{"id":7406,"date":"2018-02-21T15:44:36","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T20:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/?page_id=7406"},"modified":"2025-08-29T14:45:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T18:45:52","slug":"our-livestock","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/our-livestock\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Livestock"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dickinson College Farm has raised three types of livestock: beef cattle, sheep, and laying hens. We are proud to provide high quality, humanely raised, and sustainable free-range meat to our community.<\/p>\n

Beef Cattle<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"cows\"<\/p>\n

Our cattle are a mix of purebred Black Angus and Angus-Hereford Crosses and are raised for beef production.<\/p>\n

The cattle are outside on pasture from April to November.\u00a0 In winter we feed them hay in a sheltered area or let them exercise on a winter pasture when the conditions permit.\u00a0 Winter manure is collected and composted for use in the organic vegetable farming operation.<\/p>\n

Sheep<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At the end of 2024, we sold our flock of sheep. For the first time in 17 years, we do not currently have sheep on the farm. In the past, our sheep were a cross between Dorsets, Leicester Longwool, Cheviots, and East Fresians.\u00a0 These wool sheep are easy to raise and size up well on pasture with no supplemental grain. Lambs are born from March through May.<\/p>\n

Our sheep were raised for both wool products and meat. Male lambs are harvested for meat at 6 to 12 months of age.\u00a0 Females may be used for meat or as replacement ewes to build the herd.\u00a0 We have used mature sheep for mutton products (sausage, cubes, chops, and roasts).\u00a0 Our sheep were shorn at the beginning of the summer and their wool is used to make yarn, angel ornaments, dryer balls, and other value-added products.<\/p>\n

The farm\u2019s sheep herd is naturally parasite resistant requiring very little use of deworming products.\u00a0 We also practiced integrated parasite management (rotational grazing and regular health screenings) to keep the flock healthy naturally.<\/p>\n

Rotational Grazing<\/h3>\n

We practice rotational grazing, which means that animals are moved to fresh pasture almost every day.\u00a0 This keeps them happy and well fed, distributes manure naturally, and builds the health of the soil in pastures and resting vegetable fields.<\/p>\n

Veterinary Care<\/h3>\n

Our livestock are observed every day by students and farm staff in order to catch any health problems early. We care for our animals under the guidance of Dr. Ben Rhodes of Burnt Mill Veterinary Services.\u00a0 Medications are used only for sick or injured animals to bring them back to health. No subtherapeutic antibiotics or growth hormones are ever used. Our focus is on prevention of health problems by maintaining healthy, low stress living conditions whenever possible.<\/p>\n

Beef<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Purchase our local, free-range beef!<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/h2>\n

All meats sold by the farm are custom butchered from College Farm animals at Warrington Farm Meats in Dillsburg, PA. This butcher is USDA-certified for quality and safety and Animal Welfare Approved for humane handling.<\/p>\n

After butchering, meat is dry-aged and then vacuum sealed and frozen. We aim for good marbling of steaks.\u00a0The fat of grass-fed animals has a pleasant flavor in both beef and lamb.<\/p>\n

We believe that raising our cattle in a low stress, natural pasture-based system results in better tasting, tender meats. Why not test it for yourself? All meat products sold are 100% satisfaction guaranteed \u2013 if you are not completely satisfied with your order we will refund or replace it at your request.<\/p>\n

Research<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Non-Chemical Fly Control on Pastured Beef Cattle<\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
From 2017 to 2020 the farm cooperated with Dr. Jason Smith, an entomologist and visiting Biology professor, to study methods for reducing fly populations in our cattle herd without poisons.\u00a0 Three students gained valuable field research experience through the study and the farm team became much more informed about flies.\u00a0 Read all about it in our comprehensive fly fact sheet: Fly IPM Fact Sheet Dickinson 2021<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Dickinson College Farm has raised three types of livestock: beef cattle, sheep, and laying hens. We are proud to provide high quality, humanely raised, and sustainable free-range meat to our community. Beef Cattle Our cattle are a mix of… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7406","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/845"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7406"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10872,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7406\/revisions\/10872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}