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Pat’s Pastured Pat’s Pastured is a free range, grass fed animal farm in Jamestown RI, started by Farmer Pat McNiff in 2002. He works alongside a livestock manager, a processing crew, and apprentices. He’ll soon be moving his operation to East Greenwich! Pat attended Providence College and became the director at the Southside Community Land Trust, where he continued to work until he finished his Master’s Thesis and founded Urban Edge Farm.
Benefits/Challenges Of the Landscape The summers are cool in Jamestown – the wind and rain keeps the weather bearable for the animals. Though, because it’s an island, getting clean water for the animals is a major challenge.
Disease Prevention When it comes to keeping animals healthy, Pat’s Pastured practices prevention through the environment and nutrition. This involves making sure his animals get clean water, good grain, natural minerals, salts, and kelp meal. Pat’s Pastured has never had to use antibiotics, and hopes to never have that need, but would do what ever it takes to save an animal’s life if it was the last option.
Photo Credit: Pat McNiff
• Local production à raise food with the grass we already have • Attention à paying attention and care to how the animals interact with each other and the land • Rotational Grazing à leave the land better than you found it, using land intensely but for a short period of time
Sourcing Livestock: • Pat breeds all his sheep, pigs, and dogs • Turkey and broilers are bought at one day old • Layers are bought at 17 weeks • Pat also raises rabbits and is planning on raising ducks next year!
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What animals are raised? CHICKENS: • About 1,400 chickens at peak season • Pasture based diet; also eat milk and cheese to supplement grass and foraging • Are rotated every three days, follow the cattle • Chickens naturally break up and move the cattle manure, no need for human intervention
BRIOLERS: • The chickens are on a two year rotation; they are processed after being stewing hens for two years
EGGS:
Photo Credit: Pat McNiff
LIVESTOCK GAURDIAN DOGS: • Bred and born on the farm, raised • • •
alongside the animals they are trained to protect Trained by parents and other LGDs Play a major role in keeping livestock secure Are fed raw meat from the farm
CATTLE: • Angus, Hereford, and Black Baldies • • •
Breeds Are bought as yearling and raised for one year before processed Raised for 24-30 months and eat grass and pasture plants only Currently at peak has 24 beef cattle and 9 dairy
• Layers lay about one egg per day • In the winter, the chickens go in a hoop house for 2-3 months to stay warm • Their waste from that time will be used as tomato fertilizer • Layers are protected by both an electric fence and guardian dogs that live with them and protect them 24/7
SHEEP: • Raises Katahdin Sheep à a hearty and adaptable meat • Are naturally parasite resistant • Have hair instead of fleece so they do not need to be shorn • Pasture graze and supplemented with hay in the winter • Protected by electric fence and guardian dogs • Have 22 lambs and 60 ewes at season peak
PIGS: • Berkshire, Large Black, and Tamworth Breeds • Forage in woods by uprooting and clearing
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Woods provide them with shade which keeps them cool 2