Seasonal-crop farms operate year-round

Every day the LeGrands have to move their electric fence about 40 feet down the field to provide fresh grass for their livestock.

There's a daily routine Steven LeGrand, his wife, Geri, and their four children go through. They gather eggs, transfer their horses from one pen to another, and then scoot the electric fence down the pasture allowing the sheep and cows to graze.

At the Franciscan Family Farm in Chaffee, Missouri, they advertise: "No hormones. No antibiotics. No subsidies. Just real food for real people." And when they started out, people questioned the concept. The cattle and sheep raised on the farm are fed entirely grass -- or hay in the winter -- but no processed feed.

LeGrand is one of many local farmers who stand by the fact that their farm is not a business; it's a beloved hobby. During the day, LeGrand is an estimator at a construction company, but when work hours pass, he's home on the family farm.

The perception that farming is a seasonal activity is often misconstrued, both LeGrand and local blueberry farmer Linda Whitener said. While local products such as strawberries, pumpkins and black walnuts do go through their respective seasons, there's always maintenance to do around the farm.

Cattle and sheep graze in a fresh pasture Friday at Franciscan Family Farms in Chaffee, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

Whitener and her husband, Henry, have owned Trace Creek Blues in Glenallen, Missouri, since 1991. They specialize in blueberries, and soon, they hope, shiitake mushrooms.

She said their busiest time period is about three weeks, starting June 15, once the blueberries are ripe. The other 49 weeks of the year, the Whiteners are busy pruning, irrigating, fertilizing and mulching their nearly 1,000 bushes.

While business has been good, and Whitener said she's never really had to advertise their berries, they are slowly planning to get out of the blueberry business.

"Blueberries need an acrid soil," Whitener explained. "And around here, the pH balance in the soil is not ideal. There's also a lot of diseases and pests starting to infect the berries, at least in the last few years."

However, Whitener is hopeful for her mushroom crop, and said they should be available for purchase beginning next year. She and her husband got the idea from a friend they met through the Missouri Blueberry Council, and after about 20 years of contemplating it, they've decided to give it a go, and Whitener is excited to see the results.

The LeGrands' "seasonal" crop is livestock. Beginning almost six years ago raising and butchering beef, Legrand has expanded to raising lamb on his great-grandfather's farm. About two dozen animals reside on the farm, and are continuously fed all-natural grass.

LeGrand explained his "salad-bar beef" takes about two years to be ready for butchering, while lambs take only eight months. So between the cattle being ready for market, nearly three generations of sheep are raised.

"You have the baby lambs in the spring, just like deer," LeGrand explained. "So they have new grass and the mothers nursing have really good nutrition. Then, in the fall, we can harvest the meat and take it to the butcher."

Cows are the opposite. LeGrand said it's best for cows to end their life cycles eating the freshest grass so their meat is best for processing.

Prices vary for the beef, depending on the type and quantity of meat a customer wants. Prices are available at franciscanfamilyfarm.com, or on their Facebook page.

Whereas beef is split into multiple orders, LeGrand said selling lamb is easier, usually a whole lamb is about 40 to 50 pounds.

"The taste is really all in the fat," LeGrand said. "The fattier a piece of meat is, the stronger the flavor."

While rotational grazing still draws the occasional concerns from some local people, LeGrand has been happy with the results.

"We're always busy," LeGrand said. "But what's most enjoyable is when all the animals are happily being fed on grass. When you move the electric fence, you can tell they're happy."

Skeptical as that may sound, LeGrand knows what he's talking about. Watching the various sheep and cows graze in their latest patch of grass, there's not much noise in the Chaffee countryside other than the sound of some seriously satisfying grass munching.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

pertinent address:

11414 State Highway 77, Chaffee, Missouri