Producer

Based out of Stonecrest Farm on Lopez Island, we are your next door grazier. Historically, graziers are farmers who raise cattle and/or sheep on rural land, grazing them to fatten them for market. We consider ourselves to be the new generation of local, small-scale graziers, moving our herd and flock to different parcels of land on Lopez Island, to regenerate the old hay fields and build soil on depleted pastures. By using modern mobile electric fencing, smaller parcels of land can be intensively grazed to mimic the impact of large herds of ruminants, thereby building soil, increasing water retention on the land, increasing forage species biodiversity, and creating healthy wildlife habitat. We farm with nature, and the by-product of our methods is deeply nutritious and delicious meat from robust, happy animals.

We are trained in Holistic Ranch Management through Holistic Management International, as well as both of us having permaculture design certification from the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. We consider ourselves to be "beyond organic" and focus on building the soil and forage on our pastures through intense grazing and well-managed recovery periods. We do not use antibiotics or chemical wormers, nor any sort of growth hormones, in our flock and herd. Our beef and sheep are 100% grass-fed, and eat island-grown hay, supplemented with organic alfalfa, as well as an OMRI-certified mineral system.