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

2017 0311

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

March 12, 2017

Our online farm store re-opened last Wednesday at midnight for April Delivery.

Product Update –

We still have a few pigs looking for a home. We will deliver them for processing next Sunday. Place your order today. “Ben, your bacon is second to none”! Frank K.

Custom-Processed Half Beef is available for ordering. Reserve yours by placing your deposit today.  

We have beef ground and variety shares available as well as a few more pork variety shares. Chicken will be available beginning March 22nd.

Farm Soil Health Update – early February I took soil samples from 50% of the paddocks that included land cleared in 2010 and 2012. We sent the samples to Ward Labs because they can perform what is called “The Haney Test”. The Haney Test includes a biological soil analysis – and increased biological activity is one of the components our management practices aim to increase.

I was very excited when the results came back and showed that in the last few years we have increased our soil organic matter about 50%. Organic matter is an important indicator of soil health as well as an indicator of nutrient cycling performed by soil microbes. The higher the organic matter the better the soil cycles nutrients – including water holding capacity – and the more drought tolerant our farm is. Our regenerative management practices will one day mean our farm will be more sustainable on little to no inputs.

Farm Business Model –

For about a year now we have operated our online store and since August offered deliveries to five locations. Our objective is to be convenient, simple, and flexible to the needs of our customers while offering locally raised, GMO Free premium quality beef, pork, and chicken.

While our model is new for South Mississippi, it has worked very well in other parts of the country. How about you? Are you supporting your local family farm?

Quote Worth Re-Quoting –

“A new idea is first condemned as ridiculous and then dismissed as trivial, until finally, it becomes what everybody knows.”   ~ William James

More from the blog

Cows & Pigs

Brand New Services– About six weeks ago Dixie Electric Power installed a brand new electric line with poles down my road. They replaced the old copper lines with aluminum and the poles are much better quality and taller. I asked the district manager when was the old copper line installed and he said since electric service was available for us… so, maybe since the mid 1940’s? Then, this week our complete road was blacktopped!!! If you have visited our farm you know it was long overdue. For years it has been patched to the point where the patches had patches. Hahaha

Clean and Cold | Adorable Calves

New Calves On Our Farm– Sometime in April we call our vet and schedule a breeding soundness exam for our bulls. This is before we add our bulls to our cow herd May 1st each year. Our oldest bull, affectionately named “Ole Man” by the guys here, was born on our farm the Spring of 2016.

New Pullets | Calves | Job Opening

Pullets arrived March 1st– every 6 months we receive a fresh batch of pullets. This year we were not sure if our late February to early March batch would be available…even though we ordered them last September. However, mostly since we have done business with the same farmer since the Spring of 2017, he prioritized our order and delivered them March 1st. While the price was higher, I was braced for a much higher price. Our pullets are typically 17 weeks old when delivered. They will start laying at about 24 weeks. That means we should start seeing medium eggs by our May delivery dates. YEAH!