The_Ledger_Winter_2020

Good Food for Good People

BY MICKY BURCH, CONTRIBUTING WRITER “H ere in the northwest corner of the Pacific Northwest, it’s some times referred to as the Pacific North Wet,” jokes Julie Davis, owner of Clear Valley Farm, Arlington, Wash. But with the right breed of cattle, a rotational grazing system and clever marketing, Davis turns the weather into good food for good people. Established in 1951 by her grand parents and operated as a dairy until the mid-‘70s, Davis moved to the farm in 2001 and started raising American Aberdeen shortly after. “When I purchased my first Ameri can Aberdeens, the intent was to raise them as beef in a grass-fed and finished program, and this is still the operation’s focus,” she says. That initial purchase came in 2003 from Topline Aberdeen Cattle, Rick and Shelley Dodd and Jim Eldridge, in the form of two heifers and a 6-month-old bull. For Davis, they were the perfect fit. “My thought process was more beef, less bone,” she explains. “I figured if I could get a 450- to 500-pound hanging weight with three head per acre without grain consump tion, I could eventually run the farm in a profitable status.” For the next few years, Davis re tained her top-end heifers and sold the rest as private treaty beef until 2009 when a snowstorm destroyed the barn she used for hay storage. “I sold my herd with the exception of two bred cows and used the funds to build a hay storage unit and buy a new bull,” she says of the aftermath. She rebuilt her herd again by retain ing heifers. Then, in 2010, she started exploring the option of selling beef at local farmers markets.

“A lot of research was involved, like finding a U.S. Department of Agri culture (USDA) processing service, developing a label and researching fees and insurance liabilities,” she explains. In the end it was worth it; currently, Clear Valley Farm beef is sold at two local farmers markets and, in 2016, made its retail debut as a feature at the Cama Bay Restaurant on Camano Island. Today, Clear Valley Farm beef is retailing at Garden Treasures Organ ic Retail Store. In an area where Davis says agri cultural land is quickly losing out to development, American Aberdeen are very appealing to those seeking to raise beef cattle because of their moderate size and fleshing ability. Given the abundance of rain in the area, the foraging season is relatively short, so Davis utilizes a rotational grazing system to extend the graz ing season and lessen the need for supplemental feed. “The grazing system is unique in that there is a common watering center and each pasture is connected by an alley way to the watering center, incorporating the load out area at the end of the alley,” she explains. Twenty acres allows her to graze between 45 and 55 head; she will soon expand to 30 acres. While most of her stock are registered American Aberdeen, some are commercial along with a few Galloway-influenced Moderators ® . An entrepreneur in many ways, Davis recently added artificial insemi nation (AI) tech to her resumé. “Although we have AI technicians in our area, they are contracted to dairy herds and large beef herds, making it difficult or next to impossible to

American Aberdeen are very appealing to those seeking to raise beef cattle because of their moderate size and fleshing ability, Davis says. find someone available to AI for small beef herds,” she says. After two years on a waiting list to take the course, Davis became a certi fied AI technician. “It’s opened the door to bring new genetics into my herd,” she says. “In 2019, my first AI calf was born – that’s certainly a day I won’t forget.” In addition to AI services, Davis maintains one or two bulls for lease to small beef herds for natural service. For those wanting the experience of raising their own beef, but who don’t have the resources, Davis has

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