established in 2016

Homesteaded in 1920 by Walter Boettger, our third-generation farm has rolling hills, rich soil, a slow moving stream and vast pasture land practically untouched through the years, except by grazing cattle.

Our practices support the monarch migration, pollinators and diverse ecosystems.

While our cattle munch on our pastures during late spring, summer and early fall, we grow fields of a diverse grass mix to feed our herd of about 50 throughout the year.

We currently grow 5 fields consisting of 91 acres of rye, timothy, orchard grasses and more. With a continuing stand of alfalfa and grasses, these fields have more organic matter and naturally suppress noxious weeds. A walk in our fields at this time of year is full of monarchs, bees, so many insects and critters that thrive off of these grasslands and support our fragile food systems — things monocrop fields like field corn and soybeans can’t do. We wish we could put the symphony of sounds you hear in these fields in this email.

Because we focus most of our farming on our beef, we do a ton of research about how we can consistently improve these fields. And it has been paying off. Our fields consistently test well in nutrition quality and our yields have been so high that we have been able to grow enough for our needs and other local farmers in our area.

Know that not all grass-fed beef is the same. Some grass-fed beef can be fed with grasses simply bailed from ditches on the sides of the road or from Conservation Reserve Program or CRP land, with no quality testing or nutrition considerations. While CRP on its own is a good program, it should only serve as a filler for cattle when needed.

Thank you for supporting our work. We wouldn’t be able to convert more and more acres to hayfields and support heathy ecosystems without you.