This is a monthly update on what is going on at Pettit Pastures farm in Milaca, Minnesota.
The invention of the plow was a key development in human history. It allowed the mass cultivation of land to grow food. Nevertheless, in hindsight, it was a case of overstepping nature’s guidelines. In all but the most brittle environments, nature covers untilled soil with a living green boimass, that acts like a sponge. Rain […]
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Grassfed or Grass Finished Beef? As the public has become more aware that “grassfed” beef has greater health benefits than the “feedlot” beef typically found in supermarkets and restaurants, advertising word games have begun. In fact, “grassfed beef” is starting to appear in many supermarkets and even fast food restaurants. But is it really? First […]
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NOAA scientists are reporting that this summer’s dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of the Mississippi River, is the largest ever recorded – 8,776 square miles. That is approximately the size of the state of New Jersey. The dead zone occurs because excessive nutrient pollution (particularly nitrogen and especially phosphorous) […]
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In the past, the Pettit Pastures blog has mostly been an update about what has been happening on the farm. Starting with this post, we have decided to change the format a bit. We will still give an abbreviated farm update, but in addition, we will be adding information relevant to the way we farm, […]
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It has been a while since my last farm update. I believe we were getting ready for calving season to begin. Now we are just finishing up with calving, working on spring planting, and starting our grazing season. We had 21 calves born this year, all without assistance from us. All our calves were born […]
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Spring is officially here! With all the warm weather winter seemed rather short, but we made the most of our warm winter, staying busy weaning calves, keeping customers supplied with beef, and fencing new pasture. Pettit Pastures made it through another weaning season with zero calves getting sick! We put a lot of thought and effort […]
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The start of 2017 has been very busy for us on the farm! We are hoping that translates into 2017 being a great year for us. If you follow the Pettit Pastures Facebook page, then you are aware that we are now supplying The Main Street Farmer Eatery in St. Michael with grass fed beef. […]
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2016 is almost over! Where did the time go? We are now past the midway point of December and winter has definitely begun. Last Sunday we had a low of 27 degrees below zero on our farm. Although we did not want such cold temps, it did give us the opportunity to see how well our […]
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The fall weather has been beautiful and central Minnesota is in its peak of fall colors. The wet fall has our pastures and cattle in excellent condition and ready for the oncoming winter. Pettit Pastures has been rotationally grazing and winter feeding our cattle on pasture to improve soil health for several years now. Although […]
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September started out like August ended, wet! But now the rains have slowed down and the growing conditions for our pastures are great. Our pastures are in the best condition for this time of year than any year since we have owned the farm. The pastures are so lush that we should have plenty of […]
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