Maple Side Farm

05/09/2026

You don't have to call them very many times when fresh pasture is on the menu.

04/23/2026

Spring is here! First calves were born last week- twin heifers. Two more calves were born today. Also, found a fox family in the corner of pasture.

03/06/2026

WAGYU IS BACK! This month, we have our wonderful Wagyu-Angus cross headed to the butcher. At $5.50/lb hanging weight, it's a great price and an awesome opportunity to try this wonderful, uniquely marbled beef. I only have three quarters (or one half and one quarter) left to claim, so please let me know ASAP if you'd like to reserve a portion.

02/01/2026

One of our biggest jobs is feeding the cows in the winter and it has been especially miserable this winter...but today, a little sun, and everything is going to be ok!

01/24/2026

Cold, cold, cold!! Waterers a little frozen, but OK. Animals look cold, but they are built for this, except apparently Kimber, who thought it was too cold to sit down for a photo.

Here's to warmer days ahead, when we can complain about heat and humidity and how hard it is to sleep with so much light!!!

01/21/2026

Winter weather - especially these bitterly cold subzero temps - means lots of work to keep farm equipment running and animals safe, warm, and fed. You'll find Aaron checking and fixing the automatic waterers for icing every day (often the heating element just can't keep up in subzero temps). You'll see our kids out on the tractors feeding bales of hay more often because cattle need to eat more to generate body heat. Ice accumulation and heavy snow mean checking and fixing the fences for breaks or weaknesses. I often think about the farmers of generations past, who didn't have the luxuries of automatic waterers or even tractors, and I am in awe of how hard they worked. I sure am grateful for the technology we have today to get us through this season. Thank you for supporting our family farm! When we sit down to a good meal or hear from the families we sell to about how much they love our beef, it makes it all worthwhile!

12/27/2025

Who knew?

For more than a decade, cutting down on meat and other animal products has been idealized as a healthier, more ethical way to eat. Now the appeal is fading, Yasmin Tayag writes. (From March) https://theatln.tc/zLhEjq3r

The Obama administration passed a law to limit meat in school lunches, and meat alternatives such as Impossible Burger flooded grocery-store shelves. It all heralded a more plant-based future. But a convergence of cultural and nutritional shifts, “supercharged by the return of the noted hamburger-lover President Donald Trump, has thrust meat back to the center of the American plate,” Tayag writes. “It’s not just MAGA bros and MAHA moms who resist plant-based eating. A wide swath of the U.S. seems to be sending a clear message: Nobody should feel bad about eating meat.”

America has become obsessed with consuming more protein, a fad boosted by the growing numbers of people on GLP-1 drugs seeking out protein-rich diets and the free fall of plant-based meat’s popularity due to concerns about its cost, taste, and healthfulness. Yet “the embrace of meat isn’t just about food, but also about what meat represents: tradition, strength, dominance, muscles—values championed by the right,” Tayag writes.

“Conservatives have long sought to turn meat into a front in the culture wars,” she continues. “Trump’s reelection has bolstered the cause.” Some of the most vocal support for the meat-forward lifestyle emanates from the “manosphere,” a right-leaning internet subculture best known for men promoting different ways to become manlier that is popular among the young men who voted for Trump.

All of this is happening amid confusion about what it even means to eat well. The medical and scientific community still agree: Reducing consumption of red and processed meats is better for human and planetary health. “But as pro-meat figures such as [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] and Trump challenge those views—not to mention the institutions that support them—the problems with meat-eating no longer seem as clear-cut,” Tayag continues.

🎨: Paul Spella / The Atlantic. Source: Getty.

Plant-based eating has lost its appeal.

12/09/2025

You know what grown kids love for Christmas? Not socks, not another boring gift card...good food (especially in this economy)! We have a great set of beef headed to the butcher in January, so it's a terrific time to get your name on our list! Stock their freezers, and your own while you're at it. Just about the time all the holiday junk food is cleared out, you'll be picking up your custom order from the butcher and putting the good stuff in its place. Reach out to reserve now so you don't miss out!

11/13/2025

Good Thursday morning! We have Angus beef headed to the butcher in another week, and if I have a couple people who want a quarter or someone who wants a half, I will add another head to the group. Comment here or reach out if you'd like to claim! 

09/10/2025

Falls calving is off with a bang! Welcomed these twins yesterday...Tom and Pat. One came head first and the other breach. No worries...Ainsley was there to help. I think she really likes getting dirty!

07/26/2025

Tender, juicy pork chops. Flavorful, fork-tender pork roasts. Hearty sausage. BACON. (No descriptive words needed for that one, right?) If we're speaking your language, this one's for you! We are a small, local, family-owned farm in Courtland Township (maybe you've seen our sign on Myers Lake Ave), and our pork heads to the butcher next month. It's time to claim your half or whole hog! $3.25/lb hanging weight plus processing. These halves will probably hang somewhere around 100 lbs. Get on the list before it's sold out!