These Piedmont farmers are putting the life back in livestock.
By Trista Scheuerlein • Photo by Molly McDonald Peterson
Many shoppers weave their way through the farmers’ market or push a cart through a local health food store hoping to find meat products from a local, sustainable farm. Although sympathetic with vegetarians who reject meat consumption on the grounds that animals are grossly mistreated, these reform-minded people advocate instead for raising animals humanely on environmentally sound farms.
In the Virginia’s Piedmont region, a growing number of livestock producers are choosing to raise their animals in a fashion drastically different from the industrial cow-calf operations so common in the country. These operations raise calves born to tried-and-true heifers and then sell them in a certain weight (an average of 655 pounds) to feedlots, where the cows finish their lives, gaining weight rapidly on a diet of grains designed to produce the marbled texture that Americans expect in their beef. But some farmers are discovering and embracing alternatives to the models put forth by the agribusiness industry—alternatives that are better for the environment, healthier for both the animal and the consumer, and more profitable. Three such Piedmont area traditional livestock producers—Mount Vernon, Smith Meadows, and Cibola—approach their operations differently, though they have much in common.
Mount Vernon Farm
The Miller family has owned 830 acres in Rappahannock County at Mount Vernon Farm since 1827. This farm has seen many permutations, the most recent of which is becoming well-known for its production of 100 percent grass-fed and –finished beef and lamb and pasture-raised pork. Owner and farmer Cliff Miller uses about 230 acres to raise livestock, which he sells off the farm and through buyers’ clubs throughout the Piedmont, from Fredericksburg and Richmond to Northern Virginia.
Keeping the Future in Mind
Miller thinks of himself first as a grass farmer and then as a producer of top-quality products—ranging from select cuts of grass-fed beef and lamb to nitrate-free hot dogs. When Miller decided to take the leap into raising grass-fed beef eight years ago, having been a broker and a headmaster at a private school in his previous life, he was entering into a relatively new market as a way to preserve the farm that has been in his family for five generations.
“I hope that five more generations of my family will continue to own and care for this land the way I do. And I hope that the price of keeping the open space is at least cost-neutral to my family,” Miller said with a charming Southern-gentleman dialect. His philosophy is that he can use these animals to enrich rather than deplete the soil and water resources of the land. He also believes that the way he chooses to farm will improve the quality of life for both the farm and the community.
Living Within the Boundaries
Miller credits two influences with making his grass-fed enterprise possible: Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia, and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). CREP is a partnership with farmers, federal and state governments, and private programs to help farmers protect fragile ecosystems by erecting fences and creating water sources to keep livestock out of riparian areas that directly affect the watershed. While enrolling in CREP meant that Miller would have to keep his animals out of 190 acres of his land, he considered the prospect to be a win-win situation. CREP helped fund the construction of about 10 miles of new fencing with a rotational paddock system, the digging of three wells, and the installation of 10 secure water sources—all of which kept Miller’s cows from disrupting the nearby Thornton River. CREP also planted 18,000 hardwood trees in delicate riparian areas, paying Miller $79 and acre for 15 years to keep his animals from grazing in those areas.
CREP made it possible for Miller to reconfigure his farm with intensive grazing and almost daily rotation from paddocks that use solar-powered electric fencing to keep the livestock on consistently fresh pasture. “The cows are conditioned not to go through the fence because they trust that when I lead them to fresh pastures, I’m leading them to something good. They will follow me through good grass pastures without stopping because they know something good is coming,” said Miller. “I don’t stand for any whooping and hollering at the animals. It’s important to keep them calm and to give them a system that is as natural as we can make it.”
Grassroots Movement
To Miller, the most natural system is one that keeps his steers and his lambs on grass until the day they become lamb chops and ground beef. He feeds little, if any, hay to his animals because he discovered that after the first frost, the grass in his fields offers higher nutritive value to animals than hay. “My cows would choose to dig down through ice-packed snow to get to that fescue rather than eat the hay we set out in the fields for them in February. I can go out into my fields in February, dig down through snow, grab some grass, test it, and it will compare higher than the best quality hay around,” he explained.
Keeping animals out of 80 acres from August until winter allows Miller to rotate his cows daily on half an acre a day and make it through winter without using any of the fossil fuels it takes to drive a tractor back and forth across his land in the process of making hay. Miller described this Polyface Farm-inspired practice, saying, “We use less energy and less fossil fuels, and we minimize the compaction of the soil, which keeps the land in better shape to grow good grass for healthy animals that will become a healthy product for our customers.”
