Some time ago I mentioned that our farm was hosting a NCAT (National Center For Appropriate Technology) field day led by Dr. Allen Williams.

Well, the date was Saturday, April 22nd. NCAT put together a nice flyer and used their normal channels to "get the word out". I invited all the farms (12) that get feed through our farm (Resaca Sun NON-GMO), and Dr. Williams let folks he thought might be interested know as well.

NCAT foot the total cost including lunch. That means attendees did not have any expense except transportation to attend. What a good deal!

Unfortunately, in spite of solid preparation actual attendance was very poor. Why? Good question. I do know several of my farmer friends mentioned they had chicken processing scheduled and some had farmers market to attend.

In my experience, one of the best reasons to attend these events are the relationships you make. With the small group we were able to spend quality time getting to know each other and share experiences. It is always good to know other farmers who are somewhere along the road in their Regenerative Farming journey.

Another benefit of the small group was the opportunity to ask questions to Dr. Williams that may not have been able to be asked in a larger setting. The big question on most folks mind was mRNA vaccine push in livestock.

Dr. Williams said that commercial poultry had been involved since 2012 and commercial pork for the past five years. Additionally, there were several known "test" herds of cattle that had been vaccinated. People were alarmed (to put it lightly) to learn the mRNA had been used in poultry & pork without disclosure to the public or any labeling of product.

Dr. Williams also said that ALL of Butcher Box beef comes from Australia - and Australia has been using mRNA in their beef herds for several years. This is another reason to buy local and know your farmer (and his practices).

Probably the highlight of the field day for most was seeing our USDA poultry & red meat plants. I remember back in 2018 when Beth & I attended the APPPA Regional Field Day in AL and saw a very small USDA Poultry Processing Plant the light came on in our (okay, my) head of the possibility for our farm - those who have been a part of our community may remember we tried for several years to change the regulation in MS that limits how many chickens a farmer can do per year (1000) vs. the Federal limit of 20,000 per year. Forty states recognize the Federal limit - but MS is NOT one of them.

Since completing our poultry plant the fall of 2019 we have helped numerous farmers. Four in MS have since built their own plant and a farm in Maine as well. Now, these farmers are able to supply their local communities with great tasting & nutritious chicken and actually make some money doing so.

Lastly, I wanted to show you a picture of our yearlings enjoying breakfast this past Thursday morning. It is very peaceful and relaxing to listen to the cows graze.

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.

** Product Availability Update **

Chicken - Next harvest date is May 9th 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. Next restock will be May 19th.

Pork - Restocked April 28th. Bacon will be added Monday, May 8th

Lamb - Restocked April 28th. Next restock will not be until July timeframe.