The "Gold" Standard! So, what are you talking about Farmer Ben? First, a little background and then I will fill in the details..... Nature's Gourmet Farm has been raising and selling meat chickens since 2013. Beth & I thought meat chickens would be a great compliment to our beef offering and after reading Joel Salatin's book "Pastured Poultry Profits" decided the next step was to visit Polyface Farms in VA during their semi-annual gathering in 2012.

This weekend many folks will be firing up the backyard grill or at their favorite vacation camping location. Memorial Day weekend is a great time for families and friends to get together for outdoor celebrations. USDA Food Safety Sandra Eskin “Summer is a time to relax and enjoy delicious meals with friends and family, but foodborne pathogens never rest. Following safe food handling practices during this and all other seasons can reduce the risk of you and your loved ones getting sick.”

This was an especially busy week at the farm! Even more so since Matthew's last day was Friday, May 13th. His elderly Dad has been diagnosed with cancer and Matthew wanted to spend more time with him as well as help his Mom out. While, we will (have) missed him we know he has made the right decision and will always be glad for the memories he'll cherish for the rest of his life. We bid him God's speed and are committed to pray for him & his family as they navigate the days ahead. Our other full time production help went to part time about 5 months ago when he fulfilled a childhood dream of becoming a fireman. Now, he only works at the farm 2 to 3 days per week. Fortunately, our plant processing team is hitting on "all cylinders".

Today I want to share my thoughts regarding questions that customers have asked me about gardens as well as some links that you may find helpful. Most of the questions revolve around soil fertility for their garden plants...and can they get chicken manure from our farm for their gardens? My first response is fresh or non-composted chicken manure used in a vegetable garden can transfer harmful pathogens into the plants as well as attract damaging insects. The key to soil fertility without chemicals is cover crops! If you have been a subscriber/reader of our newsletter then you know how much we depend on cover crops. Remember, nature operates slow! You cannot get up tomorrow and say "I think today I will plant a garden." You must plan ahead and operate with nature.

At Nature's Gourmet Farm we have been providing our customers broilers for the past 10 years. Each year we improve our operations to better care for the chickens and provide our customers a product that is full of ALL NATURAL GOODNESS, nutritious, and free of chemicals (healthy).

May kicks off the busiest grilling and barbecuing season of the year. May is also National Hamburger Month where we celebrate this humble meat that became a worldwide sensation. Have you ever wondered about the origins of America's favorite sandwich? Recently on one of our weekly delivery trips Beth read the following article to me from the Meat & Poultry magazine - there was no name attached to the article so I will just type it out for you here.... "Sometimes it's the little things that make a big impact on history.

Thursday & Friday our red meat processing team came together and cut & packed six beef! I could not believe how well marbled they were and how fresh the meat looked and smelled. And, there are FOUR families that will be picking up their half by Monday for their family to enjoy. Since early March our pastures have excelled. I'll share a few pictures plus a short video and narrative when I moved the yearlings last Sunday afternoon to fresh grass. So, when you regularly move the cows they get use to being moved when your out in the pasture. And, since the pasture they were leaving was also where the broiler chickens are means we were out in the pasture several times per day. Yes, they were ready to be moved and let me know about it.

We had several customers respond how they liked the science behind the research. But, the comment that really caught my attention was from George - a really good customer on our 1st Saturday route. Here is what he said: Ben, "I believe your farm produce is as healthy as it gets. My blood analysis from February showed an "optimal" level of Omega 3 (EPA, DPA, DHA) fatty acids of 6.3%. The definition of "optimal" being greater than 5.5%. No need to eat fatty fish or take fish oil supplements. My Omega 6/Omega 3 ratio was 4.9, well within the healthy range of 3.7 to 14.4. Most people eat way too much

Beth and I have been actively farming and selling direct to consumer for about 12 years now. It took us a few years to learn that it is very important to discern who you listen to as well as avoid. That is where I came up with my Four Rules: 1) They must own the land 2) They must own the animal 3) they must use their own capital 4) They must be successful. For me to consider their advice they would have to be able to answer YES to all four rules. A "No" on any of the four kicked them out. This focused my attention only on farms (people) who are doing what we are doing successfully. Through the Grass-Fed Exchange Board Membership I was able to develop a lot of great contacts.

Thursday I got FOOLED!!! RE Mercola article - I read the bullet statements, about half the article - then scrolled back up to see if the article had his "Fact Checked" posted which it did and then continued reading till near the end. Unfortunately, I now wish I had read all the way to the end because that's where the following was posted:

Over three days we were able to process six beef and two pigs. I was really pleased with Jake and our regular team who really stepped up and made it happen. While processing it became evident that there were opportunities for some new products. These include; Beef Grilling Bones We "canoe cut" the length of the bone to expose the maximum amount of marrow. To prepare, roast with salt, pepper and herbs, then spoon the savory filling onto crusty bread for an indulgent treat. Here is the link https://naturesgourmetfarm.com/store/product/beef-grilling-bones Beef Meaty Soup Bones - Harvested from the front quarter of our 100% pasture raised beef

Last week I mentioned that our team would be cutting & packing our beef this past Thursday & Friday. Jake of course, with15 years experience, was well prepared for what to expect. And, he complemented our team before he left Friday afternoon that he really enjoyed working with everyone and how hard they worked as well as how eager they were to learn. The ladies that were here helping all had experience is gardening, canning, and processing deer, chickens, and etc. for their families. So, they know about work. Well, late morning on the first day I started hearing conversation amongst the ladies and as I listened the common theme was