Category Archives: Community

Farm Store Kickstarter Project

Farm Store Kickstarter

The cat’s out of the bag–we’re finally building a farm store! Our store will provide a pleasant and convenient place to shop here at the farm. It will include a commercial kitchen, which will allow us to expand our product selection to additional goods like bone broth, breads, prepared meals, fermented foods, etc. In addition to the delicious and wholesome meats, eggs, and veggies we already offer, we also plan to stock our favorite whole-food pantry goods, supplements, homemade soaps, and lots of other goodies. It’s an exciting time of expansion for us, and we need your help to get there!

As with any new building, a pretty good amount of capital is required to purchase wiring, plumbing, roofing, insulation, fixtures, etc. We’ll be doing pretty much all the work ourselves and with helpers, even milling our own lumber from trees harvested here at the ranch, as well as doing the design work (thank you, LeTourneau University, for the engineering degrees!).

Help kick-start our project by advancing $1000 by September 21 (happy birthday to Jerica!), to be used as product credit with the ranch, which will lock you in to special discounts to use during the life of your credit, even on top of already-discounted bulk packages or sale items. You can start purchasing immediately! Our Kick-Starters will receive the following discounts on all purchases until their credit is used up:

  • 5% off Grass-fed Beef
  • 10% off Soy-Free Pasture-Raised Chicken
  • 15% off Soy-Free Forage-Fed Heritage Pork

Kick-Starters can use their credit to make purchases delivered through our standard delivery routes or for pickup here at the ranch. Just order and pick up as usual. No gimmicks. It’s sort of like buying a big fat gift card with perks for yourself (or perhaps an early Christmas present for a loved one?). We’ll keep the books. You do the eating. Please plan to use your credit up within a year. We’ll bug you until you do. 🙂

Contact us by phone at 903-665-7076 or email Jerica or use the following contact form to pledge your help and receive instructions on how to send payment. We thank you for your support and are honored and blessed to serve you by raising the best food in the world. 

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Volunteers help complete walk-in freezer

We are grateful to the energetic and hardworking youth of Faith Baptist Church in Longview that gave up one of their last summer Fridays off from school to come help us finish our summer project–a new walk-in freezer!

The job was to use a bucket brigade to carry concrete into the double-insulated shell of a refrigeration truck-trailer that Matt and our farm hands had modified to meet our needs. On the coldest August day in many years, many hands made light work. Well… lighter work, anyway.

The first step is to gather your crew and show everyone what they'll be doing.

The first step is to gather your crew and show everyone what they’ll be doing.

After all, it's a big job. Here's a view from the inside.

After all, it’s a big job. Here’s a view from the inside.

The helpers set rocks up to hold down reinforcement rebar.

The helpers set rocks up to hold up the reinforcement rebar. After they busted block up with hammers, of course. Which involved only a few minor injuries…

The interns made sure all the cracks were sealed.

The interns made sure all the cracks were sealed.

Micah made sure all the siding was thoroughly attached.

Micah made sure all siding was thoroughly attached.

Now you start mixing up the concrete. Let someone strong lift the bags.

Now you start mixing up the concrete. Let someone strong lift the bags….

Because there are a bunch of them.

…because there are a bunch of them.

Add a little water... just the right amount!

Add a little water… just the right amount! It’s an art, you know! Hannah was in charge of this job.

Oh, and use a Bowie knife to cut the bags open. Courtesy of Zack.

Oh, and use a Bowie knife to cut the bags open. Courtesy of Zack.

The mix 'er up and pour 'er out!

Then mix ‘er up and pour ‘er out!

Then the next crew scoops the mixture up with shovels...

Then the next crew scoops the mixture up with shovels…

and puts it into buckets.

…and puts it into buckets.

The buckets are then carried along support boards into the back section of the freezer.

The buckets are then carried along support boards into the back section of the freezer.

And a helper carries the empty bucket back out to be refilled. Rinse, repeat.

And a helper carries the empty bucket back out to be refilled. Here’s Rachel, who also provided deliciously flat chocolate chip cookies. Rinse, repeat.

Zack skillfully smooths the concrete.

Zack skillfully smoothes the concrete.

No helper is too big...

No helper is too big…

...or too small!

…or too small! And yes, those are jackets in August. It was crazy cold that day!

It even comes with a special safety feature...

It even comes with a special safety feature…

...an electric bell in case you lock yourself in! But don't do that because someone has to be able to hear you.

…an electric bell in case you lock yourself in! But don’t do that because someone has to be able to hear you for it to work.

The next morning, voila! A sturdy freezer floor!

The next morning, voila! A sturdy freezer floor!

