Christiansen Family Farm is located in Fairfield, Utah. They sell pastured pork, beef and lamb. Usually it has to be shipped and there are shipping costs that can run a hundred dollars or more.  Because we are able to bring them such large orders they wave the shipping cost for us and deliver it to us themselves!

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About our Grass and Barley Fed Beef

The fall season is considered the best time of year to harvest cattle for meat. There are several reasons for this, first the weather was beginning to cool which meant meat wouldn’t spoil as easy. Also there are significantly fewer flies and other insects that could potentially contaminate the meat. However, the main reason is because fall is the time of year that cattle are in their best physical condition. They cattle have eaten fresh grasses all summer. Towards the end of summer, the grasses begin to set seed. The seeds are high in energy and protein which the cattle eat to prepare for the cold winter. Cattle harvested for meat right before winter have beautifully marbled meat that is high in omega 3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

 

Why we Offer Grass and Barley Fed Beef

We offer grass and barley fed beef year round.  In order to do this, we store grass hay and  feed to the cattle through the winter and early spring. However, this feed lacks the grass seeds that the cattle normally get in the late summer/early fall.  So beef harvest in March, is at risk of being too lean. This means the meat may be dry when cooked.  To compensate for this, we now offer some of our cattle, a little barley to mimic grass fed beef that is harvested in the fall. the barley are is a grass and unlike most corn and soybeans are not genetically modified (GMO). Also unlike corn, this will produce beef that maintains the health benefits that grass fed beef is famous for and still be low in cholesterol.

 

Cattle Eat What They Want

As always, the cattle roam on large open pastures.  100% of their feed is GMO free. The cattle are not force fed anything, they always have plenty of grass in front of them to eat what they like. The barley grass is fed to them in rations similar to what cattle would find in a late summer pasture.  Allowing us to offer our customers beef that is marbled as nicely, year round.  And like a fall harvested beef, the carcasses yield more which means our customers get a little more for their money.  All of our beef is age dried, which gives the meat a tender texture.

 

About our Berkshire Cross Pork

Breed: Berkshires are known for their rich flavor, darker colored meat, and beautiful marbling.  They are also a hearty breed that are well suited for our cold winters and dry summers.

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Environment:

Our pigs are raised in the fresh outdoors!  They love to wander around their 5 acre paddock where they can graze on grasses, root through the dirt and wallow in their self made mud holes.  The have a large shelter that they can escape the elements when they want to. Otherwise, they are free to run around and explore.  Their feed, water, and shelter are strategically placed in such a way that they walk around a lot each day.  This keeps the pigs healthy and tones their muscle which in turn provides for a wonderful and highly sought after texture in the pork.

The maximum stocking density of our pigs is 20 pigs/acre.  This allows each pig nearly 2200 ft2.  Consider the commercial average is 6.8 ft2.  This means that in the space we provide just one pig, the average commercial farm would raise 320 pigs!  Now that’s Hog Heaven!

 

Feed:

We personally formulate our pig feed.  Our feed consists of oats, wheat, barley, triticale, and grass.  In fact the small grains we use as opposed to the traditional corn/soy pig feed produces a beautiful fat that is firm and white.  This is part of the secret to our Farm Fresh Lard.  All of our feed is GMO free. Our feed contains no animal by products, no medication/antibiotics, and no GMO products.  We do not feed our pigs any bread, donuts, or other garbage that ruins meat quality.

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As a family we love raising pigs.  We cherish the opportunity to work together.  We believe that pigs and other farm animals are provided to us by our Creator for our benefit.  Since each animal will ultimately be killed to provide us with protein and nourishment, we believe it is our moral duty as stewards of the animals to provide them with a happy, comfortable life.

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Our pigs are allowed to run, root, and wallow.  We herd them gently when needed and never use electric prods.  Common industry practice is to dock tails and clip a piglet’s teeth.  We have never found this necessary and is perhaps a benefit of raising our pigs in a stress free environment.  We also don’t use gestation crates.  This is another benefit of providing ample room.  Quite simply, by not cramming our pigs into unnaturally small areas, the pigs don’t stress out.  This means they don’t chew on each other, get easily sick and spread disease.  Keeping pigs in a natural and comfortable environment,  makes it easy for us to keep things simple without all the extra steps, procedures, and medications that are often found in commercially raised pigs.

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Pork Quality:

Our pork is an artistic expression of our passion for quality food.  The combination of pig breed (genetics), premium GMO free feed, natural stress-free environment, and humane handling help create pork that is the finest available. It is believed to be more nutrient dense and lower in cholesterol, and high in omega 3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

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Lamb:

Our customers love our Grass-Fed Lamb.  It is truly mild in flavor and rich in nutrients.  Ranchers bring these grass-fed lambs down to the valley floor, where they eat green grass on the Christiansen Farm several months before butchering!   Our grass-fed lambs don't eat grain ever! Both whole and half lamb available for you to order.

 

These grass-fed lambs are sold on the hanging weight, at $8.25per pound, which is far less than store bought grass-fed lamb that is shipped from New Zealand!  Average hanging weight of a whole grass fed lamb will be 60-70 lb. and will yield 45-55 lb. of meat, half lamb will be half of that.

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Customers put down a small deposit when ordering to hold their order.  Invoice for the balance due are emailed once the lambs have been weighed at the butcher.  For your convenience, all of the meat will be in vacuum sealed packages and labeled.