November: Chicory Hill Farm
At Chicory Hill Farm, we are committed to regenerative, pasture-based farming without confinement housing, unethical treatment of animals or GMOs that you will find in most available sources. We believe this is essential for providing a quality product that is healthy for families and healing for the environment.
Many find that our products reduce inflammation, eliminate cramping and take the guesswork out of eating and believe you will too. We are committed to producing meat you can trust and you can rest assured that we will not sell you anything that we would not feed our own children.
We hope that you will join us in our mission to cultivate healthy families through trusted sustainable farming, by supporting our farm and sharing your experience with friends and family as well.
Thank you for choosing Chicory Hill Farm. We look forward to serving you and bringing you along in our farm journey.
October: Bean Hollow Grassfed
We run our cattle and sheep together in a “flerd”. The two species work symbiotically, grazing differently and reducing the internal parasite loads for both species.
Our cattle are Angus and Red Devon crosses and, with mature weights of around 1100 lbs., are well suited to grassfed operations. The crossbreds are adaptive and hearty. Their smaller stature matures well on grass diets, without the need for supplemental grain feed. Plus, the red and black mix looks really cool in the field.
Our sheep are Dorpers and Katadhins. They are hair sheep which means they do not have wool. So we don't have to shear. Both breeds are resistant to parasites and are fast growing.
Our pigs include crosses of Tamworths, Old Spots, Large Blacks and Berkshires. These breeds are excellent foragers, well adapted to finding calories in wooded areas.
We use rotational grazing techniques, meaning, we move our “flerd” every day or two. With temporary fencing we section off our fields and savanna areas into small sub-fields. This concentration of grazing with the sheep and cattle in each sub-field has several benefits. The livestock compete to get the best calories, which means they eat everything. The concentrated hoof traffic tramples the remaining vegetation and breaks up the ground they've grazed, preparing it for manure the livestock leave behind. The next day we move the animals to the next sub-field and the process continues. The result of these small grazing paddocks is that following their use they get an extended rest period to regenerate. Rotational grazing prevents the concentration of manure/nutrients in one area; and it allows for fields to rest longer, preventing the damaging effects of overgrazing.
Finally we have a couple chickens for fresh eggs, and two Anatolian Shepherds that guard the farm from nearby predators.
Our farm is GMO and growth hormone FREE! We are Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World!
September: Longbottom Farm
Knowing where our food comes from is important to us. Like many of you, there’s a need to know how the food we eat is produced, and the answer isn’t readily available unless you know your farmer. The ability to see how the animals benefit not only us, but also the land, is a connection that is lost among today’s current supermarket offerings. Reestablishing that connection is what sets Longbottom Farm apart.
We are raising healthy animals that are allowed to express their normal behaviors, free of cages or chemicals, all while healing the land by using management techniques that mimic cycles seen in nature. We follow nature’s lead and work with the land instead of against it. That means you get a premium product from humanely raised animals, while at the same time supporting local and “going green”. That’s what Longbottom Farm is all about and why we love what we do!
If any of these values resonate with you, we would love to be your farmer! Allow us to provide you with some of the best tasting, nutrient-dense meat and eggs in central Virginia.
We have a YouTube channel where we share everything we do. (We can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter ) We are the open, transparent farm we wanted to see. Let us be that farm for you.
It Tastes Right Because It’s Raised Right! - Longbottom Farm
August: Bauer Farms
We are family owned and operated, year-round livestock breeding and meat production farm, taking pride in the hard work that we put in every day for our animals. We have three young sons that are learning the responsibility and hard work that go into raising livestock and your own food. Our family is passionate about producing clean, quality, USDA meat and free-range chicken eggs for our community.
Our beef comes from our Beef Balancer cattle that are raised on pasture until approximately 18 months of age, where we then finish them between 90-120 days on local grain. All of our meat is processed within an hour from our farm at USDA inspected facilities, where they are processed (beef is aged for 14-21 days) and immediately frozen to maintain the freshness that we stive so greatly for. It all started with our Beef Balancer cow/ calf operation, leading to the addition of Scottish Highland cattle.
We now raise Nigerian Dwarf goats, Berkshire, Duroc and Hampshire pigs, Cornish chickens, laying hens, in addition to the Beef Balancers and Scottish Highlands. Bauer Farms is a member of the AHCA and we have some beautiful, registered Highland cattle, we are also members of the HHCA and the SCHCA.
If you have any questions or wish to inquire about any aspect of our farm, please feel free to contact us!
