Being all sold out of our 2020 beef, we are turning our attention to 2021. Our current slaughter dates for the year are:
June 9th
July 13th
September 7th
October 7th
November/December TBD
We will be opening up reservations beginning in February for returning customers and in March for new customers – we will be sure to announce that far and wide, so you won’t miss it!
It is about a 4 week turn-around from when we drop the cattle off at our local butcher (Fauquier’s Finest in Bealeton, VA). So the June 9th beef, for example, would be ready for pick up around June 30th.
If you’re wondering why we don’t process beef year-round:
That’s because our beef is 100% grass-fed (no grains). That means we must process when the grass growth is most conducive to producing quality beef, which for our region is June to December. In the beef world you’ll often hear the term “finishing”. This refers to the stage of growth where the animal is putting on fat more so than muscle. Some of the fat is exterior, but a lot of it is interior, referred to as “marbling”. To have well-marbled meat you need cattle that are eating high energy (e.g. carbohydrate) forage. Animals (including us!) convert carbohydrates and sugars to fat. The pasture is much higher in carbohydrates from early to mid-May to early December than it is from December to May.