Cliff Miller of Mount Vernon Farm, in Rappahannock County, says his arrangement with the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is a win-win situation.
You Are What You Eat
That nutritious grass translates into meat that is more healthful than conventionally raised grain-fed beef. Grass-fed beef has significantly fewer calories and less fat than grain-fed beef—about 2 grams versus about 8 grams in a 3-ounce serving. It also has up to four times the omega-3 levels and almost three times the amount of vitamin E found in grain-fed beef, as well as high levels of a cancer-fighting fat called conjugated linoleic acid. “A lot of folks say [100 percent grass-fed production] can’t be done,” said Miller, glancing up from the USDA regulations for grass-fed beef. “All I can say is we can’t keep our steaks in [stock], even at a premium price. It comes down to this: our products are better for you and they taste good.”
Smith Meadows Farm
Forrest Pritchard, who is also a bed-and-breakfast proprietor in Berryville, is in the business of farming as a way to preserve his family’s land. As he cooked veal marsala and juggled his toddler, Linus, Prichard shared his thoughts on conventional meat versus local, sustainably raised eat. “If the only meat we have is conventional meat, I do think we should all stop eating meat entirely,” he said. “But it’s a much more subtle gradient. You can choose to eat meat or to not eat meat for many reasons. It’s not a black-and-white issue.”
As a young William and Mary alumnus who studied geology and envisioned himself as a writer, Prichard briefly avoided the career that awaited him as a seventh-generation farmer on the Clarke County land his family has stewarded since 1816. “I grew up living and breathing farming, and so I had to either pay attention or turn my back, which I did for awhile.”
But eleven years ago, at the age of 24, Pritchard and his wife Nancy returned to the family property and started their business, which now includes cattle, pigs, sheep, laying hens, pastured broilers, turkeys, some goats, and a line of pasta and sauces showcasing Nancy’s Italian heritage and her commitment to local flavors. Smith Meadows products can be found at seven farmers’ markets in Northern Virginia, at two local food cooperatives, and at the on-site store. The farm also supplies chef Barton Seaver’s restaurants in Washington, D.C.: Café Saint-Ex, Hook and the Tackle Box.
Sustained Growth
His farming practice “isn’t about saving the world,” said Pritchard. “I’m trying to make my career sustainable, which means that, like everyone says, it starts with the soil. Sustainable production that starts with soil fertility means money in the bank. You can’t withdraw from your savings. If you take out that soil fertility, it’s like you’re using your retirement fund.”
“Healthy soil makes healthy grazing animals. They, in turn, make healthy products, which make healthy customers—who are willing to compensate me for the job I do,” Pritchard continued. “Not only is that physically and spiritually sustaining, but it is also economically sustainable for me. It means I can put my energy and resources back to the beginning of the cycle.”
All in This Together
The Pritchards run Smith Meadows alongside Forrest’s sister Betsy and his mother, Ruth. Family members share in running the business, dividing responsibilities like collecting and washing eggs from the 800 laying hens, rotating the grazers from pasture to pasture, processing herbs for this week’s pasta, and caring for guests at the Smithfield Farm Bed and Breakfast.
They also offer two year-long apprenticeships for those wanting to learn about sustainable farming. With business growing, the Pritchards are redesigning old slave quarters on the property: downstairs will be a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen, and upstairs will hold new accommodations for interns.
Unplugged and Thriving
Pritchard’s philosophy of intensive grazing includes an understanding of how a local food system can use fewer fossil fuels. “Technically and theoretically, my production system is a close to being off the grid as we can get,” he explained. “I use the basic inputs of solar energy, photosynthesis, air and water. I am harnessing what nature gives us with very few external inputs. Admittedly, I have to truck animals to the processing facility and use plastic packaging. You have to pick your battles.”
With this approach, the farm uses very little foreign oil and electricity. It is not creating the clouds of methane (a gas that contributes to global warming) found on feedlots. It doesn’t treat its animals with antibiotics, and the animals are healthy. And there are no expenses for purchasing grains or soybeans—crops subsidized by tax dollars—or for shipping, processing, and again transporting those grains.
