CSA Shares March 25 - 27

Bakery Shares

Everything Seed Sandwich Loaf

Kale & strawberry seasonal foccacia

Blueberry or Strawberry Blondies

Sugar cookies

Fettuccine pasta

2x Pizza kit with dough, sauce & cheese

Produce Shares

Lettuce

Kale or Swiss chard

Collard greens

Purple sweet potatoes

Carrots

Fuji apples

Spring onions

Basil, thyme, bronze fennel, or mint

Protein shares this week are restocked with ground bison from Ararat Farm in Jonesville, Virginia

image courtesy of www.araratfarm.com

from Ararat Farm, on Grass Finished Bison

This is a summary of the bison and how we grazed them. This was a huge experiment and we went into it with very little knowledge because there is not a lot of information on the grazing methods for bison. So here is what we did and what we learned in the process!

Bison are in the same family as cattle with some differences. At Ararat Farm we purchased the bison older so they have only been grass finished and have not been fully grass fed. Being grass finished however provide them with a good finishing growth and fattening. Their condition improved tremendously within about 2 months of grazing. The bison were an amazing demonstration of the results of proper grazing practices.

When we first got the bison they were very skinny and their hips were very sunk in (a typical indication of a limited “hungry” animal) and their coats were matted and smelled worse then a wet dog. All of these signs are the same signs we watch for with our cattle herd to make sure the health of the animal is the best it can be. So when the bison came to the farm they started off with a very high parasite load, hungry and very easily spooked.

The bison managed just like the cattle and didn’t push fences (including the poly wire). They opted to go under or walk over if they were pressured in a direction. Once they finally settled in with grazing we found they grazed more like sheep then cattle. They would go through and graze the grass and pick the best stuff but did not browse like the cattle do. Once they were moving with the herd, they settled into the mob grazing routine of the daily to twice-daily moves their condition improved very quickly and their temperament calmed to the point that you could nearly pet them.

By about 3 months they did not stink and had no scent at all. Their winter fuzz nearly all fell of and their hindquarters were sleek and they started filling out just like our South Polls do! They also tended to be the first to come to a call and move to the new paddock.

Taking them for their one bad day went pretty well. Because they settled in the herd but did not integrate into the herd, we ended up having to take all 4 animals They were their own little herd unit. In the future if we have the opportunity to do bison again, we hope to organize the grazing to move the bison into the herd sooner and maybe get younger animals that will want to be in the herd more. Over all it was a good experience and we will see what the future brings as to whether we graze bison again.

The bison meat is very lean and tastes just like beef. Different cuts do have a slight after flavor depending on where that cut is from on the animal. The texture is so lean that it must be cooked even slower then grassfed beef. It is a very tasty meat and we are excited to offer this item!