June 2010

Hello all,

Well we had a dry April and May but with the rains early this month I have gotten in some corn and grain sorghum.  We are planting some field peas this summer too as a substitute for soybeans.   I will start harvesting potatoes in July and planting sweet potatoes. 

Our first round of pork was well received and our second round of pigs are in the freezer now.  I am still working out the cuts and packaging.  This time around the Butts were cut differently so I don't have Boston Butts but I have Butt roasts.  We also added to the selection of sausage.  Click here to go to the pork page.  The breeding is a red Tamworth Hog, a breed which has not been so improved upon by our conventional pork industry.  These pigs still have some fat and flavor!!  Besides the good pork to eat we are looking forward to the pigs doing some field improvements with their rooting and pooping.  

If you go in for podcast videos you can go to South Carolina's site for Down Home with Tony and Amanda and view the show I did with them last year.  It was a lot of fun.  Besides featuring me and our chicken Chris Williams, Chef and Caterer in the midlands was on to do some fine cooking with our chicken.  His catering company is Soigne Catering and he can be reached at 803-707-6310.

Here is more about our chicken. 

The reason our chicken tastes so good is they are raised outside on pasture rather than in crowded poultry houses.  They have constant access to a natural diet and enjoy plenty of fresh air and sunshine.  We do not use artificial growth promotants; do not feed meat or bone meal; and do not use antibiotics.  Our chickens mature at their natural pace and offer you outstanding taste and healthy meals.  USDA rules are pretty lax when it comes to claims of free-range .  All that is required is the poultry have "access" to the outside. 

We, and farmers like us around the country ( APPPA) raise our birds outside on pasture where the birds can scratch in the soil, eat green plants and whatever bugs they find.  We move the birds to clean ground regularly.  This has the added advantage of spreading the poultry litter around which is important to the management of our fields.  Raising chickens in this way takes a little longer.  Our birds reach marketable weights in 8-10 weeks as opposed to 6 weeks which is the industry standard.  We believe this longer growout period is a key factor in making the chicken taste so good.

Click here to see what some of our customers say about the taste of our birds.  Some of our customers buy our birds for the flavor.  Some buy because they want to eat healthy foods and know that pasture raised meats are  better for you.  The meat milk and eggs from grass fed and pastured animals has been shown to have a healthier profile of fatty acids and CLAs.  There are several resources for more information about this.  A good site is Eat Wild, Jordan Rubin has several books that outline how healthy eating can contribute to good health. 

 We have a few recipes on our site (link) One is from a good friend of ours, Chris Williams.  He runs the Lone Star Barbecue in Santee SC.  (link).  Mostly when asked how to cook free range chicken we encourage folks to use their favorite recipes but try not to cover up the taste with heavy sauces and flavorings.  But I would also like to put out a call for favorite recipes that our customers might like to share.  Click here to submit a recipe.  I'll try it in my "test kitchen" myself.

Our Processor

A word about our processor.  Williamsburg Packing is processing our poultry and pork and will be doing our beef too.  We are real pleased with their work.  The CO2 stunning and air chilling work real well and allow us to offer poultry and pork that is humanely slaughtered and chilled without adding water.  Williamsburg Packing has been certified by two different humane handling certification organizations. 

Thank you for visiting us.  Click here to go to the price page and here to contact us with an inquiry or to place an order or to offer a favorite recipe.

Pet Food

I forgot to mention our products for pets.  To learn about why more and more pet owners are feeding their pets Raw meats click here.

AND click here to learn more about us and what we are trying to do on our farm.

Thanks for visiting our site.  I look forward to hearing from you.

David White