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Superior Quality, Sustainably Raised Beef from Our Heritage Farm |
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The Story of Century Farm Black
Angus
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Our family’s connection to this farm began in 1852, when frontiersman David Mosby crossed the Oregon Trail from Kentucky and settled in the southernmost end of the fertile Willamette Valley in Western Oregon. Here, between the coastal range and the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, he built his homestead amid lush spring-fed pastures and virgin forests, and settled his donation land claim farm of 1,600 acres. Halfway between San Francisco and Seattle, Cottage Grove is at the center of the fast growing Northern California-Pacific Northwest region. Our farm is nestled between two covered bridges along Mosby Creek in the Historic Covered Bridge District of Lane County and is on the State of Oregon’s registry of historic farms. Today it is a sustainably farmed 300-acre natural resource preserve with cattle, crops, and forestlands. Our old-growth riparian forest has been conserved to protect it from deforestation and destruction of wildlife habitat. Polly Mosby passionately cared for and protected our farm for 60 years, and built a noted beef-cattle herd. Because of my dedication to farming, forest protection and the environment, she chose me to continue our family’s stewardship of the farm. Over the last six years, I have drawn on my training in animal science at Washington State University and biosciences from UCLA, and my past experiences both as a farmer and a wine industry professional. Technical support from the USDA, Oregon State University, the American Angus Association and organic farming consultants have helped me to become an informed and effective soil scientist, crop and forage manager and herd manager, while establishing a herd with superior meat genetics. My goal is simple: By applying advanced research, rigorous standards and ecologically sound and humane management, I am raising the tastiest, highest quality, and healthiest beef available to home chefs and culinary professionals. |
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Breeding the Best Black Angus Beef |
 Beef-cattle breeding and feeding are specialized sciences. We are among the few producers who own and control the selection, care and processing of our animals from conception to fork. Selecting the best beef genetics is critical to my desire to grow a delicious culinary meat product naturally, without the aid of hormone implants, antibiotics, irradiation, preservatives, pesticides, and additives.
The Black Angus breed has a long-standing reputation for juicy, tender and flavorful meat. The first Angus cattle were imported from Scotland in 1873, and by 1883 over 1,200 head of cattle had been imported. That same year, the American Angus Association was established, and over the first hundred years of operation it recorded 10 million head of registered Angus cattle. In the 1950’s the American Angus Association adopted the Angus Herd Improvement Record Program (AHIR) to process weights, carcass data and ultrasound measurements of Angus cattle that are submitted by Association members. The records are stored in the largest beef cattle database in use. Over the past 50 years, these records have been used by Angus breeders to refine their herd selection decisions to select for meat quality attributes such as marbling and rib eye size. Recent advances in bovine genetics have resulted in new commercial DNA-based marker testing to determine marbling and tenderness. These new measures of beef tenderness and marbling now show that the Black Angus breed has a much higher frequency of tenderness genotypes. Never before has the cattle industry had these biometric tools to improve heritable traits that determine beef quality and health. I have already begun applying new technologies to select for genetic and productive efficiency, beef quality and disease resistance of the Century Farm Black Angus herd. Our herd sire, Future Direction 355, imported from Nebraska, measures in the top 1% of the Black Angus breed for total beef quality, marbling and tenderness. Our cows have been selected from top beef producers throughout the county for their beef carcass merit. We use selective breeding to keep our herd in the forefront of beef genetics. |
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Naturally-Raised, Healthy Animals Produce Superior Meat |
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Our beef cattle are raised naturally and ecologically from the soil up, grazing on nutritious green grasses and are intensively managed for optimum health, nutrition and comfort. It is well documented that low-stress, healthy animals yield better meat. We intensively manage our herd for peak health, nutrition and well-being.
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Meat Processing |
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Optimum Health & Nutrition for Your High-Performance Family |
From our high-performance family to yours, Century Farm Black Angus beef goes beyond “all-natural” to be an optimum health and nutrition alternative for your family. Calorie for calorie, beef is one of the most nutrient-rich foods and has the highest concentration of essential nutrients compared to other proteins. A 3-ounce serving of lean beef contributes less than 10% of calories for a 2,000 calorie diet, yet it supplies 50% of the daily value for protein, plus Zinc 39%, B12 37%; Selenium 24%, Phosphorous 20%, Niacin 18%, B6 16%, Iron 14% and Riboflavin 12%. In many cases, obesity co-exists with poor nutrition and inadequate physical activity. Results from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using measured heights and weights, indicate that an estimated 16 percent of children and adolescents ages 6-19 years are overweight. This represents a 45 percent increase from the overweight estimates of 11 percent obtained from NHANES III (1988-94). Try Century Farm Black Angus beef to promote your family’s health. I promise that you’ll see and taste the difference while making a healthy choice for your family! |
| Small, Sustainable Family Farming |
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Our mission is to preserve and conserve our family Century Farm and agricultural heritage through sustainable farming of healthy natural beef. Responsible farming of private agricultural lands is critical to preserving America’s legacy of wildlife habitat, working landscapes and land-based values that renew both American rural and urban communities. If agricultural land is not used for agricultural purposes, by default, urbanization will encroach upon them and the existence of “family farms” will be lost. Thank you for supporting small family farms! Carolyn Colson
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When I inherited my family’s farm in Cottage Grove, Oregon in 2000, I was given an opportunity to continue our family’s tradition of stewardship for our Century Farm. I created the business Century Farm Black Angus, LLC which has been continuously owned and farmed by my family for more than 150 years. We raise the finest Black Angus beef cattle, selected for superior genetics, in a breed recognized for producing the world’s finest meat for quality, flavor and tenderness. 
As nature intended, our cattle are raised on their mother’s milk and nutritious fresh grass and clover in our lush green pastures. This “grass feeding” reduces the risk of E. coli contamination. 
