“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and devil are at the moment attacking, i am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. When the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proven, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is merely flight and disgrae if he flinches at that point.”

There is a movement afoot to start a family integrated church in Moore County. We were involved in helping start one in Fayetteville before we moved here. For those that may be interested in learning more about this church plant, or the biblical principles behind family integrated churches, email us or give Allen a call at 910 309-8494.

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Beyond Organic
By Jo Robinson Printer Friendly Version

Organic meat, poultry, and dairy products are now available at your supermarket, which is a change for the better. When you see the organic label, you know the food is going to be free of pesticide residues, synthetic hormones, genetically modified organisms, and a long list of questionable additives. You also have the satisfaction of knowing that raising animals organically causes less harm to the environment. But when it comes to animal production, organic is not enough. We need to be raising animals on their species-appropriate diets.

Few consumers realize that many producers of “organic” or “naturally raised” animal products, raise their animals in confinement and feed them grain—just like the operators of conventional feedlots. Feeding large amounts of grain to a grazing animal decreases the nutritional value of its products whether the grain is organic or conventionally raised. The reason is simple. Compared with grass, grain has far fewer omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E.(1) Therefore, grainfed animals have fewer of these important nutrients in their meat and dairy products. Grainfeeding also interferes with the creation of a cancer-fighting fight called conjugated linoleic acid or CLA.(2) I A test by an independent lab determined that milk from one of the largest organic grain-fed dairies had no more omega-3 fatty acids or CLA than milk from ordinary dairies. Similarly, meat from organic grain-fed beef has the same nutritional profile as meat from the largest Kansas feedlot.

The same story holds true for organic but confinement-raised poultry. Their meat and eggs have no more omega-3s or vitamin E than the products you find in the supermarket.(3) (Unless the birds are given special supplements along with the grain.)

For many consumers, food safety is an even bigger concern than nutrition. Once again, grass feeding offers an important advantage. It has been known for decades that grain feeding makes a cow’s digestive tract more acid. Now we know that this acidic environment speeds the growth of potentially dangerous E. coli bacteria and, even worse, makes the bugs more acid-resistant. Alarmingly, these acid-resistant bacteria are much more likely to survive the cleansing acidity of our own digestive juices and make us ill. (4)

Depriving our livestock of fresh greens and vastly increasing their consumption of grain has jeopardized our health in ways people never imagined. Although feeding organically raised grain reduces our reliance on pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, it does not provide the food that nature intended us to eat.

WE FOUND THIS SNAKE WITH ONE OF OUR EGGS IN ITS THROAT IN THE CHICKEN HOUSE. SAM AND SCOOT DECIDED TO PLAY SNAKE TUG-A-WAR

“Corey may be raising pastured chickens, but I’m stickin with the cows”

Just a reminder that our last butcher date is set for November, pickup the week before Thanksgiving. It will be at least 8 months before we can have another one. Ordering now is a great help to us, and also insures you won’t miss out, as it is first come first serve and we always sell out.

Also, those that have expressed a desire for our first batch of pastured poultry, please email us with how many you would like. Again first come first serve. The birds will be ready in late September, and you need to be able to pick up the birds on the butcher date.

At the very top of the list of our favorite things to do; visit with our cousins the Allens

OUR FIRST BUTCHER DATE IS COMING UP IN A FEW WEEKS, AND THE BOYS AT THE BUNKHOUSE ARE RARING TO GO.

This is our first batch of chicks for our first entrances into the world of pastured poultry. They will spend 2 weeks in the brooder house before we put them out on the pasture in movable pens. The chickens will be ready in October. We will probably only be selling about 40-50, and they will be 2.95/pd dress weight. They should dress out at around 4 pounds. We will be taking orders in about a month. In the meantime, we got plenty of beef available for our November butcher date.