We raise our animals on pasture and in the forest, as naturally as possible. Government regulations require meat that will be sold to be processed in an inspected facility. That means shipping it somewhere, and that is stressful for the animals.  Because of this, we decided that we would only raise meat for our own consumption, so that we can  slaughter and process it on site. As Troy likes to say, “They never know they’re having a bad day.” Of course, this means that we can’t use our own meat for foods we sell at markets, or anything we prepare for catered events. For those uses we source meat from other farmers who raise their animals exactly the way we do, up to the point where they have to ship them for processing.

We have a small market garden that we use for our own needs. It also supplies the produce that we use in prepared foods, such as the burritos we sell at market. The garden has been the source of produce that we sell, both at markets, and through a CSA. Our produce is grown without any pesticides, and it’s fertilized with the composted poop our animals so graciously provide. We take care of the soil through methods like rotational planting and cover cropping, in an effort to leave it better than we found it.

When we say something is “farm-to-fork” it means we are sourcing intentionally from our own farm and our community as much as possible. Knowing where our food comes from and how it’s raised is an important part of enjoying what we eat and how we feed the people in our community.