Farming Philosophy
"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature." - Joseph Campbell
At Hawkeye Buffalo and Cattle, I am committed to ethically raising grazed animals. I believe in a practical balance between nature and the health of our herds. I never, ever use growth hormones. I only intervene with antibiotics as you would treat a sick kid, rarely and only when absolutely necessary. The buffalo and cattle spend their life on pasture, eating grass and hay and a few ears of corn on farm tours, which helps me when we want to move the bison or cattle. Sometimes (rarely) I will use it to help an animal who is not thriving and needs to gain weight. Always, I strive for happy, healthy animals and a connection to nature and the land.
"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature." - Joseph Campbell
At Hawkeye Buffalo and Cattle, I am committed to ethically raising grazed animals. I believe in a practical balance between nature and the health of our herds. I never, ever use growth hormones. I only intervene with antibiotics as you would treat a sick kid, rarely and only when absolutely necessary. The buffalo and cattle spend their life on pasture, eating grass and hay and a few ears of corn on farm tours, which helps me when we want to move the bison or cattle. Sometimes (rarely) I will use it to help an animal who is not thriving and needs to gain weight. Always, I strive for happy, healthy animals and a connection to nature and the land.
See more at Hawkeye Buffalo & Cattle's Facebook page and blog posts:
Buying Beef from Hawkeye Buffalo and Cattle
I take for granted the quality of the homegrown beef in my freezer downstairs. This winter, when I was in California visiting my sister, I found myself at the meat counter of the grocery store.
Conventional meat. I confess, I haven’t thought about meat behind the counter at the grocery store in ages. I just run down to my freezer to pick out what I want. There I was, questioning the quality, wondering what had gone into the animal, and how the animals were raised. I believe food is our first medicine, paying us back in energy, health and strength. And so I paid $9 lb for grassfed meat, which I hope was raised without hormones and which was probably imported from New Zealand.
And it wasn’t as good as our beef.
For years we’ve taken a beef to the locker for our family. And now we—Hawkeye Buffalo and Cattle—are now selling our beef at our farm store.
Pandemic closures have inspired this change. And like many unintended positives of COVID, what seemed like necessity now feels like opportunity. When the markets crashed, I knew I couldn’t take our cull cows to market. As you know, while beef prices are soaring in grocery stores, the price for live animals at market has plummeted. Someone is making $ off of what you buy at the store. But it isn’t the farmer. Selling directly to the customer cuts out the corporation.
I’ve also recognized that buying bison may be out of some folks price range. I want to provide local, healthy meat that is a little more affordable. Buying locally not only supports your community’s economy, but we’ve seen from this pandemic, the more links in your food chain supply, the more vulnerable it is. It’s hard to fathom how closing thirteen slaughter houses could bring meat shortages to a country of 300 million people.
As anyone who follows this page has read, we feed a little homegrown corn in their diet, a few handfuls in their first year to tame them when they’ve been weaned, or a treat to motivate them if we need it, or if an animal is looking thin and needs a boost. I choose corn grown on our farm over other feed because it’s important to me to give them food produced on our farm, not to be importing something trucked in from thousands of miles away. This beef is lean like bison, not fattened and finished with corn.
And more than anything, I hope when you buy beef from us, you know you are buying beef raised in sunshine and green grasses and trees here in Iowa. Food is medicine. You really are what you eat.
Buying Beef from Hawkeye Buffalo and Cattle
I take for granted the quality of the homegrown beef in my freezer downstairs. This winter, when I was in California visiting my sister, I found myself at the meat counter of the grocery store.
Conventional meat. I confess, I haven’t thought about meat behind the counter at the grocery store in ages. I just run down to my freezer to pick out what I want. There I was, questioning the quality, wondering what had gone into the animal, and how the animals were raised. I believe food is our first medicine, paying us back in energy, health and strength. And so I paid $9 lb for grassfed meat, which I hope was raised without hormones and which was probably imported from New Zealand.
And it wasn’t as good as our beef.
For years we’ve taken a beef to the locker for our family. And now we—Hawkeye Buffalo and Cattle—are now selling our beef at our farm store.
Pandemic closures have inspired this change. And like many unintended positives of COVID, what seemed like necessity now feels like opportunity. When the markets crashed, I knew I couldn’t take our cull cows to market. As you know, while beef prices are soaring in grocery stores, the price for live animals at market has plummeted. Someone is making $ off of what you buy at the store. But it isn’t the farmer. Selling directly to the customer cuts out the corporation.
