handling
Respect and low stress are the words that best describe our approach to managing and handling cattle. Our beef never experience a cattle prod. They spend their entire lives on pasture. Our handling pens have rounded corners and are designed for low stress handling, ala Temple Grandin.


Rose Veal
Rose Veal is a rare form of beef, only available in early Spring. Shortly after their mother weans them, usually at 10 months old, we will process them. They are the best of two worlds with the flavor of our regular beef, but with the tenderness of veal. Ours are raised on pasture (just like our normal beef) with their mothers until they are naturally weaned by their mothers.
Beef
Born and raised on our farm, naturally weaned, and spending their entire lives on pasture, our beef are harvested between 24 - 30 months of age.


Processing
We employ a local family owned and operated processing facility, where our beef is dry aged for 14 days. All cuts are vacuum packed for durable freezer storage. Burger is packed in tubes.