The Shepherdess

Resources for Beginner Sheep Farmers, Dorper Sheep for Sale in Texas!

grass fed beef

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A TOUR OF THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS FARM | Polyface Farms with Joel Salatin

Link to receive 1 hour interview with Joel Salatin

Link to the Book Salad Bar Beef

2 years and 4 months ago I decided I wanted to raise grass fed beef beef and I wanted to make a profit at it.


I had zero experience with livestock, zero agricultural background, and to top it off my full time job was at the opposite end of the occupational spectrum: I was a digital marketer in the retail apparel industry.


Despite all of this I knew I had to do something.


So I went shopping for a book about how to raise grass fed beef and found Salad Bar Beef by Joel Salatin. At that point in time I didn’t know Joel Salatin from the next guy… but because there were cows and dollar signs on the cover (two of my primary interests) I immediately fell in love with this book.

Books about Regenerative Farming and Agriculture Salad Bar Beef


And I started reading Salad Bar Beef:
Not knowing anything about farming.
Not knowing anything but that I had 23 acres of grass and I wanted to raise cows.


It was Salad Bar Beef that introduced me to the concept of rotational grazing and regenerative agriculture for the first time.


But Salad Bar Beef appealed to me more on the basis of economics than ecology.
What caught my attention was that this was a system of raising and grazing beef that I could launch with just a few hundred dollars in electric fencing supplies.


I read about a direct marketing mindset that made a way to earn an income off a small herd, despite nosediving live cattle prices.


I read how that with a small amount of money, and a little time every day I could earn 300% more than the average rancher by way of increased feed production on pasture… essentially turning my 23 acres into 69 acres.


So I put these methods to the test. And what you have watched on my channel over the past two years has been me, as an absolute beginner, just doing it.

And it has worked!


Two years almost to the date of reading the first chapter of Salad Bar Beef, I was in Virginia moving cattle with Joel Salatin. I was seeing firsthand the fruit of 40 years of consistent stewardship, unconventional marketing methods, and radical diversification within a farm business model.


I met his staff and his stewards and was so encouraged by both.


There are a lot of people that don’t like Joel Salatin.. and I’m not here to make you like him… But I am here to say that what he preaches in that one book works for me. His model encouraged me to start small… And his model allowed me to go from never owning livestock, to harvesting 1000lb of my own grass fed beef in just 18 months.


I met so many of you at the Polyface Stockman Grass Farmer event. It was such an incredible joy to look into the faces of a lot of the names that have been just names on a screen for the past two years.

The best thing was just seeing in your eyes the way I feel about this work.


I also want to thank my friends Bill and Judie Croft at Meadowcroft Farm for hosting me at the Meadowcroft Inn while I was at Polyface. The Inn at Meadowcroft is just 7 miles down the road from Polyface. Meadowcroft is hands down one of the most beautiful Inn’s I have ever stayed at.

Cindy and Aletha were the amazing chefs at Meadowcroft and served us fresh fruit parfaits and a hot breakfast (made with farm sourced ingredients) every morning. Chicken lady got really spoiled… like we came home and she was demanding yogurt parfaits and bread pudding every morning.


In addition to the Inn, Bill and Judie raise a large herd of grass fed beef cows and meat sheep that are organically raised and marketed through a unique supply chains. As if that wasn’t enough diversity, Bill and Judie run the Meadowcroft Cannery and I am going to link to the sandwich spread, the German pickles, and apricot jam that were my favorites… I actually bought 12 cans of jelly and spread cans before I left. All of the ingredients are organic and they are made with pure cane sugar no synthetic flavors. Their cannery website Website is linked HERE and you get free shipping when you buy 12 or more cans!

Thank you for “traveling” with me!

-the Shepherdess

“A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” John 3:27

Books about Regenerative Farming and Rotational Grazing Cows and Sheep

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Anniversary

The Shepherdess at Harmony Farms Grassfed Beef in Dallas

One year ago this month I decided I wanted to make a business out of raising beef cattle.
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“A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
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I had no experience in farming, barely spent any time outdoors, and would have been voted “least likely to touch an animal” by anyone who knew me in person.
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But I looked out my window and couldn’t move past the desire to convert 30 acres of grass into quality meat.
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Under one condition: it could NOT be sheep. I watched sheep live on my family’s property for 2 years and wanted nothing to do with them.
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But as I pursued an education in beef cattle, I discovered this neat concept called rotational grazing.
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In preparation for buying my beeves, I wanted to see if I could manage a rotational grazing program… So I asked my parents if I could practice on their sheep.
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One year later, I now own the flock I wanted nothing to do with… and I’m loving it.
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It’s mostly about sheep around here, but tonight I wanted to pause and commemorate the beef cattle that turned me into a shepherdess.
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I am so grateful for the way the Lord used them to direct my steps. 🐂
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-the Shepherdess

grass fed beef in dallas texas

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How to Raise Grass-Fed Beef: Beginner Guide

