At McCormick Hill Farms, we are committed to honesty and openness in everything we do. We prioritize transparency in all our processes, ensuring you know exactly how our practices impact the journey from our pastures to your plates.
- Feed at McCormick Hill Farms
Our cows thrive on a grass-started, grain-finished diet. Beginning with grass helps them develop robust immune systems and promotes healthier growth. Grass-fed beef is also rich in nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A and E, and conjugated linoleic acid. Transitioning to a grain-finished diet enhances the marbling in the meat, resulting in improved flavor and tenderness.
Our cows are fed
- Silage
- A nutritious blend of rye and corn silage grown right here at McCormick Hill Farms
- Grain
- A carefully formulated mix of corn, barley, and soy sourced from Piedmont Grain Company.
- Amaferm Grain Mineral
- Hay
- A diverse blend of Timothy, Orchard grass, Broom grass, and Alfalfa sourced from Sparling Farms
2. How we treat our cattle
At McCormick Hill Farms, we take pride in our humane practices from start to finish. We treat our cattle with respect, ensuring they have ample space, shelter, and proper handling. Our commitment to natural farming means we never add antibiotics or hormones to their feed, allowing our cows to thrive on a wholesome diet.
We closely monitor the health of our cattle, providing regular check-ups, pregnancy tests, and veterinary care from licensed professionals. Our cows are free to graze, socialize, and roam, which encourages natural behaviors and contributes to their overall well-being.
These standards reflect our dedication to humanely raising our animals. We believe that humane treatment should extend throughout their lives, including at the end. That’s why we partner with Blue Ridge Meats, a butcher shop certified by A Greener World as “Animal Welfare Approved.”
These are some of the qualifications to be Animal Welfare Approved:
- All animals must be moved in a calm and consistent manner taking advantage of species specific behavior such as flight distance
- The use of electrical prods in normal animal handling is prohibited
- Animals that have been unloaded to holding pens and are subsequently found to be unable to rise and move spontaneously under their own strength must be segregated and allowed to rest comfortably to see if they will recover
- Downed animals must not be dragged or moved for disposal
- Unloading facilities must be of a height to allow animals to unload from transportation without jumping or leaping
- Stun boxes with sloped flooring or flooring otherwise designed to make animals fall are prohibited
- If animals do not enter the stun box freely all activity must cease on the kill floor OR the view from the stun box to the kill floor must be blocked
- Stunning must render animals immediately insensible to pain on the first attempt
- All animals must be rendered insensible to pain prior to being shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut
For more information on the standards that guide our practices, you can visit https://agreenerworld.org/certifications/animal-welfare-approved/standards/slaughter-guidelines-for-red-meat/
3. Visit us at McCormick Hill Farms!
Everyone is welcome at our farm in Somerset, VA! We invite you to reach out to us for a visit, where you can meet our cows, explore our processes, and connect with our farmer, Don. We’d be delighted to share our passion for humane farming and transparency with you!
At McCormick Hill Farms, we are a small, locally-owned farm dedicated to the transparency of our processes. Our commitment to humane practices and sustainable agriculture ensures that you know exactly where your food comes from and how it’s raised. We believe in fostering a connection between our farm and the community, inviting you to witness our dedication firsthand. As we continue to grow and evolve, we remain focused on providing high-quality, ethically raised products that you can trust. Thank you for supporting local farming; we look forward to welcoming you to our farm and sharing our journey with you!