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

Updates From Around The Farm

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

May 26, 2022

Thursday & Friday our red meat processing team came together and cut & packed six beef! I could not believe how well marbled they were and how fresh the meat looked and smelled. And, there are FOUR families that will be picking up their half by Monday for their family to enjoy.

Since early March our pastures have excelled. I'll share a few pictures plus a short video and narrative when I moved the yearlings last Sunday afternoon to fresh grass.

So, when you regularly move the cows they get use to being moved when your out in the pasture. And, since the pasture they were leaving was also where the broiler chickens are means we were out in the pasture several times per day. Yes, they were ready to be moved and let me know about it.

And since they had accomplished our objective I loaded the necessary step-in post and a real of electric fence polywire and headed out to the next pasture.

This picture is the pasture they were leaving (notice the chicken tractors in the background). Our objective is to graze about 50% and leave 50% - this ensures plenty of leaf available to collect solar rays for regrowth.

May-26.jpg

This is a picture of the pasture they are moving to. Notice the white polywire on the right side of the picture that we use to divide the pasture and only give them a few days at a time. This keeps them from roaming and destroying the forages

New-Pasture.jpg

Anticipation - but patiently waiting. Please click this picture to see a short video of the cows moving into the new pasture.

Did you notice how deep the grasses and legumes were to the cows? This is how we raise Grass-Fed AND more importantly Grass-FINISHED beef so our customers can enjoy not only great tasting beef, but receive the nutritional benefits Dr. Stephan Van Vliet's research found (see my April 9th newsletter for details).

Friday was Earth Day. It's a day when many so-called environmentally friendly companies tote their companies environmental commitment aimed at generating sales for their own brands. For example, we have all seen the tractor trailer rigs going down the road with the words "All Natural Chicken".

Well, my understanding of all natural is not a chicken raised inside a closed in building without natural sunlight & fresh air or grass & bugs to eat while surrounded by some 50,000 other chickens that will weigh 10 lbs. or so in eight weeks.

That sounds more like greenwashing.
(If you've never heard the term greenwashing
before, it is the process of conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about how a company's products are more environmentally sound).

Greenwashing abounds in our markets. Other examples include:

Beef that claims to be Grass-Fed, but is then actually finished on grain
Eggs that claim to be free range which means not caged and only partial access to outside
When was the last time you approached a conventional farmer and asked for a tour?

At Nature's Gourmet Farm we are 100% transparent. We have nothing to hide and welcome any customer that wants to visit our farm and ask questions about our operations.

So, How is the BEST way to celebrate Earth Day? Simply buy from your local regenerative farmer who is truly regenerating the soils that provide nutrition for plants that provide nutrition for animals that provides nutrition for families.

If you have been looking for premium ALL NATURAL GOODNESS of beef, pork, chicken, and eggs raised on pasture as God intended - without growth hormones, drugs, chemicals, and antibiotics - and raised humanely then you have come to the right farm. Our delivery schedule and product availability is listed below along with order buttons that will take you to our website where you can browse over 90 product choices and place your order from the convenience of your home. It's that simple!

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.