Walk the pastures at Clarion Farms to see how we started grazing cattle without the burden of debt or binding contracts that can hinder small, do-it-yourself operations. This detailed beginner level class will help you clearly understand the fundamentals of livestock ownership and management.
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When tension exists in the production of food, discomfort jumps to the end user. Nobody can eat contentedly from a platform that’s hanging on the edge of catastrophe, yet that’s exactly where we find ourselves today.
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Here is the impending predicament: Expectations and reality are going to collide as local-food-loving families inherit land managed by farmers they claim to support.
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There is a distinct difference between the people who supported us when there was another option at the grocery store and those who buy from us because there is no other option at the grocery store. It’s the difference between a deliberate vision for the future and the expectation of limitless gratification.
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New faces generate a lot of questions. Here is what you need to know in bullet point format:
YES, we are open at the Beef Barn.
Beef Barn hours are Tuesday-Saturday from 10-5. Mondays by chance.
The store (Beef Barn) has been busy, but that doesn’t mean it’s crowded. You can shop here without milling through masses of loafers.
We raise all of the cattle that produce every piece of beef available to you at the Beef Barn. Why is this important? We’ve learned a lot about diseases recently. Co-mingling spreads disease. Isolation does not. Our herds remain completely isolated from the outside world from birth to harvest.
Ask just about any outdoor enthusiast, environmental geek, or suburban homeowner for the best method to improve a specific piece of land and the answer will ring clear: get people off of it!
There are significant problems with this approach.
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This place has gone bananas. I might need some sanity reinforcement this week. Let me fill you in on the events from yesterday:
Mom, Dad, and I got dressed and headed over to Grammy and Grandpa’s house. They were home and Aunt Kate was there, too, waiting on Uncle BJ to jog in from town. Nothing unusual so far.
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Enriching food with supplements is not as complete of a solution as enriching soil, then feeding food grown from that soil to ill patients. To paraphrase the Frenchman, taking supplements completely misses the wholeness of eating. Following this logic, every doctor in the world should participate in farming as an extension of their craft.
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I like to help Dad with the grassfed herd. He covers a LOT of territory in a day, though, and that makes it tough for my short legs to keep up.
Queue my Mom Engine.
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I got a fort. Aunt Kate and Uncle BJ went on an adventure and retrieved the structure to be assembled in our yard. When it arrived I was pretty confused; Mom got me up from a nap and there were planks and sturdy supports scattered in front of the house.
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Cat, dog, toddler.
Toddler, dog, cat.
Dog chewing on cat, toddler chewing on dog.
All parties break to shred the mail.
Sounds like a square dance, doesn’t it?
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You can imagine my excitement, then, when Dad surprised me on a warm day last week. He rooted long wooden poles out of the barn and flipped over a metal igloo that’s been sitting near the water’s edge for my entire life. Guess what? IT FLOATS!
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Another update (Farm Dog Friday will follow later today, don't worry!):
Our Core Goods beef delivery today has been rescheduled for next Friday, March 27, because we don't have any extra beef to sell. We sent additional cattle to help fill the void, so more beef will be on the shelves next week.
Yes, I'm coming to Pittsburgh tomorrow. There are a significant number of orders headed to the city and I'll have limited cuts available for walk-up traffic.
Yes, we still have a few things left at the Beef Barn. Here are two things to consider:
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We're VERY busy. Be open minded and sympathetic: we're doing our best to make sure everyone can get a little bit of source-verified beef. You may not get the exact cut you were thinking of, but, hey, since the world closed you'll have time to look up a new recipe.
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What is a farm worth?
For most people, farms aren’t worth anything; at best they’re grounds for petting zoo entertainment, at a glance they’re open tracts of land with tractors, and at worst they’re the useless and annoying stomping grounds of simple minded people who cannot guff it in the modern world.
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We all know certain characteristics are inherited from our parents. I got my mom’s good looks and my dad’s butt.
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Today is Saturday, and that means you will find me at 2216 Penn Avenue in the Strip District from 9-12. The coolers are loaded with steaks, roasts, and ground beef, as well as Beef Bacon, Beef Hot Dogs, Beef Summer Sausage, Beef Jerky, and Beef Sticks, so come with a food game plan and we’ll make sure your March still features plenty of madness to celebrate. Grilling madness, that is…
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Annie has a lot to learn about life around here. She’s eager to encounter every new opportunity and is ready to go at a moment’s notice.
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When the world seems a little too urgent and way too rigid, our customers find relief in the reality of farm life. We find new world perspectives because of our customers. The relationship is symbiotic.
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