Our Farm
We are an organic-pasture based livestock & poultry farm, that raises premium, grass-fed meats for the Chicago area
About us.
We believe that all farm animals should graze together symbiotically on perennial pastures in order to support the biodiversity and fertility of the land. Farming with this holistic, pasture-based method at our core, alongside organic agricultural methods, we aim to provide life-giving, pastured meat and eggs for our local community. Our meat and eggs are available at your local farmers’ market, as well as select grocery stores and co-ops in the Chicago area. We also offer a Meat CSA program for customers in the Chicago-area, and we can ship our products anywhere within the United States.
Our meats.
At Mint Creek Farm, we practice rotational grazing, moving our livestock and poultry every few days to new, fresh pastures on our Certified Organic land. Our lamb, beef, and pasture calf are 100% grass-fed and grass-finished. They receive no grain in their lifetimes. In winter, when pasture plant growth goes dormant, our livestock is offered Certified Organic hay produced on local farms.
Our goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, and turkeys also forage on pasture in a rotationally grazing system. To provide them necessary nutrition, they are offered supplemental feed that consists of locally produced Certified Organic grains. Grains in feed include organic flax seed, corn, blue corn, oats, wheat, barley, triticale, field peas & different varieties of cooked, fermented beans. We also add small amounts of OMRI-certified ocean fish meal as a source of protein and trace minerals, Redmond mineral, and OMRI-certified sea kelp as an additional mineral source. This nutrient-dense feed is very carefully sourced and mixed in small batches on site at the farm.
“The difference between Mint Creek Farm and supermarket beef from a feedlot is night and day. The environmental impacts from feedlots spread far and wide - all the way to the Gulf of Mexico; while, in the meantime, Harry Carr seems to be single-handedly restoring and rebuilding the mineral rich topsoils that once dominated the midwest.”
Our beginnings.
Mint Creek is a family farm, owned & operated by the Carr family and a few dedicated friends. Harry & Gwen Carr started the farm in 1992, beginning with 50 acres of land in Stelle, IL. Since then, the farm has grown to 220 Certified-Organic acres. These organic pastures are home to sheep, cows, pigs, goats, turkeys, chickens, and ducks. The Carrs studied Biodynamic agriculture at the Michael Fields Institute and learned that planting perennial grasses and legumes is the first step in revitalizing farmed-out land. They also saw demonstrations of how to rotationally graze livestock, and learned how frequent movement of grazing animals is good for animal, forage, and soil health. Harry learned to plant mixes of legumes and grasses suited to the different conditions of the farm through trial and error and by talking to area farmers.
Our environmental impact.
Mint Creek Farm strives for the symbiotic relationship of animal and land. Who would have guessed that a combination so simple as sheep on grass could help with global climate change? Grasses and legumes naturally process and fix carbon in the soil. Rotationally grazing perennial pasture is actually one of the best carbon-dioxide-absorbing natural systems there is— even better than planting trees, because the forage plants are kept in their vegetative state by the regular grazing of livestock.
Mint Creek Farm is also a safe haven for native species of plants and birds to live and nest. Soil tests show great improvements in soil fertility and texture since the land was purchased; enriching the natural prairie ecosystems that have been so depleted by modern mainstream agricultural practices.
It makes the Carrs happy to be a part of a beautiful natural ecosystem: thick swards of grasses keeping the topsoil from eroding and cleaning the air while the livestock live on it symbiotically, bolstering soil fertility. It makes them all the more proud that this ecosystem offers their family, friends, locals, and chefs some of the most delicious, healthiest grass-fed meat in the country.