July: Three Spring Farms
We have now been growing steadily since our start-up as a team in 2011. We primarily raise grassfed beef, pastured pork, pastured meat chickens, and eggs from pastured hens. We sell directly to our customers, but also to Local Harvest Grocery in Saint Louis. We supply the caterer "Seed Sprout Spoon" in the Tower Grove South neighborhood in St. Louis. We attend Tower Grove Farmers Market; on Saturday mornings from May to October. We attend the winter markets each month in the off-season. One-off purchases outside these venues are possible, too. We have a Barn2Door site for ordering ahead.
We have choices for processing, Etzolds in Perryville and Wennemanns in Illinois. The processors offer a broad range of options for the home buyer all the way to the grocery store looking for an attractive and durably packaged product for the freezer.
Right now we are a cow-calf operation with several dozen grassfed steers to finish. We sell directly to grassfed beef fans and to reach out to select markets and restaurants who will appreciate our product and our approach. We also produce pastured pork, pastured hen eggs and pastured raised chicken. For individual buyers, we can walk you through the process with clarity to take away any uncertainty about buying beef in this manner. We will be happy to show you the farm before you make any buying decisions or take you on a tour the day you pick up the beef. There are many repeat customers who would be willing to vouch for the quality of our products and the ease with which the transaction can take place. Give us an email or a call for details. Check us out on Facebook, too, and experience some of the small events that make our day.
June: Rosy Buck Farm
We are a small-scale sustainable farm, focusing on building up the health of the soil in order to grow the best, most nutritious produce. We devised a unique growing system where concentric circle raised beds are dispersed throughout a large field, with the area in between left for pollinator and wildlife habitat. We are committed to sustainable growing practices, such as not tilling our fields to encourage a more complete soil biodiversity, mulching heavily to help with weed suppression and water retention, avoiding chemically based pest-management, and not using any fossil fuels in the production of our crops. Produce-wise we focus on unusual crops that most folks aren't familiar with, such as ground cherries, purple pole beans, radish pods, green garlic, french sorrel, pink potatoes, and more. We sell our produce at farmers' markets and to a small CSA, and we love introducing people to new produce.
Farm shares are an easy way to find healthy food and promote responsible, sustainable growing practices. Buying a farm share means that you are investing in a type of food production that is important to all of us and, just as importantly, that you will enjoy a portion of the harvest. But what will that share look like? That will, in large part, be up to you. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
May: Purely Pastured Farm
Pastured Chickens: Our pastured chickens are not just given "access to outdoors", they spend their entire lives outside on grass after two weeks of age. Due to the warm climate of the Alabama Gulf Coast, our farm is able to raise chickens from spring to early winter. Our chickens are housed in mobile pasture shelters in order to protect them from predators like hawks, owls, foxes, and coyotes.
We move our pasture shelters once, sometimes twice a day. This daily rotation, gives the chickens access to fresh grass and new bugs to eat, while their manure fertilizes the pasture. We process all of our chickens on-farm under state exemption. This allows us to retain complete control of product quality and food safety standards.
Pastured Pork: Our pigs spend their days rooting and digging up the soil of their pasture paddocks. Unlike the traditional confinement model the big producers use, we allow our pigs to truly express themselves. Our pigs improve pasture quality by turning over and fertilizing the soil through regular rotation. This rotation eliminates the need for antibiotics and other medications which are heavily used in today's food system.
Pastured Eggs: Our happy hens are farm raised on pasture, scratching in the dirt, searching for insects, eating grass, and absorbing daily sunlight, producing a nutritious, delicious egg. These hens are not just given "access to outdoors", they are free to roam the pasture and live like a chicken was intended to live. They are supplemented with NON-gmo feed that is also composed of vitamins and minerals needed to produce eggs. The hens have an egg mobile (shelter for protection) that is moved to a new location every so often. By moving this shelter throughout our pastures, it helps to fertilize the soil with their manure, growing our grasses for the next animals to graze.
April: Cove Creek Farm
We raise our cattle, goats, pigs, and chickens so that they can express their natural behaviors, breathe fresh air, bask in the sunlight and rotate around our pastures for fresh forage on the Cumberland Plateau.
We rotate our cattle daily using various methods of rotational grazing depending on the state of the pasture. One of our goals is in raising cattle is to constantly improve pasture quality and use natural methods for pasture regeneration. We believe that better pasture = better beef.
