Our Animals
Table of Contents
100% Grass-Fed Cattle
Great Grass Finished Beef begins with Soil Health. Healthy soils produce great forages which in turn produces the worlds best grassfed beef. Our efforts begin with the soil. Every decision is prefaced with “is it best for the soil”.
Climates of the world can basically be divided into “Brittle” and “Humid.” Most grassfed beef people consume comes from dry arid areas. We are fortunate here in Indiana to have the perfect humid environment to grow the best grass in the world….that’s where great Grass Finished Beef begins.
Cattle Breeds
We choose to raise a little known breed called South Polls for one reason…superior grass genetics. There are cattle that can thrive in very specific environments that cannot thrive as 100% Grassfed Beef.
Black Angus has built an amazing reputation based on Tenderness (and excellent marketing). Black Angus are designed to prosper in a feedlot system and are honestly too big to finish on grass…not to mention the damage that weight does to pastures.
Wagyu make amazing meat. Some of the most intramuscular marbling you will ever see. But that’s achieved indoors in an incredibly controlled environment. Brewers Grains and Mozart isn’t practical out on pasture.
South Polls have the perfect genetic makeup for grass finishing: Short legs and tank bodies, great weather tolerance and they graze like goats & eat everything. They are lighter weight which is easier on the pasture and have great dispositions and
Pasture Raised Chickens
While many people are familiar and comfortable with the phrase “free-range chickens,” what we do with our chickens on Tyner Pond Farm is truly raise them on the pasture…
The first meat I ever raised and ate on Tyner Pond Farm was a Pasture Raised Chicken. I was overcome with this sense of dejavu. It was a taste from my past…It tasted like chicken. I never knew what was missing from chicken until I tasted it again. The industrial Chicken system has totally removed any taste at all from poultry…you need condiments.
Raising Chicken on pasture is a lot more work, but you can taste the forage they eat…the grasses & foraged insects…the variety they find in front of them every day when we move them to fresh ground. I love all the animals we raise, but there is something emotional with real pasture raised chicken.
Chicken Breed
Over the years we’ve tried a lot of different Chicken Breeds and worked with many different hatcheries. Eventually we landed on a special pasture optimized version of the Cornish Cross. Many people think of Cornish Crosses immediately as part of the industrial system.
Working with our partners, Myers Hatchery, we’ve found a version that thrives in our environment, tastes amazing and still develops the larger chicken breasts our customers ask for. We’re very happy with our choice of Chicken and know you will be too.
Locally Raised Pigs
Although we raise pigs on pasture here at Tyner Pond Farm, we don’t have the resources to raise enough to meet the demand for locally raised pork.
Fortunately, here in Central Indiana we have many neighbors who like raising a few pigs and are happy to partner with us.
Local economies thrive when dollars circulate within the community.
