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

Farm Updates | Hurricane Francine

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

September 15, 2024

Good morning from your Farmer(s),

Contents:

  1. 1. Hurricane Francine
  2. 2. Farm Updates
  3. 3. Your Upcoming Order Deadline | Pickup Date
  4. 4. Product Availability Update


Hurricane Francine: After much hype, Hurricane Francine turned out to be mostly a non-event here at the farm. In fact, the storm I wrote about last week was much worse than Francine. We mostly had limbs to pick up and clear from fences. We were very thankful for the 3.5 inches of rain as well as the number of folks who checked in on us.

FARM UPDATES:

  1. 1. Our new pullets we have ordered are on schedule for delivery on September 14th. They typically need 6 weeks before they start laying. So, supply should improve soon.
  2. 2. Last week 71% of the people receiving our Newsletter clicked to open. That is a total of 1,833 people. This week we had 16 additional folks sign up to receive our newsletter. You may be surprised to know subscribers come from all over the U.S.A. and several foreign countries.
  3. 3. This week was chicken processing week as well as pork cut/pack. Fresh pork cuts were added to inventory with the chicken Wednesday 6pm. Cured pork items will be added in about 10-12 days.
  4. 4. Friday we worked our main cow herd. This is an annual event where we steer the male calves and add ear tags to all calves. Additionally, we confirm that the cow is nursing a calf or heavy bred. Otherwise, she is culled.
  5. 5. Additionally, on Friday, the semen ordered to Artificial Inseminate the cows we bought from WY arrived. We are scheduled to work these cows and their calves September 23rd. For both groups, we held off working them till later in the year than normal because of the heat.

All cows & calves are doing great!

When we travel on our delivery routes, Beth brings along reading material. Her favorite is a magazine titled HOMESTEADING Monthly.

She reads it from cover to cover. And several of the articles she reads to me – like Joel Salatin…. And maybe parts of the articles about canning, freeze-drying, and etc. The magazine is very well done and only $20 for 12 monthly issues.

The lead article for August was titled Making Homesteading Attainable Again – How a homesteading, homeschooling mother of eight turned her everyday life into a source of inspiration for thousands.

To learn more follow this link.

** Product Availability Update **

NOTE: Restocks are made about 6 PM on the dates indicated below!

Chicken -Restocked September 11th. Next Restock is September 25th
.
Turkey - Sold Out! New poults arrived, but will be months before ready. Demand popped and I dropped the ball on this one.

Eggs - Restock each (NOW) TUESDAY PRIOR to YOUR delivery date. With the extended heat, eggs have become VERY tight again.

Beef -Next Restock September 20th. Half Beef shares sold out. Planning for a September 17th harvest. Probably next opportunity will be November

Pork - Next Restock fresh cuts September 11th. Cured items about September 23rd. Restocked Sausages late last week.

Lamb - Restocked Wednesday July 31st.

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.