Stand Fast Farm's Exclusively Grass Fed Beef

06/03/2026

This video shows the baler picking up the hay and rolling it into a bale. We aren’t a big farm but we will make several hundred bales before the season is over. It is an extremely time sensitive job because the quality is decreasing as the grass in the field grows. It is also a weather dependent job because we have to be able to dry the hay to 50% moisture without rain interference. We have had so much rain this spring that the ground was saturated and unable to be driven on until this week causing one of the latest hay making start dates we can remember. And yet not all is lost; the hay is not overly mature yet and we have had an extended window to make hay this week. We just crossed the first 100 bale mark last night!

06/02/2026

We are working hard this week to make hay for the cattle to eat this winter. It’s a multi step process that includes cutting, raking, baling, moving to stack yard and wrapping. We try to maximize grazing the cattle so that we limit the amount of hay we have to make but it still ends up being a lot of hay that is needed with WNY winters.

This is a video of the raking process in which the cut hay is gathered into a line to make it easier for the baler to pick it up

05/27/2026

We are well into calving and there’s a dozen little calves running around with their moms now! The pastures and hay fields are very wet but the grasses are growing well and the cattle look really good. This is a season of plenty and it helps to rebuild my positive outlook on life in general😀 Hopefully we will be able to start making hay this week to preserve some of this high quality feed for the coming winter. Not that I want to think about winter already but it is already time for cattleman and shepherds to start preparing.

05/06/2026

The simplest things in life bring the greatest joy! I was out checking the herd for new born calves when some of the cows came over in search of an itch satisfying experience. This heifer was rather amusing as she twisted her head back and forth on the 3 wheeler rack. It may not have been as amusing if I was using a $9,000 quad but everyone wins because I too like the simple things in life like an old ATC that earned its keep 20+ years ago.

05/05/2026

The first chicks of the year arrived last week and they are acclimated well in the brooder. This batch is already sold out but you can reserve chicken now for our second batch. Thank you to everyone who bought already!!

04/29/2026

We let the rest of the mother cows go out to pasture today so that they will calve in the clean grass and eat down the grass in preparation for chickens to go back on the same pasture in a couple of weeks. The young chicks will appreciate short grass to walk through.

04/27/2026

We have an early visit from a friendly cattle egret this spring. It was interesting how the egret showed up within a day of me putting the first cow and calf on pasture. Egrets take advantage of the disturbance caused by cows as they walk around on pasture causing smaller things like mice, frogs and insects to scurry around. It’s fun watching the egret hang out near the little calves while he hunts for food in the grass. I see his presence as a sign that something good is happening on Stand Fast!

04/23/2026

Check out our latest email with info on pastured chicken availability this June
Pastured chicken -

We are more than a beef cattle ranch.  The land and animals under our care are like puzzle pieces that fit together to create a beautiful mosaic where each piece plays an important role in the function of the whole. Our chickens are one such piece of the puzzle. They live and move on the same pastu...

04/18/2026

Our herd bull tests the limits of girth that our squeeze chute can handle! I’m thankful for his slow and steady way of moving and his lack of aggressiveness. I am careful around him but more so with some of the other cattle on the farm. Beef cattle are much larger than humans and can be dangerous even though they aren’t predators. So I’m also very thankful for a nice squeeze chute that replaced the wooden one I made and used for 15 years before getting this one. It worked but was constantly needing repair to ensure both cow and man stayed safe.

04/17/2026

Calving is under way at Stand Fast! So far we have 2 healthy little calves with attentive mothers. Seeing new life always lifts my spirits and adds to the excitement of spring😀