Environmental Excellence in Agriculture
We always say that we’re farmers at heart. For us, it’s about more than a great tasting product. It’s about creating a dining experience that will make you feel good about what you’re eating, because you know that everything on your plate was made with care for you and for our planet.
While Calhoun’s Custom Meats has long been known for high-quality meat products and personal customer service, they are also an example of environmental excellence. Colonial Farm, where they raise all of their cattle and swine, is a model for environmentally-friendly modern livestock agriculture. The Calhoun and Lutz families, along with farm manager Mark Heimgartner, have created a livestock production system that utilizes reclaimed strip mine land, animal waste, and whiskey byproducts to improve the land and produce delicious, high-quality food in an environmentally responsible manner.
...you know that everything on your plate was made with care for you and for our planet.
Colonial Farm reclaimed strip mine land with limited value for agriculture and turned it into an environmentally friendly, productive farm that utilizes waste byproducts to produce safe, quality, locally grown animals. The waste from the swine farming operation is collected and irrigated on the Colonial Farms pastures to grow grass and return nutrients and organic matter to the land that was disturbed in the strip-mining process. This revitalizes and rejuvenates the once unusable land.
“It’s very organic. The fertilizer method works incredibly well on reclaimed ground and puts a lot of nutrients back into the soil, and it makes the nutrient analysis of the hay or grass a lot better than if you did nothing,” said manager of retail operations Mike Calhoun.
Additionally, the farm receives up to 30,000 gallons of whiskey by-product a day that is created during bourbon’s fermentation process. This “bourbon mash” is now used to feed cattle, whereas a few years back a large portion of this nutritious grain material had to be wasted. Imagine that. Imagine the greenhouse gas emissions saved by repurposing 30,000 gallons of organic material every single day. And the cows love it!
Imagine the greenhouse gas emissions saved by repurposing 30,000 gallons of organic material every single day.
And the cows love it!
The nutrient-dense bourbon mash supplements a diet of hay, vitamins, and minerals. “We’ve done nutrient analysis on the feed,” said Mike. “We make sure that they’re getting everything they need.” What’s the result? Perfectly marbled cuts of meat with a unique, flavorful hint of Kentucky’s finest bourbon.
Calhoun’s farming and production processes, along with their methods of feeding their animals, are also ethically and environmentally responsible when compared to most other methods of farming. No extra chemicals or hormones are given to their animals. All of Calhouns’ and Colonial Farm’s livestock are fed with free-choice feeding. This allows for a completely natural and nutritious feeding method and source.
No extra chemicals or hormones are given to the animals. All of Calhouns' and Colonial Farm's livestock are fed with free-choice feeding.
By using cutting edge modern agriculture practices, the system created at Colonial Farms is a true example of farmers creating a high quality, environmentally responsible livestock production system that will continually improve the land for use by future generations.
