Zero Waste Skincare - Why Tallow Balms & Lard Soaps are Worth All the Hype

What were soaps and beauty products made out of before we had highly processed seed oils and mineral oils? Animal fats.

It’s really only been in the last 100 years or so that these processed oils were available and in EVERYTHING.

And it’s not because they’re better for us… it’s because they’re cheaper.

I know we want to believe that if a product is on store shelves it’s safe, but unfortunately that’s just not the case.

Most soaps and lotions available today are made with cheap oils + chemical colors and toxic fragrances.

These products don’t just sit on top of our skin, our bodies absorb and circulate them.

We’ve been making Old Fashioned Lard Soaps from our pastured pork fat for years.

It’s all we use for hand soap, body wash, face wash, and if we didn’t have such hard well water I think it would be great as a toxin free shampoo too!

I hadn’t found a good alternative for lotion until tried my first tallow balm a couple years ago at a homesteading conference.

The conference room was so dry that my hands and lips were cracking and bleeding, so I went to check out the tallow vendor.

I reluctantly handed over my credit card when she said the little jar was $45, but I quickly realized it was worth every penny.

It felt incredible, and only took the tiniest amount to rehydrate my dried cracking hands and lips.

Plus, it healed my skin instead of just temporarily making it feel better then needing to keep applying more lotion and chapstick. You know how once you use chapstick you seem to never be able to stop using it?! That doesn’t happen with tallow.

The little jar I bought at the conference lasted me almost a year.

I decided then I wanted to make tallow lotions and lip balm out of the suet from our beef cattle, but like most other projects it kept being put on the backburner, until….

I was introduced to Alyse Lewis from ButterHide - a woman owned startup business located near us in Southern, Ohio.

Alyse takes the suet from our beef cattle, and turns it into all these nourishing tallow products!

As we’ve released these products, it’s brought up lots of questions about what is tallow, what is a tallow balm, how do you use it, and what’s all the hype about tallow balms anyway?

So First - What Is Tallow?

Tallow is made from beef suet, a specific kind of fat that protects the organs inside a beef animal.

To make tallow the fat is rendered, aka gently melted down. The final product is tallow!

Tallow is great to use for cooking oil, but it’s also AMAZING for our skin.

It’s full of vitamins and minerals including A, B12, D, E and K, which are all so so nourishing.

Unlike seed oils, the nutrient profile of tallow is very similar to our own skin so it absorbs easily.

Tallow also helps boost our skins ability to fight free radicals, plus increases collagen levels and skin elasticity.

Next Question - What Is Tallow Balm?

Tallow balm is rendered tallow that has been mixed up to create a lotion type skincare product.

Our tallow balm includes our tallow + organic cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, raw honey, beeswax and organic essential oils. Click here to see all our options.

How Do You Use Tallow Balm?

Just like you’d use any face moisturizer, lotion or lip balm!

Our whipped tallow balm can replace all your body lotions, hand lotions and facial moisturizers.

We recommend our unscented tallow balm for young children.

Any of our other scents can be used for hands, body, or face, but each essential oil also has a specific healing property.

Lavender: Anti-inflammatory, best for soothing skin ailments such as eczema and psoriasis. Calming

effect on mood, anxiety, stress and depression.

Vanilla Bean: High in antioxidants that combat free radicals to reduce the signs of aging.

Frankincense: rejuvenates mature skin while helping soreness and pain

Peppermint: cools and soothes irritated skin, and can help reduce tension due to headaches or upset

stomach.

Honey Rose Includes:

Rose Absolute: rejuvenates mature skin, reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

Indian Sandalwood: Helps Balance skin tone

Rosalina: Anti-bacterial while reducing the appearance of wrinkles

Neroli: Reduces the appearance of scarring and blemishes

Palmarosa: Provides skin-balancing effects for all skin types

Harvest Spice Includes:

Bergamot: Cleansing properties that are best for acne and skin rashes

Lime: Invigorating, Cleansing and purifying properties and can reduce stress and anxiety

Clove: Anti Inflammatory and antimicrobial properties

Copaiba: promotes a clear, smooth skin complexion and well as having anti-inflammatory properties

Tallow Man Balm Includes:

Cedarwood: soothes irritation, redness, inflammation and itchiness

Juniper Berry: Cleansing and purifying properties to treat acne and dermatitis

Fir Needle: used to combat body odors and can improve respiratory conditions.

Patchouli: Augments skin and hair health while relaxing the mind

And as far as what all the hype is about… that’s because tallow really is fantastic.

Alyse, the owner of Butterhide, started making tallow balms to heal her sons eczema. Now even when he has a flare, it’s calmed down quickly by tallow balm.

Jesse uses it on his hands and they went from literally cracking and bleeding this Winter to healed within a day.

My Mom loves it for her hands and face.

I threw away all the other lotions and chapsticks I owned.

I also use it on both of my girls when their lips and faces get windburnt from being out free-ranging.

Between our lard soaps and tallow lotions, our skincare is super simple around here - wash with lard soap, moisturize with tallow balm, put on tallow lip balm. Done!

A few other things I want to share about tallow balms and lard soaps…

  1. They allow us to use the entire animal and not waste the fat, which is so important to me.

  2. I value things more when I know how hard we worked to raise the beef steer or hog, that the butcher took the time to save the fat for us, and I value the time involved to render the fats and make soaps and tallow balms, plus the mess to clean up afterwards!

  3. The less I buy from big name companies, the better I feel. It’s satisfying to break free of the societal norms and be more community sufficient.

  4. It bothers me that most body care products are so full of toxins. I’m proud to be part of providing my family and community with safe alternatives.

  5. I love collaborating with and supporting women owned business in rural Ohio! Alyse from Butterhide makes our tallow balms and Heather from Twisted Violet Homestead makes our soaps using the beef and pork fat from our animals.

If you’d like to check out the tallow balms and lard soaps we have available, this link will take you into our Online Farm Store.

**Our online store has a minimum order size of $125. If you’d like to order just tallow balms or soaps, please order for Farm Pickup and let me know in the comments you’d like your order shipped. I will adjust to order to include the $10 shipping fee.

A couple of our favorite clean products that we don’t make ourselves:

Tallow based deodorant from Primally Pure - this is the only one we’ve found that doesn’t burn our armpits!

I love the bug spray and dry shampoo from Root & Clay - use code DANA at checkout for a discount


If you’d like to stay in the know about all farm happenings, special offers, restocks, and just connect to our farm and family - our email list is the place for that. Add your name and email address below to join us!

















When I Almost Gave Up on the Farm Dream

If you've been reading my emails for awhile you may have heard this story before, and I’m not sure why I never made it a blog post before now!

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In August of 2019 I pretty abruptly left my off-farm job. I had reached a point of burnout and childcare struggles that I couldn't do it anymore.

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It was a risky decision. That job paid our bills, provided our health insurance, the vehicle I drove every day, my cell phone plan, retirement account, all of it.

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It hadn't even been a year since we had our second baby and took out 2 mortgages to buy our farm, but somehow I knew it would be ok.
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I knew the farm wouldn't be replacing my income anytime soon, but I had a specific financial goal for the year.

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One of our mortgage payments is due as a lump sum on January 1st every year. I wanted the farm to make that payment 100% on it's own without having to put any of our personal off-farm earnings towards it.
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So I'm at the last winter farmers market of the 2019 season. The market closes in 20 minutes. The farm payment is due the following week. I was SO CLOSE, but hadn't sold enough to cover the rest of the mortgage payment.

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We had the money in personal savings thankfully, but not hitting that goal was leaving me with so much doubt about whether I made the right decision and if I should give up and go find another job. ​
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What happened next still brings me to tears every time I think about it.

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One of our customers showed up 15 minutes before the market closes, picks out a few items, then hands me her credit card and asks me to also load 12 gift cards. Those gift cards added up to almost exactly the amount I still needed to make the mortgage payment.​
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There was only $11 left in the farm bank account after the check cleared, but I made the mortgage payment with 100% farm income dollars.

