Good Morning from your farmer,

This week was beef cut & pack week (actually 3 full days of intense work). For the first time on our farm we not only slaughtered beef under USDA inspection, but we also cut & packed under USDA inspection. This is something you have to do in order to sell into a retail outlet.

We only sell into ONE retail ourlet and that is Vitamin's Plus in Hattiesburg. The Rayburns have been strong supporters of our farm from the beginning and faithfully stocked their store with our beef, chicken, and eggs. And now that we have our red meat slaughter plant it did not make sense to carry a beef to a local processer when all I needed to do was update my HACCP plan to include USDA cut & pack - so, that is what I have done.

To upgrade the plant was not a very big deal. Mostly had to include testing protocals for In-Tack and Ground Beef. Because we will only cut/pack under USDA when we are filling a Vitamin's Plus order we elected to test every carcass for E. Coli 0157-H7 and the Top 7 STEC variants. The test requires us to cut sample strips until we have 1#, freeze the sample and then ship to Standard Lab in Starkville. Results for both came back NEGATIVE - meaning there was no evidence of E. Coli 0157-H7 and the Top 7 STEC variants.

Thursday, while we processed the ground beef we collected a pound, froze it, and will ship to Standard Lab Tuesday. Our USDA inspector was also on site and collected two pounds that was sent to their lab. They sent me an email today acknowledging receipt of the sample.

There are two beef cuts that you will see changes in how we cut them. The two cuts are chuck roast and sirloin steaks. The reason for the change is as the cows grow these two cuts are hard to keep in the weight range listed on our website. With the chuck I trimmed more of the side and bone off as well as shortened the lenght. The thickness will be in the 1.75 to 2.0 inch range and the length will be where it will fit into your slowcooker.

Sirloin steaks will now be boneless. The individual steaks are hand cut to 1.25 inch and packed two per pack with the objective of each pack being very close to 2 lbs.

Part of the reasoning is (for example) the sirloin bone in at 1.25 inch thick can range anywhere from 1.25 lb to over 2.7 lbs depending on where along the hip bone it is cut from. At $10.50 lb it does not take many steaks at 2.7 lbs each to really blow a customer's budget.

In closing, Beth & I would like to wish each of you a Merry Christmas and say how much we appriciate your support of our local regenerative farm.

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.

** Product Availability Update **

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

Chicken - Next restock will be January 10th 2024. Yes, we will be raising chickens throughout the winter months

Turkey - Whole turkeys are sold out. Expect to have Ground turkey and pieces about mid January 2024

Eggs - Restock each Wednesday. Received 950 new pullet hens Thursday, Nov 9th. Starting to get small to medium eggs

Beef - Fully Stocked. Next restock will be January 19th 2024

Pork -Fully Stocked

Lamb - Restocked September 13th. Scheduled to process lamb in November, but this has been delayed. Probably Jan 2024