Matos Beef
Joe Matos Farmstead Heritage Raised Beef is incredibly marbled and tender, with a rich, decadent buttery flavor, owing to the longer maturity time of our cattle (18 or more months) and our life-long commitment to providing our animals with fresh, high quality forage and foodstuffs.
Available from the Farmstead
While we continue to offer custom exempt shares directly to the consumer (see our Beef Shares page for more information), we now have our farmstead raised beef locally harvested and processed at USDA facilities and available for wholesale and retail sale directly from the farmstead and Sebastopol Farmer's Market.
Sustainable Farming Practices-
How We Raise Our Cattle
Regenerative Pasture Management-
Our pastures are irrigated seasonally and fertilized using only manure produced by our cattle. All dry hay and silage fed is produced on our farm from these pastures. Minimal tilling (every 10 years) is utilized to prevent soil compaction.
Food Waste Diversion-
Fresh feedstuffs utilized include fruit, vegetables, bread, brewer's grains and whey. Calves are started on whey when they are weaned from fresh, raw milk and continue until they are a little over a year old. By about six months of age our beef consumes half of their diet as food waste, diverting at least 7000 pounds of fruit and vegetables from landfills daily.
No Routine Antibiotics or Hormones-
All cattle grow and mature at their own rate and are never fed additives or preventative antibiotics. No growth or cycle augmenting hormones are used in our herd.
Born and Raised on our Farmstead-
Our cattle are dual purpose, producing milk for our St. Jorge cheese and meat. Bull calves born on our farm are castrated and raised on pasture along with our replacement heifers in the Laguna de Santa Rosa.
Current Farmstead Availability: