Natural Meats of Door County

Northern Door County’s quaint fields and rolling countryside are home to a new form of agriculture. Natural Meats of Door County has gone back to the land with grass finished beef and pastured poultry. In fact, this new form of farming is really not new at all. It mimics the rotations and cycles of nature that modern agri-business has forgotten about.

Grass finished beef relies on cattle’s natural ability to remove protein from forage plants. It does not rely on high grain diets to fatten cattle. The end result is meat that is lower in cholesterol, higher in omega 3s, and lower in omega 6s. Jonathan Orrick, along with his wife Megan and their five home-schooled children, are in the process of expanding their farming venture.

“We all work together as we learn,” says Jonathan. Natural Meats has what they call a holistic view of management. As Jonathan notes, “Everything has to work together – the sun and earth grow the grass, the cattle harvest the grass and fertilize the ground, then the chickens come to help manage the fly population and scratch for seeds to eat. It’s really a perfectly designed system.”

While the high price of land in Door County has meant an end to many family farms, the Orricks are trying to overcome this obstacle by looking for land to lease. “Some land is used for pasture and some for hay production. We try to give back to the land in the form of natural fertility,” says Jonathan. On one of the first warm days this spring Jonathan built another portable chicken coop with his 11-year old son. “We move our chickens up to three times a day; that way, there is always fresh forage.” Currently the farm is going through the certification process by the State Department of Agriculture to sell meat by the cut rather than quarters.

Jonathan loves to talk about alternative agriculture and can be reached by phone at 920.854.9480.