why prairie ranged?
FARMING THAT REGENERATES THE PRAIRIE, BOTH IT’S LAND AND PEOPLE.
At Food Ethos Farm, we believe agriculture can help regenerate the land and vitality of the Prairie culture. So we have established an agroecosystem that mimics the Oak Savanna ecosystem that First Nations of the Great Plains managed, prior to the establishment of a European style agriculture system.
This means starting at the bottom and working up, firstly by investing in soil health, and healing the water and nutritional cycles; from there we continue to work towards a climax phase of a fully mature Oak trees and native grasslands.
We accomplish this by growing crops with minimal disturbance of the soil (both chemical and tillage), establishing perennial grasslands, shrubs, and trees, and using animals to help manage the system by rotationally grazing through the entire farm. Implementing productive elements and allowing for natural niches, provides a sustainable source of highly nutritious foods, a healthy ecosystem, and vitality to rural culture.
By supporting Food Ethos Farm, you help us regenerate the Prairie for future generations!
OUR COWS
100% Grassfed & GrassFinished . Nutritionally Dense Beef . Managed for Optimal Health of the Prairie
We breed very hardy cows and bulls, based on Angus genetics, that will thrive on forage based diets, just as their ancestors did. Our cows rotationally graze on native and tame forages through the spring, summer, and fall, and bale-graze hay on pasture in the winter. A bonus to living in a cold climate, our cattle graze cool and warm season grasses, which increases the nutritional levels of our beef. Calving in early summer, mimicking native ruminants (deer, elk, moose, bison), provides our cows and calves with optimal nutrition from peak grass growth. It also allows our calves to stay with their mothers for longer, approximately 9 months; it gives them a better head start, from lower stress and more milk! Our year round grazing system minimizes illness and contamination from excess manure build up; producing a healthy product for our customers.
OUR PIGS
Raised outside on the Prairie . Fed homegrown nonGMO feed . Heritage Berkshire and Hereford
Our pigs get to express their full pigness, while they rotate through the bush and pasture during the summer. Our pigs are a mix of heritage varieties, specifically a Berkshire and Hereford cross. This cross creates a great flavour, with just the right amount of fat, and longer bellies for more Bacon! Our pigs are very hardy and enjoy living outdoors year round, eating grass and rooting for bugs and seeds in the summer, and snuggling into straw under open shelters in the winter. We feed them a nonGMO homegrown ration of grain year round to help fatten them up.
OUR CHICKENS
Pasture Raised . Fed homegrown nonGMO feed . Better than Free Range
Our birds are truly birds of the prairie, chasing bugs, chewing on grass and forages, and eating a homegrown nonGMO feed. Unlike most commercial brands of “Free Range” chicken which is raised in a barn with small doors to a small outdoor paddock they almost never go out to. Commercial Free Range is the smallest of steps better than completely barn raised chickens. Our birds are brooded for 2-3 weeks indoors in warm, safe conditions, and then moved outdoors to mobile shelters that are moved every day. While the birds are chasing grasshoppers and grazing clovers, they “apply” their manure to the pasture and help fertilize it for lush green grass for the cows to graze later in the season. No green-washing with our birds, they are truly Prairie birds!
Processing
All of our animals are processed at local and small family owned inspected abattoirs. We deliver the animals ourselves and make sure they are handled in a stress free manner every step of the way. It would be a shame and against our ethos to raise our animals to the highest quality and then have the animals mistreated and the quality of meat lowered by stressful handling on their last day.