At Double Brook Farm, our desire for grass-fed beef is what got us into the farming business. Not only did we want to raise animals to graze on fresh grass and move freely on pasture, we also wanted to reap the many benefits of 100% grass-fed beef.
While we are still firmly committed to 100% grass-fed, pastured beef, we realized that our cattle operation was not sustainable. Our farmers were driving at least 75 miles a day to check on a minimum of 6 separate herds (bulls, heifers, market steers, yearlings, weanlings, and calf-cow pairs) at 6 different locations. And the animals themselves had to be moved every few weeks or so to fresh tracts of land by trailer. It was hard on the farmers, hard on the animals and not efficient. Until we secured a much larger parcel of land to support our model, we had to find a solution to bring the best grass-fed beef to the Brick Farm Market.
Fortunately, we found a partner in George Lake of Thistle Creek Farms in Tyrone, PA. The farm is just as passionate about 100% grass-fed beef, sustainable agriculture and humane animal treatment as we are. They have more contiguous acreage than we can find here in the Hopewell Valley, and they move their cattle over large tracts of land on horseback, with the additional services of a herding dog. And finally, the quality of their beef is the best we’ve found.
Photo by Marie Cusick/NPR
George Lake is a stickler for specific grass and legume combinations for his cattle and has been raising cattle on grass since before it was lauded as the healthiest and most sustainable way to do it.
As our farm expands, we anticipate reintroducing the cattle back into the mix of sheep, pigs, turkeys, chickens and, soon, goats. But until we have the perfect set-up for the cattle, you can be rest assured that the beef you buy at the Brick Farm Market butcher counter is the very best grass-fed beef we can offer.
We welcome any questions you may have about our farm and our products.
