Pasture Posts #262
Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!
🌿 A Dash of Patience Paid Off: The Cattle are Out!
If you remember from Pasture Posts #260, we were playing a bit of a “waiting game.” We spent time looking over our winter annual pastures—that beautiful mix of ryegrass and triticale—and as much as we (and the cattle) wanted to jump the gun, we had to wait for the ground to be just right to avoid “pugging” and damaging the soil.
The wait is officially over.
The cattle have finally been turned out onto that lush, vibrant green forage, and to say they are enjoying it would be an understatement. There is a certain “spring energy” in the air when the herd hits a fresh, nutrient-dense pasture for the first time after a long winter. We captured some great photos of them soaking up the sun and the ryegrass, which we’ve included below! This high-quality forage is exactly what allows us to produce the 100% grass-fed and finished beef you’ve come to expect from Watson Farms.
🥩 Big News for Beef Lovers: More Consistency, Less Friction
While the cattle are enjoying the new grass, we’ve been working behind the scenes to make sure the experience of getting that beef to your table is better than ever.
We are excited to announce that we are partnering with a new USDA processor for our beef: Marksbury Farms. Marksbury is a family-owned business with a deep-seated desire to help grass-fed beef producers. They are a professional, highly recommended operation with precision equipment that allows us to take a major step forward in our fulfillment process.
The Goal: Moving Toward “By the Piece” Pricing
For years, we’ve sold our “muscle cuts” by the pound. Because every animal is unique, these weights vary, which meant we had to charge a “maximum weight” upfront and then manually send refunds back to you once we weighed your specific order.
To give you an idea of the “back-and-forth” this causes: Over the last year, we have issued thousands of refunds – some small, some large depending on the number of catch weight cuts in each order. While we love getting the price exactly right, that’s a lot of small transactions for you to track and a massive amount of manual labor for our team.
What’s Changing (and What’s Staying the Same)
Thanks to the precision at Marksbury, we are transitioning many of our most popular beef cuts to flat-rate, “by the piece” pricing.
- Fixed Pricing: All ground products, most roasts, and our main steaks—including Ribeyes, NY Strips, Filet Mignons, and Sirloins—will be sold by the piece. The price you see on the site is exactly what you pay (once the transition takes place for each item).
- Catch-Weight: Some specialty or highly variable cuts will still be sold by the pound, but the vast majority of your freezer staples will now be a “one and done” checkout.
- Lower Upfront Costs: For these new fixed-price items, you’ll likely notice the prices on the website look lower because we no longer have to “estimate high” to cover larger cuts.
A Quick Heads-Up on the Transition
We’ll be rolling this out as our current inventory runs out, so the switch will be staggered. You’ll see the first of these new items—starting with Filet Mignons— hopefully hitting the site around March 6th or 7th.
A note on thickness: To ensure every steak hits that uniform weight for a smoother checkout, you might notice a slight difference in thickness compared to what you’re used to. While our old cuts were often categorized by thickness, these will now be categorized by weight.
Real Beef from Real Farmers
In a world of slick marketing and “meat aggregators” who never actually see a cow, we want to thank you for sticking with the folks who have boots on the ground. We aren’t just an office with a website; we’re out here in the pastures every day, moving fences and checking the herd to ensure you’re getting the very best we have to offer.
We believe this partnership with Marksbury is going to be a huge win for the Watson Farms community, and we can’t wait for you to see the results!
Check out this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review from Michael:
“I started getting monthly deliveries about 6 months ago. I had done a-lot of research on Watson Farms, so I knew that they were providing humane and natural conditions for their animals. I also knew that the meat would be nutrient rich and not susceptible to using chemicals or growth hormones to achieve desired end state. The animals are raised and fed naturally. I knew all that going in. I was surprised though by the high quality of the product, not just the quality of the meat (I assumed it would be good), but the packaging, the delivery, the customer service, the communications. They have not made a mistake in any of the orders … Everything is done with high quality. The meat is very well labeled and very well packaged. You can tell it is fresh frozen and the color of the meat is very natural. It looks rich and healthy, unlike the pale meat that you will get at the grocery stores. The chickens are not puffed up with a saline solution. … You can tell that everything is fresh and raised properly. I love this farm and the products they produce. I’m almost afraid to share my thoughts for fear that too many people will sign up and they will have to ration the product. :)”
We would greatly appreciate it if you would be kind enough to leave us a review. It helps first-time customers purchase with confidence.
Shipping Timeline and Store Hours
UPS Orders (all orders ship with insulation and dry ice):
UPS orders normally ship out on Mondays – Wednesdays.
Tracking: As usual, you will receive an automated email with a tracking link as soon as your order leaves the farm.
Farm Pickup (Always Free!):
If you are local, Farm Pickup is often the fastest way to get your products. Please wait until you receive an email stating that your order is Ready for Pickup (typically 1 business day after your order is placed) before heading over.
Farm Store & Pickup Hours:
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 10:00am – 6:00pm
- Saturday: 10:00am – 2:00pm
- Wednesday & Sunday: Closed
Farm Store Address: 713 Colony Road, Chester, SC 29706
Tell a Friend!
It’s now easier than ever to Give $15 and Get $15 through our Referral Program. We don’t spend a lot of money of advertising, but rather we focus on producing products that people love and are willing to tell others about. So we depend on word of mouth to find new customers and ultimately to heal more land.
So in an effort to streamline this process we have made it easier to tell others (via email, Facebook, or Twitter) about Watson Farms. And it’s all automated on the backend, so you don’t have to rely on us to issue the store credits manually. Just head over to our Referrals Page and start sharing!
