About Fry Farm

our Farm

Fry Farm's cattle graze on lush pastures in the shadows of Mt. Monadnock in Southern New Hampshire.  As individuals with strong interest in horticulture and gardeners originally, we have a deep focus on developing high quality pastures that grow healthy and with a variety of grasses.  We believe that focusing on soil quality, results in better grasses, which provide a more full and nutrient rich diet to the cattle, which in turn results in great tasting beef.  The high quality of the soils also retains water and nutrients to allow the pastures to regenerate quickly after feeding. 

By intensively managed grazing practices, the cattle themselves are improving and maintaining these healthy and thriving pastures, rather than destroying the land like in some grazing practices.   This requires that the cattle are regularly moved, as often as each day to ensure that they are feeding on fresh grass and are consuming the correct amount of grasses on each pasture to keep the grasses stimulated.  These techniques result in lush pastures all summer long that provide nutrient rich feed for the cattle.  We attempt to grow the pastures with five varieties of grasses and clover, with approximately 30-40% of the coverage being clover.   Clover provides a good source of sugars to the cattle and helps create a sweeter flavor to the beef.

Fry Farm raises registered pure bred Belted Galloway, a breed originating from Scotland, and known for their hardy nature and ability to weather and forage through harsh winters.  Belted Galloways are recognized by their white 'belt' that encircles their torso and their shaggy coats which they wear in the winter.  The beef is quite lean and represents a healthy approach to beef consumption.  

Fry Farm believes in raising its cattle naturally, resulting in happy, healthy animals and great tasting beef.

FEED:  100% grass fed (we term it ‘lifetime grass fed’) on our pastures, supplemented with local/organic hay in the winter months.  They are not grain fed to add weight, nor are they ‘finished’ to fatten them before harvest.   Most cattle are harvested at approximately two years, which is the optimum cost trade-off for cattle weight and winter feed costs.   We extend that time frame to three years as we have found that 100% grass fed flavor matures even further.  

GRAZING: Our cattle roam and graze on our own pastures and moved constantly between pastures to fresh grass. In many cases they are moved daily. Our pastures consist mostly of five varieties of grasses and clover. The technique practiced is Intensive Rotational Grazing, which ensures that the cattle have fresh grass on a daily basis, that the fields are stimulated by the intense activity in small locations, and that all vegetation is consumed, to provide a balanced diet.   Because of the stimulation to the grasses, the technique also is being highly praised for sequestering carbon dioxide, as plants consume large volumes when the growth is stimulated.  The pastures are also ‘keylined’ to conserve water resources.  This technique of cutting small furrows 10” deep, which follow the contours of the land, keeps water on the pasture and keeps nutrients in the ground as opposed to running off with sheeting rain water.

NO HORMONES/STEROIDS: Our cattle are not given any hormones or steroids -- a practice common in industrial cattle farming to induce large, but unhealthy weight gains.   We do not want to introduce any unnatural substances to the animals.

NO DIETARY ANTIBIOTICS:  Fry Farm cattle are not fed antibiotics.  Industrialized cattle farming commonly over-crowds their animals and feeds them hormones/steroids. Although this reduces costs and causes them to rapidly gain weight, it makes them more prone to illness and infection while suffering from a weakened immune system (as a result of the steroids).  To combat this, industrialized cattle farming prophylactically feeds the cattle antibiotics.  There is a long list of concerns with such practices, including its development of antibiotic resistant bacteria, and the negative impact on the animals' gut biome and digestive system.  These practices are counter to Fry Farm's philosophy of healthy living and its commitment to the humane treatment of animals. 

Note, as part of this humane treatment, Fry Farm would administer antibiotics on an acute basis to an animal that has an infection, much like a parent would give their child antibiotics for an ear infection or bacterial pneumonia. Because of our natural and healthy practices we have not experienced animals with infections.