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I took this as a sign I was exactly where I needed to be, doing exactly what I was meant to be doing, and that I needed to keep going.

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We can't thank you enough for being a supporter of our farm and family.

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You're not just another order number or sale to us. We see you, we appreciate you, and we would not exist without people like you who value the work we do and go out of your way to shop with us. ​
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We are honored that you choose to help us keep a roof over our heads, farmland under our feet, and give our girls the opportunity to grow up this way.

Join our email community below for more behind the scenes stories like this, plus recipes and restock alerts on customer favorites!

Eating Quality Local Foods on a Budget

We all want to feed ourselves and our families well, but sometimes the price of local food can cause sticker shock compared to grocery store prices.


I get it, the upfront cost seems higher, but when we actually break down the cost, eating a homecooked meal made with quality local ingredients is cheaper than even a fast food value meal.

Plus the nutritional value is not even close to comparable!

I broke down what it costs to make a few of our simple go-to meals, starting with roasting a whole chicken. As we use up leftovers and bone broth from that one chicken dinner, the cost of the meals we can create becomes lower and lower.

Full disclosure - I didn’t break down the costs of everything like spices and oils and electric/gas to cook with. Use this info with an open mind and plug in your own recipes and costs!


These meals build on each other to use up any leftovers from prior meals. I’m not a person who likes to eat the same leftovers day after day, so I try to repurpose them into different meals. These meals look repetitive, but just so you can see multiple options for using up the same leftovers.


It’s always an option to freeze things like shredded chicken, the broth from your roasted chicken, or soup made with your homemade broth to have quick meals another day. We just want to do our best to use up all the leftovers and not waste food. Those savings add up!


Also, I created these recipes as if I was going to make them today, in April, when local tomatoes and sweet corn aren’t available. I highly recommend including local fresh veggies when they’re in season!


Meal #1 - Roasted Chicken with Potatoes & Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 Whole Grass Powered Chicken $28

2lbs Potatoes $3.50

1 Bundle Asparagus $3

Total Cost $34.50

Total Cost for Family of 4 = $8.65/person


Don’t waste those bones or leftovers!

Turn the bones into homemade broth (we usually end up with about 4 quarts from each chicken) to use in soups and freeze some for later too.

Shred any leftover chicken off the bones and either freeze, or use in more meals through the week.

If you’d like my Bone Broth making guide, here’s a link to have it sent to your inbox!


Meal #2 - Southwest Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

leftover shredded chicken from Meal #1 $0

1 bag local salad mix $5

1 bunch local green onions $2

1 box local cilantro microgreens $5

1 box cherry tomatoes $5

1 can sweet corn $ 1.79

1 can black beans $1.79

2 avocados $3

Total Cost $ 23.58

Total Cost for Family of 4 = $5.89/person

Meal #3 - Beef (or chicken) Tacos or Taco Bowls

Ingredients:

Leftover Shredded Chicken from Meal #1 $0

OR 1 pkg Grass Powered ground beef $12

Taco Seasoning $3

Taco Shells or Tortilla Chips $7

Shredded Cheese $3

Leftover lettuce, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, etc. from Meal #2 $0

Total Cost $25

Total Cost for Family of 4 = $6.25/person


Any leftovers from this meal make amazing quesadillas for a quick and easy lunch!


Meal #4 - Chicken Tortilla Soup

This could be made in place of the salad or tacos, or used as a way to finish up leftovers from either option!

Chicken Tortilla soup is just one of so many options. You could make chicken noodle, chicken and rice, any different version of chicken soup that would use up shredded chicken and some of your homemade broth.


Ingredients:

leftover shredded chicken from Meal #1 $0

1 quart broth from chicken in Meal #1 $0

1 onion diced $1

1 pepper diced $1.50

1 can diced tomatoes $1.79

1 can black beans $1.79

1 can sweet corn $1.79

**toss in any leftovers from salads or tacos

Leftover shredded cheese, green onions, cilantro microgreens, tortilla chips as toppings $0

Total Cost $7.87

Total Cost for Family of 4 = $1.96/person


Most soups freeze really well. Toss this in the freezer and it’ll be there for a quick lunch or dinner when you’re ready for it!


Meal #5 - Veggie Potato Soup

This is one of our favorites for lunch!

You can also toss in shredded chicken to add a little more protein and mix up the veggies if you have something else on hand to use up.


Ingredients:

1 quart chicken bone broth from Meal #1 $0

about 6 medium potatoes $2 (use up what’s left of the bag from Meal #1)

2-3 carrots $1.50

1 bag frozen organic broccoli florets $2 (optional)

1 onion $1

about 2 cups milk or half & half $2

Total Cost $8.50

Total Cost for Family of 4 = $2.13/person


Creating amazing meals from local foods doesn’t have to be difficult, expensive or take a lot of time. Simple meals with basic ingredients will nourish your family just as well as anything extravagant.


If you want to gain more confidence and experience cooking this way with local foods, I encourage you to join us as a Monthly Meat CSA member.


As a Meat CSA Member we will build a custom bundle of our meats for your family every month then guide you through preparing amazing meals using our meats + fresh, seasonal ingredients.


Learn more about our Monthly Meat CSA here.


Want recipes, restock alerts and stories from the farm delivered straight to your inbox? Add your first name and email address below and be part of the in crowd!


Click Here for 2024 Meat Availability

As pasture-based farmers, our products are often seasonal. And as a small family farm, we can only raise a limited number of beef steers, hogs, and chickens each year.

I created this blog post to map out when we’ll have beef and hog shares available so you can mark your calendars and start budgeting for any larger stock ups.


When you go to our Online Farm Store to reserve a share, you’ll be able to choose your estimated pickup date at checkout.

The exact date will depend on the processors schedule for cutting and packaging the meat, but these dates give you a general idea when to plan for your beef or pork shares to be ready for pickup.

I highly recommend that if you know you’ll want to stock your freezer with a quarter beef or half a hog in 2024, that you go ahead and reserve it. We have a limited number of beef and pork shares available.


2024 Beef Shares - Estimated Pickup Dates

TBD - Anticipated to be approximately May/June/July and October/November

2024 Hog Shares - Estimated Pickup Dates

Dates TBD - November/December

2023 Thanksgiving Turkeys

Our processor has decided not to process turkeys this year, so we’re working on potential plans for turkeys. We’ll likely source them from another farm who raises turkeys the same way we do, but has access to another processor.

2024 Pasture-Raised Chicken

Our chicken raising season will run from April to October 2024. We stock our freezers with chicken cuts every Winter, but we do often start running out of some cuts by Spring.

Chicken Cuts by the Box

Purchasing chicken cuts by the box is the most economical way to stock your freezer with our pasture-raised chicken. Cuts by the box are listed in our Online Farm Store when available. If we sell out, I will take preorders before our first processing date in May 2024.

Monthly Meat CSA Shares

We will continue to add new members to our Monthly Meat Share CSA as product availability allows. This is a great option if you prefer not to purchase in large quantities, but still want to keep your freezer stocked with our products year-round.

7 Tips and Tricks for Making Back to School Weeknight Meals Easier

My Top 7 Tips & Tricks for Feeding my Family Quick but Healthy Meals


1. Stock the Goods

Even if meal planning isn’t your thing, having a freezer full of meats and veggies plus some pantry staples means you can put a healthy meal on the table, fast.

Bake or pan cook a pack of our pastured chicken thighs, make a quick batch of rice or quinoa and a bag of frozen veggies - dinner!

Being part of our Monthly Meat Share makes this extra easy. I’ll stock your freezer once a month with our homegrown meats, then you’ll just need to shop for side dishes!


2. Invest in Quality Kitchen Tools

There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to cook without the proper tools!

A couple sharp knives, a meat thermometer, a cast iron skillet and my Dutch oven or Crockpot seem to be my most used kitchen tools.

I’ve also heard amazing things about the Instapot and airfryers too. If you use them a lot I’d love to hear more about how they save time you and effort cooking!


3. Keep it Simple

Feeding your family real food doesn’t mean you need to transform overnight into a gourmet chef, just keep it simple!

