We are excited to be partnering with Ray & Janet at Greenfield Highland Beef to offer their wonderful grassfed beef in the farmstand. And what a perfect season for burgers and salad or steak and salad..yep, greens and beef are both plentiful.
Magen Farley offered the following insight into Greenfield Highland Beef from her visit with Donna recently to pick up a new batch of beef for our farmstand.
It is calf season at the farm. At the time we visited, 23 calves had been born, with 49 more expected. We had the opportunity to see a few of these adorable calves in person. Eight day old Leah is simply adorable, already running around in the open.
She likes putting her feet in the water barrel, so the tub has been put on a raised platform until further notice. In the barn, we meet Mia and Raisin Bear. While curious about the strange people cooing over their cuteness, the most we could get was quick sniff of our fingers before they went running back to their mothers.
The farm in Plainfield is visually stunning, especially on the late afternoon sun. Several large and furry red cattle mill about or lounge peaceably on the grass. One particularly large bull, Cinnamon Bear, lies not twenty feet from us. Having already done his duty for the spring, he is taking some well deserved down time, enjoying the peace and occasional brushings.
Ray and Janet have the oldest registered Highland herd in the United States. While they sell beef, they do not consider that to be their business. Their business is the continuation of the ancient Highland breed, and the preservation of the oldest Highland genetics in the United States. They support this goal by selling a top quality product to the people of Vermont.
Ray & Janet’s beef grazing high pastures in Greensboro Bend.
Greenfield Highland Beef has two locations, Plainfield and Greensboro, owned by Janet and Ray. The farm began when Ray’s father bought a neighbor’s Highland Cow in 1967. What began as a novelty soon grew into a passion, and the herd today numbers at around 170. Ray and Janet do not particularly want it to grow any larger. “We don’t want to have markets in Boston or New York, we are perfectly happy to sell to local customers and offer this to Vermonters,” as Janet told us.
In addition to finding their beef at our farmstand you can find them along with our partner Field Stone Farm Saturday’s at the Montpelier Farmers Market.