My Advise How To Jump Start Small Farms In Mississippi

Contents:

1. 1. Will Be A Tough Fight
2. 2. How I Would Describe Success
3. 3. How To Implement My Top 3 Initiatives
4. 4. Product Availability Update

Will Be A Tough FIGHT! –

“Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls
money can control the world.” — Henry Kissinger

The fight to change food from addictive to nutritive will most likely be harder than the fight regarding tobacco (smoking) in public places that started back in the 1980’s.

Note that my comments are NOT a condemnation of anybody who may use tobacco in any way as this can be a sensitive topic. However, it is personal to me as my Dad smoked at least 45 of his 75 years and died of lung cancer.

I have vivid memories from my early Air Force active-duty days at Plattsburg AFB, NY when smoking was allowed indoors. Many if not most airman smoked and one supervisor in my section lit his next one from the prior cigarette.

Back then, the AF had inspection teams that came around yearly to make sure facilities were taken care of. That meant E2 & E3 Airman (me) would be tasked with taking a bucket of soapy water and washing the nicotine off the walls and ceilings. That was a very nasty job that certainly influenced my decision to never use tobacco.

Tobacco is addictive. There are studies available that document how the tobacco company schemes were implemented by food companies to make food “addictive”.

It took years and many steps before tobacco risk changed most people's use. Remember when health warnings were added to packages, lawsuits against big tobacco companies, smoking only in designated areas of restaurants and airplanes before total bans inside all public places? How about ban on advertisements targeted at children and young adults?

Change will take time on the consumer side of demand as well as the farmer side of supply for healthy food.

How I Would Describe Success-

First, how did we get to where we are today?

Basically, it started back in 1974 when then Secretary of Ag Butz told farmers to “Get Big Or Get Out”. This policy then focused regulations, resources, education, etc. towards this goal. Local farms went out of production that supplied nutritious food to their local communities. Today, Mississippi farms supply only 2% of food consumed by Mississippians. Read this farmer testimony shared with Joel Salatin.

Success would be obtained when consumers would weigh the value of nutrition over price and choose nutrition. There has to be local demand for farmers to supply and likewise, consumers must be willing to choose locally raised food with the understanding they are directly supporting the success of their local farm(s).

Consumers would not be enslaved with only the government's food choices, but have the freedom to choose for themselves. Likewise with farmers. Small farms would not be unfairly regulated or priced out of business whereas to make farming unprofitable at a small scale.

"Since 1970 Americans who are overweight, obese or severely obese has increased to over 70%. We spend about $1.7 trillion on food and beverages and $4.1 trillion on healthcare (90% goes to treating people with chronic and mental health conditions). Currently about 6 in every 10 adults in the USA have at least one chronic disease accounting for 92% of all deaths." (Dr. Allen Williams, Stockman GrassFarmer May 2025) What if the dollars spent were reversed? I believe you would get a lot more talented young folks interested in farming.

Big Pharma’s strategic objective to have humans as patients from birth till death and working together with Big Ag and Big Medicine must be exposed and defeated. This would include lobbying efforts.

How To Implement My TOP 3 Initiatives – my top three initiatives are:

1) Make Raw Milk more available across Mississippi

2) Remove MDAC Regulation that limits small farms to 1,000 chickens per year vs. Federal & State law limit of 20,000 per farm
3) Remove Sunn Hemp from MS Code as a noxious weed per USDA and 48 other states

Very Important: only farmers who can answer YES to the following four questions are qualified to assist other farmers to transition.
1) Do they own their land
2) Do they own their animals
3) do they use their own capital towards their operation and
4) are they successful.
You see, 95% or more of information out there is bogus and does not fit what we do. Including land grant colleges!

Need a website similar to NC Choices.

1. 1. Make Raw Milk more available across Mississippi. MDAC to promote Raw Milk to interested farmers who would attend a workshop contracted by MDAC at a working small dairy farm like Jennifer Warren. Topics to include importance of cows living on regenerative/rotational grazed pastures, food safety, sanitation requirements, cooldown procedures, facilities, value add products, marketing, etc.
2. 2. Follow Federal & State law for 20,000 chickens per farm/year. Implement a procedure similar to North Carolina to promote sanitary conditions. Promote opportunity to interested farmers across Mississippi who would attend a workshop contracted by MDAC at a working small farm similar to NGF. Topics would include brooder management, pasture management, facility requirements, slaughtering, sanitation, packaging, labeling, food safety, marketing, etc. The existing 1,000 “custom” limit would remain in place so farms can get started with little upfront cost, learn, and grow into the 20,000 level.
3. 3. Remove Sun Hemp from MS Code as a noxious weed. MDAC would contract with Richard Petcher, owner of Petcher Seeds to make presentations to Cattleman’s Meetings and other similar events across the state on the value of growing Sun Hemp for livestock nutrition and soil health.

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.

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 are 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!

Place My Order

** Product Availability Update **

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

Chicken - Restocked MAy 14th. Next Restock will be May 28th

Turkey - Thanksgiving whole turkeys have been ordered. Hatchery cannot provide us poults this year. Developing a new plan for ground & pieces for our customers

Eggs - Restock each Tuesday PRIOR to YOUR delivery date. Note that we are stocking Corner Market Hattiesburg & Petal locations

Beef - Next Restock will be May 25th.

Pork – May 9th restocked ground pork & patty sausage. Restocked May 14th for fresh items. Cured in about 2 weeks.

Lamb - Restocked March 27th, just in time for Easter. Next Restock will be September 2025.