Restock Dates: Please see our Farm Blog where we post our weekly newsletter for the latest updates

Farm Update & Storm Impact

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

April 29, 2020

Good Morning and hello from the farm,

First, a quick follow-up on Compostella Farm in Picayune.

Customer response for our farm to aggregate and distribute their "greens" was very positive. I emailed a summary of responses to Madeline. She and her husband discussed and decided not to pursue at this time since their season would end in less than two months and there were many unknowns on how the greens would survive the trip.

Sales are very strong for our farm. Demand continues to exceed supply! Additionally, i receive on average 100 or so communications be it text, voice, or emails per day. Many are asking similar questions 'When will you be back in stock?"

So, this week I have implemented an "ANNOUNCEMENT BAR" at the top of our homepage that I will keep updated on expected availability of beef, pork, and chicken. Please refer here first! That way I can work on farm production chores and etc. If you have a different question then please contact me. Email is preferred.

We have many customers who have supported us from the beginning as well as new customers. We try very hard to treat everyone fairly. To that end, please do not ask us to save back product or add your name to a wait list. The fairest way I know is to use the announcement bar to communicate when we expect to restock and let each customer order as they choose.

Two Sunday's in a row we have had severe weather in South Mississippi!

Easter Sunday was devastating to families in Covington and Jones Counties. Many farms were completely destroyed and lives lost.

This past Sunday evening the storms were much more severe for us. High winds broke trees & limbs and moved our pastured chicken tractors. The 4.25 inches of cold rain drenched our broilers. Fortunately the batch we processed last Wednesday were not affected. However, the next two batches were seriously affected and we lost about half between the two batches.

Chicken is in HIGH demand! We are now receiving 3 batches of 160 chicks per month vs. 2 batches of 140 each. That is an additional 200 chickens per month toward sales. The first two are in our brooders now and the third batch of 160 is due April 30th.

While we are very tired we are encouraged by the many folks who let us know how much they enjoy our products and what a difference it makes for their families. We are thankful God has given us this opportunity to be stewards of the land & animals and to be a blessing to so many families.

Until next week.

** Product Availability Update ** PLEASE REFERENCE THE ANNOUNCEMENT BAR AT THE TOP OF OUR HOMEPAGE FOR UPDATES!

Chicken - Next processing is Wednesday, May 6th and again every two weeks.

Eggs- Gathering 1300+ eggs per day! Demand is very strong. Availability is hard to forecast because the inventory moves IN/OUT daily.

Beef- I have delivered 10 beef for processing in April. Picked up 4 on April 17. More due for pickup TODAY and the week of April 27th.

Pork- Sausages and Bacon restock April 25th. Delivered 9 for processing April 13th that should be ready mid May. You will notice a slight increase in price due to an increase in processing cost.

More from the blog

Taste Test

Greetings Ben and Beth, I'm really looking forward to my next order pick up. I'm trying to improve my cholesterol numbers, thus eating more chicken, and ran out of your chicken products. I ended up buying some industrially produced chicken, and man was that a mistake! It smelled terrible raw, also while it was being sauteed, and also later when I reheated it to put into an otherwise healthy salad. I have enough of this subpar stuff to last until I pick my order, but I don't think I can ever buy this CAFO stuff again.

Beef Update & A New Product

Beef Update – Typically this time of year folks are hesitant to buy bulk beef for their freezer due to hurricane risk. That is why we have delayed our next custom half & whole beef processing until September. If you are interested, our next harvest will be September 2nd with pickup on September 22nd. If you want to be included then please email me your name, email, and cell number to be added to our wait list - and be the first folks contacted and guaranteed to receive an order. Beef prices continue to increase and hit a new All-Time high this week fueled by strong demand and limited supply. For example, based on what a 700 pound steer sold for at the Hattiesburg Stockyard Monday, I could make more than feeding him till he weighs 1100 pounds and sell as packaged beef - but our mission is to provide nutrient-dense, clean food to our customers. Effective immediately custom beef half and whole prices will increase $0.50 to $6.25 per pound based on the hanging weight. Retail cuts will increase for September deliveries as well.

Real Health Is NOT A Pill. It's A Practice!

Two Great Must Read Articles – Typically I don't make a big deal about articles we have read, but these two are so good that I felt they needed to be shared. The first is by Joel Salatin titled "Food Think" that is part of his The Lunatic Farmer blog. You can read the full article at this link. The second article is one Beth forwarded to me from the Health Viewpoints section of Epoch Times titled "Americans Spend Trillions on Health Care but Remain Unwell - Here's Why" Dr. Yang, FAPA, a board certified psychiatrist, begins by stating the difference between treating disease and building true health lies in a proactive and preventative lifestyle. Note - Beth and I would agree with other folks who commented that his article is spot on and very important for folks to read and understand. You can read at this link.