Weatherbury Farm’s Grass-Fed Farming Practices

Rotational Grazing

Beef wandering freely in a 100 acre pasture are grass-fed.  But for the best taste and nutrition, cows should rotate through small 2-3 acre pastures every several days, as the cows at Weatherbury Farm do.

100% Grass Fed

Weatherbury cows eat organic grass, unlike many cows which graze on pastures that have been sprayed with herbicides and pesticides.

Also, as Weatherbury Farm is certified organic, we grow no GMO crops.  So, unlike many grass-fed cows, our cows are not grazing on GMO corn stubble or eating GMO alfalfa hay.

Weatherbury cows are grass-fed and grass-finished.  They never eat grain.  The USDA just finished a deal with Bord Bia, Ireland’s food board to market Irish beef as grass fed — the only requirement is that the beef be 80% grass fed. (Which means, of course, that they can be 20% grain-fed!)

In colder months, Weatherbury cows eat organic hay.

Types of animals sold

Weatherbury cows are born and live their entire life on the farm.  Many farmers, to avoid overwintering costs, purchase calves (often of unknown origin) at the auction. Surprisingly, we have even seen farms advertising for “cull cows” (cows that a farmer is getting rid of) to raise as grass-fed beef.

Most modern beef cows are bred to be grain fed and do not do well on just grass. Our herd of old style Hereford cows has never seen grain and do finish very well on grass.

Price

Weatherbury Farm beef is sold (cut, wrapped and frozen) by the amount of beef you receive.  Many farmers sell by the hanging weight.  The finished weight is at best 60% of the hanging weight and the price doesn’t include processing.  So what looks like a great price ends up to be two to three times what it appears to be.

To place an order for Weatherbury’s grass fed beef, please fill out an order form available on our grass fed meats page.

No Fillers

Unlike much grass fed beef available at your local supermarket, Weatherbury Farm beef is not injected with 10% saline solution.  Additionally, unlike supermarket beef, there is no grain filler.

Local

Much of the meat sold as grass fed comes from outside the United States. Weatherbury’s is, of course, local and when you pick up your beef you can see Weatherbury Farm and where the beef was raised.

Interestingly enough, when Marcy and Nigel visited Ireland in 2015, their tour guide was very enthusiastic that the USDA was working with Bord Bia (read providing funds) to develop the Irish grass fed beef market.  Meanwhile, in Ireland, Burger King’s placemats read “100% Irish Beef” — perhaps, soon placemats at Burger King in the U.S. will read “100% Irish beef”!

No Hormones or Antibiotics

Weatherbury’s cows are not given growth hormones or antibiotics.  In comparison, the USDA’s deal with Bord Bia allows the “responsible use of antibiotics.”

Butchering

Finally, Weatherbury Farm beef is butchered locally by a small family-owned butcher shop that does just one animal at a time.  Thus you can be assured that the meat you receive is Weatherbury Farm grass-fed beef. Frequently, we hear a “horror story” from yet another farmer who used a large butcher and the meat he received from the butcher was not from the cow he sent in.

More information about Weatherbury Farm’s grass-fed beef can be accessed on our beef page.