PRODUCTS
ORGANICALLY-FED CHICKEN
The broilers arrive at the post office as day-old chicks then spend the first three to four weeks of their life in our brooder. Once they're big enough to survive in the field, we crate them up and move them out to their new home on the pasture. For many years, we housed our broilers in Polyface-style "pasture pens," but we grew tired of fighting gravity to move them on our hillsides, plugging holes on uneven ground, and suffering significant losses from predators, who would simply dig under or rip their way into the pens. Out of exhaustion, we accidentally invented our "Nomad" system, which is a simple, completely portable set up involving electrified net fences and a fleet of hay wagons topped with corrugated roofing metal for shade.
The net is positioned on a gradual decline and set up in rounded rectangle shape, with the Nomad wagons lined up on one end. The chickens congregate under the Nomads at night and during the heat of the day, laying down high quality natural fertilizer in the form of manure as they do. Each morning, we roll the Nomads forward a full space, giving the birds the opportunity to rest on clean new ground. By the time the Nomads reach the other end of their paddock, we set up the next set of nets and open them into a completely new space. This gradual progression over pasture allows for managed amendment of fertilizer without having to herd the birds over long distances, and keeps stress low for both the farmer and the poultry. The electric mesh fencing keeps ground predators out and chickens in, while providing exponentially more room to roam than the old pasture pens. Our Toulouse geese prevent attacks from aerial predators like hawks and crows. We use gravity-fed bell drinkers, which hang from the sides of each Nomad and are filled by a reserve tank uphill, and lightweight feeders that are positioned alongside each Nomad. In addition to the young grasses and insects they harvest from the pasture, the broilers eat Panorama Certified Organic Grower Feed, which we buy through Dawson Gap Farm in Purcellville, Virginia.
ORGANICALLY-FED PEKIN DUCK
We raise the white Pekin duck, a busty meat breed we like for its consistent growth, reasonable but not overwhelming fat content, and even meat-to-bone ratio no matter the dressed weight. They are relatively mild in flavor - rich and earthy, but not gamey. The Pekins are excellent foragers with high resilience in the field. Like the broiler chicks, they arrive to us at the post office, then spend only two to three weeks in the brooder before graduating to the pasture. The ducks are also enclosed within several feathernets, but instead of Nomads, they have access to a moveable structure on skids, which we call the Duck Barn, or "The Darn." During the days, they mostly prefer to spread themselves out all over the paddock to preen and enjoy their personal space, though they occasionally visit The Darn to eat and drink, or for shade on especially hot days. At dusk, one person can herd them fairly easily into The Darn, where we keep them extra-safe from predators until morning. The Darn then gets pulled forward one space every morning, which ensures that the pasture receives equal impact and fertilization and gives the ducks access to clean, dry shelter.
Our ducks supplement their pasture diet of bugs and greens with Panorama Certified Organic Grower Feed, which we buy through Dawson Gap Farm in Purcellville, Virginia. We do a lot in the name of sustainable agriculture, and we are proud to be able to make the switch to organic feed, which ensures that neither GMOs nor any chemicals were used to grow their feed. This lessens our environmental impact while ensuring that no bad stuff gets to you through our meat. While we do not claim to be selling organic duck, as we still can't afford the time or paperwork that comes along with that official certification, we think feeding our pastured ducks organic feed is a big step in the direction of sustainability.
One key difference between duck and broiler production is the watering system. Because ducks are waterfowl, they need to submerge their beaks fully in water to clean out their nostrils and get a big enough drink to maneuver feed down their long throats. Thus, in addition to the suspended bell waterers that move with The Darn, we also provide them with a gravity-fed trough, outfitted with a float valve, that allows them to dunk their heads, gulp, and preen as they like. Unfortunately, we have not come up with a portable, low-impact, agony-free system that allows the ducks to swim, and opening up a batch of 400 ducks to any pond or stream at one time would overload that ecosystem with nitrogen from their manure. But factory duck doesn't get to swim either, nor does it get to eat grass, forage for crickets, or see the sun. We believe our pastured Pekins are a delicious and substantial improvement over factory duck, while being an excellent addition to our pasture management program.
BRITISH WHITE x ANGUS BEEF
Around the time we began the farm in 2010, a neighboring hobby farmer raising British White cattle was retiring. British Whites are a heritage breed prized for their good mothering skills, gentle demeanor, heat tolerance, and excellent feed conversion ratio on an all grass diet. These traits were attractive to a couple farmers interested in raising 100% grass-fed beef, but without a cattle herd. So we worked out a deal: he handed off his herd to us in the form of a no-interest loan, and we paid him back over a few years with beef, various odd jobs, and checks when we had the funds. (Side point: if starting a livestock farm is financially intimidating, get creative!)
As we grew our beef program, we were happy with the meat but not with our finished weights. British Whites are a naturally small and stocky breed, and because grass fed animals can take two years or more to grow to slaughter weight, we wanted more yield in exchange for our labor. We began breeding in Angus genetics, which increased frame size and marbling without sacrificing temperament. When you move animals every day on foot and without permanent fencing, it is vital to maintain a calm, aggression-free herd, and the British White genetics help us do that well.
Our herds get moved every day to every few days throughout the growing season, with the exception of the cold winter months when we're feeding hay. The cow paddocks consist of step-in pigtail posts, electric polywire, a solar fence charger, a mineral tub, and a water trough with float valve. Everything is lightweight and completely portable, allowing a person of any size or strength to manage a large group of animals without large machinery. Many factors contribute to how much space we allot the herd when we move them: their impact in the current stand, the weather, the maturity of the forages, topography, access to shade, when we can move them next, the cow-calf ratio, whether or not we're breeding or have sassy females coming into heat, etc. Over the years we have calibrated ourselves and trained our farmhands to consider all these factors when they set up a new paddock, relying less on technical data and rigid, advanced planning and more on observation in the moment. This gives us the flexibility to meet the needs of the cattle and the pasture in real time, and is increasingly necessary in our changing climate.
To grow our beef supply, we periodically collaborate with neighboring grass farmers whose management programs match our own. Our beef is always completely grass fed and finished, and considerable research affirms this to be healthier for the cows and the consumer. Regarding flavor, if "grass fed" makes you think "tough" and "gamey," you'll be happy to learn that most times that's because a butcher doesn't allow a grass fed animal enough hang time. A beef carcass must literally hang out for a bit to allow the meat to tenderize, and grass fed animals need a little longer to do this than fatty, grain fed animals. Our abbatoir is co-owned by a grass farmer, so they understand this and allow our animals to hang at least three weeks before fine processing. The result is delicious beef that tastes like beef, which is the way we like it.
FRENCH TOULOUSE GEESE
One drawback to our Nomad poultry system is the broilers' vulnerability to aerial predators. In 2018, we began raising Toulouse Geese with the hope that they'd be a sufficient deterrent for hawks, owls, and crows. Turns out geese not only prevent attacks, but are also a delicious centerpiece for your holiday meal. They cohabit with our broilers (which pleases us to no end because who doesn't love interspecies friendship?) while enjoying the luxuries of a pastured lifestyle, complete with fresh forage and all the grasshoppers one could hope for. Periodically they munch on the same Certified Organic feed that the chickens consume, but the geese spend much more time eating greens than grains. They dress out in the range of 7-14 pounds - a perfect weight for Christmas dinner - and boast a rich but mild flavor that pairs well with a diverse array of sides.
