| The Story Behind Proffitt Farms |
These rolling hills and terraces we work have a story. Mom and Dad, Steve and Diane Proffitt,
changed this land from idle pastures to the lush polyculture of grasses that now provide our
cows with their certified organic daily fare. Mom and Dad were lured into raising cattle in 2000
by an acquaintance who knew about how to raise beef in the conventional methods. Over the
course of the several years Dad began to realize there could be a better way to raise cattle. He
grew tired of sending weaned calves off the farm knowing they would end up in a feedlot out
west.
Dad began reading and educating himself on how to control bad saturated fats and many other
health issues by simply altering ones diet. The search for a healthier, more humane method,
led him to grass fed beef. Moving the cows everyday in addition to the other tasks of keeping
up the farm and then the fact that the beef would then need to be sold somehow and by
somebody was too much for one person to take on. Brian, my husband, and I were witnessing
this from afar and during our family visits from Colorado we worked on the farm. We decided
it was clear mom and dad needed our help. It was a good time for us to move as we had been
itching for a reason to get back to the south and had always dreamed of raising our own 2
children, Dewi and Zoe, on a farm. So, in December of 2008 we left the burbs of Colorado to
move onto the farm and work alongside my parents. We now live together and our multi
generational farm home is always a bustle with our own kids, nieces and nephews, aunts and
uncles coming and going nonstop. While dad is the backbone we all play our part. Brian and I
have taken on the task of selling our grass fed beef at the markets and finding wholesale
outlets to get our beef into the local community and Charlotte. Brian and I both work
alongside dad doing the labor of moving the cow herds from one swath of grass to another,
putting in ear tags, sorting cows and transporting them to the processor every other week.
Granny is the glue that holds us all together. She keeps the home fire burning when we've
been out all day in the rain and she is one fine horsewomen to boot!
We raise our beef this alternative way because it’s what’s best for the land, most natural for
the animals, and creates a healthy product for consumers and our family.
As the cows move across the pasture they eat all the vegetation there (even the weeds),
fertilize the ground with their manure, trample what they don’t eat into the ground creating
more soil, and are then moved to a new swath of ready grass. They won’t be back to that
swath for another 30-60 days, depending on rainfall and sunshine needed to regrow the grass.
We use no chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, chicken liter, or sludge on our pastures. This
allows an amazing polyculture of grasses and weeds to grow. This variety is key for our cows
because like us, they like variety in their forages!
This is a natural existence for the cows as they are herbivores and, like the buffalo of the
American old-west, roam freely to eat a variety of only grasses. They need no corn and no
grain in their natural way. The feeding of corn is completely unnecessary.
The fat on a cow that has eaten only grass will be dramatically different from that of grain fed
beef. There is less fat than on a grain or corn fed animal and the fat they do have is full of
Omega 3 fatty acids and CLA (conjugated linoleic acids), an anti-oxidant identified as an
important cancer fighter.
We have no need to give our cows hormones or antibiotics. Cows get sick when they are
stressed. One way they get stressed is by being confined. Our animals are never confined and
they rarely get sick. If one should become ill we remove them from the herd and treat them to
keep them healthy. If that means they must receive antibiotics, we do so and they are no longer
a part of our program. They are never ever fed antibiotics like feedlot cows.
They are never fed corn or grains. This makes them different in many ways. One month of
grain feeding can negate all the advantages of grass feeding for 17 months! The omega 3s and
CLAs that we need are found in the fat of the grass fed cow. There is also less of the bad
saturated fats on grass fed beef. There are in fact, healthy, good saturated fats in grass fed
beef. Eat the fat on these animals and don’t feel bad about it!
Our goal is to raise animals with no inputs. Raised on only sunshine, rain, and GRASS!
We hope you enjoy our beef as much as we enjoy raising it. If you have questions about how to
cook it just ask, want to come see for yourself, just call. We are always here with the herd.
704-751-6455
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| In addition to the beef that we raise on our own farms, we are supported by four other local farmers who are friends of ours, and who faithfully follow the same methods of animal care. 100% grass fed, no antibiotics, no hormones, no penning. This arrangements allows us to bring a continuous supply of quality grass fed beef to you and it helps these local, family farms by providing a ready market for the healthy beef which they take great pride in raising. This is yet another way we, together, can give farming families a reason to keep their cattle on their property, instead of going into the conventional feedlots, and a reason to hang onto their family farm land. Which is disappearing at an alarming rate. |
| Brian, Diane, Steve, and Shelley Dewi (with chicken) and Zoe Doyle (behind Shelley) |
| Brian and Dewi |
| Shelley at the Regional Farmer's Market in Charlotte |
| Zoe and a calf |