As soon as a rooster crows in the morning, you look outside to witness a stunning sunrise illuminated with golden light across fields dotted with yellow flowers. However, before you can fully appreciate it, your day’s schedule is packed full of chores that must be accomplished before lunchtime.
Family Farm & Home recently opened its 71st store in Greenville. Specializing in rural lifestyle products, Family Farm & Home specializes in rustic lifestyle products.
Grass-Fed Beef
When shopping for beef, there is an array of choices. From Instagram-famous meals such as steak to weekend barbecue burgers with your family – what you choose will have an enormous effect on both the taste and nutritional value of these dishes, according to what kind of diet the cattle were fed, which accounts for why there are various labels on supermarket meat products.
One of the most widely known is grass-fed beef. This type of meat comes from cows raised on pastures with access to grasses and foraged foods like clover. Studies have demonstrated its superior nutritional benefits over grain-fed varieties, with higher Omega-3 fatty acid levels, CLA concentration, vitamin and mineral intake, and reduced environmental impact as the cows can roam free without being restricted by feedings of grains, soya, or corn products.
Though grass-fed beef offers many advantages, it is far from being an ideal solution. Unfortunately, its definition remains vague, and USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service stopped verifying grass-fed claims in 2016. Therefore any beef sold as grass-fed could have been fed grains at some point.
To avoid this situation, look for beef with a label stating it was 100% grass-fed or grass-finished; certification from an independent organization such as the American Grassfed Association would indicate this fact and ensure no antibiotics or grains were added during processing.
At Mason Jar Farm, the couple raises various animals, such as chickens, ducks, goats, and pigs, for meat production and sale, goat-milk lotions, shampoo bars, and handmade wool and needlework production. Their business has flourished thanks to loans from Lone Star Ag Credit which enabled them to purchase equipment and land at their farm.
Pasture-Raised Goats
If you are interested in raising goats, you must research what works best for your land and climate beforehand. Goats are browsers rather than grazers, meaning they require a wide range of forage sources to remain healthy – including brush, weeds, and tree limbs that sheep and cattle typically ignore – helping clean up pastures while decreasing supplemental feeding needs significantly if enough low-quality hay or straw can be found for them to eat.
To maintain optimal herd health, it is vitally important to use a rotational grazing system with periods of fallow land between periods of use. This enables grass to regrow more quickly while protecting livestock against internal parasites that could reinfect barren fields.
The Hanson family raises various animals on their farm, such as free-range chickens and hogs, for the market, along with hormone and antibiotic-free beef and pork products that they sell at farmer’s markets. Furthermore, they cultivate vegetables, fruits, honey, and maple syrup without using chemical fertilizers or herbicides on the land.
Meat goats require a varied diet to gain maximum fat production, so many farmers give their herds a mixture of high-quality hay and grain during the first year before moving onto all pasture in subsequent years.
Consideration should also be given to the initial costs associated with housing, fencing, and feeding your animal. While breed and pedigree costs vary widely, more affordable common breeds well adapted to local climate and environments often make sense as pets. And don’t forget stud-related expenses, such as housing, feed minerals, and disbudding/castration vet costs!
Raising large herds can be expensive; if you intend to raise goats for profit, you must plan carefully. When planning, be sure to factor in annual vet costs, feed prices per goat, any stud-related fees, and initial expenses such as shelter, buckets, and minerals.
Organic Vegetables
With the popularity of organic foods rising, more people are turning to garden their produce as a great way to save money and ensure their family receives high-quality nourishment. Organic vegetables are grown using natural fertilizers and pest control agents that help preserve soil quality while decreasing consumer pesticide intake.
The Pero Family has been farming for more than 100 years. Beginning as a small dairy farm in western New York, where their Sicilian immigrant grandfather would milk cows and distribute fresh milk directly to residents, their business has since expanded into Mason’s Heritage and Mason Farms Produce, with fourth-generation members fully participating in running them daily.
They specialize in sweet corn and greens like kale, spinach, collard greens, cabbage, cucumbers, summer squash, and zucchini. The family employs farming techniques they learned from their grandparents, including crop rotation to reduce soil erosion and increase organic yield, building soil structures to support plant life, and encouraging cover crops for added nutrition and pest suppression.
Some fruits and vegetables are particularly susceptible to being heavily doused with pesticides, making organic purchases more important for strawberries, blueberries, apples, pears, grapes, and tomatoes. The Environmental Working Group has released the Clean 15 list, featuring fruits and veggies with lower pesticide residues, such as avocados, pineapple, cantaloupe, and bananas asparagus, which don’t necessarily need organic purchase.
As important as it may be to choose organic products for our families, that does not automatically equate to healthier options. While organic foods may be free from synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, they could still contain high sugar, salt, or fats. Therefore reading all labels thoroughly to make informed choices is vital in choosing healthier food items for yourself and your loved ones.
Farm Stay
Farm stays are an unforgettable way for families to experience rural living, giving children a first-hand insight into food production while parents connect with their farming roots and heritage. A farm stay vacation allows children to see first-hand how food is made while parents can connect with their rural roots while teaching kids the value of supporting local farmers. Thousands of farms offer farm stays across America; some may be close by, while others offer faraway stays; many even provide glamping options!
The Fat Sheep Farm in Hartland, Vermont, provides an idyllic farm stay experience, featuring various rooms and suites suitable for families. Guests are invited to participate in chores around the farm, such as feeding animals or weeding the garden; in addition, walking trails provide ample opportunity for exploration while the on-site farm stand allows customers to purchase products.
Farm stays are becoming increasingly popular across the U.S. as consumers become more interested in where their food comes from and want to connect with local communities. Agritourism or agrotourism involves visiting working farms and participating in agricultural activities; farm stays offer this tourism experience.
Farm stays are becoming increasingly popular due to their ability to relieve urban life’s noise and pollution while reconnecting people to nature. Farm stays are also ideal for families with young children, as many farms provide on-site childcare services.
Family Farm and Home Masons are independent ECHO Sales Only dealers specializing in selling ECHO products without providing repairs or warranty service. To sell them successfully, these dealers must meet several requirements, such as training, merchandising, expense control, and meeting budgeted goals.
Family Farm and Home Masons are responsible for building relationships with customers to foster a positive customer service environment, upholding company values and basic philosophies through both their actions and those of associates while aiding the store manager in developing an aggressive sales culture.
