We wanted to announce that due to some staffing changes we are shifting Columbia Home Deliveries to Thursdays instead of Tuesdays each week going forward. This change will take effect next week so instead of Columbia deliveries occurring on Tuesday, July 19 they will occur on Thursday, July 21 and subsequent Thursdays going forward. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.
Our Columbia-area customer base has been growing lately, and we are very excited to be serving so many customers from Lake Murray to Lugoff and everywhere in between!
We wanted to take the opportunity with this newsletter to address a few common questions that we receive from customers or prospective customers from time to time. Maybe you’ve wondered the same thing and will benefit from the answers to these frequently asked questions.
Do you deliver to my home?
The answer is most likely yes, but the real question is do we do so with UPS or with our own Home Delivery service. The most desirable method for most customers is our own service because we can deliver any product that we offer, and we do so in our own refrigerated vans. This includes everything from our frozen meats to milk and eggs and more.
The quickest way to find out if you are in one of our zip codes that we deliver to with our vans is to simply type in your zip code in the Help Widget at the bottom right corner of any page on our site. When you do this you will likely see a help article titled something like “Home Delivery Zip Codes for…” Click on the article to see the list of zip codes near you and if yours is in the list then you will be able to select Home Delivery as you place your order!
If you can’t find your zip code, and you’re east of the Mississippi River, then we can serve you via our UPS Eligible bundles.
How long will the meat last in my freezer?
The short answer is a long time assuming the packages remain sealed well. We have consumed product that was well over a year old (because it got buried in a back corner of a walk in freezer…oops 🤦♂️) and we couldn’t tell a difference from the new product.
Our policy is not to sell anything over 1 year old, but we really don’t have any product that gets close to that old anyway.
We have trained our order fulfillment team in the proper ways to handle meat packages in order to preserve the integrity of the seal, and provide feedback to the processor if we see an unacceptable number of broken seals at any time.
Can we have a tour when we come to pick up our order?
We wish we could take the time to give tours to everyone anytime they wished, but the reality is we are stretched thin and tours take a lot of time.
We offer about 3 tour opportunities per year right now: the Spring Farm Day, The Ag+Art Tour (usually in June each year), and the Fall Farm Day (scheduled for October 22). Please take advantage of these as we have moved to free hay ride tours for each of these farm days. We try to cram as many tours as possible into these days and cover as much as possible during each tour. We also have vendors and food trucks many times.
We love that our customers are so interested in learning about our operation, and we hope to see you at a future Farm Day!
Watson Farms wishes you a Happy 4th of July! Our Farm Store will be closed on Monday, July 4.
We had a great month in June and we hope you did as well. Furthermore, it was actually the best month in sales that we’ve ever had. We’ve had a ton of new customers so we want to welcome you all. Our existing customers have really come through as well. We’re seeing sales increase each month on average.
We say all this in order to thank you all and to say that this is what we need to be able to continue in all the efforts that we are undertaking. There aren’t a lot of farms that take on feed grinding, chicken processing, and home delivery on top of tending to 4 different types of livestock. Nevertheless, that’s what we’re trying to do and it doesn’t come without a long list of challenges, but it also comes with great reward in knowing that we’re helping support your family with products you can have confidence in consuming.
So here’s a look back at some recent photos from the farm!
We received 30 new feeder pigs this week!
Here you can see about 3000 laying hens making their way across the field. We move them every other day to a new spot which allows them to cover about 30 acres per year!
Here’s a look at the cattle herd this morning right before moving them to a new pasture for the day.
In extremely hot weather we run these sprinklers on the hens (and the guard dog) in order to keep them cool and happy.
We’ve got about 1400 broiler chickens on pasture right now!
We were once again astounded at the number of visitors for the annual Ag+Art Tour that we participated in yesterday. It truly was a great success, but more than that it was a time of encouragement for us and our team.
With people streaming through non stop from 10am to about 4pm it was truly great to see new faces and familiar faces alike that were all interested in connecting with a local farm. We received so many kind words from things like “We’re so glad you guys are in business!” to “Be sure to not sell your farm, because we need local family farms to make sure that we have good food!”
So thank you all so much for supporting our farm!
Here’s a couple of questions that came up on some of the tours:
What is your favorite job on the farm?
