Blog - Nature's Gourmet Farm

Around The Farm Happenings

Poultry Update - We patiently await the Commissioner's decision on regulation change for pastured poultry. For the past several years we have worked with Senator's Hudson & Hill to change the regulation to be in line with the Federal Exemption vs. 1000 per year. Following our last time to testify before the Senate Ag Committee, Commissioner Gipson communicated he thought the state agriculture department needed to change department regulations vs. a new state law. He asked for time to study the situation. (see Commissioner Gipson's visit to NGF June 2018 above)

A Thanksgiving Treat

A Thanksgiving Treat! - Cotton Blues has been buying our eggs since we added the hens to our farm and using them in their baking enterprise. I really like lemon pie!!! Last year we bought one of their lemon pies to share at our Thanksgiving meal. This pie is "The Best" lemon pie ever.

Dirt to Soil

Dirt to Soil - is Gabe Brown's first book that was just released in October 2018. I first meet Gabe at his ranch in North Dakota in 2013 during a Grassfed Exchange Conference. It is truly amazing what he has accomplished using his 5-keys to soil health - especially when you consider he has 232 days below freezing and the average annual rainfall is only 16 inches. We have been practicing these 5-steps on our farm for at least 4 years. For the first three years or so it was hard to tell if this was working for us. However, our soils this year are really starting to so improvement in nutrient & water cycling.

Around The Farm Updates

Porterhouse Steaks - The origin of the porterhouse steak could have come from Manhattan's Pearl Street around 1814 where the owner of a particular porterhouse, Martin Morrison, started serving large T-bones. ...

Ask The Pig

What is GMO feed and does it matter? Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering. This relatively new science creates unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. Almost all commercial GMOs are engineered

Ask Your Farmer

Ask Your Farmer - Numerous folks have asked Beth & me about the upcoming election to fill Thad Cochran's seat since one of the candidates is the former Ag Commissioner. This is an important election. If you are interested in our thoughts from a farmer perspective simply send us an email and we will reply.

Around The Farm Updates

We have started using Homestead Farm & Packaging in Lucedale, MS to process our beef. This change was precipitated because of issues at Attala with meat inspectors over facility concerns which caused us not to be able to get our beef there for processing. Thus, you will start seeing different labels as we rotate through inventory. After having the first 6-beef processed we are very pleased with Homestead's quality. I am sure you will be as well.

Fall Is In The Air - Finally

It sure has been a long hot summer that has extended into Fall. However, in the last few days the evenings and early morning have shown a hint of cooler weather. October is typically a transition month where the temperature cools down and the air is much dryer.

Welcome NEW Employee & Baby Pigs

Farm Update - After completing deliveries Wednesday I spent Thursday & Friday prepping to start planting cool season forages. I typically start Labor Day but, it has been to wet and hot. Today I spent all day planting. It will take about 12 total days spread out over the next 6-8 weeks.

Farm & product Updates

This is the second batch processed in our new facility. Our new vacuum sealer works outstanding and provides a much better seal than the shrink bags did. In the photo above you can see Beth's dad who removes the head, feet, and oil sack. Beth's mom & Kellie remove the insides (our son Eric also helps and replaces Kellie when she can't come) and Beth washes & QC's. Interesting Statistic- the USDA projects per capita consumption in the USA for chicken, beef, and pork in 2018 will be: Chicken 91.9#, Beef 58.1#, and Pork 51.9#.

