About gardnerBEEF
Producing Quality Farm Raised Beef for Food Conscious Consumers
Welcome! We are the Gardner Family. We have been farming for over 45 years. And we love our job!
Don and Susan Gardner
Sam and Ashley Gardner & Family
Andy and Katie Gardner & Family
Our Story
Gardner Beef is a part of Gardner Heifers Inc. , a family cattle raising business composed of veterinarians Drs. Don and Susan Gardner, and sons Sam and Andy Gardner and their families.
Sam is the general manager. Sam grew up on the farm then graduated from Virginia Tech with degrees in dairy science and fisheries science.
Andy also grew up feeding cattle before school then went on to graduate Emery Riddle Aeronautical University and is now a corporate pilot. He works away 6 months and farms and builds fence the other 6 months.
The farm consists of 1100 acres of owned and leased land that was started by Don and Susan in 1973.
Our main enterprise is raising dairy heifers for dairy farmers. We found out quite some time ago that crossbred steers raised along with our dairy heifers made for farm raised beef that has excellent eating quality.
We have always raised beef for our own consumption. Friends that dined with us kept telling us we should sell some. We started off slow and due to repeat customers have gradually increased the number of fed beef that we offer for sale.
Our Values & Beliefs
We keep sight of the big picture.
Our mission is to produce quality farm raised beef. We strive to provide the best animal care, maintain excellent land stewardship practices, and ensure competitive prices.
We believe in relationships, not just sales.
Our goal is not just to sell you beef, but to be your source of high quality beef for years to come. We value your business and hope you will consider us “your farmer.”
We strive for sustainable growth.
We believe in long term sustainable growth. We have previously partnered with NRCS to increase our grazing acreage and sorting, feeding, and housing facilities.
We support Virginia agriculture.
Knowing first hand the challenges facing Virginia farmers and agriculture as a whole, our family is active on many local and state farming association boards and committees.
Our Operation
Our beefs are raised on grass in an open environment and fed a complete mixed ration that includes a combination of corn silage and grain and protein supplements.
They are usually around 2 years of age when ready to harvest and have a beefier taste than grocery store meat.
They will weigh approximately 1200 to 1400 pounds depending on when each calf reaches choice grade. A finished calf will typically yield ~62% of their live weight in retail product.
Since they are in a natural environment and are fed the same ration as our heifers, they are never implanted or fed any drugs to enhance growth.
