Who Are the helpers ?
At Double D Pastures nature thrives through interactions with our helpers. Ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep and goats stimulate the soil and help reduce blight on our trees and thin out our forest to allow heatlhy growth. Swine help control over-growth and churn compacted soils. Poultry help control insects and provide excellent fertilizer. And lagamorphs (in our case, rabbits) help control growth and spread fertilizer in areas that are not easily managed with larger animals.
Beef
Our herd of Irish Dexter cattle is raised strictly on pasture and forage. We do not feed any corn, silage or other matter that might interfere with digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Please note that Dexters are the smallest of all natural cattle breeds...the cuts from our animals will be smaller than what you typically get from other beef breeds, such as Angus, Charolais and Limousine. For this reason, certain cuts, like tenderloin, are not usually available.
Lamb
Like our cattle, our flock of sheep is raised strictly on pasture and forage. We do not feed any corn, silage or other matter that might interfere with digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Our original sheep flock consisted of North Country Sheviot ewes and a Romney ram, with a later addition of a Rideau Arcott ewe. The resulting flock thrives on grasses, legumes and phorbs. While they may not grow as large or as quickly as some other breeds, our flock develops a good layer of fat and excellent flavour.
Pork
Our pigs are raised with access to pasture, and their diet is supplemented with hog grower and whole vegetables.
On pasture they enjoy grasses, legumes, phorbs (weeds) and hunting small critters.