This Is For Delores
posted on
September 11, 2026
This Is For Delores - We always love to hear from our farm families who support what we do with their hard-earned food dollars. We depend on your support and you depend on us to have products that meet your needs. We support a community that evolves around one of the most intrinsically important and critical needs of the ages, and that’s the provision of sustenance. That's our passion - to raise healthy animals to provide nutrient-dense protein and saturated fat that nourish families and strengthen immune systems.
Delores replied to last week's newsletter - specifically asking for some clarification to my comments reprinted here: This week I read one of Joel Salatin's Musing emails about beef and how the administration has done little to support cattlemen. Frankly, that is a BIG FAT LIE! Possibly motivated from the administration NOT giving his "Food Freedom Emancipation" any traction.... at least to date. For the record, I agree with his reasoning for Food Freedom even though there are not many households where I would "trust" to fix a chicken pot pie and sell to me. Just like I am picky what restaurant I eat at.
Battles WIN Wars! Said another way, you cannot win a war without winning battles!
And, the Trump Administration has won some major battles when you consider food freedom and peoples' health. Wins include the corrected Food Pyramid, linking whole food diets to health vs. processed & ultra-processed foods, requiring medical students to take nutrition classes, RFK Jr. kitchen food podcast with chefs encouraging families to cook at home using whole foods for health & savings, the numerous tours RFK has made on Regenerative Farms - overall the vast awareness and discussions happening around whole food.
I hear a lot from new customers who have sought us out because of these discussions. That is very encouraging. And, remember a few weeks ago we had the first ever discussion at the Forestry Museum in Jackson hosted by Commissioner Gipson where 125 farmers came to hear about Regenerative Farming.
It's like the snowball has been sitting at the top of the mountain, waiting for a nudge to start rolling downhill. Well folks, the nudge has happened. And as you know, the bigger it grows the faster the momentum. That is why I am very positive about the future of Regenerative Farming and direct-to-consumer sales.
And don't forget that the Southeast will play a major role in whole food production in the years to come because of rain and available land. The Southwestern US is running out of water and cannot support both people and agriculture.
Two years ago none of this would have been possible.
Is the Trump Administration perfect? Absolutely NOT!!! We all scratched our head when he signed the EO to protect Bayer and glyphosate. Why did he do that? Frankly, my military experiences tell me we do not know the full story nor understand the "actors" that influenced the decision. That war has not been won - YET.
Salatin's Pastured Poultry Profits and Salad Bar Beef books were the first books I read just before visiting his farm when we started our journey back in 2010. I have a lot of respect for what he has accomplished, his hard work, and commitment to helping small farmers be successful in the direct-to-consumer space. However, I was disappointed when he said this administration had done little to support cattleman because they agreed to import 300,000 tons of ground beef.
Beth actually looked up how long would it take American consumers to use 300,000 metric tons - care to guess? It was like 23 to 26 days! That's less than a month. If the US demand for beef does not drop AND we do not import beef pretty soon there would not be any cows left. What is Plan B? Impossible Burger? Crickets?
I watched a podcast of Rick Clark who farms 7,000 converted organic acres in Indiana. He said it this way, "we finally have some people raising their voices and people are taking notice now. And we all know if you want to move something you need/want that consumer to be in the driver's seat. They will dictate how these acres will be farmed in the future." Amen to that Rick.
So, is success an all or nothing outcome? I don't think so. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE possible new Regenerative Farms is a big win. Rick Clark used the example of 200 million acres in the US that raises corn & soybeans. If 30% converted to raising the corn & beans without any chemical inputs, minimum tillage, and other tools that build soil health would 30% be considered a failure because it was not 100%. Well, 30% is 60 million acres - that looks like a win to me...as the snowball gains momentum down the mountain.
So, Delores, thank you for engaging with your farmer. We appreciate it.
Picture of the Week - Do you recognize this item? Yep, it is a female electrical spade connector. That's correct - it is not supposed to look like that. The metal end should be inside the plastic.
September 2nd when we harvested beef & pork I was in and out of the carcass cooler - where we hang the beef & pork to chill after harvest -- and felt like something was not working correctly. I regularly check the compressor located outside to see if they are running and the south end unit never came on. Thankfully, when we built the cooler we included redundant units - a backup in case one unit failed.
First thing I did was check and then replace the thermostat. No change. Next, call Mr. Jerry for troubleshooting - he said follow these wires. Ok, all good. Next, he came to the farm and after a bit of checking found this break. Probably caused in part from vibration. Put a new end on and back in business. We thank the Lord for folks who help make this all possible.
Half-Beef Custom Processed Orders - OCTOBER harvest window is now open until September 25th. Harvest will be October 1st with availability about October 26th.
Follow this link to check out our Custom Processing Ordering Tips, to place an order and complete your individualized cut sheet. Please reply to this email with any questions.
And, when you buy a half or whole beef receive a Jaccard Meat Maximizer tenderizer at no extra charge. Jaccard is the choice of professional chefs and cooking enthusiasts for more than 40 years! The Meat Maximizer improves meat tenderness and texture, reduces marinating & cooking time, and is easy to clean and maintain.
Nature's Gourmet Farm product value proposition is to create a community that evolves around one of the most intrinsically important and critical needs of the ages, and that’s the provision of sustenance. That's our passion - to raise healthy animals to provide nutrient dense protein and saturated fat that nourish families and strengthens 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; grows the MOST nutritious beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and eggs; and protects our ecosystem.
Let me encourage you to "Be The Change" our food system needs by "Voting With Your Fork" at every meal.