A meat and veggies, that’s all you really need. Extra sides are a bonus!

Also - we don’t need to cook different recipes all the time. If you find a few simple meals your family enjoys, don’t feel bad about making them every week or even more often.

I’ve even heard of families who cook the same rotation of meals on the same night every week. I don’t go that extreme, our days are too random and I’d get bored, but it would make shopping and meal planning so much easier!


4. Plan Ahead - Or Not

When I’m on top of my game, I’ll have at least a general idea of what I’m planning to cook for the week ahead of time. That doesn’t always happen though.

I have found success when I pull a few packs of meat from the freezer on Sunday evening and as the meats thaw through the week, I create a meal around them.

When I’m really organized I’ll pull the meat for tomorrow’s dinner out the night before to thaw, and maybe even chop the veggies to speed up the cooking.

Sometimes I’ll pop dinner into the crockpot during breakfast so it’ll be ready at the end of the day.

Most of the time though, I’m quick thawing frozen meats in a bowl of cool water an hour or so before I start cooking dinner and making up a meal on the fly with whatever I have on hand.

It might feel impossible now, but once you start spending more time in your kitchen creating meals from local foods it becomes so much easier to make up meals!


5. Leftovers are Life

I’m a huge fan of cooking once then turning leftovers in to new meals.

Cooking a few times a week then simply heating up leftovers on busy nights is a great strategy for avoiding the drive thru line between activities.

Most of my family will eat leftovers fine, I tend to be the pickiest about eating the same thing multiple times, so I try to create something new with the leftovers.

Meat from a whole roasted chicken can easily be stretched into multiple dinners - especially if you make broth with the bones!

Soups from leftover chicken, broth and veggies, crumble leftover meatloaf into spaghetti, leftover taco stuff into quesadillas, leftover beef roast into beef and noodles or vegetable soup - get creative!


6. Freezer Meals

When I have an open Sunday afternoon, I like to spend it in the kitchen whipping up freezer meals for the week or month ahead.

Muffins, breakfast burritos, bone broth, soups and stews, and cooked shredded meat are all great options to have on hand! Most will also freeze well to be heated up on the busiest days.

Making a homemade chicken noodle soup could be as simple as adding a quart of frozen broth, a couple cups of frozen shredded chicken, a bag of frozen mixed veggies, then adding your favorite noodles to cook right at the end.


7. Give Yourself Grace

Life and feeding our families well is about balance.

Don’t feel like a failure if you find yourself exhausted, without a plan, and ordering pizza or making a box of mac n cheese on a random Tuesday night.

Dust yourself off and try again on Wednesday!


I’m adding an 8th thing in here, because I just feel like it needs to be said - your meals don’t need to look like they do on Pinterest to be healthy, filling, and taste amazing.

As a matter of fact, nothing in our lives needs to look Pinterest worthy to be perfect. We gotta let those expectations go!


We’d love to help you stock your freezer with pasture-raised and grass-fed meats so you’re ready to create healthy meals.

Head into the Online Farm Store here to see what we have in stock, or pop out to visit us in the farm store Sunday afternoon from 1-3pm or Tuesday evenings from 5-6pm.


If you aren’t already on our email list, it’s the place to be! Be first to know when we open up Monthly Meat Share spaces and send out stories and recipes from the farm. You can unsubscribe at any time, but we’re pretty sure you’ll want to stick around!




Deciphering Chicken Labels - Because Free Range Doesn't Always Mean What You Think!

So you're at the grocery store, standing in front of the chicken display. Feeding your family high quality, nutrient dense food, free from chemicals, antibiotics, hormones, GMO's, etc. is all important to you. But there are so many choices! Organic, Free Range, All Natural, Vegetarian-Fed, Hormone and Antibiotic Free, Pasture-Raised, even Amish Raised are words you'll see on labels.  

I've been there, it's overwhelming, which is why I wanted to talk through some of the claims and what they mean, or don't mean. 

Hormone and Antibiotic Free - It's illegal to feed hormones to any type of poultry, in any production system in the United States. Some integrators will still use antibiotics in their birds, others are moving away from the practice. Either way, if proper withdrawal periods are met there should be no antibiotic residue in the meat.

Are there other big issues with feeding animals antibiotics and are there probably instances where withdrawal periods aren't met? Yes to both. There was a Whole Foods turkey scandal a few years ago when USDA inspectors found traces of an illegal growth hormone and antibiotics among other substances in turkey labeled as being raised without either, so I can't say it doesn’t happen. 

All Natural - just like I talked about in my blog post about beef production, this means nothing. Chickens are fed a typical conventional feed, raised in the typical confinement barns, they probably weren't fed antibiotics or hormones (which again, is illegal to feed any poultry produced in the United States anyway), but otherwise are no different than the other products on the shelf without the all natural sticker. 

Free Range - this is a super confusing one. So back in the day when the term free range first started to be used it meant literally, the chickens were free to roam about the farm eating bugs and worms and doing chicken stuff. Then the chicken industry latched onto this and USDA ruled that the "free-range" label can be used when chickens are raised in conventional broiler barns, on conventional feed, but given "access to the outdoors" at some point in their lives.

This typically takes the form of a little fenced, concrete lot with a little door that is opened when the chickens are 5-6 weeks old. Broiler chickens are processed around that age, and after spending that much time indoors they likely don't venture outside at all. And there's nothing to do out there anyway. 

Free-Range doesn't mean anything unless you visit the farm and can see that the chickens are actually roaming about in pasture!

Organic - these chickens are raised in the same confinement barns as “free-range” birds with minimal outdoor access (not raised on pasture). The only difference is they are fed a certified organic feed.

A note - the organic corn used to create these feeds is often imported in from around the world. Along with a strong possibility it wasn’t actually raised organically, the environmental impact of moving grain across the world just to be able to put an organic label on the end product is incredibly wasteful.

These birds will not be nutritionally superior to a conventionally raised chicken, and in my opinion, are an even less environmentally friendly option than conventionally raised birds that are fed grains produced near where they are raised.

Vegetarian Fed - chickens are not herbivores, they are omnivores which means they prefer to eat both plants and animal proteins to meet their dietary needs. If your label says the chickens were vegetarian fed, they were more than likely not given access to the outdoors at all because they might eat a bug and not be vegetarians anymore! 

It could just mean their feed was 100% vegetarian, but you'll need to ask your farmer.

Amish Raised - I didn't know this was a thing until I was in Chicago for a work conference and every restaurant had "Amish Chicken" on their menu. Now I know some great pasture-based Amish farmers, but I also can tell you with certainty that this Amish chicken was raised in a conventional confinement barn.

Depending on what the specific Amish community allows as far as utilities, sometimes barns have to be retrofitted to run off natural gas or propane, but they operate in the same manner, work with the same few poultry integrators, feed the same feed, etc. as a typical "English" conventional broiler barn. 

Don't be fooled by a buggy on the label, it's the same chicken as the cheaper stuff sitting next to it on the shelf.

Pasture-Raised - Finally, I can go full scale pastured poultry nerd and tell you why I am so passionate about how we raise our chickens and turkeys!

True pasture-raised poultry is night and day different in quality of product, nutritional benefits, quality of life for the birds, and quality of life for the farmers raising them. They also create so many positive benefits to our soils, pastures and communities.

One thing I do want to note is even though our chickens and turkeys eat plenty of greens and forage for proteins, the birds do still need to be supplemented with grain. Their nutritional needs cannot be met by pasture alone. All pasture-raised poultry will be supplemented with an additional feed source. We feed a specialized non-GMO feed ration mixed using grains raised by our local farmers.

The American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA for short) created this video showing pastured poultry production in action and talks about why pasture-raised poultry is so far superior to any other product on the market. How chicken is raised and what they eat really does make a difference!  

We’re proud to be part of the APPPA organization and the growing group of farmers across the country raising pastured poultry for our communities. We’re proud of the quality products we raise, that we raise our animals in a sustainable and humane way, and we’re extremely proud to be your farmers.

