This is my full time job. Done with all of my heart, effort, all of my resources. My very best intentions. This is a start to finish beef operation. The animals are born, raised, and slaughtered with us. I can tell you the name of every animal inside that package you buy. Who his mom was. His granny. His older and younger siblings. His very best buddies. If he was a bottle calf, I can tell you how he took his bottles. If he was a ravenous little monster, or a little gentlemen that politely asked for more. I can usually tell you what the day was like when he was born, I’m often there. I can also tell you about the day he died; what the weather was like, who else was slaughtered that day, how he was thanked for providing me with a job, and you, with food. About the people that slaughtered him. How kind, gentle and efficient they are. Respectful that this was a living being mere seconds before their bullet turned him into food. 

It is different because I can tell you how my heart aches on the days leading up to slaughter. How guilty I feel selecting who sees their last sunrise in the morning. How I wince inside when the shot is fired and their eyes turn to milky glass. I can describe the quiet pride I feel when the well fleshed carcass hangs from the slaughter truck. Sans hide, head and limbs, it has gone from living being to beautiful food. Quietly, quickly, respectfully. Food I’m so excited to offer my community!

That pride fades quickly when the slaughter truck pulls away. Filled with beef, not long ago steers, watching me, wondering if I might have some special snacks for them. In its place, a hollow feeling. A pit. Sadness. Some say it gets easier with time. Looking at the congealed blood, the discarded bits of flesh littering the grass, I disagree. Ten years and it hasn’t. You know what? I hope it never does. If it ever gets easier, that’s the day my beef ceases to be different. I’ll have no answer to give when I’m asked what makes my beef better. Because it’s not. It’s different.

The post Our Beef – It’s Different appeared first on Fair Cow's Path Farm.

Our wonderful litter of 9 Australian Cattle Dog (Heeler) puppies are growing like weeds! Already 5.5 weeks old, they are strong, healthy, adorable little creatures showing great promise as future working and companion dogs. We are SO proud of their momma, Jette, who has tirelessly cared for these puppies with nothing but sweet attentiveness and love 🥰 Her kind demeanor, as well as that of their sire, Tux, is already evident in this litter. These puppies aren’t destined to be the grouchy Heelers everyone is all too familiar with! Through their breeding and great start in life, these pups are set up to be kind, intelligent, biddable Cattle Dogs, successful in whatever their futures hold 💙

Our family has poured our hearts and great care into these little fuzz-balls and we can’t wait to see where they go in life. We have 5 puppies (males and females) available to APPROVED homes. If you’re interested in one of our Heeler puppies, you can find our puppy application here. We are so proud of these puppies and know they’ll be amazing dogs in the world! 😊

The post Heeler Puppies Are Growing Fast! 😍 appeared first on Fair Cow's Path Farm.

Get ready to dive into the latest happenings on our beloved farm! Farmer Marie held down the fort during the winter months, managing the farm alone for 4 months over winter while Farmer Steve was in Australia. Now, it’s time to catch up on all the exciting developments.

Calving Season Success

April and May brought us the joyous arrival of 17 healthy and adorable calves. These little bundles of joy have been keeping us busy with their playful antics and insatiable curiosity. We’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of the final calf to complete our calving season. This picture only gives you a glimpse of their irresistible cuteness.

Piglets and Pork on the Horizon

After taking a break from raising pigs last year, we are thrilled to announce that our farm is now teeming with the pitter-patter of tiny piglet hooves. These little ones will grow into the finest pork, and we can’t wait to offer it to you this fall. Our commitment to providing top-quality, ethically-raised pork remains as strong as ever.

A Parade of Bouncing Baby Goats

May was an incredibly delightful month as we welcomed eight bouncing baby goats to our farm. These sprightly little ones have been bounding around the pastures, bringing endless laughter and joy to our days. Their playful nature and boundless energy remind us of the beauty of new life on the farm.

As we continue to nurture and care for our growing family of animals, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to all of you for your unwavering support and enthusiasm. Your commitment to sustainable farming and your appreciation for the work we do is what keeps us going.

Catch us at the Lynden Farmers Market starting June 3rd, and every Saturday through the end of September. You can pick up our beef at the Farmers Market or we offer farm pickup by appointment. We can’t wait to share the fruits of our labor with you.

The post Farmer Marie Report: Celebrating New Life on the Farm! appeared first on Fair Cow's Path Farm.

Can’t wait to see it in a few years when the shrubs and trees are a bit bigger!

These areas first had invasive species and decades of illegally dumped trash removed. Then, were planted with native shrubs and trees to:

• Give shade to the creek for any potential fish 🌳 🐟
• Create more habitat for wildlife 🌱🦝🐦
• Provide a better buffer to help keep potential cattle manure nutrients from entering the waterways 💩🐄
  Thanks to our farm planners and biologist at Whatcom Conservation District for helping us get this project on our property, and to the crew from Squalicum Mountain Ecological Restoration that did all of the ground prep work and planting! Amazing 👌❤️

The post Sustainability Saturday 🌳 🐟 CREP Project Installation appeared first on Fair Cow's Path Farm.

This is the story of one week in March 2020.

On an unseasonably cold and windy weekend, we tended to our pregnant cow, Beauty around the clock. She wasn’t doing well.

Monday morning, goat babies were born from an uneventful delivery resulting in healthy, happy kids and momma goat – the best situation! Animals were fed and tended to morning and evening. Checked in the afternoon. As they are every day. Methodically, kindly.

