Why Grassfed?

Grassfed. At Maple Creek Farm, our lambs are raised on about 25 acres of pasture, where the animals feed primarily on fescue, orchardgrass, and clover.  We use a management intensive grazing (MIG) system where animals are kept on a small area of pasture and rotated to fresh grass frequently.  This maintains vigorous, healthy stands of grass, and as a result, vigorous healthy sheep.  We try to graze our sheep for ten months out of the year and hope to feed as little hay as possible in February and March.

Pastured. Our pigs are kept on green pasture during the summer months, and on cropland or in the barn during the winter.  We use a deep bedding system in the barn where hay or other carbonaceous material is piled deep to absorb pig waste and provide a warm comfortable bed for the animals.  In the spring, this nitrogen rich organic matter will be piled to cure for several months before it is used as mulch or fertilzer.

Pigs cannot survive on grass alone, so ours are fed a hormone and antibiotic free grain based feed to which they have unlimited access.  Our pigs turn this feed into excellent fertilizer.  We see our investment in pig feed as our primary fertilizer input for the farm and never use synthetic fertilizers.

Back to the Pasture. Since the late 1990s, a growing number of farmers have stopped sending their animals to feedlots to be fattened on grain, soy and other supplements. Instead, they keep their animals home on the range where they forage on grasses, their native diet. These farmers do not treat their livestock with hormones or feed them growth-promoting additives. As a result, the animals grow at a natural pace. Grass-fed animals live low-stress lives and are so healthy there is rarely any reason to treat them with antibiotics or other drugs.

More Nutritious. A major benefit of raising animals on pasture is that their meat is healthier for you. For example, compared with feedlot meat, meat from grass-fed animals has less total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. It also has more vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and a number of health-promoting fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid,” or CLA. For more information on the nutritional benefits of grassfed meat see: http://www.eatwild.com/basics.html

The Art and Science of Grassfarming. Raising animals on pasture requires more knowledge and skill than sending them to a feedlot. For example, in order for grass-fed beef to be succulent and tender, the animals need to forage on high-quality grasses and legumes, especially in the months prior to slaughter. Providing this nutritious and natural diet requires healthy soil and careful pasture management so that the plants are maintained at an optimal stage of growth. Because high-quality pasture is the key to high-quality animal products, many pasture-based farmers refer to themselves as "grass farmers." They raise great grass; the animals do all the rest.

The Healthiest Choice. When you choose to eat meat from animals raised on pasture, you are improving the welfare of the animals, helping to put an end to environmental degradation, and giving your family the healthiest possible food. It’s a win-win-win situation.