 |
 |
|---|
You will see the cows and horses as you enter the farm.
Please drive slowly because some of them think they run the place.
Contact Us to let us know you are coming.
The address for your GPS is 455 Scott Rd. Ardmore, TN 38449.
Call ahead when you are on the way at 931-468-2819.
You will see the sign out by the edge of the farm.
We couldn't get Jeanne away from the chickens for this picture, so pretend she's in the truck.
Our first farm, bought in 1969, was an overgrown 80 acres in Franklin County, MO. sixty miles southwest of St. Louis.
A year later we bought our first cows - two Hereford cows and three heifers. They walked the fences for days looking for the herd. They didn’t understand - they were the herd.
We eventually bought and bred a herd of very good registered Polled Hereford cows and tried to raise them according to the teachings of the University of Missouri. Born in the snow in January and February, vaccinations by the handful, wormings every six months, bigger is always better, grain, grain, grain.
The four children showed our family’s animals quite successfully at the local fairs and we thought life was good. Twenty four years flew by, the children grew up and all moved away.
In 1992, following the birth of our first grandchild, we decided we wanted to be located closer to them so we began looking for a farm within an hour of their location in Huntsville, Alabama.
In 1993 we were fortunate to buy a farm in Ardmore, Tennessee. We sold the farm in Missouri and moved everything to Tennessee including our cattle. We also got a small herd of Barzona cattle. Barzona cattle are noted for their heat tolerance and mothering ability.
It did not take long to find out there are a lot of differences in raising cattle in Tennessee versus Missouri. One of the biggest differences was the cost of grain and the ability of our animals to adapt to the even more humid southeast.
The extreme winter cold which we were so glad to escape from had actually been a blessing with regard to cleansing the soil and grass of parasites. Our cows were hit with a double punch - extreme heat and humidity and greater numbers of parasites. We culled several cows.
We knew we had problems to overcome. We just had had no experience or knowledge to correct our problems.
In 1996 we purchased a Polled Hereford bull that had never received grain. We knew financially we needed to move away from grain dependent cattle.
In 1998 we attended a field day at Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm in Virginia and saw how a totally forage-based approach to raising cattle could successfully be done. We had found our door into “natural farming”. Once we found a different, more natural way to farm, our problems suddenly had solutions. It would require hard physical work, hours of studying new approaches to farming, but would be a recipe for producing contented, healthy cows producing real beef to feed our families.
In the years since, we have made significant changes to the genetics within our cow herd so they are more adaptable to our forage based operation. The cows requiring more feed or special attention are no longer with us. We finally realized we were not in the business of raising cows; we were in the business of harnessing the energy of the sun and the life of the soil to produce healthy grass which would be harvested by healthy cows to feed our families. We had been too narrow in our focus. Raising an animal on strictly forage does require a slightly longer time, but the health benefits to both cow and consumer are worth the effort.
We have also changed our calving season to be in sync with local wildlife. When the deer in Tennessee fawn, the cows on the Cairn’s farm calve. The cows and calves are happier which makes John and Jeanne happier.
Finding our way into “natural farming” was difficult at first. Now we wonder why everyone who hears of it is not grabbing the baton and running to the front. We are constantly striving to produce a tastier, more tender cut of meat. We have worked with several breeds of cows selected for both these traits. In the end, healthy is good for us but taste and tenderness is number one.
We want both for us and for you. We have had excellent reports back from customers.