Farms of the Month for 2023

ALL Family Farm is a small family-run farm located in the Southern Catskill Region of New York. As a Veteran Owned and Operated Farm, we strive to provide the highest quality meat at reasonable prices. This commitment to providing high quality meat has led to our decision to focus solely on Berkshire pigs. Berkshires are a heritage breed, with a history dating back to the 1800s and have been a stable livestock on the grounds of Windsor Castle in England. Berkshire pork is often described as the perfect blend of juicy, tender and flavorful meat, superbly marbled with fat. Berkshire pork is also known as Kurobuta pork in Japan and is to pork what Wagyu or Kobe are to beef.

Here at ALL Family Farm, we believe that happier equals healthier. This belief is why we decided to pasture raise our Berkshire pigs. The ability to forage for their own food, along with access to water and supplemental grains provides a well-balanced, sustainable low-stress environment is key to superior quality. Our pigs are raised in a humane and natural environment. Our animals have open access to rotating pastures, along with open-ended structures to allow for the freedom to either bask in natural sunshine or take shelter as desired. 

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Producing pasture-raised pigs is more costly and labor-intensive but we believe that our pigs and our customers are worth it.   

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At the end of the day, you cannot use the word quality and not touch upon quality of life for the pig itself. Our pigs live a lifestyle of consistent care with complete freedom.

Howe Farms boasts over 50 acres of green land while providing sheltered space for the pigs to come and go as they please.

Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/howefarms/?hl=en

Facebook:    https://www.facebook.com/HoweFarms14/

Website:       https://www.howefarmsmeats.com/

My Grandfather bought this 60 acre farm in Southeast Michigan in 1990. The rich soil and abundant garden were so marvelous to me as I was growing up in the sands of Central Florida. I visited every Summer to roam the property, interact with the livestock, and work in the garden alongside my Grandpa. After going to college for Ecology and a disillusioning stint working for the government, I decided to move to Grandpa’s farm to pursue my calling of environmental stewardship. My grandfather passed away in 2013, I converted the conventional row crop fields to pasture, and began my foray into regenerative agriculture. I named my slice of heaven Mastodon Farm, after the mastodon bones that my Grandpa unearthed while digging a fish pond.

Initial soil test had my organic matter at 2%. The pasture was originally seeded to horse mix so there were no legumes. The grass would barely grow and the pasture soon became overgrazed. It looked green from the road but walking the field you could see the ground was dominated by patches of bare dirt. Once I got cows and started feeding hay, it didn’t take long to notice how much better the grass grew around the old hay piles. I started bale grazing before I even knew there was a term for it. If the mat of old hay was impeding pasture growth, I moved my American Guinea Hogs through to incorporate it. One beauty of regenerative agriculture, you can turn trash into treasure (wasted hay to soil organic matter).

Another beauty is allowing the livestock to work for you and the farm. Cows can be penned up in garden areas over the winter to blanket the area with organic matter and manure without the need to relocate material. Pigs can come behind them to incorporate this material into the soil to speed decomposition. The pigs will also happily terminate and incorporate cover crops in the garden and orchard. Chickens forage behind them and reduce the insect population. Most of the grain the hogs and chickens eat is “trash” from an Organic seed cleaning operation in Toledo, Hirzel Farms.

These days, the farm is producing beef, milk, pork, chicken, eggs, vegetables, honey, maple syrup, and cut lumber. We are always happy to receive visitors, volunteers, interns, partners or anyone else who just wants to talk about farming. Our priority is providing the community with wholesome food and experiences, and the knowledge that we can feed ourselves without degrading natural resources. I am deeply grateful for this lifestyle and humbled by the opportunities to share.

Find us

Mastodonfarm.com

Instagram: @Durt_Farmer

Facebook: Mastodon Farm, Clayton, MI

We raise heritage pigs and different crosses. We take pride in raising our pigs in the forest and on pasture. Our pigs are given no hormones or  antibiotics.  We practice regenerative farming methods and rotational grazing. The  pigs are grain fed and are free to forage on rye, red and white clover and a variety of nuts in the fall and winter months. 

We also offer our products in multiple locations throughout South Carolina and North Carolina so that our customers can enjoy a healthier, cleaner alternative

     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/HR-Family-Farm/

     Eagle Oaks Farm is a micro-farm in Ramona, in the rural part of San Diego County, CA, raising all natural heritage breed American Guinea Hog pork and all grass-fed and finished Angus beef. Our livestock roam freely on multiple acreage among our oak trees, getting love and respect all their lives, with just "one bad day" at the end.

