Farms of the Month for 2024

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. 

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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