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

Farm Update July 14th 2016

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

July 15, 2016

July 14th 2016


Dear Customers,


It has been some time since I last updated you regarding our farm business. We have been extremely busy pulling a lot of things together and making changes. Let me share a few of them with you.


First, thank you for selecting Nature’s Gourmet Farm to supply your beef, pork, and chicken. We appreciate your business and take our responsibility of providing premium quality products for your family very serious.


Business Strategy Shift: Until now, our business has been to sell our beef & pork under “custom” inspection guidelines meaning “Not For Resale” and includes large portions. However, what we have found is most folks do not care to select how their meat is processed (a.k.a. the cut sheet) and many do not have freezer space for large bulk purchases.


Thus, we have changed processing to a “state” inspection through Attala Frozen Foods in Kosciusko, MS. This means we will ALSO be offering smaller portions in addition to half shares. Half shares will now be offered in both custom (where you choose the processing) and bundle (where you are guaranteed to receive the weight and quantity of cuts listed). All products except custom now have fixed pricing.
1) All items will be vacuum sealed
2) Pork cured items are free of MSG, nitrates, and nitrites

Beth & I delivered the first seven steers to Attala last Sunday evening. Mr. Archie met us there to unload. He could not get over how good the steers looked and commented several times that they are the best grass-fed steers he has seen. His comments made the long drive home much better!

See our products page here: https://naturesgourmetfarm.com/store


Delivery: Additionally, our website was designed to work based on customers placing orders for a pickup location that corresponds to a date & time. We did not use this feature initially. However, we have learned that convenience is a key purchase decision. Thus, we have added four locations where we will deliver orders and meet customers. The dates are 4 weeks apart. Currently my website pricing structure only lets me have 5 locations. One of the decision points is how to balance the farm work with delivery! Note that each delivery date has an order cut-off date as well. Locations & dates may need to be tweaked. You can view our Pickup Locations and dates here: https://naturesgourmetfarm.com/locations


The Consumer Protection Division of the MS Dept. of Ag requires us to transport in a commercial unit capable of keeping the meat frozen – meaning a commercial freezer with a generator. After searching for 60+ days for something used we finally broke down and purchased a new freezer trailer to use for deliveries. Hopefully I will be able to share a picture soon.


A couple of Blog posts you may find interesting are: (located on the home page)
1) Grass-Fed Steak Mistakes by Shannon Hayes
2) Compost Tea. A 5-minute video where I discuss making compost tea for our pastures (please comment on the video if you liked it).

I have also added some Customer Reviews on the Home Page that speak to our products. https://naturesgourmetfarm.com/

As you can see, we have been busy dusting off the shelves, rearranging the product lines, and sweeping the floors. Now, it is time to generate business.

This weekend, about 4500 homes in the Hattiesburg area will receive a 4x6 card in the mail.


Newsletter: Some folks who registered to shop also signed up for our newsletter – some did not! Very soon, if you are not on the Newsletter list you will miss important specials, Pickup Locations, order dates, and etc. If you are interested in buying you will want to receive our Newsletter.

Retail Location: Beginning about August 1st, Vitamins Plus in Hattiesburg will be carrying our beef & pork in individual packs. They also plan to use some of the product in lunches that are served daily. Drop by and see what’s on the menu.

We value your feedback and hope you like the changes we are making to better serve you. Please let us know your thoughts.

More from the blog

New Pullets | Calves | Job Opening

Pullets arrived March 1st– every 6 months we receive a fresh batch of pullets. This year we were not sure if our late February to early March batch would be available…even though we ordered them last September. However, mostly since we have done business with the same farmer since the Spring of 2017, he prioritized our order and delivered them March 1st. While the price was higher, I was braced for a much higher price. Our pullets are typically 17 weeks old when delivered. They will start laying at about 24 weeks. That means we should start seeing medium eggs by our May delivery dates. YEAH!

Eggs | Broken State GVT

Interesting Egg Article– the price and availability of eggs is a hot topic as well as a solution. Industry and regulators (maybe also include media) would have you believe it is because of bird flu. But, is it bird flu OR some other agenda? Beth received a link to an article from Farm Action out of Mexico, MO who have sent a letter to the FTC and DOJ urging them to investigate and take action to restore competition and lower eggs prices. Key facts Farm Action quoted are: Key Pricing Facts:

Half Beef Shares | Egg Pricing | Visitor Stories

NEW Egg Ordering Process – As you know, eggs are not only expensive, but are now being rationed by grocery stores. We have had our share of extra folks contacting us because our prices are lower than grocery stores. This reminds us of March 2020 when our freezer went from FULL to EMPTY before we knew what was happening. I would say 95% or more of those who first bought during Covid left when store shelves filled back up. We are NOT interested in customers shopping price, but only customers interested in our quality products.