Vegetable & Fruit Highlights  

The Harvest!

 
With many of you taking advantage of the wonderful lamb from Dennis Serpa in Oakdale we are going to spoil you again! By Thursday we'll have pasture raised beef again from Sierra All Grass, and lots of it!

Sarah writes: "At Sierra All Grass Beef, we believe that great-tasting meat starts with happy cows-cows raised the way nature intended them to be raised. We advocate a "back to the basics" program, which allows our animals to live a more natural life. We consider every aspect of our animals' lives: from the grass and hay that goes into their mouths to our carefully supervised breeding program.  

Our animals are fed on high sierra meadows and grasslands as long as the growing season permits. When grass growth slows in the winter months, we supplement the cows' diets with alfalfa and grass hay, which we grow and harvest ourselves in the same beautiful high sierra setting at Barnum Farming. Our animals are not fed grain in a bin, like their feedlot-raised equivalents. The modern practice of feeding grain and corn to cattle is artificial one. Grains are difficult for cattle to digest; as a result of their artificial diet, grain-fed cattle often have illnesses that are treated with antibiotics in the commercial beef industry. When allowed to browse naturally, cattle will eat grasses. Simply allowing the cows to eat what they were naturally intended to eat prevents many illnesses-this is what we practice. We let our animals grow naturally on grass and do not use hormones. Our healthy cattle produce healthy meat, meat that is more nutritious and safer than commercially-raised beef.

Coupled with our feeding program is our breeding program. Today's modern feedlot-destined steer has been bred to respond to an artificial environment. We are breeding our animals back to the cow of the 1950s-one that thrived in its natural environment. Our animals are slightly smaller than the large-boned industry cattle. This natural cow will maintain her weight on grass and have a stronger immune system than her commercial-cow counterpart. As a result, our animals are hardier than modern-bred cattle.  In short, our animals are less reliant on human intervention; they are more independent animals that can thrive on simple grass pasture.  

Our happy cows receive gentle and humane care. We do not "cowboy" our animals. We work with them slowly, gently, and quietly, at the animal's own pace. Because of our gentle handling, our animals are calmer and less stressed than their feedlot -finished counterparts.

Our animals are happy because they are living their lives in the most natural ways-the ways nature intended."

We are so excited to harvest from the hothouses. Tatsoi's, spectrum greens mix, spinach, arugula and pea shoots. Come in before they all go! Plenty of other lovely veggies from the coast.