Leaf to Beef

A parallel farm enterprise for Farmer Jo is Leaf to Beef: raising grass-fed beef on Martha’s Vineyard. While not a stranger from raising cattle, the three Hereford-Angus heifers Farmer Jo raised in 2023 were the first cattle she ever owner herself. A dream come true!

The three beef heifers named Anna, Ashley, and Melissa lived out their lives entirely off of Meeting House Way in Edgartown, born just down the road and then Farmer Jo brought to the former horse pasture at the MV Land Bank Commission’s Quenomica Preserve for the grazing season. They were rotationally grazed or moved to new paddock of grass to graze each day. In the fall, the cows went off to the processor and were sold to island customers as ‘Beef Bundles’: 25 pounds of ground beef, steaks, and roasts for $250 ($10/lb).

This year in 2024, Farmer Jo will be raising double the number of beef animals across pastureland in Edgartown, Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs, and Chilmark. Beef bundles will once again be available for sale in the fall.

Feel free to follow @leaftobeef on Instagram to see more photos. If interested in purchasing beef, please email leaftobeef@gmail.com.