Matt likes it so much that he likes to sit and ponder its majesty. (Just kidding. He was making something for the door, I think.)

Matt likes it so much that he likes to sit and ponder its majesty. (Just kidding. He was making something for the door, I think.)

We are quite pleased with the completion of this project, and grateful for the hard work and good attitudes of our young helpers. It was fun!

ETBU Students Visit Shady Grove Ranch

Last week we were able to welcome some students from East Texas Baptist University (ETBU) who are interested in learning about sustainable food production. Earlier this summer, Dr. Cassie Falke contacted me about bringing some of her students to the ranch to learn a little bit more about the connection between people and food. We love to share what we do, and what better way for someone to learn about food than to help produce it? They gave up their Saturday sleep-in time to have a chance to share in our labor on a typical morning. Here are some photos of their adventure at Shady Grove Ranch.

First we relocated the laying hens. Their nest house is mobile, so while the girls leap-frogged the nets to an adjacent paddock, Matt moved the house with the tractor. Afterward we explained some of the Egg-Mobile’s functions, such as roost space, shade, predator cover, and nest boxes. It was too early in the day to collect eggs, but we had plenty of other chores to do!

Left to right: Krystin, Melissa, Dr. Falke, and Esther meet one of the older chickens up close.

Shevi is always excited for an opportunity to touch the infamous electric fence. His favorite question is, “Fence off? I’d like to touch it.”

Our next stop was to check on the turkeys. Along the way, we showed the students a common weed that we are dealing with. We call it “goatweed,” but even goats won’t eat it, which says a lot. It is really called Hogwort or Wooly Croton (Croton capitatus). Poor or bare soil will tend to grow lots of weeds in attempt to keep the soil from eroding. But if the weeds are not managed properly, they will shade out grasses and take over. Being a no-chemical farm, we manage our weeds mechanically—either by mowing or by pulling them up by hand. I offered Charlie, Dr. Falke’s son, a chance to earn some money during his visit. A penny per goatweed was our deal. He started yanking! He ended up with over 100 weeds, and I offered to pay him in eggs, which he was thrilled about. He got to choose his own out of the henhouse—a blue one and a brown one!

We arrived at the turkeys and refreshed their feed and water. I caught one of then hens to let her meet our visitors. Charlie got to pet a turkey!

Next we were off to the broilers to move them to new pasture. We explained some of the challenges we face with pasture-raised chicken, including weather, predators, and labor requirements. They jumped in immediately to help. Step 1 is to remove the water bowls and feed troughs to the new location. Melissa and Charlie helped with that as Matt positioned the dolly at the back of the pen.

Jermaca was in charge of keeping the chickens away from the back of the pen during the move so that none of the birds would get run over. Matt’s hat doubles as a chicken-herder, so she borrowed that and made effective use of it.

Laura, Esther, and Krystin watered the groups after they were moved.

Esther made friends with Zeke, our livestock guardian dog, and kept him company while we moved his chickens. He loves visitors, as long as they only have 2 legs!

As we do with all our visitors, we warned the ETBU’ers about the electric fence. They got curious what it feels like, so Matt showed them  how to test it with a piece of grass. Kristin was among the brave ones.

Jermaca and Laura laugh about the experiment. Charlie is thinking he’d like to try it, too, but just isn’t sure. He ended up getting first-hand experience later down at the pig paddock, except he got the real thing!

Finally, it was time to check on the beef cows. Matt demonstrates how docile his cattle are. His favorite group is the bulls because they are the most interactive. Don’t try this at home unless you’re 6’5″ and have really heavy boots.

We had a great talk with the girls at the end of their visit, discussing what part college students might play in changing their food culture. I asked the question, “Does food production matter to you?” One of the girls had chosen to be a lacto-ovo-vegetarian because of the factory farming practices that abound in the meat industry. Another of the girls wondered what she could do as a college student. It was a rich time of conversation about a very real issue in our country—one that covered the topics of reproductive health, environmental protection, weight management, nutrition, and humane stewardship of our animal resources.

Some of the ideas we discussed were to shop at farmers markets for their non-cafeteria meals. Perhaps they could get involved with their school’s decision-making committees and vote for organic and/or local options for their cafeteria. I encouraged them to take small steps forward. Any step a person takes in the right direction is better than what they were doing yesterday. It doesn’t require a total overnight transformation to make a difference in the way food is produced in our country. One meal, one drink, one bite, can be a step toward positive change.

I hope that by seeing a direct-to-consumer small family farm they will be encouraged to think about their food choices and begin to build their eating habits around sustainable, local, and organic. We are excited to see college students get involved with real food!