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Natural Beef |
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Our Naturally Raised Beef
Our animals are pasture raised and finished on a buffet of home grown grains, grasses and rich alfalfa hay. We believe that the responsible offering of wholesome ground corn and oats in the diet, in combination with good quality forage allows for maximum flavor and tenderness in our beef yet avoids the negative aspects of a grain only ration (feedlot ration). The animals are healthy, well nourished and content.
Natural also means minimally processed. It means that when you take home our beef you take home only beef. No added water. No chemical preservatives. Just nutritious and delicious….beef.
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Our farm is considered a cow/calf-to-finish operation. This means that animals are born and raised to maturity on our farm. The herd is ‘closed’ indicating that new animals are not regularly introduced into the herd other than by birth. A closed herd enables us to source identify all of our animals and reduces the risk of disease transmission. Our philosophy of animal husbandry meets consumer expectations for animal welfare, food safety, health and sustainable practice. Calves are born into the herd beginning in April each Spring. They graze on pasture with the cows for 7-8 months. During these Summer and Fall months the animals have unrestricted access to fresh water, shade and shelter. They are observed daily to ensure all are healthy and fit. By instituting sound and humane husbandry practices we minimize stress on the animals. This results in healthier individual animals and the herd as a whole.
At weaning the young stock live together as a group as they grow to maturity. During this time they are gradually introduced to high quality dry alfalfa hay and ground feed made from home grown non-GMO grains. The animals are never implanted with hormone/steroid growth promotants.
We take great pride in our cattle and are humbled in the role we play in transitioning these animals to quality food for the consumer. We believe in the middle ground between feedlot and 100% grass fed beef: the responsible offering of grain based feed as part of a healthy and fully balanced diet. We never add hormones or steroids to encourage over consumption of grain. As a result there is no need for sub-theraputic antibiotics. The animals adjust their own intake according to what their body needs. Just as with other ruminants that consume corn (sheep, deer) the flavor and tenderness of the meat is enhanced without any risk or detriment to the animal. Our animals eat a full buffet that includes ground cob corn and oats, alfalfa hay (what all MN grass fed animals eat in winter) and grass (when in season).
We believe that animals that are treated well their entire lives will both look and taste better to the consumer. This philosophy of compassionate treatment must carry through to the harvesting process as well. In order to maximize the dignity of our animals we partner with a local USDA State inspected processing facility, Taylor’s Meats (Watertown, MN) as they best and most humanely meet our needs. Additionally we appreciate the fine relationships they have established with consumers when custom processing orders for quarters and halves of beef.
Once processed you can find our beef in area restaurants and markets whose vision and priorities for local, natural and sustainable food align with our own.
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