Our Story

2014 Calvert Soil Conservation District Cooperator of the Year

Monnett Farms is a fourth generation family farm, located in Southern Maryland. We are a pasture-based livestock farm producing grass-fed beef, lamb and goat, and pasture-raised pork. 

history lesson

The Monnetts established themselves in Calvert County in the late 1700s. Our farm became the homestead of Lois and Dennis Monnett in 1920. The primary crop here was tobacco until Dennis Monnett Jr. retired from farming in the late 1980s. 

In 2007, Benson Tiralla (the grandson of Dennis Monnett Jr.) returned to the farm with his wife, Jamie and a new chapter in the farm history began. 

Benson and Jamie have pursued a pasture-based farming system. Our cattle, sheep and goats are raised entirely outdoors on pasture, in a rotational grazing system. Pigs are kept along the edges of the pasture in wooded areas to control encroachment of the forest into the pasture land. 

Trial and error, hard work and perseverance have turned Monnett Farms into what it is today. Monnett Farms continues to evolve as Benson and Jamie implement new practices, introduce new livestock, and explore new methods of farming. We hope that you’ll come and share in this wonderful world we’ve created for our family.

Why Grass-fed Meats?

Our farm is ideal farm for a pasture-based livestock operation. It is small in size, compared to other farms, and it’s rather hilly, so it wouldn’t accommodate traditional farming operations (like row crops). Also, we enjoy working with livestock versus vegetables or fruits. Keeping the animals on pasture works well for us and can be easily managed by our family members. 

We employ several best management practices on our farm including fencing livestock out of steams and critical areas, rotational grazing practices and other soil conservation practices. In 2014, we were named Calvert Soil Conservation District's Cooperator of the Year and our farm is enrolled in the Maryland Farm Stewardship Certification and Assessment Program (FSCAP) in recognition of our conservation efforts.  

Want to visit Monnett Farms?

Monnett Farms is a great place to visit and kids love it here. Even though we’re only about an hour outside of Washington, DC, you’ll feel like you’re a million miles away. Monnett Farms is located in Prince Frederick, Maryland, easily accessible from nearly any starting point. 

Visitors are welcome by appointment. Email us at sales [at] monnettfarms [dot] com