It is hard to believe that we are at the end of 2023!!! Where does time go.

Beth suggested I share some of the highlights from our farm for this year - so, here goes.

Infrastructure:

• Installed 4,950 feet of high tensil net fence along the property line of one of our pastures
• Built a pond on the Hamilton property for drainage and backup water option for livestock
• Sprayed our first making of compost extract on 300 acres
• Purchased a pasture aerator to improve oxygen in soil while also applying compost extract onto 250 acres
• Completed Soil Food Web (SFW) Classes
• Contracted a consultant to teach us microposy and how to build SFW compost piles

Plant:

• Completed our USDA Red Meat slaughter plant in March. Harvested first beef April 5th.
• Upgraded our red meat cut/pack HACCP to USDA to service Vitamins Plus business. Delivered 1st beef December 2023
• 4,500+ broiler chickens harvested. 5,719 packs - 14,152 pounds
• Harvested two small batches of turkeys for the first time ever. 281 packs - 399 pounds
• 42 beef harvested. 18,570 packs - 23,914 pounds (does not include custom halves/whole beef)
• 30 pigs harvested. 6,108 packs - 9,860 pounds (does not include custom halves/whole pigs)
• 3 lamb harvested
• Eggs - delivered 5,711 dz through our farm plus 13,405 dz wholesale. Total 19,116 dz or 230,000 eggs
• Processed four batches of chickens for a neighbor's farm until he finished his USDA processing plant

Sales & Miscellaneous

• Delivered 2,653 route orders totaling 71,446 pounds. 267 orders were to 1st time buyers
• Route delivery mileage is 7,944 annually
• 52 Weekly Newsletters delivered to customers
• Hosted a NCAT Meeting in April with Dr. Allen Williams to learn about Soil Health
• Attended the American Pastured Poultry Conference January 2023

My #1 goal for 2023 and beyond is to successfully execute our farm succession plan with our two sons. It would be a tragedy if what Beth & I have started is not successfully passed to the next generation for them to build upon, service customers who depend on our farm, and have worthwhile work that also provides them a good living. I will share more about this later.

The last thing I want to share is a chance event from last Spring. One of our long-time Gulfport customers contacted me regarding the company he works for. Seems they were looking for an organization that teaches Regenerative Practices to make a donation to help further regenerative agriculture. I immediately suggested Soil Health Academy because I know each of the partners and worked with them through the Grassfed Exchange Conference. Needless to say, they were very pleased to receive a sizable five-figure check that will be used as scholorship money so more farmers can can learn regenerative practices and transition out of the downward conventional spiral to Regenerative Agriculture. That being said, maybe you know someone looking to support an organization that is making a difference. Here is a picture depicting their impact in 2023.

In closing, Beth & I would like to wish each of you a Safe & Happy New Year and say how much we appriciate your support of our local regenerative farm.

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!

** Product Availability Update **

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

Chicken - Next restock will be January 10, 2024. Yes, we will be raising chickens throughout the winter months

Turkey - Whole turkeys are sold out. Expect to have Ground turkey and pieces about mid January 2024

Eggs - Restock each Wednesday. Received 950 new pullet hens Thursday, Nov 9th. Starting to get small to medium eggs

Beef - Fully Stocked. Next restock will be January 19, 2024

Pork -Fully Stocked

Lamb - Restocked September 13th. Scheduled to process lamb in November, but this has been delayed. Probably Jan 2024