Barrita Shanks didn’t set out to become a beef maven, but when she fell for Jeff Shanks at his restaurant in Lima, NY, fate would have its way.
For the 28 years since the couple decided to make a go of running Seven Bridges Farm, they’ve remained determined never to cut corners and to give their cows the best care. The results? Impressive: fine dining-quality beef at prices their community can actually afford. The secret? Passion for the job.
“There’s no better life than on the farm,” said Shanks. “I love where I live.”
Seven Bridges Farm beef is by all accounts superb – richly flavored and succulent, the meat is touted by those who swear by it as one of a kind. But there’s nothing fancy about their methods; theirs is an approach to beef farming that’s tried and true.
“We have not changed any practices from way back,” Shanks said, explaining that for them excellence is largely a question of attention to detail, starting with ensuring the animals eat a carefully balanced diet that emphasizes quality over quantity.
“We farm over 500 acres to grow feed and bedding, so that we know no one is administering growth hormones or steroids, and we’re not going to auctions to buy three- or four-year-old animals – we’re the only ones loving them and feeding them.”
She laughed as she described the lengths they go to keep the animals happy and comfortable. A classic farm like theirs, which also produces pork, chicken and eggs, may be run in a way their great-grandparents would have no trouble recognizing, but when it comes to the happiness of their bovines, they aren’t afraid to get newfangled with it.
“The barn the cows are in have automatic curtains, feeders, water, and they have sensors for the heat and cold,” she said. Their focus on technology is put toward quality of life rather than efficiency and profit margins.
As Shanks puts it, “they live in the lap of luxury.” She is so adamant that customers know it that she’d be delighted to show them herself anytime they want to drop by to see the operation for themselves.
Shanks’s tender feelings for her cows don’t get in the way of frank talk about the culling process with anyone who wants to know. On the contrary, she sees what she calls their “one bad day” as one of the most important considerations of the job.
“There’s a lot of people asking about the end of their life, and if you’re gonna ask then we’ll tell you that at Seven Bridges farm we do things purposefully,” she said. Seven Bridges cattle are weighed regularly throughout their lives, and the steps are similar enough that when they’re finally trailered and taken to the facility down the road, they’re relaxed.
Shanks remembers watching frightened animals at the livestock auction, a memory which continues to motivate her efforts to keep fear out of the process. They also make sure their cows don’t have to wait longer than an hour once they arrive; in every instance there should be no cause for unnecessary anxiety or distress.
There’s still more tending to do before the beef is cut – Seven Bridges beef is aged for two weeks, a practice that, for the most part, has long been a casualty of industrial efficiency. After that, it’s ready to go on to the customers, which for Shanks is the most exciting part.
Those looking to get a cut of Seven Bridges beef can easily find it anywhere from local grocery stores and markets to Rochester’s fine dining scene. But what she’s really hoping is that customers will consider investing in a side of beef instead. While their profit margins are much higher when they sell individual cuts, for her there’s something special about being able to offer that kind of food security.
“A family having a side of beef in their house is what makes us feel good,” she said.
Their customer base is their community, not those with means. Some customers might buy a quarter of a cow with the help of government assistance; others might go in together with their family or friends. In every case the family can cut it according to their individual needs.
“I have one customer, a single mom with three teenage boys, and she’s going to use most of it on ground beef. People can be really specific about how they want it,” Shanks said. And they’ll also have the opportunity to experiment, to find out what they like and how to make the best use of what they have.
It’s the thought of all those people gathered together at the table which keeps Shanks hard at work, more than the money. And as much as she loves the cows, the deeper meaning of the work comes from the land.
“We take such good care of this land,” she said, her passion audible. “It’s really, really important what we do and how we do it—we have to be good stewards.”
Like any farm, life and death stay close together at Seven Bridges, and Shanks makes sure to appreciate the beauty of it all. “It’s the circle of life – if you have good earth, you have good food. If you have good food, you have a good life.”
Find the farm at sevenbridgesbeef.com.