If you’re ready to taste truly pasture-raised chicken or need a freezer restock, here’s all the chicken options we have to offer!

- Dana

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Grass-Fed Beef Fed Corn? Deciphering Beef Labels

As a consumer looking for the healthiest beef options to feed your family, labels can make this so confusing. You have Organic, All-Natural, Pasture-Raised, Grass-Fed, Grass-Finished, and it's been so long since I've had to shop the grocery store for meat I'm probably missing some but I think I'll start with these.

It wasn't very many years ago I was a grocery store shopper who looked for the cheapest ground beef and would bring the giant package home, split it all up into smaller chunks and refreeze. You know, being thrifty. 

Cheap food has its place. I've been peanut butter sandwich poor, and I know inexpensive commodity goods help keep bellies full. I judge no one for making that decision for their family, especially when the choices are cheap ground beef or a box of Twinkies. 

What does bother me though, is when large corporations market themselves as having quality products, and charge a premium price, when it’s the same as the cheap stuff next to it on the shelf.

The meats and eggs you get from local regenerative farmers is so far superior to what you’ll find in any grocery store or delivery service, even if the cute labels, certifications and “creative” marketing campaigns try to convince you otherwise.

This blog post is simply to help decode some of the labels you'll see and hear as you're shopping for beef, and also so you know what questions you'll want to ask to be sure you're getting the product you want. 

It's not my style to criticize other methods of production or say my way of raising beef is the way everyone should be doing it. What we prefer and what works for our farm doesn't work for everyone. What's most important to me is that you know what you're buying and that you make efforts to buy it locally. 

Ok, let's dive into the labels.

Organic - I think we all have this vision in our head that organic cattle are grass-fed on lush green pastures and live a superior life to those raised conventionally. The reality is, if you're buying organic beef from any grocery store the animal was more than likely raised in confinement just like a conventional steer.

The only difference was they were fed organic grain and no antibiotics or growth hormones.

All-Natural - This is a super vague term that really doesn't mean a whole lot when you see it on any food label. Typically in the beef world it means the cattle were not given a growth hormone implant or antibiotics. They’re typically fed conventional grain in a feedlot type setting. 

If you're buying locally, this is still going to be far superior to anything you'll find at the grocery store, but ask your farmer questions so you know their production practices. 

Pasture-Raised - this isn't a term I had seen applied to beef until recently, but what this usually means is that cattle were given access to pasture while being fed grain.

I've known some farms that have lots of pasture acreage and a significant portion of the animals diet came from forage, but I've also seen others where they are basically on a lot with very little grass and the majority of their diet came from grain. Ask questions and go visit the farm! 

Grass-Fed - here's the big shocker - the label "Grass-Fed" can be applied to cattle that ate grass for part of their life but then were "finished" on grain. 

The reason this matters is because once a steer starts eating grain, the ratio of Omega 3's to Omega 6's immediately begins to change along with the concentration of CLA's, vitamins and minerals that come straight from the forage diet the cattle are consuming.

I think it’s misleading to allow beef that ate grain to be labeled as grass-fed, but they don’t let me make the rules.

Never hesitate to ask questions about any farmers feeding practices and if the beef you're buying has been fed grain. 

Grass-Finished - These cattle have been fed and finished on nothing but grass and forage. If you're searching for grass-fed beef, this is probably the product you're looking for.

You'll still want to ask questions about feeding and management practices such as growth hormone and antibiotic use if that's important to you, although usually that's not something farmers producing this type of beef are into. 

Another question I've gotten is - can you really raise 100% grass-fed and finished beef in Ohio? What happens in winter time when the grass isn't growing? 

The answer is yes - it is possible and here's how we do it!

In the Spring/Summer/Fall they are out on pasture grazing and in the Winter we feed them hay, which is just dried and baled forage. Our cattle are never fed grain.

Finishing beef on forage alone does take more management from the farmer and longer for the animal to grow, but it's what I feel creates the quality of product I want to feed my family, and what works well for our farm. 

No matter which type of beef you buy or the farm it comes from, it's important to seek out local options. 

Buying locally supports profitable family farms and rural economies, it keeps beef from traveling across the country and world to get to store shelves, it tastes better, and it allows you as a consumer to have a connection to your farmer and food. 

Happy Beef Shopping Friends! 

~ Dana

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Simple Strategies to Get Your Kids to Eat More Veggies Every Day

If you’re in the Midwest - this is prime fresh veggies season!!!

Whether you grow your own garden or shop from your local farmers, this time of year there’s so much abundance happening around us.

I have a family of carnivores who expect meat at most meals, so we focus on pairing the meat we raised with lots of fresh fruit and veggie variety.

If your kids are hesitant to eat vegetables, my best advice is to just keep offering them. It can take multiple times before any of us realize we like something new or develop a taste for it.

You may also need to try a few different ways of serving them. My kids do not like cooked broccoli or carrots, but love them raw dipped in ranch or in veggie roll ups.

It’s also made a big difference for us when I let my kids get involved. If they participate in picking it out, cutting or cooking, mine are more likely to at least take a bite of something new or something they haven’t liked before.

And fresh local veggies are always going to taste better than the bland stuff from the grocery stores!

Here are a few of my favorite ways to add our homegrown meats plus a few extra fresh fruits and veggies into our days:

  1. Add a pound of ground beef, chicken or pork sausage along with chopped onion, peppers, zucchini or yellow squash (or all of them!) into spaghetti sauce, serve over your favorite pasta.

  2. Use spaghetti squash or spiralized zucchini noodles instead of pasta.

  3. Tacos are a great way to add veggies! Start with a pound of our ground beef, chicken or pork sausage and add sliced radishes, onions, tomatoes, microgreens, cilantro, beans and even roasted potatoes. Serve over rice as burrito bowls or into burrito wraps.

  4. Top breakfast eggs with tomatoes, arugula, microgreens or fresh herbs.

  5. Pile your burgers with tomatoes, lettuce and microgreens. Add sautéed onions, peppers and microgreens to your brats. A bun isn’t even needed!

  6. Spend a little time to wash and chop up a variety of fresh veggies. Offer them with hummus or ranch dip. We’re all more likely to actually eat them if there’s a big bowl of ready to eat veggies!

  7. Once you finish chopping veggies and the kitchen is already messy - go ahead and cut up a watermelon and cantaloupe. It’s my least favorite thing, it always creates a giant mess, but it’s so worth it to have a cool, healthy snack ready.

  8. Cream cheese stuffed peppers - this works with slices of sweet bell peppers, but our favorite is the small snack peppers. Cut the peppers in half, scoop out the seeds, add cream cheese and top with everything bagel seasoning.

  9. Add a few sprinkles of sunflower shoots to a peanut butter sandwich.

  10. Fun salads! One of our favorites is a BBQ chicken salad with grilled chicken or leftover shredded chicken, black beans, fresh cut from the cob corn, cherry tomatoes, cilantro microgreens, avocado, and sliced radishes.

  11. Veggie Roll Ups - mix up a block of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sour cream, your favorite seasonings and a mix of chopped veggies. Spread onto tortilla shells, roll up and slice into 1-2 inch rounds. We’ve added everything from shredded carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, sliced bell peppers, red onion, tomatoes, fresh herbs, greens (rainbow chard adds fun color). This is a great way to use up leftover bits of veggies.

If you have other favorite ways you like to add more fresh fruits and veggies into meals and snacks, please let us know in the comments!

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Beef Roasts - Not Just for Cozy Winter Meals

I know beef roasts tend to be known as a classic Winter meal.

Pot roast and potatoes is definitely something we love on a cold Winter evening, but beef roasts are one of my favorite summer meals too.

We tried something new this week and made a super, super simple version of beef barbacoa in the crockpot, added some fun fillers, and it made the BEST burritos!

In summertime we do quite a bit of grilling, but the crockpot is another great way to keep the house a little cooler while still eating an amazing homecooked meal.

Here’s my quick and easy version of summer beef barbacoa burritos!

