Growers and Grocers

Chance conversation with a friend brought me to an odd place the other day. A farm, without a single barn. The conversation was about trying to set up our own cooperative, to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, and was mostly that, just conversation. But she told me about an annual visitation day at an organic farm in Columbiana County, Ohio. While not close by, it is within a day’s drive, so we decided to make the trip.

I grew up in rural Ohio, so farms are nothing new to me. When people tell me about “Fresh Country Air” as if it were something sacred, all I can think of are the horse barns, and sheep pens of the county fair, which never ever smelled fresh to me. This farm, however, was vastly different than any I’ve ever been on. It didn’t stink, for one thing. And another difference, as I said, was that there is no barn. The homestead sits at the top of a hill; the land was once a strip mine, and the views from the farm are amazing.

It is owned and operated by Max and Mary Van Buren. They had owned a conventinal dairy farm, but decided to go organic. When I asked Max Van Buren about the lack of a barn, he smiled, and said, “I got tired of shoveling manure.” But he hastened to add that the Highland cattle that they breed are happiest in cold weather, and have no need of a barn. The breed is shaggy, horned, fiercely protective of their young, and loud.

I had the opportunity to question both of the Van Burens about their operations, and the biggest question on my mind was: How do they make sure that the cattle get enough to eat, enough of the right things, if the farm is all organic? They don’t fertilize the fields where the cattle graze, they don’t supplement the cattle’s diet with any form of artificial supplements; and Ohio’s winters are not known for being mild. How do they feed the cattle in winter? And what does “free range” mean?

I found both of the Van Burens to be very knowledgeable about their subject matter, and evangelical about the methods that they use. “Free range” means that the cattle are welcome to roam over the entire farm. There are fences, of course, to keep the cattle from straying off of the Van Buren’s land. But within the boundaries of the property are several different pastures and different pasture types. The Van Burens seed the grazing pastures every spring with red and white clover. Some of the farm is heavily wooded; we spent about half an hour standing in the woods amongst the cows listening to Max lecture. The cows dislike the heat and seek shade on sunny days, and while we couldn’t have asked for nicer weather on the day we visited, the highland cows seemed to think it was hot, seeking shade in the woods.

In the winter, they feed the cows organic hay, but never grain. Grain fed beef, according to the Van Burens, has none of the same benefits of their grass fed cattle, which include omega 3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid, and much lower fat.

Like many other things that the USDA does not regulate, “grass fed” labels on beef in your local mega-mart could mean almost anything. The same with “free range”. Free range chicken could mean only that the cages they’re kept in are larger than normal; free range beef could mean that there’s a window in the barn. This, then, is why KNOWING your producer is of such vital importance. I can tell you that the beef that I brought home from the farm is without a doubt grass fed, organic, and free range, because I saw the operation.

I quit eating red meat and pork in 1992 because I don’t like pork chops, steaks, hamburgers and most other cuts of both beef and pork. I will occasionally spear a bite of my husband’s steak off of his plate at a restaurant to remind myself that no, I really don’t like it. After visiting Van Buren’s farm, I think that maybe I don’t like the dyes and pesticides and chemicals that come along with your typical package of ground chuck at the mega-mart, rather than the actual taste of beef.

While you are welcome to roam over the entire farm on the visitation day, the smell of cooking food will draw you back to the house. With their own ground beef, they made sloppy joes that smelled too good to turn down. I ate two. That’s probably the most beef I’ve eaten in 10 years or more. They were wonderful.

After visiting with the Van Burens, I can’t say that I will be returning to the ranks of happy beef eaters anytime soon, but I did bring home more than 10 pound of various cuts of meat to experiment with. And as I continue to research articles for Growers and Grocers, I become more and more convinced to avoid my local mega-mart and instead patronize local growers when and were I can. The superiority of the products is without a doubt, worth the time and effort to seek them out.