Grass-fed beef farm a draw in region
ARGYLE, N.Y. » Whoever said, “The world doesn’t beat a path to your door,” doesn’t know much about Mack Brook Farm.
Customers go out of their way to visit the home-based retail store run by farm owners Kevin Jablonski and Karen Christensen in Washington County’s pastoral hill country.
The attraction is a wide selection of fresh-cut meats from their herd of free-range, purely grassfed registered Black Angus.
“People want to know where their protein comes from,” said Jablonski, who grew up on the farm, a former dairy his grandparents founded in 1928.
“When you have a good product it always comes out pretty tasty,” Christensen said.
After selling off a small herd of Holsteins he’d started, Jablonski purchased a few beef cattle to keep the farm’s pasture from getting overgrown, with no longrange plans in mind.
However, he and Christensen, a former Boston museum educator, drew inspiration from author Michael Pollan’s awardwinning book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” which encourages consumers to pay more attention to where food comes from, and what it is.
They began selling beef in 2004, and their herd now numbers 90 animals including 20 newborn calves with four more expected any day.
“I enjoy being around the animals, seeing them develop,” Jablonski said. “My favorite time of day is late afternoon
when there’s no hay to put up. I go out to move the animals to new pasture and enjoy watching them graze.”
Of course, there’s always a dozen things to do -- all day, every day -- such as fixing fence posts, cleaning the barnyard and keeping water pumps in good working condition.
Christensen said her favorite aspect of being a beef farmer is all the friends and contacts they’ve made.
“We’ve met so many interesting people -- customers, conference speakers, chefs” she said. “That’s been fascinating to me.”
Plus, she enjoys the culinary rewards.
Early summer marks the start of another busy sales period as the outdoor grilling season gets underway for picnics, fam-
ily gatherings and special occasions. A Connecticut customer stops by every year to stock up on frozen meats for his camp near Lake George, Jablonski said.
Grassfed beef has a premium price and by selling direct there’s no middleman involved, which helps Mack Brook Farm maximize profits.
Some meat is also found in a handful of stores in Washington and Saratoga counties. In addition, well-known Chief Dan Spitz of Salem uses Mack Brook Farm beef regularly, and some also goes to Henry Street Taproom, a popular Saratoga Springs restaurant.
“We buy a lot of their groundbeef items and use it for grassfed burgers as midweek specials,” Chef Matt Weekes said. “Grassfed is so much different than grainfed. It’s leaner with low-fat con- tent. I’ve used a lot of their other products, too. I like to support them. They’re part of the community.”
Jablonski is on the agriculture committee for the new Pitney Meadows Community Farm in Saratoga Springs, and would have an important advisory role if beef cattle become part of future plans there. He’s also the New York Beef Advisory Council, is Region 12 director for the New York Beef Producer’s Association, and belongs to the Northeast Pasture Consortium.
In 2013, Farm Aid recognized Jablonski and Christensen as local Farmer Heroes in connection with a large Farm Aid concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Mack Brook Farm belongs to the American Grassfed Association and all its products have Animal Welfare Approved labeling. This program, founded in 2006, ensures that meat and dairy goods only come from farm animals raised to the highest animal welfare and environmental standards.
About 20 head of Mack Brook Farm cattle are processed each year at nearby Locust Grove Smokehouse, also in Argyle, which helps ensure freshness. Many farms process animals at 18 months. Jablonski said he waits till they’re 2 years old.
“There aren’t many grassfed, grass-finished farms around that wait as long as they do,” Spitz said. “So you get a lot more marbling, which is absolutely desirable. I use their meat pretty exclusively these days. It doesn’t come from cows that were forcefed corn or grain at the end of their lives. Pasture-fed is definitely healthier.”