Ingredients:

  • 1 Grass Powered beef shoulder roast

  • 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

  • 2 cups beef broth

  • 4-6 small potatoes

  • 1 onion

  • Tortillas, rice, quinoa or tortilla chips to create a wrap or bowl

  • favorite toppings - tomatoes, cilantro, radishes, avocado, red onion, sour cream, cheese

Steps:

  1. Add your thawed beef roast to the crockpot with the broth and can of chipotle peppers. If you have a little extra time, add more flavor by seasoning the roast with salt, pepper and a touch of cumin, then brown the roast on all sides in a cast iron skillet. I didn’t brown the roast before adding it to the crockpot, so it’s not absolutely necessary!

  2. Cook the roast on low for 6-8 hours until it shreds easily.

  3. Cut the potatoes into approximately 1 inch cubes and slice the onion into thin wedges. Add enough olive oil to coat lightly and season. I used salt, pepper, and chili seasoning - but smoked paprika, a bit of chili powder, or garlic powder, would all be great options too!

  4. Roast the potatoes at 425 degrees approximately 40 minutes or until they are soft inside and lightly browned.

  5. Prepare your favorite toppings

  6. You’re ready to eat! Layer on beef, potatoes and onions, and all your other toppings and enjoy a locally raised, nutrient dense meal!

If there are leftovers, these will make delicious sheet pan nachos for lunch or dinner the next day :)

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Simple Summer Favorite - Hawaiian Chicken Bowls

I’ve been in a major cooking rut most of this Spring, but I ran across this recipe idea and knew we had to try it!

It’s my favorite kind of meal - super quick and simple, with simple ingredients, but the flavors come together to make it seem like a way fancier meal than it actually is.

And all but the rice can be grilled outside, so it’s perfect for hot summer evenings when you don’t want to heat up the house cooking indoors.

Note - we used boneless chicken thighs in our bowls, but you can definitely use any other bone-in or boneless chicken cut or even ground chicken cooked in a skillet. I think pork would also work well here too.

Recipes are only suggestions, use what your family likes best or what you have on hand - it’ll still turn out great!

We also made Hawaiian chicken burgers using our unseasoned ground chicken patties with the roasted red peppers and pineapple as toppings and they were AMAZING.




Ingredients:

1 package Grass Powered boneless chicken thighs (or see note above for other ideas!)

1 batch coconut rice (see below)

2 red bell peppers

1 can pineapple slices or 1 fresh pineapple sliced

1 red onion (optional)

Coconut aminos, salt, pepper, garlic powder to marinate the chicken




Coconut Rice:

2 cups jasmine rice

1 can coconut milk

1.5 cups water or bone broth

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar (optional)




Steps:

  1. Rinse rice in a fine mesh colander until water runs clear then add to a saucepan.

  2. Add coconut milk, water, salt and sugar to a pot and bring to a boil.

  3. Turn the heat down to low and cook covered for 20 minutes.

  4. Fluff and serve when you’re ready!




Chicken Marinade:

.25 cup olive oil

4 Tbsp coconut aminos

1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

pinch of red pepper flakes




Steps:

  1. Marinate your thawed (or at least mostly thawed) chicken in the chicken marinade for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.

  2. Cut each pepper into about 3 slices and the onion into round, flat slices (think like the shape of a burger patty). Have a can of pineapple slices or your fresh pineapple slices prepared.

  3. Prepare your coconut rice, or if your family isn’t into coconut make regular rice with bone broth instead of water to give it some extra flavor and nutrition!

  4. Grill your veggies and pineapple slices first until they’re softened. I like ours with a little char to them.

  5. Once the veggies are ready, move them off the heat and add your chicken to the grill. Cook until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees.

  6. Assemble the bowls by layering rice, chicken, veggies and pineapple. I like to drizzle mine with a little extra coconut aminos for serving too.

Even our kids LOVED this recipe, especially Eliza who was standing beside the grill with her bowl anxiously waiting to eat!

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Strong Local Food Systems Create Food Security

Rapidly rising food prices, fuel prices, interest rates, inflation, talk of food shortages.



Friends, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you things are kind of a mess out there right now.



I don’t have the ability to see what’s ahead for sure, but here’s my opinion on what we’re likely to see coming when it comes to food.

First things first though, I’m not panicking, yet. If I feel like we need to panic, I’ll let you know!

But I do feel like our current food system is absolutely unstable and like we saw during COVID, is easily broken with any little interruption.

I think the price of food will continue to rise, especially as the price of fuel and fertilizer continues to increase.

I don’t think we will see widespread extreme food shortages where there’s no food at all, but I do believe we will see more supply chain interruptions with items out of stock more than we’re used to and for longer periods of time.


All the usual advice like stocking up on food if you’re able is useful, but I believe the absolute best ways to protect ourselves against food shortages in the long term is to build a strong local food system and learn to cook with real food.


Our local farmers are already raising all the basics we need from meats, eggs, fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products. We may not have the wide variety of food we’re used to, and we’ll have to cook more from scratch, but the essentials are here.


When our food is being raised, processed, sold, and eaten all within our communities, we are much better protected against outside supply chain interruptions or extra costs for transportation.


When the initial COVID lockdowns caused empty grocery store shelves, most local farms saw a huge demand for their products. That is AMAZING and we were all thrilled to be serving our communities, but we quickly sold through months worth of inventory in weeks.


It’s important to remember that farms like ours can’t flip a switch and quickly have more beef steers, hogs or chickens ready to process, more acres of produce ready to eat, or more milk to bottle.

As demand for local products increases, more local food will be grown, but it realistically takes months or years for all the infrastructure and systems to catch up to a giant increase in local food demand.

If you’ve ever read my post on The Bigger Impacts of Buying Local, there are so many other businesses that need to grow right along with us as our farm and others start raising more food and selling it to our community.

That takes time, which means now is the time to start supporting local farms and businesses to give all of us a chance to grow and be ready to feed more people.

Please don’t wait until we’re in another empty grocery store shelves scenario. Small farms need your support now so we’re ready for whatever comes next.

Every time we shop from local farms we support a stronger and more abundant local food system. When we shop the grocery store, we tell the dangerously fragile global food system that’s how we want our food produced and sold.

I know it’s cliche, but we truly do vote for the type of food system and world we want every single time we shop for food.

I’ll be real that in times of emergency or shortages - farms like ours will prioritize making sure the families we’ve built relationships with have what they need before we open up sales to the public.

It’s not because I don’t want to feed our entire community, I would love to be able to do that, but we raise meat and eggs based on demand. I feel strongly that my first responsibility is to feed the families who have supported and believed in us in all times, not just when grocery store shelves are empty.


I obviously can't forsee the future, who knows what curveball could be thrown at us next, but whatever happens my solution is the same - food security comes from strong local food systems and communities.

Whether you live in a rural area and shop directly from farmer neighbors or you live in the city and have local foods shipped to your door, building relationships and supporting small farms makes our food more secure.

If you’re local to Southern, Ohio you can check here to see when we’ll be at the Chillicothe Farmers Market or be open at the farm.

We also ship meats across Ohio and most of the Midwest every Tuesday and will be adding farm store hours to the calendar soon!


If you’re not already part of our farm community, our email list is the best place to start to connect with your farmers and the source of your food! Watch your inbox for, recipes, first dibs on restocks, and to follow along with our farming journey.





Are We Worried About Avian Influenza?

I know there’s a lot of noise in the news about Avian Influenza spreading from wild birds into domestic chicken flocks, and we’ve been getting lots of questions - so let’s talk about it!

I spoke with a friend who is involved with the commercial poultry industry and knowledgeable about this disease to get his input on how concerned we need to be, and additional details about the virus.

Let’s tackle the most important thing first - Are we worried about Avian Influenza impacting our chickens or our farm?

Our short answer is, not really.

AI is a virus that primarily impacts birds raised in confinement. Any virus spreads quickly when birds are in close quarters! Since our chickens are raised outdoors with plenty of airflow and space, it’s less likely for disease to spread.

Do we have any cases of AI in our area?

At this point, no, but we’re monitoring it.

