During the grazing season—which here in central NY can span from May to November—we move our cattle to fresh pasture in a production system called management intensive rotational grazing. Frequent movement makes cows stronger and healthier, and their beef beefier because grazing cows actually use their muscles, which develops flavor. Since our cattle only eat grass and use a lot of energy moving around, they gain weight slower than conventional industry cattle. Older age also develops more flavor in the beef.

Rotational grazing is important for grasslands too. We give our pastures multiple months to recover after grazing, in an attempt to mimic natural cycles of large herds of herbivores moving destructively through the land. By leaving behind ample leaf matter—which the grasses need for photosynthesis—and giving the plants enough recovery time, our grasses build strong root systems that secure erodible land and transfer carbon into the soil. < Read that again! Farms with production practices like ours have proven that beef raised the right way can have a negative carbon footprint. (Read more about these studies here.)

Our environmental services don't stop at carbon sequestration. We are converting cropland into perennial, chemical-free pastures. Since our land provides a significant buffer between mono-crop conventional farms and Otsego Lake—the headwaters of the Susquehanna River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay—we are helping to reduce nutrient pollution from New York all the way down to Virginia.