People often ask where we got the name, "Malabar Farm."  Iowa's Malabar Farm was named after the book, Malabar Farm, written by Pulitzer Prize winning author and conservationist, Louis Bromfield, and published in the early 1940's. Bromfield is considered to be one of the architects of the sustainable agriculture movement.

Bromfield's original Malabar Farm is now a working farm and Ohio State Park, and visitors can see the house and farm existing just as they did in Bromfield's time. The rolling hills and fertile farmlands recreate the pleasure of life on the farm as it was 60 years ago. To find out information about Bromfield's Malabar Farm in Ohio,

http://www.malabarfarm.org/

Like Bromfield before us, we are committed to the restoration of the rich fertility of our farmlands and the preservation of the beauty of the woodlands. Our management practices are based upon conservation and sustainability of all resources.  Through grass we harvest sunlight, and we return everything to the soil that can be. 

The foundation stock for Malabar Farm Belted Galloways came from the Green Arpents herd in Quebec, established by H. Gordon Green in 1953. Green Arpents Belted Galloways were chosen because of the purity of their genetics, correctness of breed type, and hardiness bred into them from generations of living under the harsh winter conditions of Quebec.

In addition to our Belted Galloways, we maintain a flock of sheep to promote diversity of forage in our pastures. Our donkeys and Great Pyrenese dogs protect the sheep from coyotes.

Although not strictly organic, we use no feed additives, hormones or growth stimulants, and we use antibiotics only when necessary to treat specific illnesses.  Our animals are strictly grass fed and finished; their diet consists 100% of pasture and hay, nothing else.  Our farming methods are environmentally friendly, using biological controls for weeds, pests and disease, and avoiding the use of synthetic soil nutrients whenever possible.

We are committed to grass finishing our animals because we believe it is the right thing to do.  It is in the best interest of our livestock and of the consumers of our meat products.  Grass finished beef and lamb are lean, rich and flavorful, filled with the good nutrients and minimizing the unhealthy ones.  Our meat is hand processed in small batches at a local, inspected facility.

Belted Galloways are truly unique and we focus on preserving these characteristics as a genetic resource for the future.  Our herd is genetically pure, with no up-breeding of non-purebred animals.  Although our herd is one of the largest in the United States, it is small in comparison to the commodity cattle industry.  Our small herds allow us to know our livestock individually and to apply careful husbandry practices.  Our breeding stock is selected both for breed type and maximum performance on forage.

For many years we have bred selectively for animals which do well under this particular management system.  The bulls used on our herd have all been chosen from the best of our several years of forage-based bull testing.