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This year, fans of the Geist Farmers Market may have noticed an absence of one of last year’s principal vendors, the Apple Family Farm, whose grass-fed meats were a favorite among market-goers. The good news is that they’ve opened their own farm store just a few minutes drive away from the Thursday farmers market location at Holy Cross.Open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mike Apple and his family sell farm-fresh eggs, beef, veal, lamb and dairy products in their farm’s own store located at 3365 W. Ind. 234, just east of McCordsville.

One of the nice things about buying straight from the farm is that we can see firsthand where our food comes from. What makes the Apple Family’s farm special, however, is the fact that it is managed according to the principles of “sustainable agriculture,” meaning that the land is not treated with synthetic chemicals and the grass-fed animals are eating “all natural” pasture-based diets. Most importantly, as food consumers, we can be comforted by the fact that the meat-and-dairy-producing animals are free from injected hormones, steroids and antibiotics.

Mike points out that his farm is not designated as “certified organic,” and he does not intend to pursue this certification because, “We feel the ‘grass-fed’ label indicates an even higher standard.” His pasture-raised animals are not kept on a concentrated animal feedlot (CAFO) or fed any grains – two practices that are permitted in organic certification.

The Apple Family Farm Store does carry some organic dairy products, including milk and yogurt, from Traders Point Creamery in Zionsville. They also sell a variety of hard-to-find raw milk cheeses produced by the Swiss Connection farm in Clay City, Ind. Both of these farms conform to Mike’s pasture-based, grass-fed standard of quality, which is why he has chosen to offer their products.

Mike and his wife, Debbie, run the farm and its store with the help of their children: Braydon, Rhayna and Alyssa. Their 250-acre farm typically has between 110 and 130 cows, of which about 30 are for dairy production. Those for beef and veal production are not the usual kind commonly seen around the Midwest; the Apples have chosen to raise the Scottish Highland breed for health and flavor reasons. What makes them unique is their long, thick fur and the fact that they do not reach the age of maturity until around 3 to 4 years old.

“Because the Scottish Highlands have their dense coats of fur, they do not develop the thick layers of surface fat necessary to many other breeds, so the meat is lean yet full of flavor,” Mike explains. “Their greater age of maturity also improves their flavor over the other common breeds.”

Most Americans have a distaste towards lamb, and Mike feels this is generally due to the fact that the animals are raised on grain in this country. He notes that it is a common part of most European diets and attributes this to the fact that they are typically grass-fed over there, which makes the flavor entirely different.

“Like our cows, our lambs are strictly grass-fed, and we have found that this has opened many people up to eating lamb on a regular basis,” Mike said.

Perhaps, the most impressive contribution from the Apples’ farm is its humanely-raised veal. Mike admits that he was always appalled by the cruel treatment of baby calves in veal production and had forever banished it from his diet. Now that he has been raising his own beef, he can raise the baby calves the way he feels fit.

“They have a life on the sunny pastures eating grass and are never confined in small crates without ever seeing the light of day,” he says.

With this approach towards raising veal calves and other livestock, the Apple Family’s farm and store will certainly become a trusted source for Geist’s food supply. More information about the Apple Family Farm is available at www.applefamilyfarm.com.