Beef & Chicken 

Our cattle never receive any grain, GMOs, hormones, antibiotics, or animal parts.  Our beef cattle are on our certified organic pastures all day 365 days a year.  Our poultry are raised on the same certified organic pastures and also receive feed made from our grains ground on our farm. Studies have shown that, compared to grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef are higher in omega 3 fatty acids and CLAs (conjugated linoleic acids).  Both omega 3 and CLAs are believed to have positive health effects for those concerned about the risks of heart disease, stroke, arthritis, dementia and cancer.  Studies have also shown that pastured poultry and eggs are also higher in omega 3 and, like grass fed beef, have a higher ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acids.

We take orders for our beef twice a year in May and September when we send out an order form to our customer mailing list. During the coronavirus pandemic we are selling one eight of an animal.  In normal times, our beef is sold by the whole, half, quarter or eighth. Most quarters will yield roughly 75 to 100 pounds of cut, wrapped and frozen beef.  A half will be twice that amount.  An eighth will be half of that amount.  Some customers share an order with neighbors, friends, or relatives.

All of the product is processed by the split half, also known as a lateral quarter, so that all customers receive identical cuts–we have no front or rear quarters.  Our meat is sold by hung weight, that is, before the butcher trims excess surface fat and cartilage and removes major bones.  After being trimmed, grass fed animals tend to have more meat and less fat per pound than grain fed animals.  The beef is dry aged to our specifications to ensure full flavor and tenderness.

The beef is processed in a full time USDA inspected family run facility.  Each piece is clearly labeled with the name of the cut and carries the USDA inspection seal.  Because Maryland has no operating certified organic beef processing facilities near us, once the animal is processed it will no longer be “certified organic”, even if raised totally organically.   The beef is still “all natural” and “100% grass fed.”

We have asked our processor to cut our meat first thing in the morning so that all surfaces are clean and free of other meat residues.  Most of the time, only our beef is processed on a given day.  Our processor uses the same clean up products we use on our organic approved on-farm chicken processing; bleach sanitizer and Dawn liquid detergent.

The processor can custom cut or modify your order any way you would like.  Write your special instructions on the back of your order form or on a separate sheet of paper.  Contact us for questions.

An eighth will usually fit in your refrigerator’s freezer compartment if you do not have a lot of other frozen food in it.  For a quarter or more, you should have a stand alone freezer.  Our beef keeps very well in the freezer for over a year.  Steaks and roasts are wrapped in a thin plastic sheet to prevent any surface drying, also known as freezer burn, and then wrapped in butcher paper.  The ground beef is packaged in one pound plastic tubes. Storing the beef in a manual defrost freezer also reduces any drying of the meat.