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

Communications Update

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

April 23, 2023

Thanks for taking the time to open and read our weekly Newsletters! Our open rate is consistently in the mid-50% range which is very good compared to most direct market farms. A few farms that I follow tell me their open rate is in the low 40% area. That surprises me as I thought they write a pretty good newsletter.

Feedback from last weeks Newsletter regarding mRNA vaccines for livestock was extremely positive. Nobody wants to eat their shots....Right?

When you come across something you benefitted from is great to be able to share with others who could also benefit.

What do I mean? Well, I had been looking for some time for an alternative email source. I wanted to get away from Microsoft for our sales@naturesgourmetfarm.com email and needed to replace the X@ftcweb.net email addresses since we no longer do business with Franklin Telephone Company.

I had this on my mind while driving to our Jackson Route. When we stopped in Magee to meet customers I mentioned this to Jeremy who I knew was in IT. He said let me look into it and I will get back to you.

This is how I found Compass Foundation, LLC. Their email service is marketed under Daystar. Here is a quote from their website that really spoke volumes to me:

FREE email is never free. Read the fine print. Plenty of email providers are happy to give you a free account in exchange for your privacy. They can sell your information to vendors and you become a target for advertisements everywhere you go on the internet.

Big Tech has been demonstrating its aversion to conservative Christian values. Why give them your personal communication to read?

Take back your privacy with Daystar email. 

This was very important to me as I get gobs of calls about medicare advantage plans, funeral burial plans, shipping, etc. After 15-20 per day it really wears on my patience.

So, I gave them a call and soon made the switch - seamlessly!

That means our website email address is still the same. However, all email addresses with @ftcweb.net are no longer valid.

Additionally, we are closing our PayPal account in favor of Zelle. You can signup for Zelle at your bank and with the app easily make transfers direct from your account to our farm account. There are no fees/cost involved on either end of the transaction. And, the receiver will instantly receive a text message confirming the transfer. Whereas with PayPal they operated with email, took days to make transfers, and in many cases charged fees.

Why are we doing this? Thirteen years ago when we started our farm all we had was email with our local phone company (ftcweb.net). We operated that way until building our first website back in 2016. Then, we added an email specifically to communicate with customers. So, we hope to simply everything for y'all by having only one email address for your farmer.

I hope this will be of benefit to many in our community of followers.

At Nature's Gourmet Farm, our intent is to create a community that will evolve 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.

If you are new to our farm then maybe you have been looking for premium ALL NATURAL GOODNESS of beef, pork, chicken, and eggs raised on pasture as God intended - with emphasis on Regenerative Principles and NOT conventionally raised animals (with growth hormones, drugs, chemicals, and antibiotics) - and where animals are treated humanely - then you have come to the right farm. Our delivery schedule and product availability is listed below along with order buttons that will take you to our website where you can browse over 90 product choices and place your order from the convenience of your home. It's that simple!

** Product Availability Update **

Chicken - Next harvest date is April 25th with restock the following day. Processing will continue for twice per month for the balance of the year.

Eggs - Eggs have improved drastically and you will see the difference in availability. Please note that eggs will be added to our website the Wednesday PRIOR to your delivery date by 6pm. So, we have decided to put them on sale as follows:

Jumbo/ XL - buy 4 or more flats for $10 each. Save $5 each

Dozen - buy 4 or more cartons for $4.50 each. Save $1 each

Beef - Restocked April 21st.

Pork - Restock fresh pork late February 2023. Next harvest will be April 24th.

Lamb - Last restock was Friday Nov 25th. Had a call Friday about buying lamb and will follow up next week to see if we can make a deal. UPDATE- unfortunately, there was a miscommunication as the lamb are not harvest ready and will not be until July timeframe.

More from the blog

Half/Whole Beef Orders | Part 2 w/ Dr. Casey Means

Half/Whole Beef Orders: Beef sales this year have been outstanding. Especially our half/whole custom beef orders. Frankly, we have had to outsource the processing to Homestead because at this time we don’t have the capacity to handle the increased volume. This has also let us increase the quantity of cuts that we sell through our website. We are planning ONE more harvest of seven beef (14 halves) for 2024. The harvest date will be November 5th. That will give the processor time to complete your order where you can pickup before your Thanksgiving holiday. If you are interested then you need to email me ASAP as we already have folks on the wait list. Here is a link to helpful Ordering Tips.

Farm Updates | Hurricane Francine

Hurricane Francine: After much hype, Hurricane Francine turned out to be mostly a non-event here at the farm. In fact, the storm I wrote about last week was much worse than Francine. We mostly had limbs to pick up and clear from fences. We were very thankful for the 3.5 inches of rain as well as the number of folks who checked in on us. FARM UPDATES: 1. Our new pullets we have ordered are on schedule for delivery on September 14th. They typically need 6 weeks before they start laying. So, supply should improve soon. 2. Last week 71% of the people receiving our Newsletter clicked to open.