     Our American Guinea Hogs are pasture raised with shady oaks, mud wallows, and lots of love as they live their best lives as naturally as possible. We feed them an all natural and eco-friendly diet. They primarily eat spent beer grains supplied by local breweries. These spent grains are leftovers from the beer brewing process. They are supplemented also with produce scraps and assorted leftover food products such as items past their sell by date. By eating food production castoffs, the hogs are diverting waste from the landfill and repurposing it into feed, and essentially converting “garbage” into delicious, sustainable meat!  

     Our micro herd of Angus cattle roam freely as well eating fresh grass on 7 acres when in season, and supplemented with hay during winter months. They are all grass fed and finished, never given grains.  

     All our livestock are never given hormones or sub-therapeutic antibiotics. Also we don't believe in the cruel transport and abattoir conditions, so our livestock are dispatched at our farm with as little trauma as possible. They are 100% born and raised in Ramona. 

     By only keeping a small number of livestock, we are able to sustainably produce the meat 100% locally and compost the manure and reuse it on our fruit trees and gardens. 

     We follow the CSA model where customers can buy a share of the farm to enjoy their bounty. We feature a subscription meat box that includes an assortment of pork and/or beef. The meat is inspected, processed, shrink wrapped, and flash frozen by a local licensed butcher shop. We offer meet up points throughout San Diego County, free delivery in Ramona, and are at the Farmer’s Market in town. 

We want to make it convenient for anyone to eat local, sustainable, and all natural!

           Website: https://eagleoaksfarms.com

           Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eagleoaksfarm/

           Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eagleoaksfarm/

Home Place Pastures is committed to the ethical treatment of our animals, the health of our community, and the stewardship of our land.

OUR LIVESTOCK

Our animals live their entire lives on pasture, uninhibited to express their natural behaviors.  Their days are spent in small groups, rooting and grazing.  

We have spent much time and consideration planning for their last day as well.  We operate our own USDA inspected slaughter and processing facility on our farm.  With much research, hard work, and design help from Dr. Temple Grandin, we built this facility so that our commitment to ethical treatment is never compromised.

OUR COMMUNITY

We hire locally, with most of our workforce living within a 10 mile radius of the farm. The producer program provides new market opportunities for surrounding farms, and brings more land into regenerative production practices. Our events bring people to Como from all over the country to celebrate the rich food and music culture of our Mississippi hill country community.

OUR LAND

We practice regenerative agriculture, by building biodiversity and nutrient rich soils. Focusing on the soil as the substrate of all life on the farm creates the framework for our farming decisions.

Website: https://homeplacepastures.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeplacepastures/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeplacepastures/?hl=en

Marview Farms - Our animals live the happy life that we would like to live if we were them.

Marview Farms raises grass fed and grass finished beef, goat, and lamb, along with pastured pork, poultry, and eggs. Our animals are born and raised on our farm, and our family is dedicated to providing them with a stress-free and happy life. 

For our animals to stay healthy, we must provide natural, biodynamic soils that create nutritious grasses. We are a grass-finished farm because animals are designed to forage and be completely sustained on a green pasture diet. By grazing, our animals keep the soil fertile returning native minerals and nutrients to the earth. 

Our commitment and dedication is second to none. We live our lives to fulfill the task that God has put us in charge of. 

Organically Grown | Grass Fed | Grass Finished | Never Any Antibiotics / GMOs

Family Owned & Operated

marviewfarms.com         Facebook           Instagram 

Back in the day, my husband George was involved in building and managing a pork confinement operation in northern Michigan. At that time, it was believed that foraging animals could not efficiently harvest what the land could grow and provide. They were placed in confinement structures while the land was worked to efficiently produce the feed needed to grow livestock. 

Many years later we are letting our animals work our land and forage and harvest what they need.  We believe this is the way it was always meant to be. We have created an environment and lifestyle for these heritage bred pigs that reflects the way pork has famously been produced in Spain since the 1800’s. Our pigs are allowed to forage thru our oak savannah’s, where there is an abundance of acorns, beech nuts, tubers, roots, wild herbs and legumes. They also have a free choice of supplemental feed consisting of a vegetarian diet with no antibiotics and no hormones.

They are allowed to sleep under the stars and roam free like their feral ancestors. In late autumn, they forage all night under the full moon, living their lives similar to the famous Iberico pigs, exercising their bodies and minds every day. It is chronicled that healthy and happy animals without stress make for better table fare.

We hope you enjoy this delicious, clean and nutritious meat.

All of our meat is Vacuum packed and labeled for ease of identification.

Locally Raised, Direct from the Farm and Made in Michigan

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/pasturepork

Website: https://forestridge.eatfromfarms.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIST6Hmz2LLwQ7XifNvOpA