Organic Farms

big_g wrote:

For those interested, we get most of our non-perishable Organic and GMO free products here. Typically cheaper than the block and mortar stores and delivered right to our door. Organic-Non GMO

Well…G, I checked the website and am interested. I’m a big soup fan especially when it gets colder and saw some good looking soup. Have you tried the Bar Harbor Fish chowder or Lobster Corn chowder? Any good? At around $4 a pop I would not have a problem having that for an easy tasty meal. Looks like some good canned fish too at reasonable price. Shipping looks great if $4. Or free if spending over $50 on products.

The lobster bisque is my favorite.. I like the chowder too The beef sticks are a nice snack too and I like the gummy bears….

The usually have beef and fresh seafood also… my wife called them yesterday and they are getting that re-vamped, so they can ship cross country (they are in Utah) and will be more readily available 2nd qtr.

I would vouch for Prairie Pride Farm, they are the real deal. If you are looking for small farms closer to the metro, check out the Minnesota Grown Directory. It’s probably the best resource to find locally grown fruits, veggies and meats. The website is searchable by product or region.

Made a trip to the coop in Cambridge and bought a local organic chicken, some uncured ham and uncured kielbasa.

I’ll report back on how the chicken tastes.

biggill wrote:

Made a trip to the coop in Cambridge and bought a local organic chicken, some uncured ham and uncured kielbasa.

I’ll report back on how the chicken tastes.

So no report back on the ham and kielbasa?

Would that chicken perhaps be from Kadejan Farms? I see they do sell them at the coop in Cambridge. If so, I have had them and you should not be disappointed.

http://www.kadejan.com/

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

So no report back on the ham and kielbasa?

Would that chicken perhaps be from Kadejan Farms? I see they do sell them at the coop in Cambridge. If so, I have had them and you should not be disappointed.

http://www.kadejan.com/

The ham was petty good. That is where the chicken is from. I do see it is not free range outside. It is considered free range in a barn. Looking forward to it though.

biggill wrote:

I do see it is not free range outside. It is considered free range in a barn. Looking forward to it though.

Bet the chickens are happier it’s not free range outside. It’s cold out there… Looks like plenty of room to run around the barn.

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that barn cannot be considered free range as the birds are walking around in their own filth.
every bacteria and disease is in that stuff and they are getting a major dose of it.

unless they are scooping that barn daily and putting down new bedding,I wouldnt want anything from there.
my eleven cents worth.

Iowaboy1 wrote:

that barn cannot be considered free range as the birds are walking around in their own filth.
every bacteria and disease is in that stuff and they are getting a major dose of it.

unless they are scooping that barn daily and putting down new bedding,I wouldnt want anything from there.
my eleven cents worth.

biggill, maybe you ought to feed that chicken to the cat.

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>iowaboy1 wrote:</div>
that barn cannot be considered free range as the birds are walking around in their own filth.
every bacteria and disease is in that stuff and they are getting a major dose of it.

unless they are scooping that barn daily and putting down new bedding,I wouldnt want anything from there.
my eleven cents worth.

biggill, maybe you ought to feed that chicken to the cat.

dont mean to come across in a negative way,but a lot of people who have never been around chickens dont know that they will peck through sh!t to get a tiny piece of grain or a form of mineral.
regardless of what if any antibiotics is given those birds in feed or water it wont ward off what is in their manure when they are cooped up like that.

one might think that with all of those antibiotics in the food that the sh!t will be harmless when the opposite is true as bacteria and diseases will become immune to the antibiotics in a short time and actually become more lethal not only to the bird but humans who come in contact with them.

ever hear of salmonella ?? years ago everyone who handled chickens in any manner,feeding,butchering,gathering eggs etc. got a low dose of it from handling alone and the body built its own antibodies against it and they never got sick from it again.

today with all of the resistant strains of bacteria and diseases we are losing ground fighting them off.
it doesnt help that the majority of people today have no naturally developed immune systems from natural exposures and they get sick when they shouldnt.

free range means free range,as in outside and not penned up,free access to grass,grain, in fields,pasture,lawns,whatever the case.
and it means no walking in their own crap.
chickens will come to the coupe when the sun goes down.

Iowaboy1 wrote:

one might think that with all of those antibiotics in the food that the sh!t will be harmless when the opposite is true as bacteria and diseases will become immune to the antibiotics in a short time and actually become more lethal not only to the bird but humans who come in contact with them.

I don’t know chicken sh!t about chicken farming. I’m just another consumer… This is from the Kadejan website, do we believe it’s safe??
“Kadejan chickens are allowed to free roam in a spacious and clean environment. We believe in excellent sanitary practices that help our chickens to grow naturally on high quality feed and fresh well water. To help our  birds stay healthy we use  organic oregano instead of vaccines and antibiotics. 
Our family and friend growers have been with us since the beginning they ensure that the chickens are treated and handled humanely from chick to chicken.” 

