No USDA Mobile Slaughter In Our Area

I've gotten several odd calls in the last few weeks so I thought that I would answer the questions here. The most repeated question was Do you have on site USDA Harvest? The answer is NO. There is no Mobile USDA Slaughter plant that comes any furter south than the Central Valley. We have to haul our steers to Pico Rivera for Harvest. Lambs go to Dixon and Pork is raised on our sister farm except for exempt hogs. Its just too far to haul a pig for harvest. Long trailer and Lairage times cause undue stress on the animal and they can even die in transit if they get too upset. Heritage Breed are especially delicate when it comes to transporting and shouldn't be subjected to long hauls if at all possible. Another question was,
 "What Heritage Breeds do you raise?" Belted Galloway cattle, Tunis and Khatadin Sheep, Kiku Goats, Jersey Giant, Buff Orpington, and Wyandotte Chickens, Mulefoot, Glochestershire Old Spot, and Red Wattle Hogs, and Standard Bronze Turkeys. I giggle when I see people list cross bred pigs as HERITAGE BREEDS. Ummm, They have to be a recognized breed, not a cross. Same for any animal. Cross breds don't count. Now Cross breeding is good for improving vigor and sometimes improves grass conversion in the case of ruminants but its no longer a breed. Do some research in to what breeds are recognized in this country, some heritage breeds never made it across the pond.
Another question was "How come your beef is marbled if it is grass fed and finished?" the operative word here is FINISH. It takes up to a year longer to get grass fed beef to finish. They need to be gaining as the approach harvest readiness and the feed that they consume needs to be higher in nutrition than your typical range grass. Come see us and we'll set a time to visit the finishing pastures so that you can see the differences and gain a new appreciation for truly Grass Finished beef. We are hosting a grazing workshop in May. Please plan to attend.
Meg