Why Grass fed? Why not grass fed?
Why Grass-fed?
At the Long Pasture Sanctuary we employ grazing to manage the grassland habitat for different bird species. Simple enough, the goats and sheep graze the pastures to manage the pasture so it doesn’t revert back to woodland. We plan our grazing to avoid interruption of the various bird species breeding times. This is something we are going to learn more about and report on through this blog.
The goats and sheep work at chomping down the weeds: (Queen Anne’s Lace, Asters, Milkweed, Briars, Knapweed, Brambles) as well as the grass underlying the tall weeds. It’s such beautiful site too see: our herd of goats and sheep calmly chewing the grass, doing what they do naturally, goats being goats and sheep being sheep. The sound of them pulling up the grass mixed in with the sounds of the habitat with the life natural unfolding is quite amazing.
For many reasons this is not the case with most of the meat products purchased in the supermarket or even the brand name markets. There is nothing natural with the way animals are raised for meat in the larger food distribution setting. The setting is more industrial than natural, with animal welfare being a very low priority. Care and quality of life matter, they inform the taste and quality of the meat and its impact on the consumer. Grass-fed meats are leaner, tastier and overall a lot healthier for you and the animal involved. Often there is little need for any medications for these animals and hardly any need for antibiotics.
Instead of confinement, grazing livestock is beneficial for a variety of reasons. Ecologically, when grazing is managed appropriately the pasture benefits with richer soils. Grassland species improve from the reduction in weeds and taller plants that can’t develop from early grazing. Most importantly when grasses are grazed in a short duration the end result is a more vigorous grass that re-grows more readily and quicker than if it were to be grazed for a longer duration. This short duration results in faster re-growth and allows the pasture be grazed twice, and sometimes three times during a season, resulting in more productivity from the land and more income for the farmer.
Grass farming by its very nature is a local endeavor, there is no major harvesting equipment, no fertilizer, pesticide or other chemical inputs. There is no major investment in grain, which is petroleum resource dependent and in our case requires shipping to reach us. The farthest this meat will travel is to a USDA inspected processing facility, about 1/5 the distance your average meal travels to reach you. One renowned farm, Polyface farm of Swoope, Va is the pioneer of this type of farming enterprise, and is arguably The Resource for all your grass farming questions.
While our farm is in its infancy we see a way forward at time when a lot of this country isn’t able to see any forward direction at all. A goal of ours is to be transparent to our customers, we allow our customers to come visit whenever they want and help in any way they can. You can get to know your food and help the animal(s) to have a good healthy, full life that’s as close to nature as possible.
Buy fresh, Buy local, Buy grass-fed