This virus is spread by migratory birds and we aren’t located in a busy migratory bird flyway. It can be carried by song birds, but it’s most commonly spread by geese, ducks, etc.

Is Avian Influenza dangerous to humans?

AI is a respiratory virus and technically it can infect humans, but it’s not super dangerous. It’s highly fatal to chickens because chickens have little tiny airways and when they get all stuffed up, they simply can’t breathe and don’t last long.

For humans, it would be just like having a good old fashioned cold.

AI does not infect meat or eggs and you cannot get Avian Influenza from eating or touching chicken or eggs.

The only possibility of catching AI if you happen to come in close contact with an infected chicken or bird. People who work in the confinement barns are at higher risk of contracting the virus, the rest of us are at super low risk.

Is there anything we can do to help prevent the virus from infecting our chickens?

USDA is recommending we keep our flocks inside to avoid any contact with wild birds, but sunshine and fresh air goes a long way in preventing all kinds of other bird sicknesses, so we’ll be sticking with our usual routines around here.

There’s often a narrative that backyard/pastured chicken producers are a danger to the rest of the poultry industry by letting our birds potentially mingle with wild birds, but if we study the numbers - the backyard flocks are a tiny, tiny, tiny, percentage of the birds that ever end up with the virus. It’s not being spread by backyard flocks.

The biggest risk of bringing the virus onto our farm is it being tracked in a person who has been around infected birds.

If you have backyard chickens, have been around chickens, or have traveled into areas with high incidence of disease - we will need to be more cautious when you visit.

Will this continue to be an issue all year?

Not likely. This virus dies down once the weather is warmer. The areas seeing the highest outbreaks have been cool and wet all Spring, which increases the spread.

Is it true that confinement and backyard flocks are being confiscated and/or killed?

It is true that when AI is found in a flock, whether in one of the large barns or in a backyard flock, the birds are euthanized.

As far as backyard flocks being confiscated or killed for no reason or as a preventative measure, I don’t feel this is something we need to worry about.

I’m not going to say it hasn’t happened, but I have no first hand knowledge of this happening and haven’t seen any discussion in any of the pastured poultry producer groups I’m part of saying that this has become or will be an issue.

Will we still be able to buy chicks?

Yes. The breeding facilities for most chickens, like the cornish cross birds we raise, are fairly spread out across the country. Even if 1 company or barn would be infected with AI, there are more that could provide the chicks we need.

If there was a major loss of breeder flocks and available supply is low, the price of chicks could increase.

At this point, I’m not worrying about it being an issue.

Will there be a chicken, turkey or egg shortages?

It’s possible that grocery stores will have supply chain interruptions. It’s also likely the prices for poultry products in the grocery store will increase.

Unless we see increased prices for any of our direct inputs, it won’t impact our supply or prices. We rarely have enough eggs to meet demand, but we should have plenty of chicken!

Obviously I have no crystal ball to predict the future and there’s always a slim possibility we could end up with AI on our farm, but I wanted to reassure you that this is not something that we are overly concerned will negatively impact our farm or our ability to provide you with safe chicken and eggs.

Do you have other questions about Avian Influenza or any other topics in food and agriculture? Send us an email and we’d be happy to answer your questions for you!


Dana


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All About Eggs!

From shell color to label claims and how to peel farm fresh hard boiled eggs - all your egg questions are answered here! And maybe some you didn’t even know you wanted to ask. :)

Are brown eggs more nutritious than white eggs?

Nope! Shell color doesn’t matter, what’s inside the egg is the same. What does matter is how the hen that laid the egg was raised and fed!

Our flock has a mix of all different breeds that lay lots of egg colors including chocolately brown eggs, brown eggs with speckles, a sort of pink egg, a few that lay blue and green eggs, and we do have quite a few white egg layers right now too.

Our hens live on pasture in a giant moveable hoop house, year-round. They are supplemented with a local non-GMO feed to make sure they have the right balance of nutrition.

This gives them lots of access to pasture, sunlight and fresh air while protecting them from predators. It also keeps them from destroying our garden, pooping on our porch, and laying eggs in weird spots all over the farm.

What do all the label claims on egg cartons mean?

Just like with buying chickens for meat (here’s a blog post I wrote about that), you’ll see so many label claims on grocery store egg cartons. I’ll do a whole blog post about egg label claims someday, but here’s what you need to know:

Cage Free = chickens raised in crowded confinement barns but outside of cages.

Free-Range = chickens raised in confinement barns with “access to the outdoors”, which is usually a small fenced lot without forage. They ARE NOT out roaming about in pastures foraging like the name implies.

Organic = chickens raised in confinement barns and given “access to the outdoors” like free-range birds. They are not raised on pasture, they are not foraging, the only difference is they are fed an organic feed.

Vegetarian Fed = chickens are not vegetarians, they’re omnivores. Vegetarian fed chickens were not likely to have access to the outdoors since they might eat a bug and not be vegetarians anymore.

Pasture-Raised = this could be anything unless you know your farmer and how the chickens are being raised! There is no regulation of this term, so grocery store eggs labeled as pasture-raised are typically living in free-range style confinement barns with limited outdoor access.

True pasture-raised eggs are from hens rotated around the farm on pasture in moveable shelters.

How long will farm fresh eggs last?

Fresh eggs will last a month or more in the refrigerator. I recommend having them eaten within a month or so for the best quality, but they’re still safe to eat beyond that.

Do eggs need to be refrigerated?

Once eggs have been washed or refrigerated, they do need to remain refrigerated. We wash our eggs and have them refrigerated before sending them home with you, so they will need to be stored in your refrigerator.

How do you peel farm fresh hard boiled eggs?

There are lots of tips and tricks for peeling fresh from the farm eggs without mangling them, but what I’ve had the best success with is using eggs that are at least a week or two old.

I’ve also had good luck with this method:

  • Bring your eggs, enough cool water to cover them, and about 2 tablespoons of sugar to a rolling boil.

  • Once it’s reached boiling, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let sit for 10 minutes.

  • After the 10 minutes is up, drain off the hot water and place the eggs into an ice water bath to chill quickly. It also helps if you shake the eggs around in the pan or give them a quick tap to break the shells a bit before placing them in the ice bath.

Are eggs healthy for me? I’ve heard they increase cholesterol levels.

That’s been proven to be false. The biggest culprits with increased cholesterol levels are carbs, sugar and processed foods. Eggs are an amazing source of protein, vitamins and minerals - especially truly pasture-raised eggs!

Always consult your doctor, but I also highly recommend doing some reading about the health benefits of animal proteins and dangers of some of the “heart healthy” diets.

Why is your egg supply always low in Winter?

How many eggs a chicken lays is related to the hours of sunlight they’re experiencing.

During times of the year when the days are getting shorter, their egg laying naturally slows down. After the Winter solstice when days start to get a little longer, they kick the egg laying into high gear again.

Chickens will also slow down laying when the weather is super hot, super cold, or they’re stressed for any reason.

Commercial egg operations will use artificial light in Winter to trick the birds into laying more eggs. We choose not to do that. This allows the hen to live a longer, productive egg laying life.

Why are the yolks of some eggs more orange than others? Are orange egg yolks more nutritious?

Vibrant orange yolks are associated with pasture-raised chickens, but it’s important to know that many commercially available feeds include things like marigold extract which give the yolks an artificially orange color. So no, orange yolk does not always = nutrient dense egg.

True pasture-raised eggs will usually have orange yolks, but will also likely show some color variation throughout the year depending on the season, what the birds are foraging for, and there’s even some variation between individual birds.

Our feed does not include marigold or anything else that artificially creates bright orange yolks, the color comes from whatever they’re foraging for!

Are you worried about Avian Influenza?

Not really. It’s mainly a concern in barns with large populations of birds. It has been detected in backyard flocks, but it’s not common.

If you have chickens at home and come to visit our farm, please let us know. We will limit contact with our chickens or take extra precautions, just to be proactive about any possible spread of the virus.

We will continue monitoring the situation and the health of our chickens, but otherwise we’re continuing business as usual here. If anything changes, we’ll let you know!

