grass fed beef Tag

04 Aug

Posted at 17:52h in Community Connections by
23 Likes

Picturesque vistas that are becoming more and more rare in Bucks County greet us each morning at Blooming Glen Farm. We owe much of the agricultural beauty and open space in and around the town of Blooming Glen to the conservation efforts of the Rosenberger family. The surrounding bucolic pasture land, totaling more than 550 acres, is owned and farmed by our neighbors, and landlords, at Tussock Sedge Farm. On this beautiful preserved pasture land, they raise their own 100% grass-fed and pastured Red Angus beef cattle that are never fed grain, growth hormones, or antibiotics.  They share with us a commitment to organic practices: their pastures and hay fields are never sprayed with pesticides or herbicides.

The pastures are kept lush and green because the cows are moved to fresh pasture daily, utilizing rotational grazing techniques that mimic the migratory habits of herd animals in nature.  Tussock Sedge Farm prides themselves on the love and stewardship of the land, treating animals with respect, and raising exceptional grass-fed beef with beautiful marbling and amazing flavor.  They use a low volume, high quality, certified humane butcher who dry ages their beef for 10-12 days, then cuts, vacuum packs, and flash freezes each cut separately for freshness. Their beef is sold to local restaurants in Bucks County, and in their Farm Store at 1239 Rte 113, Blooming Glen, PA.

What is the history of Tussock Sedge Farm?

Tussock Sedge Farm was started by Henry and Charlotte Rosenberger, nearly 30 years ago, who dreamed of creating a sustainable farm that restored and improved the local ecology. In addition to preserving land from future development, planting thousands of trees and shrubs, and creating permanent wetlands for various wildlife, they introduced 100% grass-fed Red Angus cattle, using rotational grazing and homeopathic veterinary care as the basis for how the farm operates. Over time the farm has grown to more than 550 acres. They’ve also focused on supporting other farmers in our area, including providing a long term land lease for Tom Murtha and Tricia Borneman at Blooming Glen Farm, helping ensure that the local community has access to high quality, nutritionally dense foods for years to come.

Who makes up the Tussock Sedge Farm crew?

Henry and Charlotte’s youngest daughter Tonya, along with husband Sean (seen above), run much of the day to day farm operations, splitting time between work in the field, mechanical repairs, running the farm store, and various sales, administrative, and marketing tasks. In their former lives, Tonya was an emergency room and hospice nurse while Sean spent years in the Information Technology field doing project management and website/user interface design. Their three children ages 6, 5, and 2 (with a fourth on the way)…follow closely behind on any given day, providing valuable “help” in only the way that young children can. They live on the farm and can usually be seen driving along Rte. 113 in their 6 seat John Deere Gator.

The only other full time employee, Field Manager Gray Blair (pictured at right), works tirelessly from sunrise to sunset, ensuring that everything happens as it should – whether it’s moving each herd to new pasture everyday, caring for newly born calves, repairing fence lines and irrigation systems, or “making hay when the sun shines”. Gray and his family also live on the farm and plan to remain here for many years to come.

Additional farm assistance is provided by Sarma Kalnins, whose love for animals is matched only by her incredible work ethic. When she’s not doing normal farm chores, she can often be found scratching the head of a cow or trimming grass and weeds from our electric fences.

Henry and Charlotte are still integral to the business, with Charlotte performing administrative work and Henry operating equipment nearly everyday. This farm isn’t just their dream, it’s their passion and legacy. Their generosity is exceeded by their commitment to doing all they can to leave our local community better than they found it. Without their foresight, moral support, and guidance, none of this would be possible.

What is your overall approach to the farm?

Our approach is simple….nurture the animals and land while treating it all with the utmost respect. Cows are ruminants by design and should never be fed grain. Routine antibiotics and hormones have no place on our farm, just as chemically toxic pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides are never used. We utilize a small scale, humane certified butcher who focuses on quality over quantity. Beef is dry aged to both reduce water weight and develop incredible flavor, prior to being vacuum packed and flash frozen to preserve the freshness.

Where do you see Tussock Sedge Farm in the future?

Future plans for the farm include additional pastured livestock that enhance the land. Pastured pigs have already been introduced with pork just now becoming available in the farm store for the first time ever. Pastured poultry including chickens, ducks, and turkeys are a future goal. Goats and sheep might also round out the equation as well as many different family friendly farm events….maybe hayrides, pumpkin patches, or a corn maze. Follow along with the journey….you never know what might happen next!

How can the public purchase from you?

Head to our website for more info! https://tussocksedgefarm.com/how-to-order

I have more questions!

If you have a question about Tussock Sedge Farm‘s practices, please write tussocksedgefarm@gmail.com, call/text #267-450-4024, or stop in to chat. We welcome hearing from you and would enjoy meeting you.  Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to hear about the latest farm news and notice of sales within our Farm Store. Thanks for supporting our family farm! ~The Rosenberger-Ryan Family

Post by Tricia Borneman, Blooming Glen farmer and co-owner. Photos provided by Tussock Sedge Farm. Tricia and her husband Tom have been farming together since 2000. Blooming Glen Farm is celebrating its 14th season bringing high quality certified organic vegetables, herbs, fruits and cut flowers to our local community.

16 Apr

Posted at 08:58h in Community Connections by
20 Likes

Not only do we share a fence line and an equipment barn with Tussock Sedge Farm, but we also share with farm owners Henry and Charlotte Rosenberger similar farming ideals, and a passion for sustainable agriculture. We are happy to be able to share with our farm community this very local source of humanely raised, hormone and antibiotic-free grass fed beef.  Below Henry Rosenberger tells the story of Tussock Sedge Farm.

