Raise Em' Up
Our herd of cattle has grown along with our goals - we started off trying a variety of breeds, making our herd look a bit like a patch-work quilt! We have raised Highlands, Herefords, Brahmans, Angus, and Texas Longhorns - a number of the various beef breeds accessible to us in the Northeast!
While it may have seemed a bit silly to have so much variety, we did so to ensure we really knew what we liked in terms of demeanor, size, handling, feeding needs, and beef quality. Through this process we were able to narrow down what we truly liked to spend our time raising... Sometimes this was found out the hard way (don't ever bring us a Brahman cow again haha), but overall we are glad we tried so many so we could really figure out what our preferences were.
Our hearts are steady on Texas Longhorns. While this may be a little surprising and uncommon, let me tell you why we love them:
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They require less supplemental feed, as they will forage and graze where other cows will not. This is particularly beneficial to us as we have limited pasture space at this time. They are also a little smaller than other breeds, making them more affordable to maintain. This also means less stress on pastures, allowing ranchers to have larger herds.
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They are super hardy - even in Maine's cold winters! A very strong breed and will chase off predators!
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They are excellent when it comes to calving, requiring little to no assistance, and will continue calving well into their teens, providing a greater long term return on investment.
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Naturally disease resistant.
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Their beef is very flavorful and naturally lean, making beef meals healthier for all!
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Most are surprisingly docile and friendly, enjoying head scratches and treats.
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They are absolutely magnificent to look at!
Meet the Herd:
These cattle are part of our breeding program. While we do have other cattle in addition to these (about 15 head at a time), the ones pictured below are long term residents.
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How are the cattle fed?
We are raising natural, grass-fed cattle, that are supplemented with spent grains from our local brewery, Corner Point Brewing!
We believe in providing our cattle a natural existence. We rotate our cattle on naturally maintained pastures with fresh spring water during the warmer months. We do seed the pastures to add grasses that are higher in nutritional value for them, but we do not utilize any pesticides. We allow them free-choice hay (grass) and forage in our woodlands in the winter time, along with spent grains and occasionally top quality performance grain from our feed store (Dirigo Ranch Feed & Seed). With how cold our winters can be here, we choose to provide them with spent brewery grains to help keep them warm. "Beer-fed" beef means that the cows receive a highly digestible protein and energy source, and it is available year-round. This is also a wonderful way to recycle a byproduct that is otherwise unused. The cattle turn the hay and spent grains into beef as well as fertilizer, which in turn will compost for growth of new forage and grasses that will feed them the next spring!
Our cattle are free-roaming (not kept in a barn or stock confinements). They have space to roam individually, but are often happier snuggled together or moving as a herd.
Our goal is to raise cattle responsibly, joyfully, and in a peaceful setting where they will be loved on from the minute they arrive here, until the day they leave us. We don't use any added hormones and our beef is always anti-biotic free.
We want to bring you a beef product that is flavorful, balanced, tender, delicious and nutritious!
Well loved cattle make tender beef!
Where's the Beef?
We weren't expecting our cattle shares to sell out in less than 1 hour - so we have been quickly working on obtaining additional stock to meet demands. We hope to continue with rapid expansion of pasture area and herd size as time allows!
All our beef is USDA or Maine State Inspected butchered, and we have all required permits through the state to provide you with pre-packaged meat either at the local farmer's market, or directly here at the ranch.
Watch the Cattle Grow:
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