"NATURE'S  BEST"  FARMSTEAD

SPLENDOR  FROM  GRASS

And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. Duet. 11:15

Soil . . . the substance of life
It all begins with a balance of nutrients in the soil. Cover crops, composted manure and other natural organic amendments are used on our farm to feed the micro-organisms in the soil. This keeps a high microbial activity thriving in the soil. Healthy soil contains many microorganisms; some experts estimate that they would weigh close to 2 tons per acre. Abundant organic matter (humus) in the soil creates a habitat that these microbes love and thrive including earthworms.

JUST GRASS!-- 100%

Soil tests are taken periodically to correct any soil imbalances that may exist. The Albrecht system of maintaining soil fertility is followed which emphasizes not only the 3 major nutrients but all the essential trace nutrients as well.

Practicing these traditions does not just follow the minimum protocol necessary to grow grasses and legumes. It also emphasizes the necessity of trace nutrients for a total balance in the soil. Healthy soils will produce healthy forages that will produce healthy animals.

If it’s in the soil, it’s in the forage. If it’s in the forage, it’s in our food. If it’s in our food, it’s affecting our health. We are what is in our soil.

A variety of forages are grown to provide a salad bar for the animals. The synergy from the forage mix keeps it all growing strong, healthy and balanced. The grass and legumes use energy from the sun like a huge solar panel to convert nutrients from the soil, air and water into something the animals will thrive on. Grass farming with a focus on the soil is more than a science; it is an art. It just makes a lot of common sense. We don’t cut any corners and it isn’t cheap. Growing healthy animals takes a commitment to do things the right way-- not the fast or cheap way.

Animals are rotated through a management intensive paddock system. As they eat the forage in one paddock, they are moved on to another. This keeps everything clean and fresh, gives the forage a necessary rest, and provides time for it to regrow before the animals return. All these practices influence the beef in flavor, tenderness and healthiness. Definitions of common health food terms can mean very different things today. Currently, there is much confusion about food production practices. To assist you in making informed choices, some of the most common methods are listed here.

Conventional - This is the way most beef in the US is raised. After forcefully weaning calves, they are sent to feedlots and kept in crowded pens often ankle deep in their own manure. They are fed a total mixed ration (TMR) which besides hay or corn silage, grain, and a steady dose of antibiotics may consist of ingredients listed under the heading “Eat With Knowledge” elsewhere in this article.

 

"The nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself." -Franklin D Roosevelt

Grainfed - Grainfed animals may be fed grain only or a forage diet supplemented with grain. These are often raised inside a building or in a barren paddock all their lives.

Free Range - This label is probably the most deceptive one. It gives the implications that animals are raised in the semi-wild. The truth of the matter is that this label may be used  on products from animals raised inside a building all their lives as long as they can move around freely. They may have access to the outdoors in a small barren paddock. All that producers must demonstrate is that the animal has been allowed to move around of its own free will and/or have access to the outside.

Natural - The naturally raised marketing claim standard states that livestock used for the production of meat and meat products have been raised entirely without growth promotants, antibiotics (except for ionophores used as coccidiostats for parasite control), and have never been fed animal by-products. They may otherwise be raised in a conventional manner.

Grain Finished - Grain finished animals  may be raised conventionally with no grain until the last few months before harvest.

Grass Finished - These animals may be raised in confinement on conventional diets and then for the last few months before harvest, have access to pasture.

Pasture Based - This farming method may be the same as conventional, except that animals have access to pastures.

Organic - For the most part, an organic label is simply a guarantee of what the food does not contain. The food will not contain residues from pesticides, antibiotics, synthetic growth hormones, or any other of those six syllable words you don’t know how to pronounce. An organic label does not guarantee good nutrition. Organic will be cleaner than conventional, but not necessarily more nutritious. Organic animals may be vaccinated and raised in confinement as long as they are fed certified organic feedstuffs.

Grassfed - Grassfed meat is likely to be free of the most undesirable elements even when it isn’t certified organic. I don’t know of any grass farmers who use synthetic chemicals on their animals or land. We believe the best food choice of all is buying products from a grass farmer who is certified organic and focuses on feeding the microbes in the soil.  Meat from ruminants that are 100% grassfed are the healthiest! You can be assured that the food is not only clean but healthy and nutrient dense, just the way nature intended. You will pay more for the privilege, but in the long run it will be worth it!

