It’s important to us to maintain a healthy herd. The breed of cattle that we raise and sell is Black Angus – a breed hearty enough to live outside year round and adapt to the Vermont’s ever-changing weather. Our beef eat 100% grass. During the late spring, summer and early fall, we rotationally graze them on our 70+ acres, moving to a new paddock of grass every day or two. November through April they feed on haylage (grass that has been cut, baled and bagged) that we put up all summer. We also supplement their diets with an all natural mineral mix year round which helps maintain their overall health. If an animal gets sick, we do treat it with antibiotics if that is what’s necessary to save the animal. We then follow the slaughtering and withholding guidelines outlined by the antibiotic manufacturer. Beef cattle are quite hearty, so this kind of treatment is a rare occurrence. Our cattle do NOT receive any routine or systematic antibiotics or hormones.
Managed Intensive Grazing
We utilize Managed Intensive Grazing on our farm for the overall health of the land and quality of beef it produces. This is the practice of moving cattle or other ruminent animals with temporary fencing through small paddocks on a daily basis. This gives them a fresh plot of grass to graze while allowing previous paddocks time to rest and recover. This technique gives animals the most feed everyday to obtain optimum weight gain on pasture grass. Pasture yield is increased and the distribution of forage is improved.