Sam Benedict (left) and Phil Noble (right) of Sage Mountain Beef at the Hillcrest, San Diego Farmers Market.

Together they own a small herd of Guernsey, Angus, and Holstein cattle. The animals are fed on a movable feast of grass and post-harvest crops (what Phil calls a "polyface approach").

No animals are ever given artificial growth hormones or stimulants and are guaranteed to be free of antibiotics. They guarantee their ruminant livestock are 100% green-fed and pasture raised their entire lives, with no consumption of grain, by-product supplements, or ever setting a hoof within a confinement feedlot.

Be sure to enjoy it with a healthy serving of Cole slaw, or lightly steamed (5 to 10 minutes) Cabbage, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Kale or Cauliflower. (Lightly steaming retains 90% of the nutrients.)

These cruciferous vegetables greatly increase your body's ability to detoxify heterocyclic amines, the carcinogenic compounds produced when meat is grilled or otherwise charbroiled.

Brussels Sprouts have by far the strongest protective effect. This may be due to the fact that this cruciferous vegetable contains 2-3 times the amount of phytonutrients called glucosinolates than are found in red cabbage.

If Brussels Sprouts are not your favorite vegegetable now, try them tossed with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, raisins and walnuts.

Who knows, lightly steamed Brussels sprouts may turn out to be one of your favorite vegetables.

Unlike most cattle, Sage Mountain Farm Steers get to graze on organic watermelon and butternut squash plants, alfalfa, wheat grasses and other forages. The result is beef that is healthy and nutritious, with flavor and tenderness that can't be beat by most cattle growers.

Always sustainable, always moving forward.

For years, Sage Mountain Farm has brought the organic "salad bar" to the Steers by the tractor load. The next logical step in their beef operation evolution is to take the the Steers to the organic "salad bar" buffet possibly by using portable electric fencing.

After the animals have finished grazing, the fields are then disced and re-planted behind them. This is what is known as "landscape healing".

Polyface, sustainable and amazing, that's Sage Mountain Farm!

The Polyface way.

IN 1961, William and Lucille Salatin moved their young family to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, purchasing the most worn-out, eroded, abused farm in the area near Staunton.  Using nature as a pattern, they and their children began the healing and innovation that now supports three generations.

Disregarding conventional wisdom, the Salatins planted trees, built huge compost piles, dug ponds, moved cows daily with portable electric fencing, and invented portable sheltering systems to produce all their animals on perennial prairie polycultures.

Today the farm arguably represents America’s premier non-industrial food production oasis.  Believing that the Creator’s design is still the best pattern for the biological world, the Salatin family invites like-minded folks to join in the farm’s mission:  to develop emotionally, economically, environmentally enhancing agricultural enterprises and facilitate their duplication throughout the world.

The Salatins continue to refine their models to push environmentally-friendly farming practices toward new levels of expertise.

So does Sage Mountain Farm.

In the past nine years, Sage Mountain Farm has only raised beef for their friends and family.

Recently, they delivered three Steers to the USDA Facility. These Steers easily passed inspection, and Sage Mountain Farm now has a Federal Stamp that allows them to legally sell beef to restaurants and the public.

"Our beef is amazing, not only the way we raise them is important but the flavor and tenderness is incredible." ~ Phil Noble, Sage Mountain Farm

The good news is that Sage Mountain Farm will now be accepting pledges for a quarter of a Steer, half of a Steer or a whole Steer.

Based on the Steers they've raised so far, here's what you can expect: The average whole Steer nets approximately 400 pounds of beef (100 pounds per quarter).

The beef is cut, packaged and flash frozen to "lock" the flavor and nutrition in.

All the cuts are average size and there are normally two cuts per package. The roasts are a few pounds each, and the hamburger is approximately one pound each. The butcher takes a front quarter and a rear quarter, combines them and then separates them into equal quarters. This is probably the best way to insure equal quarters.

Approximately 25% of the cuts are Steaks, 25% are Roasts, 40% are Ground Beef, and the remaining 10% is Stew Meat, Short Ribs and other miscellaneous cuts.

A special added bonus: To increase the tenderness, quality and flavor, our beef is dry aged for at least 14 - 21 days! Dry aging allows naturally occuring enzymes within the beef to tenderizes it while it is intensifying the flavor.

Pledges are available for only $850 per quarter (approximately 100 pounds of all natural beef), payable to Sage Mountain Farm.

Their Steers are allowed to roam freely, graze on organic grasses and other forages, and drink pure water pumped from a 1,000 foot deep well. The quality of Sage Mountain Farm beef cannot be beat at any price. To be able to purchase it for around $8.50 per pound is the deal of a lifetime.

To take advantage of this deal, please contact Sage Mountain Farm to make your pledge. We are a small farm (thank goodness), so limited pledges are available (you may not want to procrastinate).

Lean organic beef provides a very good source of protein and vitamin B12 and a good source of selenium, zinc, iron, phosphorus and other B vitamins without the concern for pesticide, hormone and antibiotic residues that may be found in non-organic varieties.

Whenever possible, look for lean beef from cows that have been "well-fed" (like the happy cows at Sage Mountain Farm).

Pasture grasses and other forages are the most natural foods for cows and other ruminant animals. From a health standpoint, there's no question that cows do better on these natural foods than on grain-based feeds.

Special Note: Our beef is not yet "Certified" organic. This most likely will happen sometime next year. However, because our Steers are allowed to roam freely, eat organic grasses (and other forages, such as vegetable plants), and are free of hormones and antibiotic residues, there is no practical difference. In fact, our beef may very well be nutritionally superior to most "Certifed" organic beef.

Too much grain-feeding can cause excess formation of gas in the digestive tract of the cow and pose serious health risks. When cows are given the opportunity to follow a diet composed of their natural foodstuffs, they are much healthier.

Not surprisingly, the meat they provide as food is much healthier as well.

Another Special Note: Cows are herbivores, not omnivores; that is why we will never feed them dead cows like the United States Department of Agriculture has encouraged. (Live cows eating dead cows was the alleged cause of the spread of "Mad Cow" disease.)

Well-fed beef have been shown to contain more zinc and vitamin B12 than grain-fed beef, less total fat than grain-fed beef, and greater amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid).

The differences in well-fed and grain-fed beef are greatest when ample grazing time is allowed for the cows, and when the pasture land used for grazing provides high-quality forages and grasses.