Pig Rescue

Farm Update - Last Saturday we traveled to Quitman, MS to rescue nine Tamworth pigs! It started with a call from a retired vet lady who was somehow related to the owners. The owners had purchased a boar & sow about 5-years ago. Then, they moved to the West Coast and left someone in charge of them. However, that did not work out. Ms. Susan heard about the problem and started taking action by tending to their daily needs. This became a BIG task! Before she found us, she was able to sell the smaller pigs. What was left were the original boar (that now weighed at least 450#) and sow (that was also very big), a younger boar, five-breed sows, and a small pig. I could not believe the conditions the pigs were living in. Seven were in a spot about 60x60 feet that was nothing but mud. Ms. Susan had moved the large sow and smaller pig into a stall in a nearby barn. We were able to construct a make-shift catch pin just outside of the gate that I could back my trailer up to. Ms. Susan took a bucket of feed and they eagerly followed her into my trailer. These seven were secured in the front of the trailer by closing the center gate in the trailer. Next, we needed to load the large sow. I backed up the trailer near the stall door and as before, she went right in the trailer. Next, my oldest son was able to catch the smaller pig and walk him over to the trailer and load him. So, now we are really in the pig business. After a week they are doing really well. I am pleased at how docile they are and how well they have settled into their new home. BTW - we gave the large boar to a friend in Greene County! Interesting Statistic- the USDA projects per capita consumption in the USA for chicken, beef, and pork in 2018 will be: Chicken 91.9#, Beef 58.1#, and Pork 51.9#. Customer Feedback- "Super friendly and easy pick up, and Ben's beef is very tasty. Highly recommended!" ~S Bruton Quote Worth Re-Quoting – “Intuitively we all know that nothing operates most efficiently at full throttle. Is it any wonder that a food system predicated on faster, fatter, bigger, cheaper would create an ignorant, duplicitous, harried, obese citizenry? A culture's people carry in their heads and physiques the manifestation of the food system's objectives.” ~Joel Salatin, The Marvelous Pigness of Pigs: Respecting and Caring for All God's Creation As always, thank you for supporting our regenerative, local farm. Ben & Beth

What Customers Are Saying

Farm Update - Mike Russell with Farm Week called me Monday to discuss the chicken issue. I also suggested he call Senator Angela Hill. Mike said he would schedule a visit to my farm soon and do a video story. His conversation with Senator Hill can be heard at 6pm Saturday on PBS. Teri who picks up in Picayune shared the TEDx video above. Teri has been a long time customer of beef, pork, chicken, and now eggs. She is very diligent in shopping and thanked NGF for providing quality food products. Jim who picks up in Gulfport has bought a half beef & half pork each year for almost as long as we have been selling them. He also buys a lot of chickens and eggs. Jim has recruited at least 3 additional customers who buy faithfully most months. Recently, Jim emailed me to say "A few years ago, I changed my diet from mostly healthy carbohydrates to a high fat diet that includes pork, chicken, and beef from Nature's Gourmet Farm. I have found that my cholesterol profile has improved considerably. These results are contradictory to what the American Heart Association predicts will happen from eating a diet high in saturated fats." I can think of several more men who have commented to me over the years how eating our pasture based meats have helped to improve their cholesterol. Eating naturally raised products does make a difference! Peggy, who received their first chickens in August writes: The chickens where excellent. I canned 14 quarts and the gizzards where not that hard to clean. We had some for supper that night. We may be interested in more later. We also pray for a favorable out come on the small farm bill. Two customers who both took delivery of a Quarter Beef for August have posted a Google Review. We work very hard and are very proud of our 5-Star Ratings! Thank you for honoring our efforts. You can read all 32-Google Reviews by clicking here. Even though we pour our complete energy into our farm, we never forget that our efforts would be utterly pointless if you did not value it. So, thank you. You are without a doubt the most important player in this game. Never underestimate the tremendous power of your food choices. You can make a difference! Working together - only working together, can we improve our environment, health, quality of life, the quality of our animals' lives, and the social fabric of our communities - one bite at a time. Customer Feedback- "May God bless your efforts in pursuing fair treatment from the political powers regarding your much-appreciated farming business!" ~M Cameron Quote Worth Re-Quoting – ““When a livestock farmer is willing to “practice complexity”—to choreograph the symbiosis of several different animals, each of which has been allowed to behave and eat as it evolved to—he will find he has little need for machinery, fertilizer, and, most strikingly, chemicals. He finds he has no sanitation problem or any of the diseases that result from raising a single animal in a crowded monoculture and then feeding it things it wasn’t designed to eat. This is perhaps the greatest efficiency of a farm treated as a biological system: health.” ~M. Pollen As always, thank you for supporting our regenerative, local farm. Ben & Beth