Some producers claim the grassfed label even though the cattle are raised in feedlots and/or are fattened on grain the last few months before harvest. This is an adulteration of the term. Nature did not intend for ruminants to eat grain. Ruminants have difficulty digesting grain and frequently develop liver tumors and other disorders as a result of grain feeding. It is an easy way to make an animal grow fat faster. However, this upsets the balance of the all important Omega fatty acid ratios. Research has proven that grainfed cattle are much more likely to be contaminated with acid resistant forms of E coli bacteria. The most significant drawback is that their meat contains more of the “bad” fats that clog our cardiovascular system and less of the good essential fats our bodies need to maintain good health.

"Civilization itself rests upon the soil." -Thomas Jefferson

Feeding grain to a ruminant will cause it to lose its stores of vitamin E, beta-carotene, CLA, and Omega-3’s. It doesn’t matter if the grain is organic or not. Feeding any amount of grain to a ruminant anytime in its life makes its meat less beneficial for human consumption. Compared with grainfed meat, grassfed meat has as much as 4 times more vitamin E, 5 times more cancer fighting CLA, 3 times more heart friendly omega-3’s, and twice as much beta-carotene. It is also lower in calories, total fat, and saturated fat.

Americans currently have a gross imbalance of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids. This is largely caused by eating meat from ruminants which have been fed grain. Research on people who had at least one heart attack and were put on a high Omega-3 diet showed a 70% decline in mortality. These same people also showed a 61% decline in cancer deaths. Omega-3 is an important fat needed by the human body for proper brain development. Children who were fed high Omega-3 diets had an IQ nine points higher than the average child. These diets were also effective in treating depression. Omega-3 fatty acids are produced in the green chlorophyll in grass and legumes. Grassfed animals have a proper balance of the omega fatty acids.

Currently, the US has the least amount of CLA in its diet of any industrialized country in the world. This is a fairly new phenomenon though. In 1947, 70% of all beef consumed in the US were from grassfed animals. In order to produce the healthiest meat, the animals need to be 100% grazed directly on their natural diet of fresh grass and legumes and fed stored forages of the same during the winter season. Forages can be stockpiled for winter grazing with good management and good weather. This is what nature intended for these animals.

"There can be no life without soil, and no soil without life." -Charles Kellogg

 

Flavor, texture and most of the health benefits of 100% grassfed beef come from the fat. Marbling occurs only in a truly “finished” animal, one that has been harvested at maturity (18+ months for males and 13-15+ months for females) and has gained more than 1.7 pounds a day for its last 2 months. This rate of gain requires excellent forage quality that is nutrient dense.

Be wary of beef that is advertised as “lean meat.” This is often a sign that the animal was not properly finished or the forages were of poor quality. The health benefits of CLA and Omega 3’s are concentrated in the fat of the animal, not the protein portion. Although there are many factors that can influence the flavor and tenderness of meat, marbling is the best indicator. Industrial beef is often tenderized with machines and chemicals.

Genetics are also important for producing a gourmet product. All things can be done correctly with excellent management in raising ruminants to produce a flavorful, tender gourmet grassfed product, but in the end, genetics will be the winner. The genetics of most of the beef cattle in the US have been selected to finish quickly and easily on a grain supplemented ration in confinement such as the feedlots.

The ultimate industrial feedlot beef animal is ill suited for artisan grassfed products. The British, French and Alpine Heritage breeds perform the best on just grass. That’s how it was done in the good old days. Success was measured by taste, and not by the efficiency of the process.

Where did all the healthy beef go?
Scientists today are looking at diets containing grassfed meats. Staffan Lindeburg of Lund University in Sweden found in a study he conducted that islanders in Papua New Guinea who eat yams, fruit, fish and coconut rarely suffer from heart disease. The Inuit Eskimos from Alaska were also immune to vascular disease until their traditional diet of meat and animal fat was replaced by “civilized foods.” Lauren Cordain of Colorado State University in Fort Collins assembled a team of researchers and compared the muscle, brain, bone marrow and fat of wild animals with those of conventionally raised cattle. The meats from wild animals contained about 2% total fat compared to 5-7% in conventional USDA inspected “lean” beef. The conventional beef contained twice the amount of saturated fat.

The fats from naturally grazed animals have a high content of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), an essential fat that counteracts inflammatory actions including cancer caused by “bad fats” from eating grain and other rations not intended for ruminants. This same CLA which converts human fat to lean muscle and the “good” cholesterol reducing Omega 3 fatty acids which are formed in the green leaves of plants are almost nonexistent in conventionally raised feedlot meat animals. According to a study conducted by the University of IA, grains have an abundance of “bad” Omega 6 fatty acids and meat animals which are fed grain tend to accumulate these in their meat.

