BIG MAMOU FARMS
Quarterly
December 2013 EditionBy John Grabski
Hello and welcome to the first edition of the BIG MAMOU FARMS news letter! The mission for our first news letter is simple. That is, we will seek to introduce our farm and our belief system and why it should matter. Our goal is to help our customers understand how we produce our beef, chicken and eggs in some detail. Our goal is simple; to earn your trust through absolute transparency in everything we do related to the food that you may choose to buy from us.
Each newsletter will offer highlights of the preceding month on the farm however will focus on one specific topic and how that same topic may apply to you and your family. For example, the next issue may focus on antibiotics, grass-fed versus grain fed, cattle-nutrition or our genetic-breeding program. In each edition, we will answer questions that we hear from customers on a regular basis. If it is important to you, it’s important to us and especially so if it involves your family’s good health.
Food Matters
Why are we doing this? Because like you, we believe that food really does matter. Where it comes from, how it was raised and under what conditions is critical in the grand scheme of things and is too often lost in today’s world. Profit motive, while important to us is lower on the priority scale because we feel that we’re doing something really important. Food matters. And, really good food matters even more.
Trust Matters
Trust matters too. And while large commercial producers are important, it is nearly impossible to know what’s in your food, how it got there or the conditions it may have endured on the way to your kitchen. Trust matters here in a really big way.
You can trust BIG MAMOU FARMS to communicate exactly what’s in your food and how it got there. In addition, you can count on us to uphold the highest standard of animal husbandry. If our animals aren’t comfortable we do not sleep.
Animals Matter
We’re omnivores that’s true, but that doesn’t mean we take the subject lightly. Our animal’s health, well-being and comfort is the highest priority on the farm.
Environment Matters
The land on which our cows and other animals graze is USDA Certified ORGANIC. We’ll spend a lot of time on this subject in months to come but suffice it to say that it is central to our belief system. For example, we elected not to use herbicides or pesticides on our fields over 20 years before becoming certified.
Family Matters
We recognize that you have hundreds if not thousands of choices when it comes to where you buy your beef, chicken and other proteins. Educating your children by helping them connect with the farm and their food source more intimately will help them make better and more informed decisions about their diet, the environment and the welfare of animals in the future.
Economy Matters
Buying local helps improve the area in which we live. Your hard earned dollar benefits you twice or more when you buy locally. You benefit first when you exchange it for something that you need or desire, and then indirectly again as that same dollar is invested in local businesses and taxes that improve our general area.
Highlights
We will expand on each topic in upcoming newsletters but for now you can use the following list as a rough guideline.
-Our Farm is Certified Organic
-USDA License 20C (Cook House)
-Use only USDA Processors
-No Antibiotics
-No Adders, Fillers or Dyes
-No Growth Hormones
-Predominately Grass Fed
-100% Angus and Hereford Beef
-Heritage Breed Chicken
Comment on Growth Hormones. Certainly all mammals have naturally occurring growth hormones. We represent that we never feed, implant or administer growth hormones of any kind, ever.
Comment on the term ‘Predominately Grass Fed’. On occasion we train our cows to move from pasture to barn by treating them with a handful of buckwheat (a fruit) mixed with molasses, sea salt and kelp. We also treat the calves when weaned to reduce the stress of leaving Mom.
The Farm Store is open one day each week between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Our products include beef, chicken, duck, lamb, eggs, soups and stocks and so much more. We are also carrying a variety of local producer’s products for your convenience.
We hope that you stop by.
John & Stacey
