2009 will mark a milestone in the life of our farm and family. We have been making plans to expand our operation so that we can provide more of the good, clean meat you desire. One of our largest challenges in organic and natural agriculture has been processing infrastructure. We produce a product that is different than what conventional agriculture today produces. Different is good! Yet, the conventional processor does not quite understand our product. 100% grassfed lamb and beef are supposed to be smaller than grain fattened. Pastured pork fed organic grains should not be seasoned or cured in the same manner as conventional. We should have an option to process pastured poultry and pastured turkey without shipping them long distances. To overcome these obstacles we made the decision to become involved in the product from conception through delivery to you including the processing so that we can provide exactly what you want; no one knows our customers better than us!
We are pleased that our endeavors to take on the processing are coming along quite quickly. While we originally planned to build a small processing facility, we have found a facility available for sale within just a few miles of the farm. Through our studies we have found it to be a good match for what we want to do and have signed a purchase agreement with a target close date of November 1. We plan on being in business to process not only our own meat but the meat of other natural growers in just over a month. This facility will process anything from beef down to poultry. We will add a commercial kitchen to fulfill our desire to produce more value added items such as broths, soups, and egg noodles that have been commonly requested and to provide an outlet for other growers to do the same with their natural products. An education center will help transfer the knowledge we have gained in sustainable living out to the public who want to better understand these topics. We will continue to research alternative energies and how they can be applied to processing to lower our carbon footprint and the footprint of your food. All together, we will have a one of a kind facility that will be the centerpiece for getting our product to you our supporters while supporting other farms wanting to do the same thing. Together we can make a difference! Thank you for supporting us through our period of rapid growth. We appreciate your feedback and look forward to your suggestions on how we can offer and process your food the way you want it done!