This week Ben shares information on three important agriculture topics. First up is the USDA releases the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Next, pork prices are called higher due to African Swine Flu that will put a serious supply strain on all animal proteins in 2019. Lastly, The USDA FSIS responds to a Washington Post article on pork inspection rule changes. We hope you find this helpful.
This week I want to update you on various farm activities. The very wet fall & winter we had was hard on our farm. But, Spring is here and it seems El Nino may be moving on. Our diverse forage pastures are responding very good to the warmer temperatures and sunshine and providing plenty of lush grasses and legumes for our steers and nursing momma cows! Sows are busy raising their next litter. Baby pigs are so fun to watch - and fast. They can really scoot. The faster they scoot the faster their oink, oink! The hens are awesome. They hit the ground at daylight
This week I went to Lucedale to visit with Ethan & his team of artisan meat cutters to shoot a short video of them cutting and packing Nature's Gourmet Farm beef. Unfortunately, because of background noise, we were not able to use some of the audio & video of an important conversation we had. Basically, I was discussing how important it is to let the beef mature before processing. Literature I read when we first started said "at 1000 pounds he's ready to go". Well, that is not true. Two years ago we learned from Dr. Williams (who sells his beef to white table cloth restaurants) that
Hey, Ben here - this week we had a special visit from one of our restaurant partners, Mr. Josh Casper who is the Head Chef for the Depot Kitchen in Downtown Hattiesburg located across from the Train Depot. They have been buying our eggs for just over a year now. This was a great opportunity to get to know Josh as well as show him our farm and learn how we can better work together to bring healthy food to people's plates. After the tour, I was able to record a short interview. Please click the video link to hear directly from Josh to include upcoming menu changes that includes more business for our farm.
Hey, Ben here - we hear from our customers that food is a subject that seems so simple, yet is so hard for many. Farmers and consumers alike are confused by debates about what's right or healthiest for people, livestock, and our environment. What was once natural and intuitive for hundreds of years has become the subject of intense nutritional research and government intervention. It is mind boggling to think that people do not know how to eat healthy without the USDA food pyramid or reading diet books. What customer do know, just by looking around, is that something is broken. They know
Springtime is my favorite time of the year because it's the time of new life - the days are getting longer, sunshine is bright and warm, the grass greens up, trees are budding and adding new leaves, flowers are blooming, bees and other insects are about their task, and it is calving time. Calving started right on time this year. About 75% of the cows had calved in the first 21 days. Calves are a lot of fun to watch. Let me explain. Imagine about 70 kindergartners on the playground. We have observed one group of calves playing together, but
We hope you watch and enjoy our video on how we move our laying hens on pasture. In this video we show you how we move our laying hens on pasture and describe why this KEY management strategy is so important to hen health as well as the quality of their eggs - Hint: Because movement mimics nature by breaking the parasite cycle. You also can see how they forage the diverse plants we seed for them. The hens work very hard each day scratching for bugs. Field mice are fair game as well. Beth really enjoys her hens and takes very good care of them. We do this (rotation) for all our animals - beef, pork, and chickens. Not only does it break the parasite cycle for herd health, but it is a key regenerative soil health tool as well.
How to Buy Real Pastured Poultry - Since the season for raising (buying) pastured broilers is here I wanted to share buying tips from the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association: Do the birds live outside on pasture? Expectation: You're looking for an answer that demonstrates the flock is raised outside on pasture for a significant portion of it's life. The farmer will have a movable pasture shelter that provides protection from weather and predators. Beware: Pastured poultry is seasonal, so if you live in a cold weather climate, be wary of buying fresh poultry meat at market in the cold months. This could indicated non-local or non-pastured product. Where were the birds raised? Expectation: Pastured poultry excels
You may have noticed feed bins in the background of last weeks picture of the steers. Friday, we completed 1 of 2 major projects at the farm by installing bulk feed bins. We decided to collaborate with Resaca Sun Feeds to become a distribution feed hub for four of their feeds - Layer, Swine, Chick Starter, and Broiler Grower. All feeds are NON-GMO Project Verified! For most farms who want to raise and direct market pasture raised products soon find the number one barrier to entry is the cost of feed including transportation. Bulk deliveries helps solve this problem. Additionally, Resaca Sun has a strong commitment to support small direct market farms. They are actively engaged in growing quality feedstock and
Farm Updates! - Our steers are really looking good! The above picture was taken Monday, January 28th when I moved them into the next pasture. Our grass is coming along OK as well. Our mama cows started calving right on schedule Feb. 1st. About 20% have calved to date. Change Part II - Two weeks ago I started a series of thought regarding change and that to farm regenerative we had to change our source of information because over 95% of the mainstream articles & research does not apply. The same applies with customers. To improve your health requires you to change your source of information - like mercola.com and The Weston Price Foundation. Two local health care practitioners are Dr. Rebecca Boyd with Forward Health Solutions and Laurie Ryba with Enhanced Wellness of Oak Grove. To operate a regenerative farm
Your "Magic Pill" Moment - last week I wrote that to convert my farm from a "factory farm" to "regenerative farm" I had to change my source of information and made the case that the same was true for consumers - that if you want to improve your health you must change your source of information. Have you had your "Magic Pill" moment yet? The Magic Pill is a documentary on NetFlex (free) about the health benefits of eating Real Farm Food! The movie starts by interviewing people with various health issues. They help educate them on why eating Real Farm Food is so much better for you then eating processed food stuff. Refrigerators and cabinets are cleaned out of processed food and restocked with Real Farm Food. In some cases they provided training on how to cook Real Farm Food. Then, after a period of time they return and interview the families again to see how it was going. In every case the results were AMAZINGLY positive. Read this blog for more information. Thursday, a woman from Laurel called
It's hard to believe, but April will mark 2-years since we started the egg business. Today I am travelling to Macon, GA to pickup our next order of egg cartons. Amazing. CHANGE - most folks do not like change especially when the change is drastic! When we first decided to farm regenerative the first thing we had to do was CHANGE our source of information. Well over 95% of the information about farming does not apply to farming regenerative. Our primary resources for regenerative agriculture include Acres USA magazine, Graze, and The GrassFed Exchange. That's also why I came up with these 4-criteria to filter the information I use on the farm: 1) do they own the land 2) do they own the animals 3) do they put their own capital at risk 4) are they successful.
Veteran Owned & Operated