I get where you are coming from Andy,in my reply I stated what if any antibiotics are used.
the quote you supplied from the farm states none are used and that is a great start,however.

regardless of fowl or beast,you cannot keep them that close together in those numbers without losing a percentage to diseases and diseases spread like wild fire in an environment such as that and the potential of losing the whole herd/flock is a very real reality,it is not a matter of if,it is a matter of when.

a good example is here in Iowa a couple of years ago,farmers were losing pigs by the millions due to a disease of some sort,( please forgive,I dont remember the name ) and they lost millions of birds to a disease from what was believed to be spread by geese and ducks flying through.
non of that would of happened if they were not housed together in those kinds of numbers.( example,we have two chicken farms near me,each has over ten million birds in them,PU!! )

a good example exists with us humans,if you live in a large apartment complex or work in a huge office environment,guess what?? the doorman shows up at work one day with the flu,a week or so later everyone has it.
I know this is not avoidable as it is in the air to begin with but when people or animals for that matter are separated by a distance,the severity or density of the spread is held to a minimum ending it sooner.

I simply wanted everyone to know what they could be up against when looking for supposed range free critters.
Andy,just mixed one up cheers to ya !!!

“H2N2 is a subtype of the influenza A virus. H2N2 has mutated into various strains including the Asian flu strain (now extinct in the wild), H3N2, and various strains found in birds. It is also suspected of causing a human pandemic in 1889”

I do trust what you’re saying. I’m not trying to be at all argumentative. I think many of us can be mislead by “propaganda” these days and I have wondered about what we are being fed, both literally and figuratively. I’ll PM you shortly.

never took it as being argumentative,rather a great discussion on how our food is raised on a large or small scale,both of which have benefits to a degree,one more so than the other.

looking forward to the PM !!

I prefer antibiotic free even if it is not free range. It seems like those big producers create chickens with mutant size, tough, tastless breasts. There are 3 in our house and we like to give everyone a fillet, one side of a full breast. If I choose the big ag brands those fillets are way to big of a proportion. The ones marketed as organic, free range or even just antibiotic free tend to be smaller portions and higher quality.

I sure hope some of you don`t hunt rabbits squirrels pheasants deer most any wild animal locally eats the same crops farmers feed there livestock.

I cut up and made the chicken tonight. I know it wasn’t the free range chicken I wanted but it was probably the best chicken breast I’ve ever made.

The chicken breast was much more tender and flavorful than the supermarket chicken. Slicing it shows how tender it was. It was cut with a steak knife.

Sorry for the photo on a half eaten plate.

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Being a farmer I sure as heck do not want free range chickens them little buzzards get tough, if you do not pen them up for 4 to 6 weeks before butchering.

Yup. Free ranged fowl do get a little chewy. Tough birds can be “softened” pretty easy just by lowering and lengthening your cooking time/temp. I aim for about 300 to 325 for 2-3 hours if I’m roasting and just below ‘medium’ heat if pan fry’n for about 45 min or so. And always start with a fully thawed out meat. We’ve been free ranging our chickens for several years now. We sell our surplus on occasion along with a steady sale of eggs and live birds; chicks to full grown fowl (layers and meat). Cottage food laws here in MN won’t let us ship our food products, but we can sell “off our back porch” all day long. Live birds we transport ourselves to nearly anywhere in the state. So long as we don’t cross state lines the Government is happy. Among the chickens we are getting into rabbits now with goats and heritage swine in the future. ….and don’t get me started on our 4+ acres of gardens….heh Kinda wish we were closer-ish to the cities to reach a larger market for what we do. Eh, then I wouldn’t be so close to my favorite fishing lakes.

A little follow up.

I’ve been shopping a lot lately at a local farm/market called Minnesota Fresh Farm. We buy their produce but they also carry pretty much any cut of beef, pork or chicken all from local organic farms. So far I’ve tried the chicken, pork chops, pork tenderloin and hamburger. All have been possibly the best tasting and best quality meats I’ve ever bought. The prices are very competitive with the local supermarket too.

Whole chicken is $3.50/lb
2 thick cut pork chops were about $6
I think the pork tenderloin was about $7
Hamburger was about $6.50/lb
A nice ribeye costs around $10-12.

I will honestly say that I’ve never had meat from any butcher shop as good as this. Not even close.

They’re located on the east side of highway 65 just nort of Viking Blvd (hwy 22). I very highly recommend if you are in the area.

http://www.minnesotafreshfarm.com/index.html

And yes, I did say nort ^^^

Not too far from us. We’ll have to scope it out. Thanks for the heads up

A lot of the ailments you list can result from stress. Food to can play a part but stress would be high on my list for cause. I garden so much of what we eat comes directly from there but I also can and freeze a lot from the garden….minimal processing.

Both beef and pork have to get inoculated for disease and also medications in feeds so even “organic” isn’t completely that if any supplemental feeds are used. Poultry may get by as totally organic.

Meeting the criteria to be called “organic” is expensive and I question whether eating organic is that much of benefit outside of just feeling good about what you’re eating. If you live or work or both in a high stress atmosphere it won’t matter what you eat…stress is a killer.

Then tack on alcohol consumption and your level of exercise. Lots of things can put you in a grave faster than food.

I totally agree with you about stress. I’m finally realizing how all these environmental factors and diet can affect how you feel on a daily basis. I have recently mixed in some meditation to help with stress. It really works btw. I find the biggest cause of stress seems to start with technology. Too much of that on top of the daily life stress creates an unhealthy lifestyle.

I also finally realized I overeat far too much. I think this is the biggest contributor to my heartburn. The last month or so I’ve been trying really hard to reduce my intake at each meal and it has reduced my heartburn to a couple times a week versus the couple time a day I was experiencing.

Another thing to note is that last fall I was taking omeprazol for my heartburn as prescribed by a gastroenterologist. I quit immediately after about a week and researching the short and long term effects of this stuff. I really think this and other acid reducers was leading to my muscle soreness. I haven’t had an acetaminophen, ibuprofen or anything else this entire year so far and am quite happy about it.

Back to the food. I’m finding that this food I’m buying is far more flavorful and it doesn’t really cost any more. I’m not married to buying a package that says “organic” either. I’m not 100% sure the organic classification even has our health as the #1 priority. Once the major corporations got involved, the “organic” classification has changed as I understand it.

I’m more interested in knowing where my food comes from and that the people raising it have the right intentions in mind.

What is interesting is if you read the Federal & State Laws and well as FDA (Food & Drug Administration Rules on a Farm being Labelled as Organic vs. Products you purchase being labelled as Organic, you’ll find discrepencies and a variance between them.

From news accounts over the last 5-10 years that I’ve read and recall, the Food Industry as a whole really bellies and cries loudest when it comes to labelling products, yet the label being placed on a farms is pretty restrictive.

Buyer beware!

If I have time later, I’ll try to add some of those news accounts and/or the laws

I remember hearing that the major corporations were doing everything in their power to make the classification profitable so they can squeeze out the little guy.

Hopefully the millennials will come through like they have with microbreweries and make it a real thing. I’d love to see real farms producing the majority of our food again.

biggill,

Do they have meats on hand daily or do you need to call ahead?

Thanks

Yes, lots on hand. All frozen if that scares you. I guarantee you that this stuff is very very good.

I picked up some hamburger and a whole chicken this morning. They had lots of ribeyes, chuck roasts, various cuts of pork, probably 30# of hamburger.

biggill wrote:

Yes, lots on hand. All frozen if that scares you. I guarantee you that this stuff is very very good.

I picked up some hamburger and a whole chicken this morning. They had lots of ribeyes, chuck roasts, various cuts of pork, probably 30# of hamburger.

If they don’t sell it, does it get old and they need to sell it cheaper?

$6.50 for hamburger seems a little (alot) high but I guess I have the luxury of buying beef clods in bulk and grinding my own. I’m just set up that way to do a lot of meat and vegetables on our own.

Ya, I buy the beef and pork in bulk from a supplier. It probably comes full of hormones but I have some satisfaction that I finished and packaged it ourselves.

I’m sure all the veggies a person eats has never seen any spray before eathier?

Read an article about toilet paper and where that comes from. Might not want to wipe in the morning??

Live how you want and what makes you feel best at night when you go to bed.

riverruns wrote:

If they don’t sell it, does it get old and they need to sell it cheaper?

$6.50 for hamburger seems a little (alot) high but I guess I have the luxury of buying beef clods in bulk and grinding my own. I’m just set up that way to do a lot of meat and vegetables on our own.

It’s frozen. It’ll last months and they probably sell out before they close for the season.

Consider this. Supermarket hamburger is full of water. Not sure it’s added or what, but I find a lot of water in a pan full of browned ground beef. The stuff I bought at this place had virtually none and the taste was not even comparable to the supermarket. The beef goes farther because I am not paying for the extra water. So in the end the price is competitive with the supermarket.

If nothing else, but it for the taste, not the “promise” of better health if it makes you feel any better.

riverruns wrote:

Live how you want and what makes you feel best at night when you go to bed.

Thanks, I will.