Palm Bay Ranch Serves Up Grass-Fed Beef

April 6, 2022 | Maria Sonnenberg

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The early morning fog hovers over the landscape as the cattle amble slowly into the magnificent picture. A cowboy on horseback winds his way to the herd.

Were it not for the palm trees, the scene could be in Montana or Wyoming. Instead, it is from Palm Bay, home to the Circle P Bar Ranch.

The ranch remains one of the last vestiges of Brevard County’s once thriving ranching ethos, when cowboys roamed acreage now occupied by tightly packed developments. Willard Palmer owned the 700 acres at the west end of Malabar Road, raising cattle there for more than 30 years.

He now leases the land while he looks for a thousand acres along Route 60 in Indian River County. Heritage High School is already on what was once Circle P Bar Ranch land. A new Publix and other stores are slated to follow.

For Palmer, raising cattle the right way is a passion.

“My grandfather raised cattle in Kentucky and my father raised in Florida on a small scale,” he said.

A lot of ranchers inherit their spread, but not Willard.

“He had to purchase all the land and he did it by working 14-hour days seven days a week,” said Willard’s wife, Dawn.

His animals eat high-protein hybrid grass, as nature intended, and they are not fed the cocktails of steroids, hormones and antibiotics favored by factory farms. The land where they feed is not sullied by pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

The resulting meat is unlike what can be found at grocery stores.

“You can see the difference and you can taste the difference,” Dawn said.

The benefits of grass-finished beef include lower calories, high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and an increased amount of conjugated linoleic acid — a fatty acid that promotes healthy weight loss, reduces the risk of heart disease and exhibits cancer-fighting properties.

Local fans love the taste.

“Great taste and much healthier,” wrote customer Donna Pimentel. “I am addicted!”

The beef is available at Viera and downtown Melbourne farmers’ markets and online at circlepbarranch.com. Barn-to-door delivery can be arranged.

Ranching is no get-rich-quick — or even get-rich-slowly — job. Palmer still works 14 hours a day, running the ranch, plus Florida Mulch and Florida Land Buyers. It’s well worth it.

“I love ranching,” he said.

Grass is Better

You are what you eat. That goes for cows, too.

All cattle start out feeding on pasture. However, cattle raised conventionally by major ranching operations are typically later sent to a feedlot to be “finished,” or rapidly fattened for slaughter, on diet of grain, primarily corn.

Unlike their conventional counterparts, grass-fed cattle live out their lives feeding from pastures. It takes longer for them to reach the ideal weight for harvesting, so their meat is more expensive.

Pros of grass-fed beef: