Shady Grove Ranch

Fall Farm Day Scheduled!

2010-10-04T13:31:00.001-04:00

Our September 25th Farm Day was a huge success. We were excited to host a large crowd of visitors of all ages, who enjoyed the milking demonstration, hay ride, pasture walk, pig feed, and egg hunt. In addition there were delicious refreshments, and all homemade—mozzarella cheese, pork bites, and ice cream!

We have now scheduled our next Fall Farm Day for Saturday, October 23rd. There are several items to keep in mind. Most importantly, the beginning time will be one hour earlier. Snacks will be available at 4:00 p.m., and the demonstrations and activities will begin promptly at 5:00 p.m. So please be on time so you do not miss any of the fun!

We will again be having a milking demonstration, hay ride, and various encounters with the livestock—cows, chickens, and pigs. Also there will again be a door prize of $50 worth of farm products.

All snacks and activities, including the door prize, are covered in the price of your ticket. The cost will be $10 per visitor 13-years-old and up, and $5 for children five to twelve years old. Children under five will be free.

Last time we were full to capacity, so please make your reservations soon by emailing TrueFields at info@truefields.com, or by calling Shady Grove Ranch at 903-665-7076. Reservations are required and must be made by October 21st.

Of course there will also be purchasing information available for products from Shady Grove Ranch and TrueFields.

Hope to see you there!

Farm Day at Shady Grove Ranch!

2010-09-14T12:06:00.003-04:00

You are invited to join us on Saturday, September 25, 2010, for our very first Farm Day at Shady Grove Ranch. Time is from 5:00 pm until dark, and events will include—

Hayride
Pasture Walks
Meet the Animals
Watch a Milking
Make Butter
Hunt for Eggs
Raffle for $50 in Farm Products

Price is $5 per person paid in advance, or $7 per person upon arrival. Children under ten are free. Reservations are required, and space is limited.

Refreshments will be provided.

Shady Grove Ranch, located near Jefferson, Texas, is a natural farm operation dedicated to producing high quality, healthful farm products and helping families make wise decisions about their food. We are partnered with TrueFields LLC, and we raise cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, rabbits and vegetables.

For more information visit us online at www.TrueFields.com, or contact us at 903-665-7076.

An Eggstraordinary Event!

2010-08-30T12:11:00.000-04:00

Today, August 26, saw the long-awaited arrival of our first eggs! At long last we collected the first five eggs from our Rhode Island Red chickens. Three of them made their way to the breakfast table and were a hit.

Hopefully our daily supply will soon grow large enough for us to have eggs available to our customers as well. So stay tuned to this blog, as well as to our website at www.truefields.com, for availability. As always, of course, you are invited to contact us for information on the benefits of our natural and healthy food products for your family, including beef, pork, and poultry. We’d love to hear from you!

Our Watchman on the Wall!

2010-08-30T12:07:00.001-04:00

Here is a picture of our new guardian dog, Zeke. Yes, I know it's a little fuzzy. But Zeke is still pretty bouncy, and it's hard to get him to pose for pictures!

You may remember the famous thirty-third chapter of the prophet Ezekiel. In it the Lord comes to Ezekiel and reminds him: “I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 33:7). He also instructs the prophet to warn the teachers of Israel of their solemn responsibility to guard the people of God, just like the guards who used to be posted on the walls of ancient cities. Then, in the very next chapter, the teachers of Israel are reminded again of their responsibility for the people under their care, but this time under the image of shepherds.

Zeke is a Great Pyrenees. These sturdy, heavy-boned, beautiful white dogs have been bred as what is called Guardian Dogs. That is not quite the same as a “watch dog,” which typically is trained to guard property. It is also not the same as “shepherding dogs,” which are trained to herd livestock. Guardian dogs are bred and raised to guard their charges from dangerous enemies. Here in East Texas we have some—for example, coyotes, hawks, and even wild boar, all of which can do serious harm, especially to our free-ranging chickens. So Zeke’s job, though not as important as his Bible namesake’s, is to bond with the other livestock of Shady Grove Ranch and guard them from any harm. He’s just a soft fuzzy puppy now, but those varmints are on notice!

And what better name for a guardian dog than the great watchman prophet of the Bible—Ezekiel. Welcome to your new home, Zeke!

An Exciting New Arrival!

2010-08-12T07:48:00.001-04:00

Mom and Dad Cadman have been in Spain since mid-July... present for the birth of their third grandchild. (Mom and baby are doing great!) However, on August 19 we got the news of an additional arrival at Shady Grove. Pictured to the left is Gorda (affectionately referred to by Matt and Jer as "Gordita") and her newborn heifer. The little one is half-Devon, and probably has the best genetics of any of our Shady-Grove-born cows. As you can see from the picture, Gorda is one of the fattest grass-fed cows you'll see. Look at that brisket! And that fat means natural tenderness. Alas, if Gorda turns out to be the breeder we're hoping for, that brisket will certainly not be landing on anyone's picnic table real soon!

Baby Gorda (and Mom) are doing great, and we are really excited about this great addition to our SGR family.

You can see a better picture of Gorda on our June 28 post. Remember, she was already expecting at that time!

No Candy Bars...

2010-07-05T15:03:00.004-04:00

“No candy bars, no drugs, no hormones, no junk.”

That was the opening line Dad Cadman used to invite people to come and check out our Freezer Wagon at the Texarkana Farmer’s Market last Saturday. It was our first farmer’s market experience selling meat, and it was interesting to see people’s responses to Bailey’s comment. Most of them thought he was joking, and we would have, too, a few years ago. But once your eyes are opened to the truth, you begin to see things that you wouldn’t have been able to believe.

