Who we are...
Our Humble Beginnings
In 1995, we were looking for a special breed of cattle to bring attention to our fruit and vegetable market located on our farm. We had a pasture on the corner of the farm with street footage on two sides. It seemed like the perfect spot for some four-legged signage. While looking through several books trying to get ideas, my wife flipped a book over and saw some Belted Galloways on the back cover. Our search was over! Who would have thought that what basically started as a marketing ploy would turn into a twenty-plus year love story?
From our start in Pennsylvania (Swamp Fox Farm), we migrated to New Hampshire (North Wind Grange) approximately 17 miles outside of Fryeburg, Maine, home of the Fryeburg Fair and the Belted Galloway National Sale. In 2006, we settled on our present 150 acre farm in the steep hills of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. We combined the names of our two sons, Calum and Eamonn, and Caleamont Farm was established.
Why Belted Galloways?
While the Belties were definitely eye-catching, there had to be more to them than just their beauty. Aside from being a heritage breed that needed preservation, being from Scotland, Belties were used to hard terrain and long winters. We were looking for a breed that would be successful on strictly grass and no grain. If the Belted Galloways could subsist on marginal land and forage, what could they do on quality agricultural soils with premium grass/legume pastures?
Why 100 % Grass Fed?
Having a farm market where we sold our fresh fruits and vegetables, we wanted to complement the healthy produce with equally healthy meat. We were impressed with the works of Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Foundation and Dr. Tilak Dhiman of Utah State University, both of whom espoused the health benefits of 100% grass-fed meat and animal products. Dr. Dhiman presented difficult to dispute facts that grass-fed and grain-fed meat products produce totally different health profiles. The levels of the essential fatty acids omega 6 and omega 3 in grass-fed products were balanced while grain-fed products were found to have a disproportionate amount of omega 6, which contributes to inflammation and other diseases.
Our Operation
Caleamont Farm follows the Joel Salatin model of Management Intensive Grazing (MIG) with the herd moving to a new poly-wired paddock each and every day beginning around May 15th of the given year. Our farm operation consists of 150 acres owned and 125 acres leased for pasture and hay production. We supplement the herd with a high quality dairy mineral with extra selenium, dry kelp meal and Redmond’s Salt in our covered free choice mineral feeders. As of today, we have had over seven generations (three year cycles) of grass-based genetics. No grain was ever purchased or fed during our stewardship.
We evaluate the herd, presently at 52 animals, for efficiency on grass, temperament, phenotype, calving ease and no mismarks. We normally calve on pasture late April through early June. Accordingly, we place the bull with the breeding stock after the 4th of July.
Our Herd
After our initial purchase of three cows and a calf, we strengthened our small herd in 1998 with the purchase of Angel Camp Latte from a 100% grass-fed farm in Minnesota. Latte will be twenty-one years old on August 12, 2018. She has presented us with seventeen healthy calves and has earned her place as the herd matriarch. After Latte, we purchased a Ponderosa and a Holbrook Hill animal at the Belted Galloway National Sale in Fryeburg, Maine. This became a yearly ritual as we procured twelve Belties through the National Sale and two from the Select Sale in Louisville, Kentucky.
In addition to developing a strong contingent of grass-based females, we have been fortunate to have had a continuous string of fantastic bulls including Driftwood Nostradamus, Holbrook Hill Sir Isaac Newton, Windchime New England and Caleamont Xerxes. We hope to continue this trend with the purchase of a new herd sire, Windchime Due Diligence, from Ontario, Canada. His pedigree is second to none, combining the best of both Canadian and Scottish genetics.
Where to find us
You will find our animals registered through both the Canadian Galloways and Belted Galloway Society. We switched over to the Canadian Galloways in 2006 because of their more stringent DNA testing, pedigree and registration requirements. Both registries can be found on the Canadian Livestock Breeds Registry (CLRC) website at www.clrc.ca.
