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

Newsletter 2016 1120

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

December 4, 2016

Madison:

Order by Sunday, December 11, 2016

Pickup Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Hattiesburg & Hattiesburg Hwy 98 West

Order by Monday, December 12, 2016

Pickup Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Biloxi & Gulfport

Order by Monday December 12, 2016

Pickup Thursday, December 15, 2016

We believe in transparency, as there’s no better education about what it
is we do, how we do it and why, than an honest and straightforward conversation
about any aspect of our farm!

Farm Updates

It has been a very busy week at the farm. Last weekend we sorted out & weaned this years calves. We also sorted out six cows that do not fit our program very well and sold at the local sale barn. Plus, we sorted out six cows that will be processed into ground beef and available for the December pickup schedule.

As you know, we are in a severe drought that covers East TX, LA, MS, AL, Northwestern GA, SC, NC, Tennessee, and Arkansas. We felt it is better to proactively cull the herd now then to be forced into a much more difficult situation later. Please join us in prayer that we might have some relief soon.

Additionally, we made our deliveries to Hattiesburg and the Gulf Coast on Wednesday & Thursday. We really like this because we get to meet our customers and hear from you. Thank you for your many kind words and encouragement (and hugs).

Tomorrow I will pickup and deliver custom pork orders to customers from Madison to Hattiesburg and the Gulf Coast. We sold 8 of 12 pigs and will take the remaining four to make 25# Variety Shares. These have been very popular with customers.

Did I mention that the 25# Ground Beef and 25# Pork Variety Share will be on sale for December Pickup. Check it our here!

Celebrating Thanksgiving in America

At Nature's Gourmet Farm we have much to be thankful for. It has been an
amazing year full of God's blessings.

To capture that theme I wanted to share an article written by Mr. David Barton,
founder of Wallbuilders, where he provides research about the first
Thanksgiving as well as the numerous presidential proclamations issued
until 1933 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt began celebrating
Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of each November, and in 1941, Congress
permanently established that day as the national Thanksgiving holiday. Let me
encourage you to read the complete history here:

More from the blog

Farm Improvements

Farm Improvements – Fresh water is a necessity for raising healthy animals on pasture. Until recently, we used an ICB tote on a small tralier that we would refill from our well. During the summer the frequency greatly increases in order to keep the chickens hydrated. So, I called my buddy at Southern Pipe and ordered pipe, fittings, etc. and then rented a trencher for May 16th to install 2,700 feet of 1.25 inch PVC pipe. Along the line we added 15 Plasson Quick Coupler Valves that we will hook to as we move the animals through our pastures.

My Advise How To Jump Start Small Farms In Mississippi

“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.

Small Farm Republic

Pasture Talk With Our Cows– Tuesday morning I was out checking on our cows and took the opportunity to record a short 2-minute story about the time I saved the life of one of the “pet” cows Number 608. Click to watch here. Small Farm Republic- is a book written by John Klar. A former attorney who contracted Lyme disease, John now farms in Vermont. I spent much of last weekend reading his book. He is very pro-small farms and presented a lot of evidence to support his position. On page 77 he makes a comparison to the number of farms and farmers during the Great Depression versus today. During the Great Depression the American population was 100 million. According to USDA charts