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Farming Practices
Naturally Grown Produce
No toxic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or GMO's. We care deeply about our soil's health and the living ecosystems on our farm.
For fertility, we use composted animal manure and cover crops.
Weeds are controlled with shallow cultivation and by hand.
Tillage is done mindfully in a way that prevents erosion of soil, our most precious resource.
Certified organic, OMRI-approved pest control sprays are used occasionally, but only if other preventative methods have been tried first, and with the protection of pollinators and other beneficial insects in mind.
Certain crops benefit from limited use of removable plastic mulch. The mulch is an excellent herbicide-free weed barrier, helps the soil retain moisture, and also prevents fungal diseases, which are very common in organic strawberries and tomatoes.
We have grown produce using organic methods for many years, so in 2015, we decided to become USDA Organic certified. After two years of adhering to the heavy record-keeping requirement and passing each of our inspections without any issues, we made the decision to transition instead to Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) in 2017. After a year of being CNG, we ultimately decided not to pursue any certification. We've found that our customers value the relationship with us far more than any third party label. We welcome and encourage any questions about our farming practices. To us, transparency and openness between farmer and consumer is the best way to ensure integrity in our food system. We still continue to use organic methods, just without all the paperwork, so we can spend more time out in the field doing what we love: farming!
100% Grassfed Beef
Pasture-grazed. No grains, hormones, non-therapeutic antibiotics, animal by-products, or steroids.
During the winter months, our cows are fed farm-raised hay, and contribute to a bedding pack that is composted and used for the fertility of our fields.
Our grassfed beef is lean, great-tasting, and full of healthy nutrients, including beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
pastured Poultry
Our laying hens lead a great life.
They aren’t just “free range,” which can simply mean life in cage-free, windowless henhouses. Rather, they are pastured!
Our egg layers have access to rotated fresh grasses and clover daily. This forage component is what makes the omega-3 fatty acid levels higher, the vitamin content elevated, the hens happier, and the grass greener.
The hens also receive non-GMO feed that contains no antibiotics, by-products, hormones, or steroids.
Turkeys are also raised on rotated pasture.
A simple shelter protects the birds from nocturnal predators.
Electric netting defines the pasture perimeter and allows wildlife and turkeys to co-exist with minimal problems.
Forage is supplemented with non-GMO, pharmaceutical-free feed.
From whole birds for Thanksgiving to ground turkey all year, you can rely on us for the best gobbler!
Broiler chicks arrive at the farm just hatched and ready to be nurtured in the brooder until fully feathered.
They are then moved out to pasture where they are free to consume plenty of rotated grass and legumes, supplemented with non-GMO feed. No antibiotics or other pharmaceutical junk here, either.
The birds spend their nights in a saw-dust bedded poultry paradise—free from the advances of predators and chilling rains.
They are humanely butchered at a family-operated processor and frozen for market.
WOODLOT PORK
Our hogs have access to the forested areas of our farm and enjoy a diet of acorns, wild nuts, roots, grasses, and legumes, along with farm-ground, non-GMO feed. They are free to run up and down wooded hillsides all day long. All this results in the most flavorful pork chop ever.
Just like our other animals, we never cut corners by using hormones, non-therapeutic antibiotics, animal by-products, or steroids. Pork that you can feel good about feeding to your family!
There are other benefits to forest-dwelling pigs, too, besides exquisite pork: their rooting action aerates the leaf litter, accelerates nutrient-cycling, and improves timber growth. The controlled disturbance also helps to keep the forest clear of invasives and undesirable species, and allows us to introduce forages through broadcasting to land that is otherwise inaccessible. A win-win!
HONEYBEES
