Skelton Farms
A Family Owned, Family Operated Farm
* Piedmontese Beef ~ lean & TENDER ~ Genetically unique breed of cattle
* 100% Grass fed and Grass Finished ~ Never Fed Grain
* Dry Aged 14-21 days for enhanced flavor
* packaged in clear cryovac packages
* Bred, Born and raised on our farm in Pennsylvania
* Never confined to a feed lot or closed barn
* Clean, Safe, nutrient dense
* Never given Growth Hormones
* No 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, local USDA butcher
* Members of Pennsylvania Dept of Agriculture's PA Preferred Program
* Members of PASA ; Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
* "Local Harvest " Member
* "Eat Wild" Member
* Listed on Penn State University's "AgMap"
* "Slow Food" members
Last chance to order this years beef, you must place your order by December 30, 2009
Whole, 1/2 and 1/4 steer available for pick up January 2010
Whole steer weighs approx.6 -800lbs, 1/2~3-400lbs and 1/4 about 150-200lbs
We have a very limited supply of standing rib roasts and
whole tenderloins for the 2009 Holidays
We also have a new "Build a Box of Beef" option for those wanting 25, 50 or 75 lbs of beef , available year round, best selection August-March.
Please call Trish for details
Individual cuts are also available year round in our farm store. Please call for availablity, we are open by appointment or by chance only. 814-734-7008
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. The pastures are never over grazed, they even needed to be mowed this year because the cattle could not keep up with the growth! We feed only hay raised 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. 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 lead to a weakend 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 cornfed 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.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/07/healthiest-foods-nutrition-lifestyle-health-healthiest-foods_print.html
About Our Family Farm
Piedmontese Beef cattle have resided on the Skelton Farm for nearly 15 years. Farming has been a family tradition for over 150 years. Terry's great grandfather Jasper began farming in northwestern PA in the 1850's. His son Brady, Terry's grandfather, followed suit, and Terry's father Jim purchased his own farm in 1945. Terry & Trish along with thier children have continued the family tradition.
All cattle are bred, born and raised here in the lush pastures in Edinboro PA. When not grazing on fresh grass, our cattle eat only hay that has been harvested from our farm. Cattle fed the best quality forages stay healthy and produce the best tasting beef.
Cows and calves roam the many pastures on our farm in family groups. During the winter months they have access to barns, but most prefer to seek shelter in the woods on the property. They drink spring water from our farm that is sparkling clean. Young steers and heifers leave the herd for a short period of time during weaning and rejoin the group within a few months. Bulls have a separate pasture but join the herd during breeding season.
The Piedmontese docile nature allows the bulls, steers, cows and calves to all live side by side harmoniously. Because of this incredibly low stress, naturalistic life, they are very healthy. On the rare occasion that an animal needs to be treated with an antibiotic, it is recorded and that animal will never be offered to consumers.
For the past ten years we have raised our beef solely on pasture and sun dried orchard grass hay. We made this decision for many reasons, for more detailed information on the many benefits grass fed meats, please see "Eat Wild" web site.