Glynwood’s sustainable livestock operation requires the constant use of our pastures, almost all of our 225 acres of grass, plants and soil. This system provides animals with a healthier, more humane existence, reduces environmental damage and yields meat and eggs that are more naturally flavorful and nutritious than food produced in a factory. With this constant outdoor activity, you might ask, what happens when the temperature drops and the ground is covered with snow?
“The grass slows down after the first frost, which has happened,” explains Donald Arrant, Livestock Manager for Glynwood. "We have to let our pastures recuperate before it snows so we do a few last passes for our lambs and feeder calves in late fall, then we bring them in." Under the protection and shelter of the barn, animals are fed a mixed grass/legumes hay and trace minerals.
The crew recently spent an exhausting few days retrieving half of Glynwood's cows from OSI property at Indian Brook, where additional pasture was "loaned" to us for grazing.
“Because of the time of year and the recent drought, we're running out of pasture, which provokes them to try to escape," said James Walton, Livestock Assistant. It’s really hard to convince an 1100-pound beast to do something they don’t want to do, like get onto a trailer. Without a leader cow in the group, they literally butt heads with each other!”
Livestock is similar to vegetables in the way that both enterprises are cyclical. Breeding, gestation and birthing also factor into the “seasonality” of pasture-raised meat.
As such, Donald is also focused on the next "crop.” “We’re hoping to have all of our lambing start in December so most of our sheep are now bred,” he said (the ram has been with the ewes for the past few months). “The buck will meet the goats soon, too.”
Neither of the two grew up farming. James is from Queens, NY, and lived an artist’s life for years before taking an important apprenticeship at Quail Hill, one of the first CSAs in the country, and later coming to Glynwood last year. Donald grew up in the suburbs of Indianapolis, then moved to Boulder, CO, where he became a produce buyer for Whole Foods. He's been at Glynwood for more than 5 years.
Both of them want to provide consumers with healthier, more sustainable options while, in the process, curtailing the collateral damage caused by industrial practices. It's why they do what they do.
"Like any luxury, which I think meat is, you should want the best products," Donald explained. "Our methods are more labor intensive, plus we’re also cultivating the health of the soil and the animals’ wellbeing. There are financial costs to that but it's worth it."
"You can start at grain production and work your way up to the treatment of the animals in feedlots and how their waste is disposed of into the ecosystem," he said about the status quo. "All of the small yet conscious decisions that we make eventually do add up to affecting change."
Donald will be at Stone Barns Center early next month for the 8th annual Young Farmers Conference, where he will be presenting on the benefits and challenges of raising meat goats, an enterprise he has been developing at Glynwood for six seasons.
