Shore Nuff Farm

01/13/2026

We have beef for sale which will be available for pickup or delivery starting the first week in February.
The price is determined by hanging weights ($6.00/lb.) which average between 500 to 600 lbs. for a whole beef. The butchering fees are included in the price. The yield “in the wrapper” for a 500 lb. beef is around 335 lbs. which will result in an actual cost of about $8.95 per pound. You can purchase a whole beef (approximately $3,000) or just a side of beef at half that cost. I always suggest allowing one cubic foot of freezer space per 30 pounds of finished product. If you are interested, please let me know right away and I will send you a copy of cutting instructions for the butcher so you can customize your order.

01/19/2023

One of the things we breed for is friendly. Dexter cattle originated in Ireland and are considered a tri-purpose animal. They are suitable for meat, milk, and can be trained as oxen. Dexters normally come in 3 colors, black, dun, or red and can be horned or polled. One of our herd bulls, Manus, is 1/4 White Galloway and 3/4 Dexter. We bought him to add white to our herd and it has worked well. The Galloway breed offers the same wonderful characteristics of the Dexter.
As a breed, Dexter’s are considered one of the world’s smallest natural breeds without being bred down to their current size. A mature Dexter bull generally ranges between 38-44 inches at the shoulder and weighs 850 to 1000 pounds. The ideal three-year-old Dexter cow measures between 36-42 inches at the shoulder and weighs 600 to 750 pounds. Dexter’s are considered very docile and are gentle enough to be taught to handle and train.
Pound for pound, Dexter’s cost less from birth to the finished product. Economically, these animals have the ability of turning forage into rich milk, and quality lean meat. Dexter’s may be finished on either grass or grain. They reach 80-90% of their growth in 18 to 24 months and result in smaller cuts of high-quality lean meat, graded choice, with little waste. The expected average yield is 50 to 60 percent.
A milking cow can produce more milk for its weight than any other breed. The daily yield averages from 1 to 3 gallons per day with a butterfat content of 4 to 5 %. Yields of cream can be up to one quart per gallon.
With Dexter cattle, fertility is high and the majority of calves are born without assistance. Easiness of calving is a much-desired trait within this breed.
With these unique overall traits, Dexter Cattle are considered the perfect old-fashioned family cow.

04/30/2020

We're back to having laying hens and trying times call for being frugal. We ordered 40 hybrid cross chicks, commonly called red s*x links, for $3.43/each delivered. They are a cross between a White Rock egg-layer type female and a Rhode Island Red male. We like them because they are egg laying machines and they do it economically. Usually, they produce a dozen eggs on just 3 pounds of feed. In the past, we have seen our first eggs at 17 to 18 weeks and by 22 weeks they all are laying. At maturity they only weigh 4.5 to 5 pounds and are very docile. They lay big brown eggs, in fact, at times so big that we can't close the carton all the way. We have raised heritage breeds in the past and we liked them but at best we only got 250 eggs per year per hen and the eggs were smaller. We have gotten between 330 to 350 eggs per year from the red s*x links during their peak year and they are great winter layers if you add a little light to the coop. We built our own brooder out of 1/2" plywood and 2x4s we had left over from previous farm projects. The dimensions are 72" long, 28" wide and 24" tall. All the chicks came healthy and lively and we are enjoying the process.

04/26/2020

There are a lot of reasons to choose Dexter cattle. Dexter’s are known to be docile, inquisitive, friendly, lively and long-lived. Cows can continue to calve in their upper teens and even twenties. Heifers are bred to have their first calf on their second birthday. Our bulls have been very docile and we can walk among them even when the cows are in estrous. As a bovine breed, Dexter’s are considered one of the world’s smallest natural breeds without being breed down to their current size. The size of a mature Dexter bull may range between 38-44 inches at the shoulder and weighs less than 1000 pounds. The ideal three-year-old Dexter cow measures between 36-42 inches at the shoulder, and weighs less that 750 pounds. Pound for pound, Dexter’s cost less from birth to the finished product. Economically, these animals have the ability of turning forage into rich milk, and quality lean meat. Dexter’s may be finished on either grass or grain. They mature in 18 to 24 months and result in smaller cuts of high quality lean meat, graded choice, with little waste. The expected average yield is 50 to 60 percent. Proportions are also of a smaller size, which benefits a healthier eating style. With the size of Dexter cattle, fertility is high and the majority of calves are born without assistance. Ease of calving is a much-desired trait within this breed and to top it off a Dexter cow can produce more milk for its weight than any other breed. The daily yield averages from 1 to 3 gallons per day with a butterfat content of 4 to 5 %. Yields of cream can be up to one quart per gallon and can be skimmed to use of making butter or ice cream.
If you are interested in adding Dexters to your farm, feel free to contact us.

04/25/2020

One of the reasons we love Dexters is they're so friendly. Of course it doesn't hurt that George is the "cattle whisperer".

11/07/2015

So, what do you do with Shore Nuff Farm grass fed beef?
Easy Pepper Steak Recipe (Four Servings) - The total preparation time is about thirty minutes, but you do have a marinade time of at least a couple of hours. One serving over a half a cup of brown rice and you have a healthy 350 calorie meal.
Here's all you need:

1 pound of beef steak about using a less expensive cut. (Top Round , Bottom Round, Sirloin, etc...)
1/2 cup prepared Italian dressing
Salt and pepper
2 large bell peppers, any color, cut into 1/8 inch strips
1 large onion, cut into 1/8 inch wedges

Cut beef steak into 1/8-inch thick strips about two to three inches in length. Place beef and 1/3 cup Italian dressing in a zip-lock bag and turn beef to coat it well. Keep it in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. Save the remaining dressing for vegetables.
Remove beef from marinade and discard the marinade. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add 1/2 of the beef strips and stir-fry until outside surface of beef is no longer pink, but don't overcook. Remove from skillet and stir-fry remaining beef. Season beef with salt and pepper and set aside, covered. Heat remaining Italian dressing in same skillet until hot. Add peppers and onion and stir-fry 5 to 6 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Return the beef with its juices to skillet. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through.

07/10/2015

02/14/2015

As a child, one of the people I looked up to most was my uncle, Calvin. He was a farmer. When we would make the trip to Iowa to visit the farm, I could barely contain my excitement. Don't get me wrong, I loved spending time with my aunt Hazel and my cousins, but most of all I loved tagging along with my uncle. He had just about every type of animal on the farm (cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, turkeys) and one of his greatest concerns was that they were all treated humanely. As well as showing me how to care for the animals, he gave me an education about the realities of confined animal feeding operations. As he would say, "They're damned cruel and people ought to learn about how their food is raised." He figured people didn't really want to know. Over 50 years has passed since my early experiences with uncle Calvin and not much has changed for the better in how we raise our food. But some consumers are educating themselves and that's a step in the right direction. The following helps to explain how a few of us, trying to provide healthy, humanely raised food, feel. http://www.pbs.org/food/features/food-forward-season-1-meat-of-the-matter/

Cheap meat is actually quite costly, taking its toll on America’s health and the environment. The good news is it’s now possible to have your steak and eat it, too. Food Forward TV meets a new breed of ranchers … Continue