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Newsletter 2016 0918

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

September 28, 2016

Upcoming Order Deadlines

MADISON:
Order by Sunday, September 18, 2016
Pickup Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Hattiesburg & Hattiesburg Hwy 98 West
Order by Monday, September 19, 2016
Pickup Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Biloxi & Gulfport
Order by Monday September 19, 2016
Pickup Thursday, September 22, 2016

Remember, you can place an order and or update an existing order until midnight of the order date. Visit our online store at www.naturesgourmetfarm.com

Can you believe we are only seven weeks before our average 1st frost here on the farm? A lot of work has been accomplished - hay has been harvested and stored, we have 7 maybe 8 weeks of stockpiled forage ahead of the cows, and this week I was able to plant 75 acres (almost half) of our cool season forage needs.

Compost Tea update: I'm very pleased with initial results. From the pastures that were sprayed back in June it appears we will harvest about 8500 pounds of forage per acre. Spraying continues - it takes about 20-minutes per acre between brewing and spraying. That may not seem like much but, to spray all pastures once will take 88-90 hours.

Acres U.S.A. magazine did an interview with Joanna Blythman, author of her most recent book titled "Swallow This". Her book offers an eminently accessible and lucid account of what makes manufactured food different from real food, as well as the myriad methods manufactures and retailers keep trying to put one over even on the most conscientious food shopper. She has many great comments during the interview including "the diet most people need is to eat real food made from ingredients you recognize and largely cook yourself".

Pork Half - Custom Processed: we have eight pigs that have been added to our website for customers to place deposit orders. Last February we sold 21 pigs in about 3-weeks so I don't expect these to last long. Pigs will be ready for harvest the middle to end of October or in about 4 to 5 weeks. This time customers will have the option to choose either Cascio or Attala for processing. Details include:


                      Cascio         Attala
Location          Hattiesburg   Kosciusko
Harvest           $40                  $16
Cut/Package    $0.59/lb           $0.50/lb
Smoke Meat    $0.89/lb           $0.70/lb
Link Sausage   $1.89/lb           $0.90/lb
Packaging       Freezer Paper    Vacuum Seal

To learn more about our pork or to place an order click this link https://naturesgourmetfarm.com/store/product/pork-half-custom-processed

Last Spring Ingrid bought her first pig from Nature's Gourmet Farm. Soon thereafter, she emailed me pictures of the Southern Living Pork Chops with Roasted Apples and Brussels Sprouts meal she prepared with her comments-

Hi Ben,
Fried up a package of bacon the other morning and it was phenomenal, melted in your mouth, best I've ever had! Made these brown sugar and spice roasted pork chops for dinner tonight (the carrots and kale are also local :) I expected a difference, but this has far exceeded my expectations! The chops were also phenomenal, my compliments to the farmer!!! Ingrid

Find her recipe here: http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/pork-chops-roasted-apples-brussels-sprouts

Thank you for supporting your local farmer.
Ben & Beth

More from the blog

Clean Sheets

Family Bible– This is about a personal story I would like to share this Easter (Jesus’ Resurrection). My dad’s oldest sister is 102 years old and not as sharp as she once was even though she has the most content personality of anyone I’ve ever known in her limited condition. Recently her middle son, my 1st cousin, asked me if I would be interested in two Simmons Family Bibles – well of course, I replied. The oldest Bible goes back four generations and includes names, dates, etc. for birthdays, marriages, deaths. And the penmanship is amazing! The second Family Bible is two generations old and belonged to my dad’s parents.

What Would You Tell Politicians About MAHA?

What would I tell politicians about MAHA– This week Joel Salatin’s lunatic farmer musing was titled Organic Dependency. The gist of the article was about all of the organic | sustainable | regenerative | ecological farming organizations screaming that Trump’s budget cuts through the USDA will hurt their business….no more free hoop houses and such. I understand the solution may not be as simple as I make it out to be, but my number ONE position is that any law, regulation, funding, education, academic studies, etc. should be equal regardless if you farm conventionally | organic | sustainable | regenerative | or, ecological.

How We Bring Nutrient Density To Our Products

PLEASE NOTE- The market situation with eggs has softened and the $4 surcharge has been cancelled. Additionally, our new pullets have just started laying so we will soon have plenty of eggs. Many thanks for your understanding and support – we have the best customers!!! How We Bring Nutrient Density To Our Beef – Harry, a relatively new customer, picked up his first order at the Hattiesburg location March 1st. He had watched the new Joel Salatin documentary published by Angel Studios and was fascinated. Frankly, I think it is the best documentary of Polyface Farm I have seen as it filled in blanks from before Joel first started farming till now and HOW regenerative farming completely changed a once very degraded farm. Learn more here. Then, Harry visited me March 28th.