Early in 2020, I decided I wanted to raise Grass Fed Beef Cattle for a profit. The problem was, I had no previous experience with livestock… in fact, I had never owned anything larger than a hamster in my entire life. Raising Grass Fed Beef with no previous experience? Crazy, maybe. Impossible: NO! This post outlines all the info I gathered to buy the right breed of livestock for my first shot at raising grass-fed beef! I hope this will help you get started in your grass-fed beef cattle journey.

Good genetics = the first step to raising the best grass fed beef!

“What?? I can’t buy just any old black and white dairy cow and finish it on grass??”

Apparently not.

When shopping for cow or steer that will become your grass-fed beef, you want to make sure your cow or steer is genetically fit for producing quality beef on an all-grass diet.

How to Raise Grass Fed Beef

The following attributes make a cow or steer eligible for a quality grass-fed to finish program:

  • ✅English Breeds such as Angus or Hereford.
  • ✅Small frame.
  • ✅Short legs.
  • ✅Beefy hind quarters.
  • ✅Born in the spring when the grass is best! (because you will be finishing 2 years later on that same grass)
  • ✅Private sale where you can visit the ranch and ensure the cattle is on a grass-based diet from birth.

AVOID THE FOLLOWING when shopping for a cow or steer to grass finish:

  • 🚫Continental Breeds such as Brahman or Longhorn.
  • 🚫Large frame.
  • 🚫Long legs.
  • 🚫Born mid-summer or winter.
  • 🚫Buying at a venue (sale barn) that provides no information on the cattle’s origin or upbringing.

As a first timer raising Grass Fed Beef, Should I buy Stocker Steer or a Cow Calf Pair?

When I began researching how to raise grass fed beef, my question was: “As a first-timer, should I buy a cow-calf pair or a Steer?”

I chose to purchase Stocker Steer as a first timer raising grass fed beef. Here’s why:

Stocker Steer are castrated bulls/male calves that are between 6 and 9 months old. These steers are low maintenance and do not require a long-term commitment. When buying a stocker steer, you do not need much (or any, as is my case) experience in livestock handling. A good quality Stocker steer will come with all of the vaccines and antibiotics already administered. You will need to deworm every 6 months or so, but besides this, there are no major handling needs involved when raising a stocker steer for grass-fed beef.

The stocker steer option was perfect for me as a beginner (and a girl!) raising beef cattle for the first time. Buying stocker steer meant I did not need any experience in animal handling to start raising grass-fed beef! Furthermore, with a stocker, steer the time to slaughter is only around 18 months; versus 24-36 months if I were to buy a bred cow or cow-calf pair.

If I would have chosen a bred cow, or cow-calf pair, I would have to deal with calving, weaning, medicating, vaccinating, and so on. This is a lot of work for a beginner. What’s more is that if I were to choose a cow-calf pair, my time to slaughter would be up to 36 months. Then I would have to deal with things like: what would I do with the mama-cow when the calf is born? How would I breed her again with no bull? What would I do with the mama-cow if I decided that beef cattle wasn’t a good fit for me?

Buying a stocker steer was the best option for me as a beginner raising grass-fed beef.

And that’s what I did! I bought three Herford-Angus steers to raise grass-fed beef for the first time. These steers were born in May which means that when I am ready to finish them, my grass will be growing like crazy… which is super important for a grass-finished beef (obviously!).

I bought my steers from a regenerative-rancher, Mr. Karl Ebel, who lives about 15 miles from my farm. Mr. Karl Ebel is the owner of Ebel Grasslands Ranch. These steers were born and grazed on Ebel Grasslands Ranch which is actually a Native Tall-Grass Prarie Conservation.

Harmony Farms Grass-fed beef is born and grazed on Native Prairie: I don’t think I could have asked for a better start to my grass-fed beef operation!

“With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:26

Special thanks to Karl Ebel of Ebel Grasslands Ranch for his time and consulting throughout this process. Much of the info above is from this consultation.