The cows had been on the run for a day. Three of them had escaped while we were loading them in the trailer for a short ride from an off-farm pasture back to home at Miles Smith Farm. The lead cow, a white Scottish Highlander heifer, led the charge through the wire gate, and the other two black and white Angus cows followed her into the woods.
The cattle were pastured off the farm as part of the Miles Smith Farm program to help recover unused fields and to give our 65 head of cattle lush grass to eat from early spring to late fall. Miles Smith Farm has remote pastures all over New Hampshire, including three in Concord: two pastures on St. Paul School property and one small pasture at Cole Gardens. Remote pastures are the “new/old” way to provide sustainable cattle farming in New England.
Back in the day, it was common for people with unused land to make that land available to cattle farmers. The land owner benefits because the animals keep the land open and fertilized and the farmer feeds out less hay. The cattle benefit from eating the grass, and the environment benefits because machines and their fossil foot print are not needed to cut the grass. Furthermore, cattle are able to harvest grass from places we dare not go on our hilly and rocky New Hampshire landscape with machines. The good news is that New Hampshire has lots of open spaces that are ideal for pasture cattle. The bad news is that all those cattle, as we discovered, need good fences. After enjoying a few days of gallivanting around the countryside (we found quite a few beer bottles in the woods) our three cattle eventually jumped into a nearby pasture with other cows and are now back with our herd. Fortunately, we only had one steer escape from Cole Gardens in Concord and one cow wandered out of the St. Paul/Audubon pasture when we left the gate open.
There are plenty of cattle and lots of unused land available for pasture in New Hampshire. To the benefit of all, locally raised meats are available at stores in Concord. Every purchase you make helps keep New Hampshire land open and fertilized. Eating is a political event, so register your vote by buying locally raised meat. Not only will your purchase help the environment, but locally raised meat, free of antibiotics and added hormones, is the healthy way to eat.
Creating and sustaining community is a mission shared by Miles Smith Farm employees, farm friends and customers alike. Miles Smith first farmed 80 acres in Loudon in the early 1800s. The current owners, Carole Soule and Bruce Dawson, carry on Miles’ farming tradition by raising Scottish Highlander Cattle on 36 of the original farm acres. Their beef and other locally produced products are available at an on-farm retail store in Loudon, Concord Co-Op, farmers’ markets, select restaurants and via a CSA. Learn more at milessmithfarm.com or at Miles Smith Farm’s Facebook page. Through education and collaboration, we can enhance the lives of all.
