It starts with healthy soil.

To raise great grass finished beef, we start with healthy soil. Healthy soil is alive; teeming with microbes, fungi, insects and roots. From healthy soils, plants and grasses flourish and provide a salad bar of pasture for our cattle, sheep, and the wildlife that inhabit our farm.

We farm using a system referred to as “Regenerative” farming. This means we farm in a way that improves, or regenerates the land we are entrusted with. Well managed cattle and other ruminant animals play an integral role in building and maintaining great soils. Cattle function as “walking composters”, composting the forages they eat and then returning them back to the soil in the form of urine and feces fertilizers, all while growing some of the most delicious, protein rich, nutrient dense food on the planet - beef. Well managed cattle don’t take from the environment, they actually give back to it, by building organic matter and sequestering carbon back into the soil. We need well managed grazing animals for our environment to be healthy. That’s why, despite what the lab-meat companies will tell you, grass-fed beef is actually GOOD for the environment!

Part of regenerative farming and managing cattle and land well involves making sure the pastures are grazed at the right times and also given rest periods. This is called “rotational grazing”. Our cattle pastures are divided into small sections with fencing, and cattle are moved or “rotated” through the pastures. This allows the cattle to eat the best quality grass, and also allows the grass to grow and rest when it’s not being grazed.

Our cattle spend the winter on pasture as well, and we feed them hay when there is no longer enough grass to graze. We use systems called “strip grazing” stockpiled forages and “bale grazing” to extend our grazing season and improve pastures over the winter months.

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These management strategies keep our cattle healthy overall. We take a very natural approach to animal health, and we use de-wormers and vaccines sparingly. We never give our cattle hormonal supplements of any kind. We are so fortunate that Josh is also a veterinarian, and we have his skills and knowledge when we need them! Occasionally, if sickness occurs and the need arises, we will use antibiotics or other medications to treat an animal. Treated animals are removed from our beef program.

Part of grass finished beef is seasonality. Proper finishing takes place when cattle can be rotated through pastures where the grass is in excellent condition. In Kentucky this is usually from late April-July, and from late September-December. We try to avoid the hottest summer period and the coldest winter period in the winter when the grasses are dormant. Our cattle usually finish at around 24-30 months of age. This is quite a bit longer than the 14-16 months it takes for typical grain finished beef to finish. Grass-finishing beef is part science, part art form. It takes time, patience and attention. There are no short cuts to amazing 100% grass-finished beef, but we think the quality is worth the wait!

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