The regenerative agriculture space is getting more crowded seemingly by the week.  This is definitely good news in many ways, but with the influx of purveyors and the plethora of meat box companies, things seem to be getting more and more muddled when it comes to honesty and transparency.  We’ve mentioned the issues around label confusion in Pasture Posts #27, but this problem goes deeper than deception on a label. 

For example, there are purveyors out there that cite the same study that we did in Pasture Posts #27 where we point out that 80% of the grass-fed beef in the U.S. was actually born and raised overseas.  It merely passed through a USDA facility so that the label can say “Product of USA.” 

We think this is terrible just like these other purveyors do, but the catch is that when you dig deeper, they aren’t even offering grass-fed beef.  What they are often marketing is beef from grain-finished animals. 

So why do they juxtapose themselves against a grass-fed beef study?  Simple: to trick you and me into thinking that since they talk so much about grass-fed beef, they must be producing it themselves as well. 

So what can we do?  Ask good questions before you decide who to source your proteins from.  Here’s a short list that you can start with:

1.  Can I visit the farm?

• This will likely be answered with a fancy “no” of some sort, because a lot of these companies don’t actually reveal the identity of their source farms for some reason. 

2. How often are the cattle, pigs, and chickens rotated to fresh grass during the growing season? 

• If you have been on a Watson Farms tour, you know that this is an important theme for all of our animal groups.  A short period of disturbance followed by a long period of rest is the key to a regenerative livestock farm.
• Chickens are the most tempting to raise in a stationary house with no pasture rotation. The main reason for this is because so much labor can be eliminated with the mechanization that a stationary house can provide. This is precisely the shortcut that some purveyors take by allowing stationary, factory farm style housing to be used.  The only difference between this and the Tyson houses is some holes in the wall that allow “access” to the outdoors. 
• To be clear, our layer chickens are housed in a stationary house in the winter, but with the following conditions: 
  1. The density of the birds is low.
  2. The bedding in the house is deep, which almost eliminates odor and allows all the good microorganisms to thrive in this compost-like, warm layer of carbon.  
  3. Access is given to the outdoors at all times.  
  4. It’s only done in the winter months, and as soon as the pasture has enough growth, and the ground is reliably solid enough for a tractor, we move them back to pasture.  This is not the case with much of the chicken from these meat box companies.
• Another important point is that we don’t attempt to raise broiler (meat) chickens in the winter.  This is for several reasons – not the least of which is the need for a bit of a break from the strenuous routine of the growing season. ????

3. Are your beef cattle 100% grass-fed?

• Listen carefully to the answer here.  It could be filled with language like “Yes, our cows are grass-fed as they grow up and then they’re introduced to a custom, all-natural, 100% vegetarian grain blend.”  
• A good follow-up to this might be to ask if you could visit the feedlot where this “grain blend” is fed.  
• The point is that this is far from grass-fed beef, but they do their best to disguise it as such.

4. Do your chickens receive growth-promotants? 

• Every chicken package in the grocery store says “No added hormones.”  On the back it likely says something like “Federal law prohibits the use of hormones in poultry.”  I believe that these two things are true, and that US poultry don’t receive hormones (although some would disagree with me.)  But what many people don’t think about after the hormone discussion is the fact that many commercial poultry feeds contain growth promotants, which can often come in the form of low-level antibiotics in the feed.  These are often long, unpronounceable words like Flavophospholipol.  With substances like these in poultry feed, it’s clear that the discussion should move further than just about hormones.  

If you would like to hear a great discussion on this topic check out this episode of the Beyond Labels Podcast by Joel Salatin and Dr. Sina McCullough.

In a future newsletter, I hope to offer a profile of a purveyor like we discussed here and present some of their answers to these questions.  What are some questions that you would ask of them?  

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Farm Day is Coming!

While we’re on the subject of visiting your farmer, let’s talk about a perfect opportunity for just that coming up.  

We will be hosting another Farm Day 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 will also be on site!  

Stay tuned for more details!

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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!

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Product Spotlight

We’re offering a sale this week on several of our ground beef products including our 20 and 40-pound bundles.  If you have some freezer space it’s a great time to stock up on local, regeneratively raised, 100% grass fed ground beef straight from the farm!

Our UPS customers can take advantage of the sale also with our 20-lb UPS Bundle!  If you have friends or family in other states in the eastern U.S. be sure to tell them about this sale.  Better yet, send them a link with our referral program so you both can earn some money!

You can see ALL of our ON SALE products with the button below.

For some of our recommended products, check out our Featured Product Page.  You might find something that you didn’t even know we had!

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It’s Someone’s Birthday

Abby is turning 9 today!  We love that she has the opportunity to grow up on a pasture-based farm and it’s great to see her love for our animals. 

Help make her day with some birthday wishes from our customers who are like family!

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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!

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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

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Did you know that we have a webpage that displays all the reviews we have received?  

Check it out!

Check out this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review:

“I can’t say enough great things about the products from Watson [Farms]. The quality is second to none, and my family has a hard time buying any meats from the grocery store because it is so good. Do yourself a favor and get one of their mixed boxes.“

We would greatly appreciate it if you would be kind enough to leave us a review.  It helps first-time customers purchase with confidence.

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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

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Pasture Posts is written by Matt Watson.