Longlesson Farm Angus

Longlesson Angus could certainly qualify as family operation, as Bob and Melanie, along with son-in-law Christophe and daughter Shannon do all the haying, pasture maintenance and fencing, as well as attending to the breeding, herd health, and calving. We farm 450 acres, which is more than enough to supply quality forage in pastures and hay for our herd. Our calves gain weight easily, and cattle maintain excellent body condition through the winter without any supplemental grain. We believe in humanely raising our cows on good pasture with ready access to clean water. The cattle groups are rotated between fields, moving to fresh pasture each day. With long rest periods between grazing, the fields naturally rejuvenate. We've found that grass is good for cows, and cows are good for grass!

We are proud to be part of the movement toward sustainable agriculture in Upstate New York, and take part in federally run CREP and EQUIP programs that help maintain the quality of water in the Tomhannock Watershed.

The majority of our cows are bred A.I. to the best bulls in the Angus breed. This spring we have 12 calves from breedings with S/S Objective, Cortachy Boy, GAR Retail Product, CRA Bextor, and GAR New Design 5050, as well as 17 calves from our herd bull, "Jeremiah", a GAR Predestined son. We select our sires on the basis of calving ease, growth, and carcass quality, but keep an eye on maternal qualities as well.

Using artificial insemination, we time our calves to come in the fall, September and October, or in spring, from January through April. Having two breeding seasons allows us to make sure that heifers are big enough, at least 2 years of age, when they have their first calf. We've found that calving at younger than 2 years increases delivery problems and calf mortality. We have an "ICU" adjacent to the barn where pregnant cows stay as they near their delivery date. This allows us to get the moms into the barn for delivery, and ear tag and tattoo calves easily and with a minimum of distress to the mother. A special run-in shelter for the little ones guarantees winter calves a warm dry place to curl up when weather is bad.

The Angus breed is unique in its ability to carry fat within the muscle. Marbling equates with tenderness, and makes the Angus breed especially suited for the pasture-raised beef market. We believe that in this time of questionable mass production, the future of local pasture-raised beef is bright. Our goal is to produce breeding stock that is "fit not fat" and freezer beef especially suited to this market.

If you are looking for an Angus herd bull this year, please visit our Sales Area. We will have seven long-yearling breeding bulls for sale in spring/early summer. Come by to select your bull, and we will keep him until you are ready to put him to work. We welcome visitors to the farm, so if you are in the area, please call and come by!