Our pigs are raised on pasture and wood lots from farrow to finish. We rotate them through the pasture and woods regularly so they are always on fresh ground. About 50% of the pigs’ diet comes from foraging grasses legumes and tree nuts. To balance out their diet we feed them fermented barley. Barley is a non-GMO small grain with excellent nutrient profile for pigs and we ferment the barley to make more of the nutrient available to the pigs during digestion.
We practice a holistic approach with our chickens, embracing daily rotations for our feathered companions so they can peck and scratch in the grass, while we supplement their diet with nourishing organic feed. This thoughtful care not only fosters healthier, happier birds but also contributes to sustainable farming practices.
March: The Thomas Farmstead
We raise grass fed pork! We have selected a breed of pig called the Idaho Pasture Pig. It is a new breed developed from old line Duroc, old line Berkshire, and Kunekune. We have about seven acres devoted to rotationally foraging our pigs. Their forage is supplemented with only a couple pounds non-GMO oats and soy based hog feed per pig per day. This is necessary to get the needed minerals into their bodies. By rotationally foraging them there is a reduced parasite load so we don’t have to give medications and antibiotics. Rotating them of course provides fresh forage and also allows areas to rest and the land to take in the nutrients the pigs have left behind. You will often see them running around, playing, scratching on trees, laying in the warm sun on cool days, retreating to the shade when it’s hot, and getting belly scratches from us.
Do you know what makes a good piece of chicken? When they spend their life on pasture. They eat grass, clover, bugs, worms, and so much more. Pasture raising makes delicious, nutrient dense, happy chickens!Our batches of broiler chickens are rotationally grazed throughout our 7 acres, typically following the pigs as they can then have a bit of clean-up duty and helping spread manure while also being protected with movable electric poultry fence. Their pasture foraging is supplemented with non-GMO broiler feed. No hormones or drugs, of any kind are given to them.
We raise Thanksgiving turkeys much the same way that we raise broilers. We get them as day old poults from the hatchery and then grow them out in the brooder for five to six weeks until they are hardy enough to survive on pasture. Once out on pasture, we rotate them daily to fresh grass and with it comes a new buffet of insects they like to eat. Turkeys will also graze grass so well it looks like you mowed the pasture with a lawn mower. Turkeys have a little different shelter requirement than the broilers. They like to perch at night and don't really need any cover from the rain. Their feathers make pretty good rain coats. They also handle the early snows and freezing temperatures we get in the fall. The turkey's foraging is supplemented with the same non-GMO feed we feed our broilers but it has a higher protein content. If you are tired of the tasteless dry turkey from the grocery store then give our turkey a try. It will likely be the best turkey you have ever had!
Links to social media: Facebook, The Thomas Farmstead (Orders Page), Instagram
February: Mentink Family Farms
At Mentink Family Farms our primary goal is to honor and glorify God in all we do. We are blessed to be the third generation living on about 60 acres and renting more outside of Stromsburg, Nebraska.
We currently sell Grass Finished Lamb, Pastured Eggs, Pastured Broilers, and Heritage Pasture Raised Pork. We are just starting to ship some of these products. We are growing our treatment free hives for honey, grass-finished beef, fruits and vegetables, and ancient grains. We also have goats, ducks, guineas, turkeys, and a horse (for fun).
We continue to grow and learn more about integrating permaculture design and regenerative processes into our gardens, orchards, fields, and pastures. We like to imitate the work of Joel Salatin, Gabe Brown, Richard Perkins, Stefan Sobkowiak, and Paul Gautschi to name a few.
January: Tabula Rasa Farms
Tabula Rasa Farms is a small multispecies regenerative farm located in Oregon wine country just minutes from downtown Carlton in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Founded by artist-turned-farmer Brenda Smola-Foti, it is dedicated to regenerative agriculture practices and maintaining a sustainable farm ecosystem where animals thrive, the land is enriched, and the community is welcome.
Tabula Rasa Farms raises grass-fed, grass-finished beef, pastured pork, duck, lamb, and pasture-raised laying hens, naturally and respectfully. Prior to the arrival of the animals, Brenda worked with ecosystem consultants to ensure that the farmland could exist on its own water and rainwater resources and that the pastures and forested areas were clean and properly maintained to minimize soil erosion and nutrient loss. Using the natural slope of the land, they sculpted a series of terraces and swales (think small creeks) to capture water and distribute it throughout the farm.
Within the farm’s property is Inn the Ground, a nine-room bed & breakfast built into the hillside, along with a Farmhouse vacation rental home. All Tabula Rasa Farms products’ are sold through their marketplace, Source Farms, in-store and online.