The Golden Rule
The animals at Smith Meadows are treated well, as creatures worthy of a good life. “Our animals have one continuous life cycle: they start and end on a pasture without being hassled, confined motivated, or prodded to eat. All the animal has to do is put its nose in front of its face and eat what its ancestors have eaten for millennia,” Pritchard reflected.
“I try to treat my animals with the same dignity and respect they give me,” he continued. “And I show a bit of caution out of respect for the soil and for its fertility, which both animals and humans need to live.”
Cibola Farms
As two geese squawked and frolicked in a large watering trough nearby and a personable dairy cow ambled up, Rob Ferguson finished feeding his dogs and talked to his business partner, Mike Sipes, on a walkie-talkie about which green pasture should be the next stop for a small group of 15 bison. By necessity, the pastures at Culpeper’s Cibola Farm have two fences between 5 and 7 feet tall to keep the massive bison where they are supposed to be.
“We never chase the animals. We lead them,” Ferguson explained as he watched Sipes and one of the two full-time employees—holding a bucket of grain and riding on an all-terrain vehicle—guide the animals to a distant field. “We need the ATV to be able to get out of the way fast. You don’t want to get caught in a bison stampede.”
Starting Out
Cibola Farms (cibola being the name Spanish explorers gave to buffalo) began with a more diverse operation that included laying hens, pastured broilers, rabbits, free-range turkeys, goats, pastured pigs, and bison on its 300 acres. “It was very labor intensive and expensive to be so diverse, but it got people in the door to at least try our bison,” said Ferguson. They eventually scaled back their product line, which now includes bison and pastured port, both free of growth stimulants and hormones, steroids, and antibiotics. As the farm approaches its 10-year mark, Cibola products are sold at 12 farmers’ markets across the Piedmont and Northern Virginia, at the farm’s trading post, and through their website.
But what first prompted them to raise bison, animals that weigh easily 1,000 pounds each at maturity and whose deadly horns prompt workers to stay within jumping distance of a fence at all times? Ferguson and Sipes answered that question by talking about a love of healthful foods, a desire to raise healthy, naturally raised animals, and a plan to develop a niche market for their products.
They point out that bison produce a high-quality meat that is lower in fat and cholesterol than other red meat—lower even that skinless white-meat chicken—and very high in iron. Bison are native to North America, so they are better acclimated to our region than are cows, which were brought to this continent in the early 1600’s. Ferguson and Sipes felt it made sense to create a business around a product that was healthier for the consumer and more natural for the animals themselves.
Three Truths
Asked to describe his farming philosophy, Ferguson emphasized three words: humane, sustainable, and natural. “Being humane to your animals is hugely important. A lot of livestock people don’t have that natural connection with an animal. I have to make sure that all my employees know how to treat the animals, because it doesn’t come as second nature.” He applied the concept of sustainability to environmental, ecological, personal, and financial areas. And in defining what he means by natural, Ferguson explained that Cibola does not use chemical herbicides or pesticides or chemical fertilizers and that the specially blended grain fed to the bison in small quantities does not include urea, hormones, or antibiotics.
The owners of Cibola are also committed to the land that hosts their animals. “When we make decisions around here, the environment is a very important consideration. This was an immediate priority at the foundation of our operation,” said Ferguson. “We fenced out waterways and installed gravity-fed wells in all of the rotational pastures. We also fenced out a wetland so that none of our livestock ever pass through that area.”
Ferguson describes himself as a big fan of the grass-fed movement. “It gets shoppers thinking in a different direction.” But he went on to point out the differences between large-scale and small-scale production. “Look at that,” he said, pouring a carton of store-brand grass-fed heavy cream into a glass. “It’s white and ultra-pasteurized so it has a longer shelf life. He then went to the refrigerator and pulled out a stick of butter made from the heavy cream of one of his dairy cows. “See the difference? This is yellow. This is the color grass-fed cream is supposed to be.”
The Road Less Traveled
Instead of spending time deciphering meat labels in your grocery store, take a drive to a farm where you can buy meat from the farmers who product it. Mount Vernon, Smith Meadows, and Cibola Farms all welcome visitors. In truth, these farmers think it’s crucial that consumers make a real connection to the food they eat and the farmers raising it. They trust that their customers will agree that meat coming from well-tended animals is worth every bite.
Trista Scheuerlein is the director of Rappahannock’s Farm-to-Table Program.
This article appeared in the first issue of Flavor, Summer 2008.
