Eco-Photo

After visiting a grass-fed cattle farm in Texas (see December 2008), I wanted to visit a grass-fed farm near home. I had bought meat a few times from Jonathan Ehmig’s booth at the Portland Farmers Market, so I decided to drop by his booth again and ask if I could visit his Highland Oak Farm. Jonathan was more than happy to let me visit and he encouraged me to come out before all the leaves fell off the trees. I set up an appointment to visit and headed out early in the morning. We had a storm the day before which blew off a lot of the leaves and left behind some very dense fog that lingered for a few hours.

Jonathan has about 400 head of cattle and they all eat the grass from his many acres of land. The cows are grain fed on organic hay during the last couple of months of their lives, which he says helps to make the meat tender. I can personally vouch for the tenderness and juicy flavor of his beef. Before visiting his farm I purchased a new york strip steak and Ken created a lovely stir fry. Perhaps most people don’t stir fry New York Strip, but I must say it was the best stir fry meat I’ve had. It is comforting to know that his cows live a healthy life and are treated in a human manner. Here is a link to a gallery of photos I took of his farm. http://www.shawnlinehan.com/photos/highlandoak/

In the photos you’ll see an old, red, Chevrolet truck. Jonathan operates under the theory that dogs can stress out the cows so he and his father-in-law entice the cows to move between pastures by giving them hay out of the back the truck. It’s not easy work, but it seems like a good life.

While visiting my sister in Ft. Worth, Texas I decided to see if I could visit some local organic farms.  I was having trouble finding organic vegetables farms near Ft. Worth when my pal Kim Brown Schetter suggested I look into grass-fed cattle farms.  In my internet research Burgundy Pasture Beef stuck out from the crowd. I called them up and they gave a warm welcome for me to visit their farm.  With Sis in tow, we went down to Grandview, TX and met with Jon Taggart, Co-Owner of the ranch with his wife, Wendy.  Jon has 1400 acres of land for his 400 cattle, which can eat grass for most of the year because of the southern climate. During the coldest part of the year they eat organic alfalfa grass.  Jon’s 25 years of farming experience taught me a lot about the efficiencies and health benefits of grass-fed cattle. All his grass is organic; the cows eat the grass, fertilize it, stamp the seed into the ground for the next crop and then are moved to a new location. These were very happy and stress-free cows.

Here is a photo of Jon throwing some kind of wasp larva onto the cow patties, which is just one of Jon’s organic farm practicies. The wasp larva feed on the fly eggs that grow on the cow patties.  Apparently flies are a big hassle for cattle (see how little I know!).  Jon also recommended I read The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Coincidentally on the way down to Texas I read an article Mr. Pollan had recently written to the next President-Elect for the NYTimes. I highly recommend it.