The vision- present and future.
Proverbs 29:18- Where there is no vision, the people perish.
In the beginning…
We bought our house and three acres almost three years ago. At the time, there was a 15 acre lot bordering us. We just had to have it.
Once we talked the owners into selling, we couldn’t be stopped. We would have paid whatever it took to ensure no developments were going to pop up in our future. Let’s face it, if there’s room for a neighborhood, developers are going to jump all over it.
Our goal is to stay put forever. We like the quiet, simple escape from reality we are blessed to enjoy every evening and weekend.
Collectively, with our family, we have right at 30 acres of land, and we love the thought of little feet, hooves, and paws running all over it. That being said, our goal has always been to figure out how to grow a business on a smaller piece of property.
We are a first generation farm, and thus, we are the ones laying the foundation. This created some unique challenges for us, but we have invested every extra penny we have to grow our business and get it into a position for continued growth.
Y’all- we are just getting started.
The fire lit behind us each time a follower encourages us or gives us any feedback at all is indescribable. We itch to continue to grow and provide for our community and surrounding areas, and we love knowing in our hearts we are taking care of them just as we take care of our very own family.
The present
If you’ve read our blog post “Why Pigs” then you already have an understanding of the uniqueness of pigs. That is why we elected to go with pigs on our farm.
They are the perfect animal for a small farm; you can stock them at a higher rate, and they yield more meat in a shorter time when compared to beef.
What’s not to love right?
Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves; there are some traits that make raising pigs a unique challenge.
For example, probably the biggest: rooting. They are destructive little creatures, but rather than treating this as a problem, we treat it as a solution and work it to our advantage. When used appropriately, the “pigness of pigs”, as Joel Salatin says, can be quite the effective tool.
Our plan is to harness that plow of a nose and use it to turn the seed beds in our pastures and clear out undesirable plants in our woods. On top of that, we will follow our pigs and plant desirable browse behind them- i.e legumes and a variety of grasses for them to return to in the future; it doesn’t stop there.
The future
We intend to introduce another layer of soil disturbance and fertilizer through the use of the chickens. Not only will we have free ranging layer hens, free to roam our pastures, scratching for bugs and other goodies. We will also start pastured broiler production during the year of 2024. This will require building chicken tractors housing approximately 50 to 75 birds. To hone in on the sustainable farming method, the birds are to be moved daily across pasture.
What will we achieve by doing this?
Healthy chicken on the table for our customers.
Healthy soil mass, creating very healthy pasture for our animals.
Chickens, along with other native birds, will combat the pests on our pastures. It is an impressive thing to watch the nature of a hen scratch and run around catching all the bugs in sight, and we intend to use that natural trait to the benefit of our farm.
This multi-species grazing operation adds many beneficial layers to our soil and builds very fertile soil, and we want to take advantage of that fertile soil by promoting plant diversity. Planting a variety of mast producing trees and shrubs, coupled with multi-species grazing, will benefit our livestock as well as our wildlife and add to the overall success of a sustainable farm. This will ensure producing nutrient-dense and hardy proteins for our house and yours! Our pigs and chickens won't just consume a grain-heavy diet like they would in commercial production. They are free to forage for berries, nuts, grasses, bugs, and any other feed they can get their snouts or beaks around while also supplementing a free-choice, non-GMO feed making sure all of their nutritional needs are met.
You can see how this starts to form one very cohesive ecosystem where everything works together for the common good- hence sustainability.
If you want to geek out with us just a little…
By having a multitude of mast producing trees on the property, ideal nesting habitat is available for many native birds and small mammal species. In turn, these birds and other critters will provide a cost-free aerial and ground pest control service supporting healthy livestock while also promoting wildlife. We plan to foster the already existing oaks and pines and build upon them with more fruit bearing trees such as mulberries, persimmons, and chickasaw plums.
The various layers of plants will facilitate an environment ideal for pollinators including bees and butterflies which are essential to survival, leaving our livestock to be free to frolic and carry out their natural, happy behaviors.
What does this mean for you, our trusted customer and supporter?
You can rest assured knowing that you are getting the highest quality protein available to you, that the animal you are consuming lived its best life possible and was able to carry out its natural behaviors, and it was all produced in a natural, cohesive, LOCAL system that benefits the smallest micro-bacteria all the way up to the pigs and large game animals living on our farm.
Y’all, that is just our five year plan; we cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for us from there.
