Press

On the day of our trip our bags were full of sunscreen, cameras and bug spray and our minds were full of anticipation and excitement.   We made the long trip up to Maine to discover one of the lushest and most gorgeous places we had ever seen.

Every inch of this land was thriving with life; from the green pastures of grazing cattle, to the greenhouses of bursting tomatoes to the abundant marketplace with the buzz of families and friends sharing lunch.

Our first stop was at the hydroponic greenhouses where we found budding basil, tomato plants reaching for the sky, young heads of lettuce and fresh cucumbers peeking from behind their leaves.  The farmer told us that all the produce is grown without any use of pesticides or chemicals.

Our next stop on our visit was to the dairy barns where we met the cows that produce the milk that turns into Pineland farms cheeses.  These cows were gentle and welcoming, but each had their own personality and quirky names like Tosh.O.  The farmer informed us that the cows are able to roam free in the pastures all night, but during the day they are brought inside to feed, be milked and get out of the heat of the day.

These were very happy cows.  Next we were able to venture to the place that we were all waiting to see; one of the farms where the Pineland Farms Natural Beef is raised.  20 minutes and many bumpy back roads later, we arrived at a quiet and tranquil scene of rolling grassy hills, a quaint white farmhouse and freely roaming cattle. Our guide explained that this is the standard for all 250 family farms that work with Pineland to ensure that the cattle are raised with dignity and integrity in a safe and humane habitat.

The beef is raised without the use of growth hormones or antibiotics and are fed a vegetarian diet without any animal by-products.  They are grass fed for most of their lives and then finished with grain for 150 days. Each farm uses sustainable farming practices to minimize environmental impact.  At this point of the tour, we were more than proud to have this company represented in our stores.

Our last stop of the day was at Pineland Farms Marketplace where we shopped through the vegetables that we had just seen growing, the cheeses that we saw being made in the creamery and other specialty and local products.  We left with bags full of gourmet goodies, smiles on our faces and ice cream cones in hand.

(Pineland Farms Marketplace)

At The Meat House, we pride ourselves in offering options to our consumers such asall natural, organic, and grass-fed meat making our partnership with Pineland Farms an easy decision to help bring these kinds of products into more of our stores.  We also strive to provide 20-30% local products in all our stores, so Pineland Farms is just one example of the many local farms that we work with to provide our customers with fresh and local products.  You can now find Pineland Farms Natural Meats in all of our New England and New York stores!

Do you support local and family farms?  You can now easily do so just by shopping at our stores!

Original article is here.