OUR Story
When we started farming Bois D’Arc, it was overworked due to centuries of corn and cotton production. Our goal was to look back at what nature intended for the land and replicate that in our farming practices. Thanks to resilient soil, animal impact, and a dedicated farm team, we can now produce food with integrity through regenerative practices that heal our land, animals, and community.
We are committed to maintaining healthy land for our animals. We continue to verify the health of our farm by taking annual biological soil samples, and documenting plant species diversity as well as beneficial insect and bird populations.
what is regenerative agriculture?
At BDA Farm, we believe that nature knows best! Regenerative agriculture is a form of biomimicry: working with and learning from nature and its cycles. The land our cows graze used to sustain large migratory herbivores like elk and bison. Now, we use our livestock to do the same - simulating nature’s cycles and nourishing our ecosystem.
Why is regenerative better? With a greater biodiversity in our pastures, the animals receive a wider variety of nutrients that gets passed on to the finished beef product.
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Soil is our farm’s foundation. Our land is teeming with life both above and below ground. Truly healthy soil should have more life within than above the surface.
Our soil contains a host of soil microbes, earthworms, and insects together providing nourishment for all the animals and plants on the farm.
Grasses take CO2 out of the atmosphere and sequester it in the ground, where it can improve soil biology and health instead of polluting the atmosphere. Using no-till methods makes sure the CO2 stays in the soil.
Roots from diverse plant species transfer phytonutrients to each other and send carbon deep into the soil, unlike mono-cropping, which limits the nutrients that section of land can retain.
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Ruminant animals (such as cows and sheep) graze on grasses which, when properly managed, stimulates growth and root development. Different animals like to forage different plants, so grazing them in the same fields contributes to a more even consumption of plants, better fertilization, and faster regrowth.
Manure left behind helps naturally fertilize soil, eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers.
Hooves trample and break up the soil surface, which aerates the soil and improves circulation.
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Daily rotational grazing benefits both animals and land - the animals get a greater diversity of nutrients from different pastures and the land gets a period of rest and regrowth without animal disturbance.
By grazing different species behind each other, we breakup the parasite/disease cycle, so we do not have to prophylactically treat our animals with antibiotics.
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Health-promoting phytonutrients become highly concentrated in the meat and milk of animals raised on biodiverse pastures. Nutrients contained in produce and animal muscle will be passed along to your finished product.
Reviving the Pineywoods
Bois D’ Arc Farm is dedicated to restoring and reviving the threatened Pineywood breed of heritage cattle. The Pineywoods are one of the oldest breeds of cattle in the United States, descending from Spanish cattle brought to the Americas beginning in the early 1500s. Spanish colonists established low-input, extensive cattle-ranging systems typical of Spanish ranching.
These cattle are known for their adaptability, disease resistance, and ability to thrive on rough forage in hot, humid climates. They produce lean, flavorful beef with an extremely unique taste profile.
Today, we hold one of the largest (and growing!) US-based herds. Contact us to learn more about how we care for this heritage breed.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Bois d’Arc Farm adheres to Grass Fed regulations. Our land is certified organic. However, we do not raise our animals under the Certified Organic label. No chemicals or synthetics are used on our land.
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All our animals are raised on organic pasture and annual fields, so their diet consists of mainly grass and forb species, with additional supplementation. We supplement the feeder ruminants (cows) with Citrus pulp and Canola meal.
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We do not administer hormones or feed antibiotics to our animals, but we provide humane treatment to ill animals if needed. Animals treated humanely with antibiotics are separated from our Grass-fed/Pastured animals and transferred into the conventional market.
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We believe that an ‘across-the-board’ system or protocol is not always the most beneficial and therefore strive to be observant of what nature is telling us and adapt accordingly. We do not use medication indiscriminately, but weigh our actions against the welfare of the animal. In our environment in the South East we are prone to certain diseases and vaccinate the animals against those specific pathogens with the animal’s health and care in mind.
We’d love to hear from you
We sell live cattle to local farms to finish. If you’d like to partner with us, or have any questions, feel free to contact us directly via phone or email.