 

"To forget how to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." -Mahatma Ghandi

 

Eating conventionally raised meat can lead to a wide variety of inflammatory conditions and heart disease. (Didn’t your doctor tell you eating a lot of red meat is bad for you? Recent scientific research suggests "Eat less grain-fed meat" would be much better advice.) Grassfed animals are rich in beta-carotene, CLA, the B vitamins and the proper balance of “good” essential Omega 3 fatty acids. For those preferring meat, this is most welcome news!

As stated previously, scientists are continuing their research of the health benefits obtained from grassfed meat. All the previously stated facts were proven in research stations. Among the many different experiments which were done, we must tell you about one. A group of mice were fed a poor diet and were injected with cancer cells. The group was divided after some time with one as a “control group” which continued to receive the poor diet. The second group was fed the fat from a grassfed animal. These all recovered while the control group died-- of cancer.

What is the true cost of the "cheap" food you consume after you get done treating a major disease?

 

Your Health and Disease
Each year in the US, over 20 million pounds of antibiotics are fed regularly to livestock. Pathogenic bacteria resistant to antibiotics have grown from 1% in 1980 to over 34% today. Conventionally raised grain which is fed to cattle is grown with liberal applications of pesticides which according to the EPA, their residues are found in close to 95% of conventional meat and dairy products. Over 70 chemical residues have been found in human tissue that didn’t even exist 50 years ago. Combine all this with genetically modified feed rations for cattle; is it any wonder the incidence of disease is on the rise especially cancer, diabetes, mental & immune disorders, etc.? In 1900, 3% of Americans had an incidence of cancer. In 2000, the rate is 38%.  At this pace, by the end of the next century, 100% of Americans will get cancer. Diabetes has risen 400% in the last 20 years. Alzheimer’s now strikes 50% of the people over age 70. Sixty years ago it didn’t exist. Most degenerative diseases develop within a window of 5 years. It is 1,600 times more expensive on the average to treat a major disease than to take steps in prevention.
Ref: Why Grassfed is Best and The Omega Diet both by Jo Robinson. Ref: Second Opinion Volume 12 #6 June 2002

Pastured Beef Tops Canadian Tenderness Test
Charlottetown, PEI  CANADA
In a test of cooked beef, measured physically and by a sensory panel, tenderness was greater for cattle finished entirely on pasture than those supplemented with grain. This tenderness test was just a small part of a research project conducted at the Crop and Livestock Centre in Charlottetown. The project was primarily designed to see if pastured steers would have more CLA if supplemented with whole roasted soybeans rather than barley grain or TMR (Total Mixed Ration). In the study, steers supplemented with soybeans had lower CLA percentages than those supplemented with grain or fed a TMR. The soybean supplemented steers also had the highest amount of saturated fat, the toughest meat, and the smallest loin area. Steers fed pasture alone had the highest level of CLA and the highest levels of unsaturated fat. The CLA level for c9, the strain of CLA that has been implicated in the reduction of heart disease and cancer, was nearly 60 percent above the soybean supplemented steers and 44 percent above the TMR fed steers. The grassfed steers also had the highest lean meat carcass yield of all groups. The Research Centre concluded from the trial that pasture finished cattle can obtain acceptable carcass weights, finish and yield beef that is more tender, and which contains 4-5 times the concentration of CLA’s than conventionally raised beef.
Ref: The Stockman Grass Farmer July 2002 Vol. 59, #7

Eat with knowledge
Common feedlot beef regularly consume antibiotics, growth hormones, genetically modified feed, “by-product feedstuffs” like tankage (ground up waste parts of other animals), chicken manure, stale pastry, and waste paper products-- and grain. Real healthy beef eat just grass.

Did you know the average grocery item nowadays travels 1,500 miles before it reaches your table? “Economical”, generic, amalgamated, extruded, irradiated, chlorinated, genetically engineered, adulterated, fecal particulate, pseudo-foods are widely available in grocery stores-- because of centralized concentrated factory food production and processing. We believe the grocery cart is the most dangerous vehicle in America today.

Got Tasty Beef?
Does your store bought beef taste like ketchup and steak sauce? Grassfed beef looks different, cooks different, smells and tastes different. Real beef is so much better you won’t believe your taste buds!

Grassfed meat has very little or no shrinkage when cooking. Three lbs. of grassfed beef equals approximately 4 lbs. from the department store.