Early Tuesday morning, we had a steer slaughtered. His life humanely extinguished to provide nourishment and life to others.

Early Tuesday afternoon, our large animal vet was called to the farm. Beauty was in immediate need of assistance beyond what we could provide. Among other treatments, we delivered a beautiful, perfect, and healthy heifer calf – promptly followed by uterine prolapse. It was successfully reinserted, but in her already weakened state, we knew Beauty may never raise again.

Beauty and the calf were stabilized, the vet packed up and left, and then it was time for the small animal vet to arrive. An appointment had been made for late Tuesday afternoon to have our little dog, Lady, euthanized at home, in the sunshine on our porch. It was Lady’s time to be set free and she went peacefully to Rainbow Bridge.

Beauty continued to be monitored through the day and into the evening and night. Beauty couldn’t stand up. She was weak, and painful, and tired despite all of the medicines and pain relievers we’d administered. Even in her weakened state, being the amazing mother she always is, she did her best to clean and care for her baby, a few tired licks at a time. Her heifer calf was fed with “liquid gold” from our freezer; colostrum, saved from our cow, Sola who lost her calf at birth in August. Colostrum is the initial milk a calf receives from its mother right after birth and it’s an essential and life giving food for a newborn.

At 3am Wednesday morning, the large animal vet was called to the farm again.

At 4:00 am, my Best Girl; my beautiful, kind, and gentle souled, Beauty. The one who’s given so much to our farm, willingly, sweetly, tenderly – who’s taught people to hand milk, surprised them with scratchy, sloppy, cow kisses, produced the richest, tastiest cream around, and raised every calf given to her as if it was her own… My Beauty, girl. Relieved of her earthly duties… and time marched on.

I fed her vibrant little heifer with the last of the frozen colostrum that Sola’s calf never tasted. Which sat in the freezer next to freshly packed beef bones from the steer who gave us the gift of his life only the morning before. I mixed it with goat milk, kindly shared by the bouncing, leaping baby goats, who’s mothers graze under the apple tree where the little dog, Lady, is freshly buried; next to the house where this farmer lives – exhausted.

Sitting here resting for a few moments, flanked by an old, snoring black dog. Lap draped by a fidgeting, warm kitten, and quietly reflecting – shedding tears for the blessings… For the losses… For the opportunity to experience life, and death, so richly, so intensely, so uniquely.

The post The Story of a Farm is one of Beginnings and Endings appeared first on Fair Cow's Path Farm.

Learning about the cuts more in-depth should allow us to make better cutting selections from our processor AND help our customers select the best cut of beef for their intended cooking method 😊

Today’s awesome learning resources include:

• American Angus Association’s beef cut chart
• National Cattlemen’s Association “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.”
  (This is super cool and worth checking out if you’re interested!)
• “The Whole Cow” by Christopher Trotter & Maggie Ramsay

The post Fun Farm Fact Friday 🐄❤️ Beef Cuts appeared first on Fair Cow's Path Farm.

Every time we move the cows to fresh pasture, we mow down what they haven’t eaten. This keeps the grass fresh, growing, and from going to seed – providing our cattle with the best forage we can give them during the growing season. Healthy grass means fat, healthy cattle!

Mowing also helps prevent any grass species or weeds that they do not prefer to eat, and leave standing, from going to seed as well. This entirely eliminates, or greatly reduces, the need for sprays to control weeds!

After mowing, we harrow the pasture. This breaks up the cow pies and spreads them around the grass to help the pasture grow even better. One could even say we’re in the grass growing, rather than the cattle growing, business 😄

The post Fun Farm Fact Friday 🐄❤️ Raising Cows on Grass is Hard Work appeared first on Fair Cow's Path Farm.

The meat from the two beef we slaughtered went to over a dozen different households, including our own. That is incredible.

As hard as it can be sometimes, we are proud to be producing and providing nourishing food for these families and we are so, so honored to be caring for these beautiful creatures. ❤️

The post The Circle of Life appeared first on Fair Cow's Path Farm.

“Lick” is an essential supplement for our cattle. Ours is salt with a mixture of bio-available minerals added. Our soils, and therefore grasses that the cattle eat, are deficient in some essential nutrients that help the animals’ bodies grow, function, and reproduce properly. Our lick provides them with a good source of selenium, copper, and cobalt, which are three of the main nutrients our land is deficient in. We check/refill our lick tubs a few times a week to make sure our cattle always have it available to them. Depending on where in the world you are, and what the cattle there need, lick can be comprised of many different ingredients and sometimes serves as the main nutrient source for animals during times of scarce grass!

The post Fun Farm Fact Friday: The Importance of “Lick” appeared first on Fair Cow's Path Farm.

Prepping for winter is pedal to the metal, laborious work, usually done during the hours before and after the “regular day jobs” of the folks involved. They say that team work makes the dream work – and it’s true. When many hands come together, it all gets done.

We are so, SO very thankful for our wonderful community of fellow farmers that we’re also fortunate enough to call friends – that help bring it all together to provide you folks out there with sustainable and locally grown, healthy foods! Special shout-out and thanks to our friends:

• Kelly and Sally Veum @ K and S Cattle for growing, harvesting, and giving us access to some really beautiful 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cutting hay this year and in past years too, and for their mentorship in raising beef cattle and pigs around here. They also provide us access to organic milk to supplement feed our hogs each week, which is amazing!
• Lyndon Hirai @ Rabble & Roost Farm for always being a capable, willing, and happy helper, no matter the task at hand. This guy is a master in the kitchen too!

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