Our Farming Practices
Quality over Quantity
At no point do we make decisions to increase size over the health and quality of animal and pasture. We maintain appropriate stocking densities on the pastures, and we fixate on breeds that produce high quality produce and meat. Healthy plants and animals are the focus. This means we are more interested in omega 3-6 ratios instead of total pounds. This means we are more interested in the calcium levels in tomatoes than how many fruits are on each vine. The focus is on nutrient density.
Heritage Breed Focused
We are losing heritage breeds and the wise husbandry of our ancestors. Old heritage breeds of pig, sheep, and plant were bred with more wholistic decisions than simply fast growth and size. For example, we currently raise Red Wattle pigs. These are slower to come to size, but the meat quality is vastly superior to modern breeds that were designed in confinement farms. We believe each region should focus on breeding animal and plant to fit the land. For this reason, we raise plant and animal without a specific commitment to pure genetics. Rather, we focus on vitality, health and the genetic swarming of diversity that brings new life into unique place. Our husbandry is not focused on this year’s sale, but on the long-term viability of an agro-ecology that dynamically evolves with the environment.
Colostrum & Inoculam
At Blackburn Fork Farm, we are partners not controllers. Lambs need their first suckle from the colostrum-rich udder of their mother. Seeds planted in the soil need to be bathed in the inoculum of their mother plants and healthy soils. Every natural system is full of different actors. Each one has a role. Our job is to join this dance and do what we can to always veer towards health. The diversity of colostrum and the couple of micrometers around a root are helpful to consider. They are universes involving millions of microbes, trace elements and vitamins. It is arrogant to think we can replace these biologically, complex processes. We try to mimic nature but never replace her.
100% Grass-Fed
At Blackburn Fork Farm, all our ruminants are raised on pasture providing a rich diet of grass and forbes. You can know that the meat raised on our pasture were grown by the alchemy of sun, soil and plants.
GMO Free
At Blackburn Fork Farm, our pastured pigs enjoy constant access to pasture along with supplemental feed from a non-GMO source that is corn and soy free. Natural breeding is good husbandry. Genetically modified organisms have unforeseen consequences in ecosystems. Low, long-term toxicity from GMOs can have large-scale societal and landscape effects. For this reason, all forms of genetically modified organisms do not have a place on our farm.
Anti-Biotic Free
To be sure, antibiotics can be helpful at certain acute moments of dis-ease. However, we are fundamentally pro-biotic and avoid all antibiotics in our caretaking. All our products are completely anti-biotic free.
Commitment to Diversity
A pasture should be full of different kinds of grasses, herbs and legumes. Studies have shown over and over that diversity in all ecosystems equate to more resilient, healthy systems. Monocultures are fragile and prone to disease. Our decisions are always about how we can increase that diversity both for the diet of our animals as well as the diversity of the farm.
Commitment to Joy
Depression bleeds into the land. Stressed animals have higher incidence of infection. Stressed bees have higher viral loads. We exhibit the same behavior when we over-stress our lives. For this reason, we are committed to cultivating joy in everything we do. You can visually see a happy pig when it comes into a new pasture. The joy of a healthy lamb is palpable. The land can laugh. We love to have fun too, and believe joy has direct and tangible consequences in our health and the health of our land. We also believe a pork chop or seedling will carry some of that joy to you.