Our grassfed beef animals

• ❀ feasted on a lush, green, healthy, nutrient rich salad bar of a diversified forage diet (no grain) as nature originally intended!
• ❀ are managed in a peaceful, low stress environment
• ❀ had free choice of natural minerals including thermo dried icelandic kelp
• ❀ lived in the fresh air & sunshine
• ❀ had an ample supply of fresh water
• ❀ are rotated through a system of paddocks so they constantly have fresh grass to eat
• ❀ are allowed to nurse naturally from their mothers and are naturally weaned by them at the proper time
• ❀ have a rate of gain conducive for producing fine textured, tender meat
• ❀ are locally grown and locally processed
• ❀ are non-chemically dry aged and flash frozen
• ❀ harvests occur during the grass season to maximize the benefits from grass
• ❀ Solid tasting, tender & table ready

From Our Customers
“We’ve never had meat that tastes so good. And it isn’t tough and smelly like the beef we purchased from another grassfed farmer.” - N. Kunst  Milford, MI

“Your meat is better than good!”

“Your meat is the best. I don’t think I could eat anything else anymore.”  
- J. & B. Anderson Warsaw, OH

“We made a meat loaf dish using your grassfed beef for an occasion in our neighborhood. The recipe we used was a very common one using salt, pepper, water and onions. A lady asked me if she could have the recipe I used because, according to her, it tasted like no other and was very delicious. I explained to her that it wasn’t the recipe; it was the grassfed beef, and it’s not only full of flavor but very healthy.”
-J & L Miller   -Fredericksburg, OH

(a letter received)
Dear Mr Miller,
    My husband and I recently purchased a side of beef from you.  We had previously purchased the 50 pound package in the summer and were very pleased with the beef that we had received.  It had very little fat, tasted great and we were excited about the benefits of consuming grass-fed beef.  
   However, the beef that we just picked up from the processing place is of a different quality.  When we had cooked the beef from the summer there was very little fat.  This beef when cooked, left a pretty significant layer of fat in the pan when making meatballs.  Also, just in the package it appears to have a lot more fat - we did a side by side comparison with the other beef we purchased from you.  
    We were wondering if there was any explanation for this. We would like to continue ordering from you because it’s very easy, convenient and we really liked the quality of the beef from this summer, so we would like to know how to avoid this in the future.  Thank you.
Sincerely, -M. Codispoti

(our reply)
Thanks for writing us. The beef harvested in the spring and early summer are naturally not going to have as much fat because the animals will have used some of their energy reserves during the winter. Fall harvested animals will have more marbling and back fat. It is nature’s way to prepare the animal for winter. If you prefer to avoid the fat, it is best to obtain your beef harvested in spring or early summer.

For your information-- Many health minded people nowadays are requesting their animals have an ample amount of fat. Long ago when the Indians shot their deer and buffalo in the fall, they abandoned any animal that didn’t have at least 1/4 inch of back fat. They believed the animal was sick. Our body needs fats to function, albeit the good fats. Animal fat that is tinted yellow or even yellow orange is healthy fat rich in CLA and the “beta” essentials. Animal fat that is pale and/or white usually from grain fed animals is unhealthy and is to be avoided. Thanks! -D. Miller

Our Goals
We are a small family owned, grass farm located among the rolling landscape in the heart of Ohio's largest Amish country. Our vision for the future of our farm has a lot to do with the view right outside our window. We know about the deep seated passion for the land and our responsibility to use its bounty as good stewards. So we leave it healthy for future generations, not depleted of natural minerals nor saturated with artificial chemicals. When we talk about our commitment to raise our food products right, or the importance of sustainable farming or our interest in the environment, it's not just some big corporate marketing hype, it's literally how we live.

We are certified organic. (Link:http://www.oeffa.org/userprofile.php?geg=861) The traditions we practice go beyond organics. We hold to even higher standards than organics require with a focus on feeding the soil which will grow healthy forages. We use absolutely no chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones, antibiotics, vaccinations, and no grain for “grassfed” ruminants harvested for meat, etc. Today’s conventional farmer harvests and feeds crops to animals and hauls the waste nutrients back out to the fields with machines. Industrial factory farming and processing stinks; literally.

 

Just grass!-- 100%

 

The grass farming method dramatically cuts down on the huge inputs like purchased feed & labor. Instead, it emphasizes nature’s way of harvesting the grass and distributing the waste nutrients with animals. Grass farming appeals to all the senses; pleasant sights, pleasant sounds, pleasant smells. It heals and regenerates. Greens in the diet completely change the nutritional profile of our foods! They contain higher amounts of vitamins and minerals. You can taste and see the difference.

We invite you to put a face to your food sources and experience the satisfaction of knowing where the food you eat comes from and how it was raised. Adorn your plate and palate with the rich color and taste of our products. This is the ultimate in clean food excellence. Join the ranks of the few, the chosen, the educated vigilante intelligensia.