Lamb

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Much like our beef, our lamb is completely grass fed and finished.

In fact, it’s exactly like our beef. We often run our sheep and cattle in the same herd; their grazing styles compliment each other as the sheep often prefer forages that cattle turn up their noses at. This combined grazing system leaves the pastures evenly “mowed” and stimulates the growth better. It also greatly reduces the risk of parasites for all animals involved, because most parasites are species specific and die off when multiple types of livestock are moving across the same land. This is just one more way our herds are able to thrive under the organic practices we work with.

When the sheep are not sharing pasture with the cattle, they are doing important ecological work rotating around our Springfield farm to target the invasive blackberries that grow in much of our forest.

Grass fed lamb receives all the same benefits as grass fed beef in omega-3s and beta carotene, and sheep, just like cows, are ruminant animals that thrive on forage alone.

At Moonlight Ranch, we’re fans of our lamb. Like, big fans. We attribute this mostly to the breed we raise, Icelandics. 

We like this breed for a lot of reasons, not just their superior flavor. They are excellent mothers, naturally resistant to disease and parasites, and hearty foragers. While many sheep breeds balk at anything but grass, these sheep prefer common weeds, bushes, and blackberry brambles. This is great for the land and for developing the subtle flavors in the meat. They are a hearty, heritage breed renowned for their triple-purpose ability of producing delicious meat, sweet milk, and soft wool. As our herd grows, we hope to add wool products and to begin milking ewes for our herdshare.

Lamb is harvested in the same way as beef, at the farm they were raised on.