First of all, the Watson Farms team would like to wish all of you a Happy Easter as we celebrate the risen Savior.
Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!
Not all cattle have the same environmental impact
There is definitely a lot of chatter now days about the perceived pitfalls of eating meat. Lots of statistics get thrown about rather loosely in support of meat alternatives. You often hear or read things like “a cow releases 23 times more greenhouse gases than a car.”
What a statistic like this leaves out is in what manner this cow was raised. While this could be true for feedlot cattle, there have been studies showing that this is very likely not true at all for grass-fed, regeneratively-raised cattle like you find with Watson Farms.
The graphic below is based on a study by Quantis that shows cattle raised at White Oak Pastures in Georgia actually sequester more carbon than they emit. We raise our cattle in a very similar fashion to White Oak Pastures.
Here’s an article by the Savory Institute that goes into more detail about this study. It does a good job of pointing out that the agricultural practices that are behind these highly processed plant based faux-meats are heavy tillage, herbicides, insecticides and chemical fertilizers which are degrading soils.
Another article dealing with the topic of alternative meat is by Dr. Mark Hyman, and while he makes the case that most of our plates should be made up of plants, he acknowledges that animal proteins are all but irreplaceable in the human diet.
It’s also worth noting that he includes some interesting information discussing the theory that so many Americans have adopted in past decades – that is that all fat is bad. As we at Watson Farms have said for a long time, we like to see some fat in our beef. That not only tells us that we did a good job in finishing the animal, but it also makes the beef taste good which keeps customers like you coming back. And the fact that you can have confidence that the fat in our beef was built from a grass-only diet is of uttermost importance to us. We want you to have tasty beef that you can feel good about eating and feeding to your family.
The bottom line: watch out for incomplete statistics that try to say that all cattle have the same environmental impact regardless of production methods.
Farm Day is Coming!
To see in-person how we manage our animals, make plans to join us for Farm Day!
We will be holding it on Saturday, April 30 from 10am – 2pm. This will be much like the last one we held in October. It was a great success and we hope this one will be the same.
We will be offering hay rides where we will show each group as many of the animals as possible. We love the discussions that break out on these hay rides and it re-assures us that our customers are the most-informed and enlightened people on the planet.
Vendors will be set up as well so that you can stock up on some locally produced arts, crafts, and other unique products. A food truck and coffee truck will also be on site!
We will start highlighting some of the vendors each week. This week we have:
Johnson’s Sweet Shop – homemade cakes, cookies and more!
Smith Farm and Table – homemade bread!
Keep looking for more of our vendors next week!!
Produce Boxes to be Available Soon
Our partnership with Wild Hope Farm continues this year as they prepare and cultivate their fields to provide our customers 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.)
Keep an eye on the product page below for availability which we anticipate to be soon.
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!
Product Spotlight
After some processing room upgrades over the winter, we are all set to start processing the first batch of chickens tomorrow! We have seen some excellent chicken sales over the past year, and we appreciate your support.
One item that we are “long” on is Leg Quarters, so we need your help making room for the new product in the freezers. We’re pitching in too by offering these at a whopping 35% off! This discount applies to a la carte Leg Quarters and the Leg Quarter Bundle (both the Home Delivery version and the UPS Eligible)! Help us make some room.
For some of our recommended products, check out our Featured Product Page. You might find something that you didn’t even know we had!
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 and Columbia Areas: 12 noon Mondays
UPS Orders: 12 noon Mondays
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:
“Watson Farms provides a great service offering high quality, naturally raised livestock directly to consumers. All their beef, chicken and pork are delicious. Eggs are great too.”
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.