Are Our Products "Organic"?

In short, no, we do not label any of our products as "organic".

Our Beef

Because we do not use any herbicides or chemical fertilizers on our pasture, we could actually begin the lengthy and expensive process of getting our farm organically certified and hence be able to market our beef labeled as "organic". We may pursue this avenue at some point in the future. However, for the present, please rest assured that we will not apply herbicides (or pesticides) and chemical fertilizers to our pastures or our garden. We will not use unnecessary vaccinations or antibiotics.

When a valuable animal is suffering, we will use homeopathic remedies first and as a last resort and when recommended, antibiotics. If a beef requires anitibiotics, it will only be sold with the complete knowledge of the buyer that the animal was treated and with what specific medicines.

Unlike our poultry, our beeves never receive any grain in their diet. Thus, there is not a concern about an organic (grain) ration requirements for our cows.

Our Poultry

Please recognize the label "organic" is constrained by specific federal regulations to include organic grains going into the poultry ration. While we would prefer to use organic grains in our poultry ration, we have not been able to locate a reasonably priced organic grain producer in our area. (If we used organic grains that were shipped over great distances, our production costs could easily double!) Should we locate an organic grain producer with a resonably priced product, please be assured that we will pursue the use of his organic products in our poultry ration.

"..., the production and processing models are 80 percent of the bird's quality, and diet is only 20 percent." (Joel Salatin, Pastured Poultry Profit$, Polyface, Inc., 1993.) We believe that the correct approach is to maximize our animal husbandry skills to provide the kind of optimal living environment for our poultry. This includes fresh, green pasture (and hence good sanitation), sunshine and clean air, a reduction in stress by keeping flock size small, and finally to process our birds in the cleanest and most efficient way.

"Natural"

We believe the best label for our products is "natural". The animals are raised in a way that is consistent with how their ancestors lived in the wild. Cows grazed an area in an intensive way, and then moved on to fresh pastures on a daily basis. Chickens were free to roam to find optimal feed sources (e.g., grains, legumes, bugs, grasses, etc.). Our husbandry skills attempt to mimic the ancestoral environment, but to protect the animals from predation.

In Summary

We believe that our openess is one of our best assets. We believe that the "right answer" is to invite the customer to be the "inspector". Visit our farm, observe our methods, ask any questions, and you, the customer, determine if the methods that we are using in the raising our animals are sufficient.

Last revised: February 04, 2002