About Us / Laurel Ridge Grass Fed Beef History:

It would probably sound better if I were to say that I got started in the beef raising business out of some desire to produce a healthier product, but the reality is that we had several old pastures that were not particularly good for producing hay. The combination of rolling hills and too much ledge that damages hay bailers, plus the necessary twice-a-year brush hogging to keep down multiflora and other weeds were beginning to be difficult to manage. In the spring of 2002 I read an article by Marian Burros in the New York Times (The Greeening of the Herd), and it suddenly occurred to me that I could raise cattle in order to clear the pastures, and end up with a bonus of healthy beef. I shared my dream with my friend Jim Abbott after a round of vicious croquet, and before I knew what was happening, I had a partner in beef.Jim and I started clearing old fence lines in the winter of 2003, and I arranged with a local farmer who raises Angus beef to buy calves that spring. By early May, we had about 10 acres fenced, and our new cows arrived. Suffice it to say that the learning curve was steep, and by the end of the day we had learned how to recapture 7 recalcitrant six-month-old calves who were all miserable because they had just been weaned from their mommies. The cows managed a few more escapes that summer, including a one-mile foray that culminated in our first cattle drive, but by the time winter rolled around, we had turned into veteran cow hands.So that's how we got started, and it's been a continuous adventure. And as we've gotten farther into this venture, we have learned that the product we had intended to use as a field-clearer is much more. Not only is it good, it's good for you. How often do you set out to accomplish something only to find that the end result is even better than you had originally thought? So we're in the game, having a good time, and producing some delicious, healthy beef which we'd love to get you to try. If only we could figure out to create more spare time to get back to the croquet court!