Offering 100% grass-fed, humanely and organically raised meats
to New England and the nation.
It all started with one man saying to one girl: "I am going to buy some sheep."
The rest is, as they say, history. . .
Seven years later - and three more families have joined with 8 o'clock Ranch to provide to our customers throughout New England and the country humanely-raised, grass-fed and dry-aged Beef, Lamb, and Pork.
In limited quantities, we also offer eggs and, coming soon, are adding Goat's Milk and Goat Cheeses!
What is ' Humanely Raised ' ?
In growing up with animals, we understand that our job is that of both a shepherd and caretaker.
To do this well our animals need to treated with respect and concern for their well being.
We also wanted to be able to feed our kids healthy meats and not feel guilty or disgusted with how they were treated.
So: no feedlots, no cramped quarters, no unhealthy living conditions.Hundreds of acres of grazing land are provided for our animals. They get as much grass, water and minerals as they want on a free-choice basis. Babies stay with their moms until weaned (usually by the moms themselves) - and always being watched over by us.
We have also installed fencing that deters predator attacks on our sheep so they can rest easy at night.
Why Grass Fed?
" Normal" supermarket meats started making me nauseous years ago--so that was not an option. Putting all those hormones and heavy fats into my body really bothered my stomach.
But the beef cravings never stopped.
One thing I noticed about your beef was it's digestability.
Living on Cape Cod we eat a lot of fish. Even after eating a couple of burgers or a large steak.
I feel no heaviness or fullness.-I just feel satisfied--like eating fish but much better!
Thanks for satisfying my cravings! Now that I know you have good supply, I'll tell all my friends too :)
Lee T,
Brewster MA
Grass is what cattle and sheep have eaten for thousands of years. . . . might there be a reason to it?
There is! Cows and sheep are ruminants (they have 4 sections of stomach), and they are designed to eat grass and be able to break it down. It's their 'natural' diet.
When ruminants eat grain, on the other hand, it creates a negative PH in their bodies and causes stress leading to infection, disease, etc, and we find that the taste of the meat is strong and unpleasantBefore we even heard about the health benefits to humans or the great taste of grass fed meat, we had learned from observation how much healthier our sheep were when grazing the lush grasses of the St. Lawrence River valley.
While we had started the 'regular' way with grain feeding our flocks, and using all the 'latest medicines'we still had sick animals. The frustration was awful.
In 2003 we have transitioned our ranch over to 100% grass and our animals are thriving!The health benefits to humans are staggering.
The average American consumes 66 pounds of beef a year. A six-ounce grass-fed steak has about 100 fewer calories than its grain-fed counterpart, an annual calorie savings of about 18,000.
The fat of grass-fed beef is healthier for you: it's loaded with the cancer fighting CLA's and in omega-3s, the "good fats" commonly found in fish.Last, but not least is flavor.
For those of you who remember going to your grandparents' home for a cookout and tasting a really great seared-to-perfection steak or the perfect juicy burger bursting with flavor: we've brought back that flavor. 'Supermarket' meat, even the high-priced 'all-grain-fed' cuts simply can't compare. 'Nuff said!
Why Organic?
Most everyone understands or has heard of the term 'organic'.
Our herds and flocks are NOT 'certified organic', we found that becoming certified as an 'organic' ranch would not be right for us for several reasons.
As 'big business' has found it lucrative to use 'organic' as a selling point they have also watered down, worked around and otherwise made it less honorable ( at least to us).
We would have to pass the cost of certification on to you, the customer, and, when it comes to treating our animals, our hands would be bound: you should know that we will use an antibiotic for any animal whose life is threatened. This, we feel is a part of being humane.
The last time we used one is 4 years ago and unfortunately she died.Our pledge to you is that, if we ever need to use an antibiotic on an animal in our herd, we will happily take it out of the herd and not sell it to our customers.
Beyond that, our pastures, our water and our air is clean.
We live far from large commercial growers so we do not receive sprays on the wind or water pollution.The feed of our livestock is the grass of our ranch: only our chickens have their diet supplemented with a small amount of home-grown grain.
What we believe:
That the road less traveled is sometimes the better one.
Some of us have made this choice throughout all our lives, some are just discovering this. We (John and I) started on farms, left for a job and came back because we love the freedom of waking at 2 and 3 in the morning and working until dark with our two kids (I know- we are crazy!)We love working with the land and enjoy eating of its bounty.
Sharing with you is a wonderful way to continue this old way of life. Sustainable, yes. Humane, yes. Tasty, yes. Unbelieveably enjoyable and satifying - we hope you'll find out!
-- Kassandra
8 o'Clock Ranch • 293 Old Canton Rd • DeKalb Junction • NY 13630
315-347-4352
