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Partnering with like-minded producers – Pasture Posts #118

We hope everyone has a great Memorial Day tomorrow as we honor those who gave all for our country.

Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!

For several years now, we have had to partially rely on other producers to help us keep our freezer shelves stocked thanks to the astonishing growth our farm has experienced from more and more customers like yourself who have joined our land-healing ministry over the last few years. But before we partner with any other producer, we are very careful to properly examine the producer to ensure that they abide by the same protocols that you have come to expect from Watson Farms.

We know that our farm is fortunate to be one that hundreds of families across the Carolinas and beyond look to when it comes to sourcing 100% grass-fed beef. We know that they also expect our products to meet a number of other standards like:

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FAQ: Do you allow meet ups on your delivery routes? – Pasture Posts #117

Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!

Every once in a while we like to take a moment and address some trends in questions that we receive. One of those trends lately has been from potential customers who live just outside a particular delivery area that we serve with our own Home Delivery service.

The question is:

Could I meet your driver on his route to pick up my order?

Continue reading FAQ: Do you allow meet ups on your delivery routes? – Pasture Posts #117
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A Special Offer for new Pasture Picks Subscribers! – Pasture Posts #116

We want to wish all the mothers out there a Happy Mother’s Day!

Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!

We are excited to announce a month-long promotion for new Pasture Picks Subscription Box sign ups. Check out this informative video with some great scenes from the farm as well as all the details of this special offer.

Did you know that as soon as you subscribe to a Pasture Picks box your price is locked in for the life of your subscription? This is a great feature in times of inflation like we have seen in the past several years. Our Pasture Picks Boxes receive a great discount as well with the average discount being in the $15-$20 range.

Redeeming this offer of a free whole chicken with your first Pasture Picks Box is as easy as adding a product to your cart. The system will automatically add the free whole broiler to your cart!

If you’re in one of our 4 Home Delivery areas (GSP, Columbia, Charleston, or CLT/York County) or wish to pick up at the farm then use the Pasture Picks Box for Home Delivery/Farm Pickup. If you are in another area within the 21 states we serve via UPS then select one of the two UPS Eligible Pasture Picks Boxes.

Pasture Picks Box

This version is available for Farm Pickup and to anyone located in any of our Home Delivery zones. You may also add on eggs!

Subscribe Now!

Pasture Picks Box (UPS)

This version can be shipped to over 20 states in the Eastern, U.S. We have a 15 and 30 pound version. Tap below to order now.

15-pound Pasture Picks Box (UPS)
30-pound Pasture Picks Box (UPS)

Continue reading A Special Offer for new Pasture Picks Subscribers! – Pasture Posts #116
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Today’s Paddock (5-7-23)

This is a fun blog series where we show you exactly the paddock that our animals are enjoying on a particular day. All of our animals are raised in their natural environment and the common denominator among them all is PASTURE ROTATION! So take a look through these blog posts to see where the animals find themselves on a given day.

Check out this video of the paddock shift for the cattle herd a few days ago:

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The Guard Dogs of Watson Farms – Pasture Posts #115

Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!

Everything eats a chicken.  And when you have 6000 chickens on a farm you have to find an efficient way to protect them from a myriad of predators such as raccoons, opossums, coyotes, cats, stray dogs, hawks, eagles, and more.  Our livestock guard dogs have proved to be valuable members of the Watson Farms team over the years in this regard.  

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Spring Farm Day Was a Success! – Pasture Posts #114

Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!

Spring Farm Day went very well yesterday, and we’re thankful to everyone that was involved in making it a success from our staff, the vendors, and you! Here’s a quick video with some special notes from Kelly!

Also check out this video that shows our cow herd being moved across the road to a new paddock. As we discussed on the hayride yesterday, movement is key to regenerating soils!

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Today’s Paddock (4-24-23)

This is a fun blog series where we show you exactly the paddock that our animals are enjoying on a particular day. All of our animals are raised in their natural environment and the common denominator among them all is PASTURE ROTATION! So take a look through these blog posts to see where the animals find themselves on a given day.

Our cattle herd of about 160 head are eating their fill in the paddocks recently as this time of year usually provides lots of lush pasture that consists of rye, ryegrass, vetch, clover and some volunteer species. The goal in these paddocks is to allow the cattle to trim the grasses down in order to keep them in a vegetative state which will lead to more grass longer into the summer. Here they are with heads down filling the fermentation tank (rumen) and resetting the growth cycle.

  • Size: 7.87 acres
  • Number of cattle: 160
  • Class of livestock: feeder cattle
  • Type of grasses: rye, ryegrass, vetch, clover, native species
  • Grazing duration: 48 hours
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Spring Farm Day and More! – Pasture Posts #113

Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!

Things are in full swing here at Watson Farms again this spring. We have had two successful chicken processing days this past week with our excellent team who have adapted quickly to the fast paced chores that these days require. This allowed us to restock the chicken cuts (including UPS Bundles) that many of you have been waiting on for a while now.

Spring also means that it’s time for our Spring Farm Day! It will be held this Saturday, April 29 from 10am to 2pm! We’re looking forward to a great opportunity to give you an in-person view into the how and why behind what we do! See you on Saturday!

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Transparency in the Food System – Pasture Posts #112

Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!

For this edition of Pasture Posts we wanted to turn your attention to a blog series we are writing that gives a layer of transparency that doesn’t exist on many other farms. We call it Today’s Paddock, and each post features a certain group of animals on a certain day. This kind of content gives you a precise, nearly real-time look at how our animals are living at a given time, and our hope is that over time this series will provide an excellent view of the movement and various grazing methods of our livestock.

In these posts we provide data like the type of livestock, how many acres the particular paddock is, and what type of grass is being grazed. We also provide an aerial view with an outline of the approximate paddock, and a current photo of the animals in the paddock.

Can you imagine how mundane this would be if a confinement farm were to do something similar? The turkeys, chickens, pigs, or cattle are in the same barn or pen day after day. No movement, no new scenery, no pasture.

Take a look at some of the posts from the series below and let us know what you think!

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mRNA Vaccines in Cattle

Our customers are some of the most informed consumers in the world, so it’s no surprise that lately many of you have been asking if our cattle receive mRNA vaccinations.

The answer is no. Not now and not as long as our customers reject it. We hear you loud and clear right now that you do not want this sort of thing in your meat, and we don’t see this sentiment shifting anytime soon. No matter how many experts and scientists say something may be safe, the only opinion that really matters is that of our customers.

As of this writing there are no vaccines licensed for us in beef cattle in the US. Source: National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Watson Farms will always stand for transparency in our food system as we think that consumers deserve to know the truth about the foods they purchase. Here’s an article that contains some interesting information about some legislation in certain states about certain labeling requirements being proposed. While more government regulation is rarely the best solution, we do need to think about the best way for consumers to be able to be confident that what is in their food is what the label states.

Of course, one of the best ways to eat with confidence is by knowing your farmer.

Stay tuned for updates on this, and as always, thank you for caring about your food.