Last time, we talked about why we (Matt and Jerica) chose to pursue eating and producing animal products (meats, bones, fats, eggs, etc) because they are more nutrient-dense and digestible than vegetables. For a sick body, every bite counts, and for impaired digestion, those bites have to be highly digestible. Enter Animal Products.
With his ongoing and terrible flare-ups of ulcerative colitis, Matt could… ... Continue reading | 8 Comments
I have some food for thought for you to ponder as we begin to answer some of the Big Questions that surround what we, the Cadmans, do and why we do it here at Shady Grove Ranch.
I’m going to do a series of brief articles that will hopefully build your foundation of understanding your food sources and also that encourage you to continue your commitment to supporting locally… ... Continue reading | 6 Comments
We started this ranch from nothing a short 6 years ago. It’s been an intense, never-die experience that is harder than we ever imagined. It may not seem like it, but we are still tiny in terms of farm sizes, producing only a few tens-of-thousands of pounds of meat per year compared to the millions of pounds produced by a single feedlot or confinement location. Translation… ... Continue reading
It’s almost hog-killin’ time.
It is likely that most of our ancestors just a generation or two back participated in a yearly community effort to put up pork for the winter. Here in Jefferson, it’s mid-October, and we’re still seeing 80+ degree temperatures, but soon enough it’ll be cool even during the day, which is perfect weather for outdoor processing like they did way back when.
Of course… ... Continue reading | 1 Comment
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… ... Continue reading
I find it to be a great comfort that we get to start thinking about the winter holidays in the dog days of hot East Texas summer. July means turkeys are already on pasture, foraging away to build up the centerpiece of the Thankgiving feast.
If you’re new to our operations, here’s a little bit of info on… ... Continue reading
Here is a fun article for you. Our apprentices, James and Anna, arrived to the ranch way back in March of this year from South Korea (after a week of visiting James’ family). We had planned to let them transition to farm life gradually, considering that they had just moved all the way from Korea and were still recovering from jet-lag! It was supposed to be an easy week to move… ... Continue reading
Have you heard the term “Greenwashing?” Even if you haven’t, perhaps you’ve noticed the vast increase in availability of things at the supermarket that have pretty, healthy-looking little green labels. It’s so nice to have so many healthful options… or is it?
Not all that long ago in the East Texas/Shreveport area, real health foods were hard to find. I remember the days of driving from one farm in… ... Continue reading | 3 Comments
This is a pretty complicated issue, but honestly, we don’t feel it’s entirely a bad thing. Why? Well, we were never terribly into government regulation of private industries. But when the standard was defined, there were still many loopholes and undefined parameters like antibiotic and hormone use, slaughter methods, and even feedlot use. You might have been… ... Continue reading | 6 Comments
Oh, the world of advertising. It seems like a mysterious chasm that only lots of money will get you across as a business owner. We know there are people out there looking for us. So how do we talk to them without spending every last dime we have worked so hard to earn?
We use Facebook to share quick news and anecdotes about farm life (sorry, no time for… ... Continue reading
