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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

Farm Improvements

Farm Improvements – Fresh water is a necessity for raising healthy animals on pasture. Until recently, we used an ICB tote on a small tralier that we would refill from our well. During the summer the frequency greatly increases in order to keep the chickens hydrated. So, I called my buddy at Southern Pipe and ordered pipe, fittings, etc. and then rented a trencher for May 16th to install 2,700 feet of 1.25 inch PVC pipe. Along the line we added 15 Plasson Quick Coupler Valves that we will hook to as we move the animals through our pastures.

My Advise How To Jump Start Small Farms In Mississippi

“Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world.” — Henry Kissinger The fight to change food from addictive to nutritive will most likely be harder than the fight regarding tobacco (smoking) in public places that started back in the 1980’s. Note that my comments are NOT a condemnation of anybody who may use tobacco in any way as this can be a sensitive topic. However, it is personal to me as my Dad smoked at least 45 of his 75 years and died of lung cancer.

Small Farm Republic

Pasture Talk With Our Cows– Tuesday morning I was out checking on our cows and took the opportunity to record a short 2-minute story about the time I saved the life of one of the “pet” cows Number 608. Click to watch here. Small Farm Republic- is a book written by John Klar. A former attorney who contracted Lyme disease, John now farms in Vermont. I spent much of last weekend reading his book. He is very pro-small farms and presented a lot of evidence to support his position. On page 77 he makes a comparison to the number of farms and farmers during the Great Depression versus today. During the Great Depression the American population was 100 million. According to USDA charts