The quality of grass we provide has a direct effect on the performance and taste of our beef. A common belief is that cows simply eat grass and make tasty beef. This while true, doesn't tell the whole story. Here at Phillips Ridge Farm we pay special attention to our strands of grass in order to give our customers the best tasting beef available. On the farm, we use a three part process to ensure our beef is healthy and tasty while reducing our environmental impact.
Under grazing: We don't overcrowd our cattle. More grass per cow means happier and healthier animals. Our cows have more space per animal and have a variety of tasty grasses to choose from.
Variety: Eating the same thing all of the time gets boring. On our farm we keep various grasses throughout the year to ensure that our cows have a variety of quality forages to choose from. In the summer our cows choose from clovers, fescues, and bermuda grasses. In the winter we limit the hay we have to feed by sowing rye and ryegrass for our cows to eat during the hard winter months.
Environmentally conscious practices: Here on the farm we do our best to keep the environment at heart when managing our herd. This means that we do not use harsh chemical fertilizers on our grass or broad spectrum pesticides. We use clover to fix nitrogen in our fields and organic fertilizers when we plant grasses in the fall. We keep goats for weed control and we allow our chickens to free range in order to keep pests down to a minimum.