What chicken questions didn’t I answer?

Did any of this chicken knowledge surprise you?

If you ever have questions about farming, food, or anything we do here please feel free to leave a comment below or reach out via email. We love being a resource for you!

And if you’d like to pick up our eggs here at the farm or Chillicothe Farmers Market, you can order them here in our Online Farm Store!

~ Dana

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The Easiest Way to Shop Local - 4 Clicks from Farm to Doorstep

It's so wild to think about how much our farm has grown, changed, and adapted in the last 6 years.

We started out selling chickens from our garage, then added a farmers market, multiple grocery stores, and a super basic online order form. We built a full online store early in the pandemic, and recently we've taken one step further - we can ship our products to your door!

I know shopping from local farmers isn't always the easiest way to feed your family.

It usually involves gathering everyone up on Saturday morning for a trip to the farmers market or a drive out to the farm during pickup hours, which I know can be fun, but also challenging to fit into everything else you have going on some weeks.

We've been working on our shipping program for almost a year now. We've tested multiple kinds of packaging, worked with other farms who've been doing this for awhile, and we've been shipping out orders for awhile now just figuring out our systems.

I've held off doing an official "launch" of our shipping program until I felt sure we were ready to handle more orders, and this is the announcement that we are ready to do this in a big way!

As our "thank you" for being here and supporting us through so many stages of farm growth, we want to offer you a special bonus to test out our shipping option for the first time.

Use code FREESHIP for free shipping on your first Home Delivery Order!

Shop for Home Delivery Here

I know your initial reaction might be wait.... what?! It's frozen meat, how does that even work? Is it safe?

With special insulated boxes and ice packs, we can safely pack up a box of frozen meats, toss them (gently) onto the UPS truck, and your friendly neighborhood UPS driver will place it on your porch. All while everything in the box maintains a safe temperature.

Shop for Home Delivery Here

Here are a few other details you may want to know:

1. Our existing local pickup options will continue at this point.

- Chillicothe Farmers Market pickup

- Farm pickups on Tuesdays and Saturdays

- We'll also be adding farm store hours this Spring!

2. Some items, like our eggs, can't be shipped and are available for local pickup only.

3. There is a $100 minimum for shipping orders. This ensures there's enough cold stuff in the box to mostly fill it, which helps everything stay frozen.

4. If shipping delays happen or there are any issues with your items, we will make it right for you. So far, we haven't had any problems!

Shipping orders need to be placed by Monday evening each week and orders ship on Tuesday afternoons.

Orders headed to Ohio and surrounding states will arrive on Wednesday. Orders headed to states further from Ohio will arrive by no later than Thursday. We don't ship all the way to the west Coast, but we can ship to most states in the eastern half of the US!

If you're ready to test out our new shipping option - head into the Online Farm Store, choose Home Delivery - Shipping and shop for your favorites.

Be sure to use the FREESHIP code at checkout! If you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.

And if you're local and would rather pick up your orders, we look forward to seeing you at the farmers market or here at the farm soon!

Whether you've been with us for years or have recently joined our farm community, THANK YOU so much for your support. We wouldn't be here without you.

Chillicothe Style Buffalo Chicken Dip

Even in Winter, we're always looking for ways to eat local and use what's available at our farmers market! This Buffalo Chicken Dip is a Chillicothe Farmers Market style twist on classic appetizer dips.

I can’t wait to make it on Sunday while I pretend to watch the Super Bowl! :)

Ingredients:

  • 1 pkg Grass Powered boneless chicken breast - cooked and shredded

  • 1 bag Way Farms Spinach - chopped into smallish pieces

  • 1 can artichoke hearts diced (optional)

  • 1/2 cup Chillicothe Sauce Company sauce - we recommend Red Hot Griff for this recipe, but any of their options will work well!

  • 1 pkg cream cheese - softened

  • 1/2 cup blue cheese or ranch dressing

  • 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella

  • Dipping vessel of choice - fresh veggies, pita chips, crackers, whatever you like!

Steps:

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and use butter or non-stick spray to prepare your casserole dish.

  • Combine shredded chicken, spinach, hot sauce, cream cheese, dressing, cheese and artichokes (if you're using them) and spread into your casserole dish.

  • Bake until it's all bubbling and hot, usually about 20-30 minutes.

  • Give it a stir and serve hot!

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It's Never Happened Unless by Conquest - And Never Peacefully

Earlier this month, I spent two days at a Homesteaders of America conference and it was WONDERFUL.

When you gather people who are passionate about raising quality food and saving family farms, there’s an energy in the room that’s indescribable.

Within our sessions about all things farming and homestead, there was one piece that stuck out.

I could feel the entire room almost stop breathing for a second while we absorbed the reality of what this could look like.

​

In the next 15 years, 50% of America’s farmland will transfer as farmers retire or pass away.

​

This kind of massive land transfer has never happened in our civilization.

​

It has never happened unless seized by conquest.

​

And it has never happened peacefully.

​

How this might impact family farms, our communities, and our food security, is honestly pretty scary.

​

Even in rural areas right now, farmers often can’t afford to buy the land. What can be earned from raising crops or livestock on the farm isn't enough to pay the mortgage and taxes anymore.

​

Millions of acres of farmland are being bought by developers and investors, including foreign investment companies. What they are willing to pay for the land is much higher than farmers can afford. This is causing the price of farmland to rise rapidly.

​

Unless we find ways to stop it from happening, when half of America's farmland transfers in the next 15 years, much of it will be purchased by people who are not our farmers, neighbors, or people who care anything about the land, our community, or making sure we have enough to eat.

​

I'm not going to pretend to have all the answers for solving this, but I do know that supporting our local farmers and getting more young people into farming is part of what’s going to keep land in the hands of family farms like ours instead of developers and investors.

​

If farms like ours are strong and well supported, we can purchase land when property around us comes up for sale, and hopefully our family will be raising food on it for generations.

​

Lots of demand for locally raised products also opens up opportunities for more families to get started farming and make their living from the land, which will hopefully stay in their family for generations.

​

I know that buying from local farms isn't always the most convenient or cheapest option, but please know you are making such a huge difference for the farm families you support and you're shaping the future of family farms with every purchase.

​

Thank you for being part of keeping farmers like us on the land. Thank you for being part of keeping our food supply secure now and in the future. Thank you for believing in what we do and supporting us on this journey!

~ Dana

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Homegrown Breakfast Casserole

This breakfast casserole needs very little introduction.

I first made this for my family on Christmas and everyone loved it.

I knew Christmas morning would be a flurry of wrapping paper and excited babies and I didn’t want to miss a moment!

I assembled the casserole the night before, then popped it into the oven to cook while the girls were opening presents. By the time they were finished, it was ready to eat!

I’ve made this multiple ways now. I’ve added sautéed onions and peppers to include a few veggies. Shredded zucchini would be easy to hide with the potatoes. I’ve used 1 pound or 2 pounds of sausage depending on how many people I needed to feed.

I change up what kind of sausage I add too. This week I used Red Pepper pork sausage and it added amazing flavor! I also think Jalapeno pork sausage would be fantastic in this, it gets just a tiny bit spicy for my kids though.

I like to make this on Sunday morning, then we eat it for breakfast (or sometimes lunch or snacks) throughout the week.

Homegrown Breakfast Casserole

  • 1 or 2 pounds of Grass Powered sausage (pork or chicken, any flavor, 2lbs makes it heartier for a big crowd)

  • 1 bag hashbrown potatoes or about 4-6 potatoes shredded

  • 1-8 oz block Monterey Jack cheese shredded (or your favorite cheese, or leave it out!)

