Farm & Market Updates
posted on
August 24, 2025
Market Update – Our farm objective is to raise nutrient dense meats without all the chemicals, vaccines, hormones, and etc. And be able to provide them to a community of families at a reasonable price. We measure success based on pounds sold verses dollars earned. Current beef prices are making that harder to accomplish as families seek options to reduce their food bills. I know we have not passed along the full impact of higher prices to our customers which means we are not making as much as before nor are we selling as much beef.
Beef prices continue to increase and hit a new All-Time high AGAIN this week. At our local sale barn all classes of cattle were sold higher than the week before. And the number of cattle sold continues to exceed last years numbers for the same period.
Monday, I called and spoke to the manager at the George Co. Co-op regarding winter seed prices and availability. He said seed prices were lower this year and if I bought now he could do even better. Very Concerning was his reasons! He said all the older farmers have sold their herds and got out of the cattle business so there is little demand for seed. He mentioned there was a meeting in Jackson last week where it was stated the US cow herd was 6 MILLION LESS than in 2022.
Additionally, the price of corn is at $4/bushel which is below conventional farming cost of production. Lots of farms will not be able to pay their bills this year.
I look for idle farms and more auctions of land and equipment to follow.
Later I text him this short 15 minute Wendell Berry video on the Culture of Agriculture and suggested farmers need to change their approach to farming (should have done this years ago) and focus on feeding their communities. With only 2% of the food consumed in MS being grown in MS there should be a lot of opportunity.
"It is, of course, one of the miracles of science, that germs that used to be in our food have been replaced with poison." Wendell Berry
Dr. Allen Williams has asked me to host a 1-day Soil Health Academy on October 25th at our farm and a 3-day event in 2026 (date TBD). If you are someone you know are interested then mark your calendar and look for registering details at this link.
Farm Updates - it has been a while since we last shared videos from life here on the farm. So, Sunday afternoon I recorded two short videos. The first is moving our cow herd into the next paddock and discussed context for soil health. Here is the link.
One question we get pretty frequently on the farm especially from other farmers but also many families is how we handle "weed and brush" control on the farm.
They have heard us talk about our regenerative land stewardship and how we don't use chemical herbicides but then they start to wonder how we stop the land from turning into a mess haha!
I admit not every field every day of the year is particularly photogenic, and we do live in a climate where certain weeds and grasses readily grow and spread along with a variety of other "weeds."
Our first key to management is using a planned grazing system using the animals to clip and prune the annual & perennial grass species to encourage soil health and perennial plant health. By keeping the soil covered with perennial grass plants and mulch instead of bare soil we really cut down on the number of "weeds" that can take root and grow.
However, the second thing we have done is embrace these "weeds" for what they are: namely extremely deep rooted, highly mineralized, incredibly nutritious super plants that want to voluntarily grow in our pastures with no planting or other effort on our part. Plant diversity not monoculture is the key to a healthy ecosystem!
In the second video I moved over to the paddock the cows moved FROM and discuss soil health principles and managemetn of "weeds". Here is the link.
Let me encourage you to "Be The Change" our food system needs by "Voting With Your Fork" at every meal.
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.
