Cy Rich and Marvin Roberts

Jubilee farm dates back to 1975 when our family purchased an old farm and house just outside of Edenton, NC but began in earnest in 2001 with the planting   of native grasses.  These powerful plants  -- Switchgrass, Bluestem, Gamma grass and Indian grass, clover and fescue, function to restore our soils, contain rain water run off and mitigate carbon releases through simple photosynthesis.  We added a herd of cows to convert the oxygen- and energy-rich grasses to digestible, healthy protein.

Our first herd of Black Angus-cross heifers came from a grass-fed herd bred at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), the largest sustainable agriculture program in the U.S., located in Goldsboro, NC.

With my partner, Marvin Roberts, a life-long resident of Chowan County, we started rotating pastures and pumping water from clean aquifers, powered by our farm solar energy system. The pastures were certified "organic" in 2004.

Today we are raising our cows and their offspring without chemicals of any kind. They eat grass most of the year. During some winter months the grass is supplemented with hay baled during the previous summer. The cows seem to like the pasture rotation system: when they see Marvin or me they come to the gate to be moved.

After a minimum of 16 to 20 months on pasture, the cows are taken to Acre Station Meat Farm, a near-by, federally-inspected slaughter facility. There our animals are humanely handled and slaughtered. After the cutting and packing, which ensures no other materials ever get into the meat, these prime cuts of grass-fed beef are driven 120 miles to Weaver Street Grocery in Carrboro. Our goal is to be able to offer our beef at least 10 months of the year, and to that end we organized our herd and breeding program for both spring and fall calving which will allow a nearly year-round supply.

Seeing the soils rejuvenate, knowing the water and air is getting better, that natural life thrives in and around these pastures—these things are important to Marvin and me as farmers and as stewards of this land. Cattle are being raised in a manner that is naturally compatible with their abilities to convert grass to protein. This has been a gratifying experience and one which continues to satisfy each time I see these animals contently grazing across the farm

Jubilee Farm
Edenton, NC
www.jubileebeef.com