Welcome to Subiaco Abbey Farm! A web site was unheard of back in the late 1800s when our monks first plowed fields, planted a vineyard and orchard, and tended a few chickens and cows. These pioneer monks were continuing the tradition of working the land surrounding the monastery, that had been practiced through the centuries. The thought was that as the monk worked the land, the land formed the monk into a person of prayer, dependent on God's loving providence for sustenance and material welfare.

 

Area ranchers listen to presentations October 4, 2008

 
 
In time, corn and cash crops were added to the list of products derived from the monks' farming effort. In early 1900, Holstein cattle were introduced at Subiaco to provide milk, butter, and cheese for the monks and students of the Academy.

For the next sixty years, the brothers would milk and feed the dairy herd every morning and evening, often missing community prayer to get the job done. Since 1964 when the dairy cattle were auctioned off, the face and nature of farming at Subiaco has changed, as have the personnel that do the work. Other more industry-wide changes have influenced the tradition of farming. Today, "specialization" is the way to succeed in farming, and those who select their specialization carefully fare well, in spite of start-up struggles.

In the following progress report, we'll update you on how the abbey's new directions are unfolding and how we are making use of the latest technology and available expertise to reap rewards for effort invested. Adapting proven methods of cattle breeding and pasture management are important to our future in farming. So too, hiring the right people to work with us, especially in the face of our own decreased labor force, owing to the "graying" of our monks who served for years on the farm.

We appreciate your interest in this endeavor and welcome your comments. Special thanks to those who are inclined to make donations or gifts to further the development in these early years of the new century of our farm entity. May God reward you for your generosity.

Abbey Farm - 479-934-4567
Craig Layes (Farm Manager) cell phone – 479-438-4876

A New Breed for Subiaco

Long familiar with milking cattle (the dairy herd was auctioned off in 1964) and then with beef cattle of various breeds (the existing cattle were auctioned off in 1998 with a billboard sign on Highway 22 calling them "holy cows"), the decision to get into the breeding of registered Black Angus cattle was a well considered and timely one for Subiaco Abbey. The upgrading of Subiaco's cattle stock was necessary to insure greater profitability.

The Lord's blessing on this decision came early, perhaps in response to Abbot Jerome's funeral eulogy for Brother John Schad, in which he asked Brother John, who had worked so many years with the cattle, to help in the discernment now of what the abbey's future direction should be. As David McMahon, a long-time abbey friend and registered black angus cattleman said, "there are tremendous differences in cattle, and maximizing these positive traits is what will make us profitable."

The production of purebred cattle got its boost when two Angus breeders donated 41 purebreds to the abbey. A donation by Ankony Angus of Clarkesville, Georgia, of an Angus bull, Ankonian Subiaco, has also been of great help in getting breeding started. The hope is to have 200 cows in a few years, making Subiaco a prime supplier in the area for this breed. At present, we are improving pastures and doing the painstaking record keeping and weighing of individual cows at regular intervals. This is required in raising purebreds, and will be a model for other ranchers.

Subiaco's Reforestation Program...Growing Tall

Brother Michael Fuhrmann, who has worked since 1965 cutting down trees on abbey ground and filling lumber orders in the sawmill says "it's easy to saw, but hard to saw good." The same goes for growing trees. It's not difficult to grow a tree, but another matter to grow one that's generous in circumference and planed of limbs at the bottom so it will reach a height of 75 to100 feet or more.

The tree field planted in 1995 on the northeast side of monastery grounds, east of the abbey cemetery, is an investment of labor and care that will outlive those who planted it, including Abbot Jerome Kodell and Brother Francis Kirchner. On two and a half acres, there were over 850 trees planted, a crop that will mature sometime around 2075. They will yield a considerable sum for the abbey, perhaps upwards of a million dollars, when the trees are harvested for their choice woods. "We chose hardwoods of Cherry Bark Oak, Shumard Oak, and Black Walnut because of the value of these woods," Brother Francis said.

In time, they will yield 16 board feet cuts of timber and be extremely marketable," Brother Francis says. As stewards of the land, the monks of Subiaco treat the land with respect and try to preserve the beauty of it. The tree field will also serve as a meditative garden for those on retreat or visiting the abbey. With benches and places to stop and rest in the shade of the trees, the harmony and peace of the abbey will be preserved and shared with others.

To get the trees to their present height of 30 to 35 feet, much watering and gentle pruning was necessary. The care given them is similar to St. Benedict's desire to see the tools of the monastery treated as "vessels of the altar." Someone has said that being out among tall, sheltering trees is like being in a cathedral for many persons. The next time you visit Subiaco, take a walk out into the tree field and experience this for yourself. Keeping a sanctuary for the new trees is part and parcel of handing on our monastic heritage to future generations of monks and visitors at the abbey.