Our cow herd is pasture grazed on a grassy alfalfa mixture with some clover.  This pasture mix influences the flavor and quality of the resulting meat.  We have about 200 acres of fenced pasture.  We have about 250 acres of hay fields that we harvest and bale into large round bales.  That hay is fed during winter months when the pasture grasses are dormant.

We also plant and harvest about 250 acres of corn and soybeans.  The corn we plant is non-GMO (not genetically modified).  Essentially we plant corn that could be used directly in food products for human consumption.  Some of this corn is harvested as corn silage. The silage which is chopped corn, including the leaves, cobs, kernels and stalks, which is harvested at high moisture content in early September and then stored. The silage is encapsulated in a large white plastic bag or in a silo and air penetration is limited.  The silage actually ferments a bit and converts the corn to a more palatable and highly desirable feed.  We feed silage to our mother cows and heifers during the winter months to supplement the hay to give them more energy, especially during the months just prior to calving.

The corn that is not harvested as silage is harvested with our combine and is stored as shelled corn.  That corn is fed to our steers during the months before they are harvested.  Soybeans are either sold for cash or are crushed and mixed with the shelled corn.  Soybeans are high in protein and are an excellent supplement to help cows during pregnancy or for steers approaching harvest weight.

We have selected cattle and bulls whose offspring yield calves that typically do not require assistance during birthing.  The calves that our cows birth weigh about 80 pounds which is the lower end of the average birth weight for calves.  This reduces the potential for calf losses and reduces the danger of losing a heifer or mother cow during calving.

In summary, we raise our beef in a most humane and natural manner every step of the way.  Our Wisconsin raised cows don’t get to see snow-capped mountains the way our Colorado bred cows do, but they do get to feed on lush sweet Wisconsin raised hay, corn, and pasture grasses.

When a calf reaches about 600 pounds, that calf is weaned and moved onto pasture.  Interestingly, until that calf is weaned, its mother’s milk is all that it consumes.  So the mother cow’s milk production is key to her raising a strong, healthy calf.  She needs lots of clean water to drink and she needs unlimited feed to produce the milk for the calf at her side and the calf that she is carrying.  The mother cows are pretty impressive when you consider what she is doing raising those calves! 

When the steer calves are weaned they are moved onto pasture and given some silage to help them grow fast.  They gain about three pounds per day and so in about 70 days they weigh about 900 pounds.  We then move them in to another yard with a small pasture where they are fed shelled corn and crushed soybeans and hay.  They continue to gain weight and when they reach 1,200 pounds, they are sent to a USDA inspected plant to be harvested.

September 20th: Join us for dinner on the farm, prepared by City Provisions of Chicago. For details and to purchase a ticket, please visit CityProvisions.com