What inspired you to get involved raising cows? 

Henry Rosenberger: I grew up in the Rosenberger Dairy industry and I never enjoyed the early hours of milking cows and hauling milk.  I did love the beef side of cows, where the calves are nourished drinking from “freshened” mother cows.  Much of the land in Bucks County is especially “HEL”, “highly erodible land”, making grazing very suitable and more adaptable than row crop farming.  Romantically speaking, it’s important to know, too, the Oklahoma! musical verses were written right here in Doylestown by Oscar Hammerstein  … “all the cattle are standing like statues”.

How many cattle do you raise and on how much land?

HR: We raise about 100 calves from birth each year.  Cows are mammals, taking nine months for gestation and usually only have one calf each year.  We usually have two sets of twins each year.  The calves are weaned after 8-10 months, giving the mother time to catch up on her nutritional diet before giving birth to her next calf.  We graze and feed hay and minerals to the weaned calves for another 8-10 months for them to grow to maturity at 1150-1200 pounds.  We graze up to 300 animals on 385 acres.

What’s the most challenging part of being a cow farmer?

HR: Making constant rounds to always be certain that every animal is safe and well cared for….. water, rotated fresh pastures, minerals and salt.  Also, each year offers unique challenges:  drought, too much rain, poor drying time for hay, and making adjustments to reconcile what you can’t change… such as the weather.

What’s the most rewarding?

HR: The most rewarding part of farming is watching and hearing nature heal the past use of herbicides and pesticides…. Hearing a choir of peepers and tree frogs in the evening… Seeing birthing calves drop and soon be standing aside the mother after being licked and encouraged to her/his feet for the first time….having experienced 90 births with no assistance…nature at it’s best.  And finally, having patrons who appreciate all this and really genuinely share our enjoyment:  “We love what you are doing” or “I can breathe better driving through this farm”.

Why did you make the decision to go with totally grass fed?  What has that transition meant to your business?

HR: Why grass fed?  Never were cows in their natural habitat eating corn.  It was a place to “dump” cheap corn in the 60’s and 70’s (corn is no longer cheap).  Grass fed beef offers higher Omega 3 fat and CLA and lower Omega 6 fat, which is unhealthy in excess.  It is leaner than corn finished beef.  A grass fed beef enjoys rotational grazing, which mimics a natural routine of always moving into fresh re-growth of grass and legumes, leaving behind waste and topped grass to recover. 

The transition to grass fed beef meant we didn’t have meat to sell for a year because it takes two years, not 15 months, to finish beef on grass.  It also meant we lost some customers who prefer corn fed fatty beef.  We also gained many new customers who were convinced of the nutritional value of grass fed beef.  Grass fed beef has a stronger bovine taste, a sweet and nutty flavor, when aged 5-10 days.

Is there anything special about the breed of cows you raise?

HR: The breed of cattle we choose is Red Angus cows bred by Rotakowa Devon bulls.  The outcome of this cross is a highly productive converter of cellulose to protein.  They represent a medium frame cow which performs well solely on grass and legumes.

How do you manage your pastures?

HR: Management of pastures includes soil testing every three years.  We maintain PH at 6.6-7.0 and mostly focus on cattle grazing to manage the pastures.  They provide Nitrogen with their 20-30 lbs of manure and urea daily.  The farmer manages the grass by moving cows into pastures at 12 inches until they eat it down to four inches.  Special effort is made to dig bull thistles by hand but we never use herbicides on the pastures for weed control.  But the best control of weeds is maintaining a high PH—weeds thrive in acidic soil.  Having increased the organic matter from 1 ½ % to 4-7% is my most encouraging sign of optimum achievement in soil management.

What are your plans for the future of your farm—any changes in the works?

HR: Plans for the future involve adding sheep to our pastures.  Currently we have seven ewes and births of five lambs in April 2013.  They, too, will be grass fed and finished Dorset sheep.  We expect to have 50 ewes within a few years.  We also are planning on longer grazing when weather allows by stockpiling grass (hay) in the fields to be eaten in winter.  Cows are healthiest outdoors and prefer it to lying in barns all winter.

Our customers understand why CSA’s are important in the context of vegetable farming.  What does buying a “share” of a cow means, and why that is helpful to you as the farmer?

We love a vegetable CSA and realize we share the risk of the farmer by “paying ahead” for my vegetable share.  The same is true for marketing beef. The greatest assurance I have as a beef farmer is to know that what I am spending two years to raise, grow and graze, I will have someone to buy and consume it when it’s ready to harvest and process.  It is very helpful when we can sell a 1/8th share (2 per year,  46 lbs each) or a 12 lb. Sampler Pack share (3 per year) in advance.  We offer a discount to encourage buyers to purchase shares.  This year the discount is 2012 prices in 2013.  This saves $5 on each of the three Sampler Packs and $20 on each of the 1/8th packs.  Our 2013 prices for individual packs go into effect on May 1.  We will accept share applications until May 30.  Share holders have priority in what is available each year.  For Blooming Glen Farm CSA members who purchase shares, we are happy to deliver the beef order to the CSA for pick-up when you are getting your veggies.

To find out more details about the Tussock Sedge Farm beef share program, and to take advantage of the 2012 pricing, head over to Tussock Sedge Farm’s website.

 

Interview by Blooming Glen Farm co-owner and farmer, Tricia Borneman.