Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

Farm Profile: Jason Brooks and His Grass-Fed Beef

Story by Amy Cooke

The beef that Jason Brooks brings to the Watauga County Farmer’s Market each week is part of his family’s farming tradition. “I started helping my grandad [Hiram Brooks] when I was just five or six,” said Jason. “I was more trouble than I was worth, but he let me help and I knew I wanted to do that.”

Hiram has fond memories of that young helper. “I used to run the farm and would take him with me to feed the cattle. He soon learned how to drive the tractor and he done real good,” he said.

Jason lives with his wife Laura and their children Olivia, Ashley and Nolan on part of the farm that has been in their family more than 100 years. His parents, grandparents and brother live on the place too and share the land and the work.
The dairy where they sold milk to be bottled locally is gone, and now they raise vegetables for the family. “Dad grew all kinds of produce to sell,” explained Jason’s grandmother Reba Bingham Brooks. “He trucked it down to South Carolina and we had a little dairy here, too. The spring house is still standing across the road.”

Jason divides his time between farming and working in the family business, Brooks Plumbing and Heating.

At the farmers’ market, although the selection varies, he usually has hamburger; chuck, beef-tip, shoulder and rump roasts; and with New York strip, sirloin and rib eye steaks. He has a waiting list for his tenderloins. All the meat is processed in small amounts and sold frozen. Customers often ask about how to place an order: call one week to pick up the next. To inquire about what is available, call 828-297-1140.

“Right now we are just trying to keep up with the demand,” said Jason. “We always had beef for ourselves and we are happy to be able to do this now.” When asked what is special about his beef, Jason laughed. “ My wife tells me I don’t brag on it enough. She tells me it is better than anything. If people want to say how good it is, I like that.”

That good flavor comes at a price. Most of the herd is harvested at around 20 to 24 months and they are grown slowly so the cost is greater than with mass-produced corporate farmed meat. “We do a small number and take care with them and it costs more to produce. It takes longer to come to the point of harvest and we don’t pump them up on hormones or a high-calorie diet of high-energy corn,” Jason said.

“The most important thing is that we know where it comes from. It’s like all the produce over there [at the Farmers’ Market]. It’s local farmers that will keep the supply coming here.”

Jason’s herd is mainly Black Angus and Angus crossed with some Charolais. “They do real well here. They do good in the wintertime and fatten nice on the grass,” Jason said.

The farm has orchard grass, timothy and bluegrass for pasture and for hay. Jason enjoys the haymaking even though expenses have risen rapidly in recent years. “It’s expensive to do it now, but I like doing it. It’s the challenge of it, I guess. You gotta hope the Lord helps it grow and lets you cut it right. You got to get rain on the right days and then no rain.”

Although the family has been in the plumbing business since 1949, Jason points out that farming is not just a hobby. “We’ve got a lot invested in it—not just the equipment, but the time and the effort.”

Jason continued, “We think it’s important because we do all grass-fed and don’t crowd them into a big feed lot like they do out west. They are meant to eat grass and the meat is better when they do. We don’t do any growth hormones. I wouldn’t want to eat that beef that has so many drugs in it. ”

The family enjoys their homegrown beef. Jason likes grilling steaks, not too done, so they retain their good flavor. He sears them on both sides quickly and then turns the heat way down and finishes them at the low temperature.

The family also enjoys roasts, especially done in a slow cooker. “We like it cooked all day that way,” said Laura. “It tastes so good and the smell is so much better. It really doesn’t have much smell like the meat out of the grocery store. The hamburger and the roasts just taste better and they are so tender, too.”

Life on the farm includes the children looking forward to the calves each fall and spring. They also have fresh cherries on big beautiful trees, vegetables fresh from the garden and fragrant roses growing by their great-grandmother’s door.

Jason knows that times are changing and wonders what the future will bring for his children. “I hope this is there for them if they want to do it,” he said. “That’s the way it was offered to me. I hope farming is an option in this county. I don’t know what’s going to happen now that things are closing in around us.”

And he added, “We are blessed to be able to do this. I like farming the best of all because the cows don’t talk back to you. They don’t complain about anything.”