Directly from our farm to you
Skelton Farm is a Family Owned, Family Operated Farm
Freshly Frozen Ground beef is available at the farm NOW
We are sold out of sides of beef and assortment packages
Thank you to all of our loyal customers!
Assortments & sides will be available again in the the summer of 2012
PLEASE reserve your beef by June next year
Don't forget to visit our price and ordering info page
* Piedmontese Beef ~ lean & TENDER ~ Genetically unique breed of cattle from Italy
* 100% Grass fed and Grass Finished ~ NEVER Fed Grain ~ only dry hay and fresh pasture
* Dry Aged 11-21 days for enhanced flavor
* Absolutely NO GMO'S ~hay's not grown from GM seed & pastures are native grasses
* clear vacuum packaging or double wrapped
* Bred, Born and raised on our farm in Pennsylvania
* Raised humanely
* Never confined to a feed lot or closed barn
* Clean, Safe, nutrient dense
* Never given Growth Hormones
* Raised without Antibiotics
* Pesticide and herbicide free
* Lower in Fat, Cholesterol & Calories than skinless chicken, Salmon, Swordfish & Bison
* High in Omega 3
* High in CLA
* Processed at a small, family owned & operated local butcher
* Members of Pennsylvania Dept of Agriculture's PA Preferred Program
* Members of PASA ; Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
* Members of North American Piedmontese Association & PAUS
* "Local Harvest " Member
* "Eat Wild" Member
* Listed on Penn State University's "AgMap"
* "Slow Food" members
If you would like to stop by the farm to pick up some ground beef, Please call
814-734-7008 or email trishskelton@gmail.com prior to stopping by, as we are only open by
appointment or by chance.
Please visit our news, videos and links page
Please see our Price & Ordering info page as well as our FAQ page for more information.
Grass fed is Best
Grass fed beef is a healthier, more flavorful and more nutrient dense product than grain fed beef. Our cattle have access to several pastures around the farm and are free to roam as they like in and out of pastures and over the wooded areas of the farm. Our pastures are never over grazed. We feed only hay grown on our farm. We grow our hay without the use of pesticides and herbicides. We harvest it when the nutrient content will yield the highest quality hay. It drys in the sun and is baled and stored in our barns out of the weather to further ensure quality. They also have access to free choice * minerals in various feeders around the farm.
(*eat it when they need it)
Grass Finished
What is grass finished? ~ a frequent question we get here on the farm.
Simply put, all of our cattle eat nothing but grass; fresh pasture when available and dry hay during the winter months. This includes Pregnant and nursing cows, growing steers and young heifers, working bulls as well as new calves.
Many farms feed grass during the early months of a calves life and feed grain during the last few months of a steers growth in order to put added weight and fat on the steer. This would be an example of a grass fed and corn finished steer. Unlike others advertising "grass-fed" our cattle are never fed grain and never confined to a feed lot.
Cattle are ruminants and as such are not equipped to digest grains. The ingesting of grains can weaken the immune system and can cause digestive upset. An all grass diet is as nature intended. As a result our cattle are much healthier than most feedlot beef and/or corn fed beef.
From Forbes Magazine 7/09
Forbes magazine rated grass fed beef as one of the top ten healthiest foods on earth; an excerpt from the article follows along with a link to the entire article.
Grass-Fed Meat
Meat from grass-fed cows has a much different fat profile than ordinary supermarket meat: high in omega-3s, lower in potentially harmful omega-6s and loaded with CLA, a kind of fat known for its anti-cancer activity. A superb source of protein and vitamin B12, it's also missing the antibiotics, steroids and hormones found in the meat that comes from feedlot farms.
forbes healthiest foods on earth
100% grass fed Yearling Piedmontese steers
More Reasons to Eat Grassfed
According to a 2009 study* conducted by the USDA and Clemson University, grassfed beef is better for human health than grainfed beef in ten ways:
1. Lower in total fat
2. Higher in beta-carotene
3. Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
4. Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin
5. Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
6. Higher in total omega-3s
7. Better ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)
8. Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter
9. Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)
10. Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease
We've been brainwashed into thinking that all fats are bad for us, but the truth is that fats are a necessary component of a healthy diet. The human body needs an array of fats in the right amounts to function and remain disease-free. Grassfed beef is one way to add those healthy fats to a balanced diet.
Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids are polyunsaturated fats that play an important part in growth and metabolism. They can't be synthesized by the human body, so they have to come from our diet. Both reduce inflammation, lower the amount of serum cholesterol and triglycerides, prevent excess clotting and reduce the risk of cancer.
While both Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids are important individually, they also work in tandem and the ratio is critical. According to the National Center for Biotechnology, a typical Western diet can be excessively heavy on the Omega 6s – up to a 30:1 ratio – when the ideal is closer to 1:1. The proper ratio can reduce the risk of many chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is another potent weapon in the arsenal against chronic disease. CLA can reduce cancer, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and insulin resistance.
Vaccenic Acid is a transfat that occurs naturally in ruminant animals, but unlike its synthetically-produced cousins, is important for good health. A recent study published in The Journal of Nutrition showed that vaccenic acid protects against artherosclerosis, a contributing factor in cardiovascular disease.
Saturated Fats (cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoproteins – LDL or “bad” cholesterol) all play a significant role in heart disease and stroke.
The choice is clear – grassfed beef is the healthy way to eat.
*
S.K. Duckett et al, Journal of Animal Science, (published online) June 2009, “Effects of winter stocker growth rate and finishing system on: III. Tissue proximate, fatty acid, vitamin and cholesterol content.”