Washington Farmer's Market

If you are in the Washington, PA area on Thursday afternoons between 3:30-6:30 p.m. stop by and see us at the Main Street Farmer's Market. Weekly specials on a variety of products are featured. There are also many other booths providing local produce, breads, goodies, and other yummy treats. What a great way to spend a summer afternoon.



Also, if you would like us to bring something specific, give us a call or fill out the contact form on our website.

Rain Makes Corn...

Well, last year we didn't have enough rain and this year it seems to be doing nothing but raining. While this is great for our corn, we would like to see a couple of weeks with hot, sunny weather so that we can get the hay cut and baled. Remember, that new rake I talked about?? Well, it doesn't get much use when the rain clouds are hovering.

Wishful thinking calls for rain for two days and then hot and sunny weather for five days..one can only hope that we could have a repetitive pattern like that for the rest of the summer...Hmmm?? I wonder what the likelihood of that will be!!!

Babies are Growing

Here are a few pictures of this year's spring babies. They sure are growing and boy are they beautiful!

Gentle Cattle Handling Makes for Gentle Cows

At Vistamont Farms, we pride ourselves on our gentle cattle handling practices. We continue to learn about ways to handle the cattle in low-stress environments because this makes for healthy, happy cows. Last fall, we attended a conference with guest speaker, Dr. Temple Grandin (professor, animal behaviorist, author, activitist, and more). She shared some excellent tips for handling the cattle in gentle ways during situations that are often scary for cows, and we try to implement these practices each time we work with the herd. Because of this, often times all we have to do is call the cows and they come running to visit. 

 This is one of our bulls. He like to get treats from Harry and is willing to eat right out of his hand. Because we know that bulls are unpredictable, only Harry is allowed to get this close, but they sure are friends.

 This is one of our new heifers. She is the sweetest thing ever. She loves the girls and comes right over to see what they have to give her. She licks their hands and lets them pet her head even out in the pasture.

 It's important for our cattle to feel safe, but it also important that we feel safe when handling them. 

Gentle handling practices ensures safety goes both ways.

New Toys Are Fun For Farmers Too!

When summer arrives, a variety of activities that comprise the production part of a beef cattle farm commence. Cutting hay is just one of those jobs that provides us with feed to help sustain our cattle through the winter months. Often times the guys have to play the part of weather men because there really is a science to cutting hay so that it is high quality and provides the necessary nutrients for the cows. They don't want to cut the hay and get it on the ground if there is any chance of moisture, so this means that Rich and Harry are constantly looking at and watching the weather. Once the hay is on the ground, it has be raked into windrows so that it can dry. After it is dried, it is baled and hauled to the hay yard.

This leads me to the title of this blog post because a few weeks ago the farm got a fun new toy that helps with the raking part of our haying production. The guys were really excited!!

Check out that bright orange color!!

Grill Box Specials

GRILL BOX SPECIAL

Place an Order Today!!

 

Box Special #1-5  lbs ground beef, 4  steaks of your choice                

  $60.00

Box Special #2-10 lbs ground beef, 6 steaks of your choice                 

 $100.00

Box Special #3-10 lbs. ground beef,  8 steaks of your choice, 4 lbs kabobs                    

 $135.00

It's Raining!

When most people think about summer time, they think about blue skies and sunshine. Here at Vistamont Farms, we are thankful for the rain. We just finished planting corn yesterday. Today, the sky has opened up and provided much needed rain. The rain also helps the grass grow which feeds our animals and fills our creeks. Rain is sustaining. So while we enjoy the blue skies and sunshine, we hope for rain (as long as we don't have hay on the ground!!)

A Never-Ending Job

In order for our cattle to be able to roam on the over 650 acres that comprise Vistamont Farms, fences must be in place to ensure their safety. We want our cattle to have freedom, but we must protect them from getting out onto the roads or into the neighbors' yards. To do this, we must check the fences on a regular basis. This is a lot of fence to check. We have to make sure that the connections are all in place and that no trees have fallen on the lines. This takes a lot of time...especially when we find something like this...

Beautiful day!

It was a beautiful day on the farm. Days like this mean that there is an opportunity to get a lot of work done. This time of year, maintenance on the miles and miles of fence starts to ensure that the cows stay in their pastures during the summer grazing rotations. Electric fences separate the pastures, so it is really important to make sure that all of the tree limbs, vines, and Multifloral Rose are cut back from the wires. This takes a lot of manual labor hours....

The farm was given a new rock sign that is almost three times bigger than the previous one, so we also put that one up today. It looks beautiful. 

The forecast calls for another nice day tomorrow, so we will be back at it...For now..check out the view..

Do You Ever Wonder?

Do you ever wonder where your grocery store meat comes from? Well, wonder no longer. Place an order with Vistamont Farms today. Our pasture-raised beef is antibiotic-free and hormone-free. Our cattle are raised right here on our farm in a stress-free environment where they are able to graze on grass all year long. If you would like to learn more about our products or take a tour of our farm, please call or send an email today!

Spring is Coming!!

Spring has arrived!! Well, not officially!! Here on the farm though we recognize the coming of spring by the signs of new life moving around our pastures. This is always our favorite time of year as new babies are being born almost every day.

Harry saddles his horse every morning and rides out among the herd to check on the new moms. He lost his beloved horse a few months ago, so he has a new gelding in training. When we first got here, the cows were not sure of this strange creature parading through their fields, but now they are getting used to his presence. Mack is becoming a nice working horse that is responding in great ways to Harry.

 He was not quite sure what I was doing, and the moms surrounding him were certainly alert!

 The moms were calling to their babies as soon as we started walking

 in the fields (just like good moms should.)

 Babies like to have play time with their friends too!

 Look at that face!

A meeting of the minds...the cows on the right are steers. 

They visit at least once a day with the moms and babies.

Our Favorite Commercial During the Superbowl!

The Freezers are Full!

Vistamont Farms is now taking beef orders. You can come out to the farm and pick out what you would like, or we can ship to anywhere in the United States. All beef is frozen and in vacuum sealed packaging.

We have a variety of different cuts that will surely meet your culinary needs.

Call 724-884-5387 or visit our website to place an order today!

Wintery Days

The past few weeks we have seen all types of weather on the farm. The sunshine has been plentiful with  many warmer days, but we have had our fair share of winter weather in the form of snow, ice, and howling wind. We have even had some outright downpours. The cattle sure enjoy the warms days as they lay in the sun and relax. Their lives will become very busy in the coming weeks as they welcome their new little ones to the world. We are still watching and waiting for the heifers to calve. Harry is very diligent at this time of year. He checks the cattle every hour to see if they have made any progress. So far..no luck!

The girls always get super excited at this time of year as they go out in all sorts of weather to check for new babies with their dad. As the milder weather begins to make its way....we get to enjoy more time outside with the animals. The girls have found many things they enjoy doing here on the farm. Running and jumping on the hay bales is so much fun. The dogs even like it too!

Introducing Finn...Maggie's new partner in crime!!! He wasn't quite sure how to get up at first, but after watching Maggie a few times, he figured it out. He's  quite curious if you can't tell!!

After the Holidays...

Well, the holidays have passed by and we have once again welcomed a new year. On the farm, this means that calving season is just around the corner for our first year heifers. This is always a fun time as we watch new life come into the world. Our mama cows are growing larger as they await the arrival of their new little ones as well. We have had a pretty incredible winter with only a little bit of snow near the end of December. (Actually, earlier this week it was almost 70 degrees. I know, right, unbelievable!!)

The cows have been enjoying the little nibbles of grass they have been getting as all of the snow melts. Here are some of our latest pictures.. (Thank you Emily!!)