Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!
One of the most difficult tasks for families who want to source their proteins responsibly is deciphering the lingo that companies and farms use to describe their products. We like to make sure that we are as clear as possible when it comes to this so we’re taking an opportunity to go on record with some facts about our broiler operation in this week’s edition of Pasture Posts.
Perhaps the best way to make sure you fully understand our practices is to attend one of our Farm Days throughout the year, with the next one scheduled for October 22.
But for now, take a look at some facts about our broiler operation that should help you further understand what we do so differently than the industry.
Q: Do the broiler chickens at Watson Farms live on pasture?
A: Yes, from about 3 weeks old and up. We wait until the chicks have grown their adult feathers to move them out of the brooder house where they have supplemental heat and easy access to feed and water. These adult feathers help them withstand the weather better and indicate that they are developed enough to forage through the pasture that they will soon find themselves on.
If inclement weather is imminent or other obstacles arise we may delay their movement a few days, but our broilers always spend at least half of their life on pasture with daily moves.
Q: Once on pasture, how often do you move your broilers?
A: Daily. No exceptions. This happens every morning – 7 days per week, rain or shine, cold or warm. We never skip this task because it is imperative to keep these birds moving away from yesterday’s manure, and they would be really disappointed if they didn’t get their daily allotment of grasshoppers, crickets, and grass. One person can do this morning servicing of the birds in 1.5 – 2 hours.
Beware of farms or companies that take shortcuts here. This is where the rubber meets the road in a truly pastured poultry operation. If the birds aren’t mobile, then the end product simply cannot be much different from the confinement birds the industry pedals. There is no way around moving birds if you want a quality pastured poultry product.
Being stationary is the biggest pitfall of the industry. The industrial birds live on their manure for months. In my opinion, this is what leads to such disease susceptibility that the industry deals with (e. Coli, cholera, bird flu, etc.) Pastured birds generally don’t get sick.
Q: What kind of feed do you use?
A: We supplement our chickens with a non-GMO feed ration and we do not claim that they are 100% vegetarian fed as chickens are omnivores. They enjoy their grains and their bugs. Industry counterparts never see a bug or a blade of grass.
We mix our non-GMO feed ration ourselves so that we know exactly what is in it (definitely no medications or growth promotants like the industry relies on). It contains corn, whole roasted soybeans, oats, and an organic vitamin and mineral mix. All these grains have been carefully sought out and sourced so as to be non-GMO.
Beware of farms that claim their chickens receive no grain, as the meat will likely not live up to your expectations and the birds would likely not be raised in a humane way. These birds need a certain level of energy each day and the only real way to provide this is through prepared ingredients such as grains.
Q: Do you allow visitors to see your birds?
A: Yes. We schedule several tour days throughout the year where customers and potential customers can see our production in action. Depending on the location of the shelters, it is sometimes possible to see the birds from our farm store location when you come out to pick up an order or shop.
We don’t offer tours at just any time (such as when you come to pick up your order) because we put a lot of effort into these tours and we simply don’t have the human resources to put these on more than about 3 times per year right now. This could change in the future if our labor situation changes.
Nonetheless, on our tour days, you can walk right up to a shelter with broilers which is far closer than you will ever get to an industrial factory farm. The industry wants their farms to be out of sight and out of mind to the American consumer. Their thought is that the less people know, the less they will push back. Consumers should demand to know as much as possible about how their poultry is raised.
What other questions do you have about our broiler operation?
Produce Boxes Available Again!
Our partnership with Wild Hope Farm continues this fall as they are working hard to provide you with superior organic produce that can be delivered to your door right along with anything else that we deliver on our van. (Not available for UPS Shipping at this time.) In order to provide you with the freshest produce possible, we have implemented the deadlines below.
Produce Box Order Deadlines:
CHARLESTON HOME DELIVERY – SUNDAYS at 9pm
GSP/COLUMBIA HOME DELIVERY AND FARM PICK UP – TUESDAYS at 9pm
LOCAL HOME DELIVERY- THURSDAYS at 9pm
Head over to the product page below to order now.
Product Spotlight
Start planning for your Labor Day cookout and SAVE BIG with our brand new Labor Day Bundle! We’re discounting this bundle down to just $139! These products when purchased at retail would come to about $180 on average. That means you can save over 20% from retail!
And it includes some of our pastured chicken that we discussed above. Take advantage now!
For some of our recommended products, check out our Featured Product Page. You might find something that you didn’t even know we had!
Help us spread the word!
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!
We re-use packaging!
We’ve seen a good response to our efforts in re-using packaging! Thanks and keep it up.
You can help us reduce our carbon footprint by returning your CLEAN egg cartons and meat boxes.
The main reason that we switched to plastic egg cartons a while back was because they are so much more durable than paper which could only be used once. They also protect the eggs much better!
So if you have some egg cartons or boxes to return, you can just place them on your porch on your home delivery day. Farm pickup customers can, of course, drop them off when you come to pick up your new order.
***We can only re-use OUR cartons or boxes. Please re-use or recycle other boxes or egg cartons elsewhere.***
We redact your personal information found on your meat boxes when we re-use them, but feel free to redact to redact it yourself without damaging the box if you would like.
Thanks for helping us re-use our packaging!
Order Deadlines and Store Hours
Charleston Area: 12 noon Mondays
UPS Orders: 12 noon Mondays
New Deadline: Columbia Area: 12 noon on Wednesdays
GSP: 12 noon on Wednesdays
Charlotte/Fort Mill/Rock Hill Areas: 12 noon Fridays
Farm Pickup: Please wait until you receive an email stating that your order is ready to be picked up (usually 1 business day from when you place your order). Farm pickup is done during store hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 10am to 6pm
Saturday: 10am to 2pm
Closed Sunday and Wednesday
Did you know that we have a webpage that displays all the reviews we have received?
Check it out!
Check out this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review:
“So glad we found this place! We purchased a whole cow and whole hog! Matt was very helpful with all of my questions! They were fast and efficient! Helped us get all of our meat into our coolers. The meat is amazing! 10 out of 10 recommend!!”
We would greatly appreciate it if you would be kind enough to leave us a review. It helps first-time customers purchase with confidence.
Thanks again for being partners in this endeavor of local, pasture-raised proteins that has truly transformed our farm. We look forward to continuing this transition while serving you long into the future.
Sincerely,
The Watsons
Pasture Posts is written by Matt Watson.