Increasingly Minto is giving tours to groups interested in grass-fed beef as well as the whole farm. Getting the word out to the public is important to him.
Several weeks ago he took part in a cooking demonstration on Jamestown using grass-fed beef. Two local chefs prepared several dishes at the grange hall. The demonstration was limited to 50 people and tickets were sold out in two days, giving further credence to the growing movement toward healthier meats. Minto notes that grass-fed beef is also safer in that there is no chance of mad-cow disease and the cattle have far fewer antibiotics in their systems because they are eating what cattle are supposed to eat—grass, not grain which can raise havoc with their digestive systems.
As proud as he is of his herd, he also is proud of his pastures. As the cattle are moved to another pasture, the one that was nibbled away is reseeded with a no till seeder. He sometimes inter-seeds with forage oats. His cattle are fed kelp once a day for trace elements and the fields are dressed with fish oil. The fields, once very acidic now have an ideal pH of 6.8.
What about RI wool?
Among the other tenants at Watson, are sheep which are raised for meat and wool although Heather, a spinner, notes the market for Rhode Island wool, which tends to be coarse, is not developed yet.
But that should change this fall.
An effort is under way to get sheep farmers together to produce wool for blankets as a value-added product. The state Division of Agriculture is involved in this project along with the Resource Conservation and Development Council and the result is the Rhode Island Sheep Cooperative has been formed, with some URI representation. Taking a cue from Rhody Fresh Milk, the project has been given a name—“Rhody Warm.”
About 20 people interested in the project met last winter and they came up with a goal—provide enough wool for the manufacture of wool blankets in time for the next holiday season.
The group has put out a lengthy newsletter in which it is reported that there are 45-60 sheep farms registered in the state and that there may be many other smaller operations, such as 4-H clubs, involving sheep.
The newsletter describes what criteria are to be followed for preparing the wool fleeces and a shearing is planned for mid-June.
A SCOTTISH HIGHLANDER at the Beaverhead Farm on Jamestown welcomes (l-r) Noreen O'Farrell, owner of the farm and Danielle Minto, a caretaker. Scottish Highlanders are prized for their endourance and high quality beef. O'Farrell and her husband are in the process of reviving the farm with the help of Minto and her husband.
The fleeces will be sent to a mill in Minnesota for scouring and then sent to
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Wheelock Textiles in Massachusetts to be made into blankets. Edging and napping will be done in Rhode Island.
One interested farmer is Sen. Susan Sosnowski, the only working farmer in the General Assembly, who confesses she simply dumps the wool from her sheep in her woods because up to now, there has been no market for it.
STEVEN LIEBHAUSER of the Slice of Heaven bakery and cafe in Jamestown was one of two chefs who demonstrated cooking with grass-fed beef. Tickets to the event sold out in two days.
The RI Sheep Cooperative has a long-term goal to bring more income to farmers.
Gaining momentum
While the wool project is already under way, the beef cooperative is just gaining momentum. At the 55-acre Beaverhead Farm on Jamestown owners Noreen and Bill O’Farrell have engaged the services of Danielle and Mike Minto (Don’s nephew) as caretakers.
Her husband came from cattle-farming family in Ireland, notes Danielle who is also on the Eastern RI Conservation District and so managing the small herd of Scottish Highlanders and Black Angus cattle at the farm is a labor of love. The Beaverhead Farm which overlooks Mackerel Cove, the town beach, is in the process of being restored. The O’Farrells are building a new house there and are renting out some other buildings.
Danielle plans to continue planting some flowers and vegetables for sale and one plan is to expand the herd of cattle once the farm is back in shape. A big need is a water supply (wells there have to go down 600 feet) and the O’Farrells hope to attract some government grants for that work.
Danielle also is also on the steering committee for the meat cooperative which is being launched with a small grant from the Eastern RI Conservation District. But other funding help will be necessary (a la Rhody Fresh), says Don Minto. Letters are being sent out to see how many other farmers are interested—it is estimated there are 6,000 head of beef cattle in the state.
A big hurdle for the meat cooperative is the fact there is no slaughterhouse in the state and Minto feels a mobile one, common out West, is not feasible because of labor costs, inspection and zoning issues.
A fixed slaughterhouse would be ideal for the meat cooperative, says Don. It may cost $1 million, he says, but that is far cheaper than buying up the development rights of a number of farms that are poised to fall to bulldozers.
“The public is primed to embrace and support what is left,” says Don of the remaining farms of all types in the state. And his grass-fed cattle are deemed to be a big part of the future of farming here. Taking note of the food safety and food security concerns people are developing, Minto thinks grass-fed cattle are part of the solution. “Grass-fed is a movement. I’m enthused.”
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