For example, we’ve been searching for processing supplies and various pieces of operational equipment as we add ventures to our farming operation. We have been sent catalogs marketing the Tumbler equipment used for the removal of candy bar wrappers in processing feed for cattle! No joke. It is common practice to feed candy bars to cattle. In fact, Matt has a friend that used to work with a Tumbler, and the candy bar truck would come periodically to drop off a load of stale candies for the cows. Dairy cows also commonly get fed old donuts by the truckload... even chewing gum--wrapper and all.

And the drugs? FDA is just beginning to cut down on allowable antibiotic use in cattle (both meat and dairy), but most conventional animals still start their lives on medicated feed and continue to receive meds throughout their careers as food-producers. Of course there are instances where antibiotics are needed, but using them ROUTINELY, even if the animals aren’t sick, is the problem. That’s why your doctor insists that you take your entire penicillin prescription. It’s because you chance the development of an antibiotic-resistant illness. The theory is that you give just enough antibiotic to kill off the weak bacteria, but the few that survive end up developing resistance to the drugs. So when we’re constantly dumping meds into our cows, pigs, and chickens, the same risk exists, and you get major outbreaks of pathogenic E. Coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, etc.

That same problem is compounded when you’re feeding cattle tons and tons of corn during the last 3-6 months of their lives. Normally the pH of their rumen is acidic, but not extremely. Feeding cows very large quantities of carbohydrates for long periods of time creates major acidity. Subsequently, E. Coli bacteria, which are normally carried by cows and humans, develop acid resistance, meaning that your stomach acid is no longer strong enough to kill them off. If they happen to get into your small intestine, they make you sick. In fact, the acidosis problem is so prevalent, and basically expected, that a butcher once told us that we are not ALLOWED to sell the livers from cows that are older than 30 months old. Why? Because a conventionally raised cow has so diseased a liver by the end of its life that it is covered with ulcers and is unfit for food. Not our cows!

No hormones? They don’t really give cows hormones, do they? Well, as it turns out, the cattle raised at many of the large scale feed lots receive an estrogen implant in their ear when they arrive. It costs about $1.50, and gives the grower about $25 in weight gain per cow.

So when we say stuff like, “No candy bars, no junk,” we mean our cows get grass as cows are meant to, and our pigs aren’t inundated with medications, and our chickens aren’t slipped arsenic in their water or feed to force them to eat more. (Google Roxarsone to read about it). These things are standard practice nowadays, and we, along with many others, are trying to teach people the truth about their food. It's been said that you are what you eat. Think about cows fed candy bars and doughnuts. Or think about cows like ours, nourished on sunshine and grass and fresh air.

Come and see us again at the Texarkana Farmer’s Market next Saturday, or take a drive out to our farm to meet our animals and purchase some of the most delicious meats you’ve ever tasted. We’ve got steaks, pork chops, ground beef, breakfast sausage, ribs, ham steaks, beef roasts, and lots more. All pastured, non-GMO, and delectable.

The Texarkana Farmer's Market is located in Texarkana, TX, and is open on Saturday mornings from 7:00 AM until about 12:00 noon.

Contributed by Jerica

Shady Grove Ranch Products at the Texarkana Texas Farmers Market

2010-06-28T15:30:00.009-04:00

We are continuing to expand the availability of Shady Grove beef and TrueFields pork products. This last Thursday we dropped off our first cow and pig for USDA processing. This will enable us to sell our meat by the piece. (Up until now our beef and pork have been available only in bulk.) We are scheduled to pick up the meat on Friday, July 2, and to have it available for sale at the popular Texarkana Texas Farmers Market on Saturday, July 3.

The Market operates from 7:00 a.m. until 12 noon, or until products sell out. On June 18 ALL vendors had sold out by 9:00 a.m. So come early to pick up Shady Grove Ranch hormone and antibiotic free meat in your choice of cuts!

As many of you already know, our beef, bred for tenderness and high quality, is 100% grass fed, with free-choice minerals and Redmond Real Salt.

Our pork is pasture-raised, supplemented with non-corn, non-soy, non-GMO, med-free feed. Due to processing time constraints, only unsmoked and uncured pork will be available at the July 3 Market. But we will have MSG-free and Nitrate/Nitrite-free Breakfast Sausage.

“We accept cash payments.”

For more information on purchasing, or on the advantages of pasture-raised foods, please call Jerica or Matt at 903-665-7076.

Big John

2010-05-15T11:24:00.001-04:00

This is Big John. He's been with us for only a few weeks, and we hope he will be the foundation for our breeding program. He's a short, stocky Devon bull, sired by one of the top Devons in the world. Matt's working on becoming "bull buddies" with Big John, but they're not quite hugging yet! Don't know if he likes to be called "B.J." or not.

The Incredible Inedibles!

2010-05-14T12:22:00.000-04:00

All Creatures Great and Small.... These guys will never make it to the dinner table, but they still have a place at Shady Grove. Leroy and Toby are Matt's two labs, and the two barn cats came with the place! And so, whether it's a prowler at night or a mouse in the shed--we're covered.

You Swine!

2010-05-14T12:09:00.001-04:00

Here are a few of the pigs of Shady Grove. From the 400-pound "grown-ups" to the "baby" 30-pounders, each one exhibits all the charm of their species! You can't blame them for being true to their name.

Meet the Girls!

2010-05-14T10:29:00.002-04:00

Our Dairy Shorthorns are the heart of our milk production. Every morning and evening they provide us with lots and lots of healthy raw milk.

We have three cows making their creamy contributions to us right now, and one cow is nursing several calves. The three cows being milked by Jerica in the picture are Mistress, Checkers, and Munchkin, and the sweetheart to the left is McCoun.