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

A Really Cool Farm Story

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

July 13, 2025

SEE WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEK FROM YOUR FARMER

  • Our Really Cool Farm Story
  • A NEW Puppy?
  • Product Availability Update


Our Really Cool Farm Story –
To really understand I need to take you back to April 2024 when we took delivery on 23 heavy bred Red Angus cows from a WY ranch.

If you are new to our newsletter, we purchased them from a ranch that converted to Red Angus in 1960 when they bought their stock from the ranch that started the Red Angus breed. And, have kept a closed herd since inception except for two years. This means these cows should be as close to the original breed as there is.

When they were unloaded onto our farm they really kept their distance from us. Granted, our management style is different than the ranch where they came from - basically they were turned out onto the range in the Spring and "rounded up" late October. At our farm, we use Adaptive Grazing where we rotate the cows based on the context of need for improving the soil.

As mentioned, the WY cows kept their distance and when they calved late May to early June 2024 they increased the distance where I could not get within a couple hundred feet. As the calves aged I would go out and kneel in the pasture - this created curiosity with the calves who would come up and check me out. Eventually, some of the cows as well.

Because I wanted to AI the cows back to a bull from the same ranch, I kept them separated from my existing cow herd until that was completed mid-October 2024. Then, the two herds were combined.

The 9-month gestation period has run it course and the WY cows are giving birth. Wednesday when I was out checking on them this WY cow had recently given birth.

2025-0705-WY-Calf.jpg


The really cool part of the story is she let me get very close to her. Then, as I strained to read her ear tag and get a good look at the calf she walked away about 20 ft so I could come up to her calf. She simply stood there (watching me) while I checked out the calf. As I walked away, she returned to her calf. Frankly, I have never had a cow do that before!

A NEW Puppy?- Many customers expressed their sympathy about losing Tess during our Gulf Coast Route last weekend.

One Ocean Springs customer brought her young Belgian Malinois to pickup and shared her breeder contact info. Later that evening I called him and this weekend after deliveries Beth and I will travel to visit and possibly bring home a puppy. Thank you to all who shared sympathy on losing Tess.

At Nature's Gourmet Farm, our intent is to create a community that evolves around one of the most intrinsically important things of the ages, and that’s the provision of sustenance. That's our passion - to raise healthy food to nourish families and strengthen immune systems.

Our Beef is always grass finished with NO grains. Additionally, our animals are free of mRNA, GMO's (chemicals), Antibiotics, and Hormones. We ethically raise them on diverse forage pastures that regenerates our soils and protects the ecosystem.

** Product Availability Update **

NOTE: Restocks are made about 6 PM on the dates indicated below!

Chicken - Restocked July 9th. Next Restock will be July 23rd

Turkey - Hatchery is now taking orders. Have poults scheduled for July 10th (arrived) and August 7th. Additionally, Thanksgiving whole turkeys are on order for late October delivery.

Eggs - Restock each Tuesday prior to your delivery date. Note that we are stocking Corner Market Hattiesburg & Petal locations.

Beef - Restocked June 22nd. Next restock will be July 20th

Pork – Restocked fresh items July 9th. Cured items to follow in 12 days or so

Lamb - Restocked March 27th. Next Restock will be September 2025.

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.