  • 8 Grass Powered pasture-raised eggs

  • 1.5 cups whole milk, heavy cream or half and half (any combination works)

  • Butter for cooking the hashbrowns

  • 1 tsp ground mustard (optional)

  • Salt/Pepper to taste

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a casserole dish with your favorite non-stick spray or oil

  2. Brown sausage in a skillet and set aside

  3. Brown hashbrowns in the skillet then transfer into the casserole dish and press down a bit to create the bottom layer

  4. Top hashbrown layer with browned sausage

  5. Top sausage with the cheese.

  6. Scramble the eggs, milk and spices together then pour over top of the casserole layers.

  7. If you aren’t ready to bake, cover the casserole and refrigerate.

  8. Cover and bake for approximately 45 minutes (check the middle to make sure the eggs are done all the way through). If baking the refrigerated casserole it will take longer to bake.

  9. Enjoy! Sometimes we go crazy and serve this with a few drizzles of maple syrup… it’s a perfect sweet and spicy combo!

Winter Hibernation Reading List

I’m not going to come right out and say that I dislike Winter, but there are a few things about it I don’t love.

I don’t love when it’s so cold I feel like my contacts have frozen to my eyeballs.

I strongly dislike wearing Carhartt bibs or a real coat because I feel like I can’t move (#shortchunkypeopleproblems) so I just wear a bunch of inadequate layers and half freeze because somehow that’s actually more comfortable.

I do have to say that I am so thankful to whoever created toboggan hats with the hole for a messy bun at the top though. Those are a game changer.

One thing I do love about Winter is curling up on cold evenings with a good book. Sometimes a mediocre book. If it’s really bad I move on though because there’s no sense wasting valuable reading time on a boring book.

There are so many great things out there to read, but I picked out a few that have found their way into my home library that I’ve really enjoyed. Some I’ve owned for a while, some I acquired this year and instantly loved them.

My Christmas present to myself this year was a used book shopping spree (I love the bargain bin at Better World Books), so hopefully after this Winter I’ll have some new titles to add to my favorites list for you!


A few of my current favorite books:

Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

Better Off by Eric Brende - if I had to pick a favorite of the favorites, this would be it!

Redefining Rich by Shannon Hayes

Backyard Pharmacy by Rachel Weaver

The Homesteader’s Herbal Companion by Amy Fewell

From Scratch by Shaye Elliot

The Prairie Homestead Cookbook by Jill Winger

Long Way on a Little by Shannon Hayes

No Risk Ranching by Greg Judy

The Lean Farm by Ben Hartman

Balanced and Barefoot by Angela Newscom – I don’t own this one yet, but when I find it used or on sale, I’m for sure adding it to my collection!

And yes, I included cookbooks in my favorite books list, but these aren’t just any cookbooks. They’re full of stories and info along with homestead and kitchen inspiration. They’ve been a huge part of teaching me to cook, and are just relaxing to flip through!  

Have you read any of these or do any sound interesting? I’d also love to know if there’s an amazing book you love that I should read!

Hope you’re warm, cozy and getting time to curl up with a good book too.

 

~ Dana  

 

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Don't Waste Those Turkey Bones!

If you’ve invested in a high quality, pasture-raised Thanksgiving Turkey, you’ll want to enjoy every ounce of goodness that bird can provide!

After the Thanksgiving feast, once all the leftovers are picked from the bones, there’s one more way that turkey can nourish your family - bone broth.

Bone broth is as simple as taking the bones from your turkey (or chicken, beef, pork, etc) and simmering them in water to allow the nutrients and flavor to leach from the bones into the broth.

Our family then uses the broth as a base for our soups, instead of water when we make rice or quinoa, and while it’s not always my favorite way to use it, I’ve been known to sip a mug of warmed broth if I’m recovering from any kind of sickness.

Lots of recipes overcomplicate this process, but it doesn’t have to be this way!

I typically make bone broth in a large turkey roaster so I can simmer once and create around 10 quarts of broth for the fridge and freezer, but the crockpot, Instapot, or just a regular pot on the stove also works great.

I don’t usually follow any exact recipe or measurements - this is one of those things you can’t mess up!

To make the broth you’ll want to add the turkey bones (you may need to break them up a bit) to whatever vessel you’re cooking in and cover with water. I typically add a quartered onion, a few stalks of celery, a few carrots and cloves of garlic, along with a splash of apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Depending on how fancy I’m feeling, sometimes I’ll also toss in some thyme, rosemary, turmeric, and even a hint of ginger.

I bring the batch of broth to a strong boil, then lower the heat so it’s just quietly simmering.

The trick to making amazing broth is letting it simmer long enough to get a deep, rich flavor. It takes awhile!

If you’re cooking on the stove it can be done in as little as a few hours, but if you’re using the crockpot or turkey roaster, I like to let it simmer 24+ hours. Sometimes you’ll need to add a bit more water during the process, so keep an eye on it!

After your broth is finished, you’ll strain through a fine mesh strainer or through a regular strainer lined with cheesecloth. Once it cools a bit, ladle into your storage containers.

I typically leave a couple quarts in the fridge, but the rest I’ll package into plastic quart containers and freeze until I need them. I have frozen in glass jars before too and it’s been fine, just leave plenty of head space!

Note - if you’re worn out from cooking the Thanksgiving feast and not ready to immediately take on broth making, you can also toss the bones into a freezer bag and hang onto them for a bit!

I hope you have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving with your family and that your turkey provides many delicious meals and leftovers in the weeks to come!

If You Aren't Living Your Dream Yet - This is For You

Are you living your dream or dreaming of a life that's different than what it is now?

If you're not living the life you want to be yet, I want to tell you my story with the hope it will encourage you to start today to build the life you want. 

Life is short. You deserve to be happy, fulfilled, and doing something you're passionate about!

When Jesse and I met 12 years ago our lives looked nothing like they do now. I was just out of grad school and I was BROKE with tens of thousands of dollars of student loans to start repaying.

Jesse and I were both making minimum wage harvesting tobacco. I was basically homeless and couch surfing. We owned nothing except debt. 

The world and all the practical advice I'd ever been given said I should find a career with benefits and be content with that until I was 65 and could retire comfortably.

It took awhile, but I eventually got a "good" job, I advanced in my career, I had amazing experiences and mentors, met some of my very best friends, and accomplished things I never thought I would be capable of.

But it quite literally broke me. I couldn't accept that as my reality for the next 40 years. 

I knew I was being called to do something different with my life, but I kept staying. It was safe. It's what all the people around me were doing. I had a family to support. 

I made it 10 years in the agricultural lending world and I was a burnt out mess. 


Everyone told me I was crazy for even thinking about leaving my "cushy" job to do something as unpredictable and risky as farming, but I didn't have it in me any more to stay.

In August of 2019, I made the decision to somewhat abruptly leave my job - the one that actually paid our bills, provided our health insurance, had all the so called "perks", so I could farm, be with my babies, and just try to put back together what all the stress of that life had broken in me. 

It was terrifying, but I also had this strange peace that it was all going to be fine even though no matter how I penciled out the numbers the money in did not match the money out.

What I learned from this experience is that by letting go of that job I thought we couldn't live without, it opened up a whole new life for myself and my family.

The right people and opportunities came to us when I stopped letting fear of the unknown control me and took the leap of faith. While our income may have been cut, the abundance that has found us in other ways has been nothing short of amazing. 


Maybe now is the time you let go and follow that dream. Make a change. Do the thing you're feeling called to do with your life even if it seems impossible. We only get one chance, my vote is that you go for it.

While I'm not going to say we live in some perfect utopia where there's no stress and everything is rainbows and chicken hugs, I love what I do. I’ve gotten to experience so many things I never would have if I hadn’t taken the leap to leave that job.

Maybe this won't be what my life looks like forever, I might need/want the stability of a steady income, health insurance, and a faster growing retirement account someday, but for now… this is exactly where I’m meant to be.


I’m excited for the possibilities. I have such a feeling of purpose and fulfillment. And I especially love all the connections and friendships this farm has brought into my life. I want you to have this too!

Leave a comment or send me an email to let me know - are you living your dream? Do you need some encouragement to get started? I'm always up for a lively chat about following a wild dream most people don't understand!

Thank you for your part in encouraging and supporting me as I've chased this farm dream. I love being your farmer, I love being able to serve our community by raising great food, and I am so beyond thankful you're part of our journey.

~ Dana

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