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Deal family continues raising cattle at Circle D Farm
Photo by Robin L. Gardner
Eric Deal of Circle D Farm in China grove is surrounded by antiques. He is a sixth-generation Deal working on the farm. His family has been on the land since 1842.
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Published: June 15, 2009
CHINA GROVE - Walking onto the Circle D Farm, a sixth-generation family farm, there is a laid-back feeling of rural living.
Many of the cattle that live on the farm are meandering in the fields, goats are lying in the garden, and a big old dog greets you as you get out of your car.
Oscho Deal, 62, works his farm full-time now, and 100 percent of his income comes from the farm.
He is the fifth-generation Deal to do so on the 500 acres.
The Deals have lived on this land since 1842, but making a living on a family farm these days is tough.
"The hardest part of a family farm is the work never gets done," Oscho said.
Oscho's son, Eric, and his wife of one year, Sherilee, also work the farm, but only weekends and nights, because they need a second stream of income coming into the house. Sherilee is the agriculture teacher at Northwest Cabarrus High School, and Eric works for Perdue Farms.
Eric and his wife live in the main house, which was recently renovated. The home has been occupied by a Deal since it was built in 1842.
Oscho's great-grandfather built the main house on the property. He lost his arm in a sawmill accident, which was the core business of the farm at the time. That arm is said to have been buried in the front yard, according to family lore.
Oscho lives with his wife, Martha, who also works at the farm as a nurse, in a brick house off to the side of the main house.
The meat store is between the two houses.
The cattle on the Deal Farm are a cross breed of Angus, which has good meat quality, and Gelbvieh, which originated in Bavaria, Germany, and has superior fertility, calving ease, mothering ability and growth rate.
"It's mostly Angus, though," Eric said. "We know what's in our beef. There is a demand for people wanting to know now where their meat comes from."
What Circle D Farms has to offer the community is grass-fed and free of antibiotics, hormones and steroids. It's locally grown and locally sold.
"That's where we come into play with this," Eric said. "There is no gate to block you coming in from the highway. We're here on the farm, and it's just us, and if customers want to go and see the cows, that is welcome."
Life on the farm is demanding, and the Deals have no additional hired help. They are committed to raising quality beef, and the animals are all bred, born and grown on the farm.
"These are the pasture our cows are raised on," Eric said. "They are never confined to a dry pen, or put in a barn, or a feed yard. They are here with the hills, and they have to walk to get the feed and the water. It's a richer taste in our beef."
Life is relaxed and stress free for the cows, which Sherilee said affects the overall product.
The Deals use feed (barley) for the cows that is grown on the farm.
"The feed you see here, is the feed we make," Eric said.
Oscho sings to the cows to call them over for dinner. They lazily make their way to the trough.
"In a confined animal feeding operation, because of the size and scale, they want to push the animals to market as soon as possible," Sherilee said, noting their farm doesn't do it as fast. "We don't use hormones (which will cause fast growth). We don't need to do that, and we don't do that because it's what the consumer wants."
The beef the Deals sell can be bought in what they call "family-share boxes."
A "share" is one cow equally divided in 40- to 50-pound portions. This comes to about one-eighth of the cow per box. The share is a mix of cuts, about one-third ground beef. The rest is a mix of steaks, roasts, stew beef and short ribs. The ground beef comes in one-pound, vacuum-sealed and frozen bags. Steaks come two to a pack. They can last in the freezer for up to a year.
The Deals' season to sell beef runs from January through the summer.
• Contact reporter Robin L. Gardner: 704-789-7140
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