The Heard

photo_theherdAbout Our Herd

Each year we send the two cows for a conjugal visit with award-winning Levi, a massive Highland bull, on Sauvie Island (email Ford Farms at:   firm151@teleport.com). Their latest calves go along, as they are not weaned on till they are at least eight months old. The remainder of their lives is spent on our farm, grazing on natural pastures March through November, and feeding on locally grown seeded hay (no spray or chemicals) during the winter months.

The youngsters live out their 2 ½ years before harvest as happily as imaginable, rotating from paddock to paddock according to the natural re-growth of the grasses and broad-leaf plants they graze. During winter they have access to a snug feed-barn, but being Highlands, they spend most of their time outside, particularly enjoying cold rain on their thick-haired hides.

Once a year we give minimal inoculations to all the animals and parasite control to the producing cows prior to their last trimester of pregnancy if they are due to calve. The steers never receive systemic parasiticides commonly given to market beef. Careful pasture rotation, attention to hygiene in the barn, and an active flock of pat-scratching chickens keeps parasites under control. None of our animals ever receive added hormones, meat products, or antibiotic feed supplements. The animals are harvested after 2 ½ years, with at least a final month of mature grass feed. The only grain they receive is occasional scoop in winter to keep the flora of their gut healthy!

Artesian beef

is much more than skillfully hand-cut meat  from grass-fed, drug-free steers.  It  should include a superior breed for flavor, tenderness and healthy meat;  natural grazing on pure pasture land; at least 6 months of mother’s milk; a  stress-free, un-crowded environment; humane slaughter in a natural environment  and long, cool air-curing of the hanging halves.  Cutting by knife, not saw, and flash freezing  the vacuum-packed product is the final touch.

Breed of Beef

Scottish Highland beef is arguably the healthiest beef in the world.   Having long hair and a unique second coat of “wool”, they do not produce the heavy layer of fat surrounding the meat of “modern” cattle.  They are the oldest known breed, recorded earlier than the 12th century in the Northern highlands of Scotland. The Royal family of England still maintains a herd for their premium beef.

Links:
www.ansi.okstate.edu
www.Scotlandfarms.com

Grass fed AND grass finished

Grass fed, grass finished beef is more nutritious than beef that spend even the minimal 90 days in a feed lot (as is in case with almost all commercial “grass fed” beef).
And grass-fed, grass finished beef is kinder to our atmosphere, both in CO2 and methane produced.

Links:
www.motherearthnews.com

Grass-fed is a perfect "10"

  1. Lower in total fat (1/4 of grain-fed)
  2. Higher in beta-carotene
  3. Higher in vitamin E (4 times more than grain-fed)
  4. Higher in B vitamins, thiamine and riboflavin
  5. Higher in mineral calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
  6. Higher in total Omega-3s (two to four times more)
  7. A healthy ratio of omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids (1.0 – 1.65 versus 4.84)
  8. Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans 11), a cancer fighter
  9. Higher in vaccenic acid (TVA)
  10. Lower in saturated fats.

Naturally healthy

Our artisan beef has no hormones or preventative antibiotics. Since it is not grain-fattened, the e-coli count is a tiny faction of conventional beef and what little there is cannot service the acidity of our stomach. Without the loads of antibiotics needed keep a cow alive on a feed-lot fattening routine, the production of antibiotic-resistant bacteria does not occur. The relaxed natural pasture environment is the only way to grow the animal needed to yield an artisan cut of beef.

Humanely treated

You can make bad beef from a great animal, but you cannot get great beef from an inferior steer. Even a grass finished organic steer of superior breed can be spoiled in its final days. A true artisan cut of meat should come from a steer that never experienced the trauma of separation from its herd, a horrendously crowded journey in a manure-drenched trailer to the death-camp of a common commercial slaughterhouse. Only farm-killed beef under the control of a caring owner well versed in animal handling and sensitive to individual animals will yield the ultimate beef.

Air cured

Not too long ago all beef was air cured. This is a process where the halves of beef are aged hanging in a cold-room with circulating air. The meat is gently aged for a month or longer, its natural enzymes tenderizing the fibers and enhancing the flavor. Up to 25% of the fresh weight is lost to evaporation. Today almost all commercial beef is immediately factory processed into boxed bags of large cuts. These boxes are then trucked throughout the country to be cut into serving-size at your local grocery.

Cut and wrap

Although a meat saw is indispensable in processing beef, its use is abused for the sake of saving labor. A band saw is fast, but it is messy, leaving bone powder on the meat and tearing the surface if the meat compared to the slice of a razor-sharp knife. It is best to knife-slice to the bone and follow with the saw.

Flash-frozen, vacuum-packed

Air and ice crystals are bad for meat! During the freezing process water forms crystals that can rupture the cellular walls which compromises the physical integrity of the product when thawed. Flash freezing is fast enough to minimize the crystalline grown to preserve the “fresh” characteristics. Vacuum packaging in hermetically sealed multi-ply barrier bags stops freezer-burn and preserves meats for a year without loss of flavor. Frozen meat should always be thawed slowly in the refrigerator, and never by microwave, as this tends to toughen the cut.

Recipes and cooking

Lean artisan beef requires special attention when cooking, too. Steaks, hamburger, and premium roasts should be cooked rare (or, if you MUST, medium-rare). If you like beef well done, you are looking at the wrong site! The following links have further suggestions, but keep it red!

Links:
www.highlandcattleusa.org
www.oliverranch.com

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