A while back at the Slow Food Northern New Jersey event in Morris Township, I met Paul Dalrymple of Plaid Piper Farm. T and I arrived late at that event, so all Paul had left was ground beef. We bought some, and chatted with Paul’s wife, Eileen, about how their cows were pasture-raised. They were actually grass-finished. [A distinction should be made here that some places raise cows on grass and then move them toward grain as it gets closer to slaughter time to fatten them up quickly.] They also pasture-raise pigs, broiler chickens, egg-laying hens and turkeys (and soon lambs).
Greta, a Simmental cow
The benefits of grass-fed & finished beef are a-plenty. I won’t go into detail – you can read more about the benefits of grass-fed beef here – except to say it’s better for the environment, it’s better for the animals (they’re built to digest grass, not grain), it’s tastier and better for you.
When I emailed Paul last week to tell him I’d like to come visit the farm, he told me to come at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and I could help collect the chicken eggs. At 9 a.m. that Saturday, I promptly got in my car and drove an hour deep into the heart of Sussex County (Branchville, to be exact). I nearly drove past it – without a sign out front, it was hard to tell – but when I got out of the car and saw a man in a kilt, I knew I was in the right place! Welcome to Plaid Piper Farm!
Paul Dalrymple, owner of Plaid Piper Farm
I arrived a little too late for egg collection, but I suppose that’s alright since I get my fair share of that at home. Paul explained that his chicken coop is a repurposed trailor that he got for free. He explained it’s also an easy way to move the chickens around for rotational grazing. I love it – recycling at its best.
The Layer Lair
Paul explained that the 210-acre farm has been in his family for 202 years – that his father and grandfather were both born in his house. Growing up, it was a dairy farm and it somehow managed to stay in the family despite hard times and temptations to sell the land. In the 80′s, Paul stepped back from farming for a good 20 years and tried his hand at several professions, but he says farming is just in his blood. Four years ago, he returned to the field and decided he was going to change the way they did things – he was going to become a grass farmer. He took inspiration from reading Joel Salatin’s You Can Farm, and decided he was going to do things the right way.
Paul feeds one of his cows an apple
During the winter, because the cows can’t graze freely, they eat hay – and the occasional apple treat! Paul explains how the cows and chickens are rotationally grazed:
Paul explained that he choose the breeds of his cows because they’re better-suited for grass-feeding. On the farm, he has Devons, Herefords, Simmentals, Red Angus and Black Angus, all of which are a stockier breed with shorter legs. Paul told me the shorter cows aren’t good for grain-feeding because they fatten up too fast, but for that same reason, they work better for grass-feeding.
Paul has put a lot of hard work and time into the farm, even working another job to keep it going. He says he’ll give it seven years – three more from now – to be viable, and if it doesn’t work, he’ll have to move on. His meat isn’t cheap, but it’s what he needs to make in order to stay afloat, and I think it’s a small price to pay for a quality product. One of the hardships local farmers face is finding processors. Paul has to drive 3 1/2 hours one way to take animals to be slaughtered. Many local places aren’t friendly to grass farmers, so Paul travels to Pennsylvania to someone who “gets it.”
We have put in an order for half a pig and a few cuts of beef now so that it will be ready for us in the summer. For the most part, you can’t just buy cuts of meat on a whim. You have to put a deposit on your order far in advance so that they can raise enough animals and ensure a market for them. Don’t expect to find Paul at your local farmer’s market in the summer – he doesn’t do them because they take so much time (something of which he has very little). But that doesn’t mean Paul doesn’t want to meet you, you just have to come to him!
Buy before June 12th and you can join Plaid Piper Farm for their Customer Appreciation Day, which will be a potluck affair. They’re also having a Sustenance on the Farm five-course farm-to-table dinner on July 18 where Chef Joe Cerniglia will cook a meal with the farm-raised meat and produce. There will also be live music. I encourage you all to get involved – go visit Paul and invest in some of his grass-fed goodness. You’ll be taking care of yourself, your family and the environment and doing your part to make sure local farmers have a sustainable income for years to come.
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Great article!
Excellent article, I’ve linked from my blog. We’ve gotten our turkeys from the Plaid Piper Farm for a couple of years and besides being HUGE they are quite tasty.
Cool! Thanks, Mike!