I’ve also recognized that buying bison may be out of some folks price range. I want to provide local, healthy meat that is a little more affordable. Buying locally not only supports your community’s economy, but we’ve seen from this pandemic, the more links in your food chain supply, the more vulnerable it is. It’s hard to fathom how closing thirteen slaughter houses could bring meat shortages to a country of 300 million people.
As anyone who follows this page has read, we feed a little homegrown corn in their diet, a few handfuls in their first year to tame them when they’ve been weaned, or a treat to motivate them if we need it, or if an animal is looking thin and needs a boost. I choose corn grown on our farm over other feed because it’s important to me to give them food produced on our farm, not to be importing something trucked in from thousands of miles away. This beef is lean like bison, not fattened and finished with corn.
And more than anything, I hope when you buy beef from us, you know you are buying beef raised in sunshine and green grasses and trees here in Iowa. Food is medicine. You really are what you eat.
Nature vs. Nurture
I see the herds on both sides of the house today. The difference between cattle and bison? My cattle need me, their genetic code imprinted by human hands, bred domestically for thousands of years. Today they're hanging close to where we last fed hay, waiting for me. And the bison? They're back in the field, foraging through the snow for their food. Bison are wild, following rhythms of instinct that may be--often must be--adapted and influenced under my care. We don't live on the plains of a thousand years ago. But I am always listening, learning, and adapting my approach under the influence of their cadence, finding balance between the world that was then and the world that is now. Nature and nurture in balance, connected with care.
I see the herds on both sides of the house today. The difference between cattle and bison? My cattle need me, their genetic code imprinted by human hands, bred domestically for thousands of years. Today they're hanging close to where we last fed hay, waiting for me. And the bison? They're back in the field, foraging through the snow for their food. Bison are wild, following rhythms of instinct that may be--often must be--adapted and influenced under my care. We don't live on the plains of a thousand years ago. But I am always listening, learning, and adapting my approach under the influence of their cadence, finding balance between the world that was then and the world that is now. Nature and nurture in balance, connected with care.
We are old-fashioned farmers.
In the beginning, Dad's live-and-let -live philosophy was maddening. Sometimes still is. I am a worrier, quick to call the vet, to treat, to feed. But overtime I've come to appreciate the hearty genetics that come from letting nature take its course. Sixty years later, it's more or less the same. We feed a little grain over the winter to our young Hereford calves. We use minimal interventions. Fly tags every summer, a womer, basic salt and mineral. The bull goes out in July. We calve in April. My struggle comes in getting Dad to wait for pasture to grow, to keep the animals off the grass to give it time to rest. So usually the herd is grazing on nubbins, though we've transitioned to multiple paddocks, and moving pastures is part of the routine. New ways and old ways. Always a balancing act. Sometimes it feels like an arm wrestling contest. This year we were short on hay, and these two year old bulls have been eating cornstalk bales all winter. By the end of January, I felt they definitely needed more, adding a protein tub and started feeding more hay. Dad, of course, will continue to stretch the bales as much as possible, but I'd like to see a little more chub by spring. So the conversation continues. Always a balancing act...nature vs nurture. And sometimes father and daughter. With me fussing over the animals and Dad trusting it will all work out in the end, we can't help but end up with the best of both worlds: Animals that are healthy, hardy, thrify--and well loved.
In the beginning, Dad's live-and-let -live philosophy was maddening. Sometimes still is. I am a worrier, quick to call the vet, to treat, to feed. But overtime I've come to appreciate the hearty genetics that come from letting nature take its course. Sixty years later, it's more or less the same. We feed a little grain over the winter to our young Hereford calves. We use minimal interventions. Fly tags every summer, a womer, basic salt and mineral. The bull goes out in July. We calve in April. My struggle comes in getting Dad to wait for pasture to grow, to keep the animals off the grass to give it time to rest. So usually the herd is grazing on nubbins, though we've transitioned to multiple paddocks, and moving pastures is part of the routine. New ways and old ways. Always a balancing act. Sometimes it feels like an arm wrestling contest. This year we were short on hay, and these two year old bulls have been eating cornstalk bales all winter. By the end of January, I felt they definitely needed more, adding a protein tub and started feeding more hay. Dad, of course, will continue to stretch the bales as much as possible, but I'd like to see a little more chub by spring. So the conversation continues. Always a balancing act...nature vs nurture. And sometimes father and daughter. With me fussing over the animals and Dad trusting it will all work out in the end, we can't help but end up with the best of both worlds: Animals that are healthy, hardy, thrify--and well loved.