I answered with how rewarding it is to see the progress that each steer or heifer makes from month to month. This is evident when we sort cattle each month to decide which ones to send to the processor. Some might think that sorting these finished animals out can be a little sad, but the truth is that when we work as hard as we do to provide them with a good life in their natural environment it actually has a way of being rewarding knowing that we did our job in giving them a good life and only letting them have one bad day.
Do you think you’ll run out of product?
We have been working hard this year to procure product from like-minded producers with the thought that our farm will continue to be found by more and more customers each month. We have established some good relationships that we feel will allow us to grow with our customer base. There are definitely some challenges ahead such as chicken processing, labor, enough delivery vans, and finances, but we feel like we have made good progress in several of these areas and are looking forward to scaling even more to continue to serve you to the standards you expect.
Speaking of finances, we have a good relationship with our bank and they have done a great job for us over the decades, but it has occurred to us that partnering with a like-minded investor could be beneficial in scaling the meat business as our customer base grows. If you or someone you know might be interested in investing in a regenerative farm, feel free to reach out. We don’t have a good idea of how this might look in the end, but it never hurts to have a conversation.
First of all, Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! We appreciate all you do for your family. And thanks to all those who gave the gift of Watson Farms today. We’re honored to be a part of saying thanks to Dad.
If Father’s Day happened to slip up on you this year and you need something last minute let us bring your attention to our Herd Membership opportunities.
One of the best reasons to “run with the Herd” is for the special discounts that we are able to offer this distinguished group. Many times we’re able to offer some small discounts on things like ground beef and whole chickens, but at certain times when we are heavy on a particular product we can offer things like 50% off Brisket and Leg Quarters! You read that right – 50% off our Leg Quarters (including the bundle) and Beef Brisket!
Another huge reason to sign up for a Premium Herd Membership is the Free Shipping that you receive on all of your orders while your subscription is active.
Finally, if that doesn’t win you over then maybe the free Watson Farms T-shirt will. When you sign up for a Premium Membership we give you a free T-shirt with our logo on the front. After signing up for a Premium Membership, just contact us to request a size and color and we’ll get that in the works. We have several colors to choose from so we’ll try to get you something close to what you prefer. (The software integration is currently not functional for this to be self-service.)
Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Be sure to check out the Father’s Day Bundle below! Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!
Our cattle herd has just started grazing our stockpile. When discussing cattle production, the term stockpile is used to describe a supply of standing grass that has been reserved for grazing at a later time. Usually fescue is used for stockpiling as it has the ability to stay green and palatable when other grasses become undesirable to cattle.
Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!
For years, we have heard from our customers things like “Thank you for all you do” and “We really appreciate your hard work.” But if we’re not careful, as business owners we can let these praises fade into the background of our daily routines. So over the past couple months I’ve tried to make mental notes each time that I or one of our team members encounter a customer that offers some words of encouragement. I have to say I was a bit surprised at how many customers offered their glowing feedback in a given week.
It truly is extremely encouraging to know that you all put a high value on what we are trying to do. There have been many times over the past 15 years that these words of encouragement have come at the perfect time when finances were unsure, logistics were falling apart, animals were not performing, or weather was adverse.
These encouragements come in a variety of forms such as:
A hand written thank you note left for our delivery driver
Prayers for our farm
Your smiling children greeting us as we deliver your order.
You coming down your driveway to meet us as we deliver your order just to mention how thankful you are for what we’re doing
Suggestions for how we can do better
This list could go on and on…
So why is this the case when so many other businesses seem to struggle with customer satisfaction? And how can we have such loyal fans knowing that we have definitely made our share of mistakes?
We would like to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day, and we hope you can take some time to remember those who have sacrificed to keep us free.
Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!
When visiting the grocery store do you ever feel frustrated by all the different food certifications and label claims?
To add to the confusion, the term “Regenerative” is starting to pop everywhere and is quickly becoming the newest buzzword.
A lot of confusion exists even among industry professionals in addition to consumers about what “Regenerative” actually looks like on the farm level.
How each unique farm implements regenerative practices can and should look very different. But, bottom line: If soil health is improving then everything else will follow including improved food quality, a cleaner environment and a healthier society.
To help you grasp what regenerative farming looks like at Watson Farms, I’ve compiled a fun list of examples of how we’ve replaced conventional tools and practices with a regenerative approach:
Earthworms Replace Fertilizers
Because we only use no-till at Watson Farms, our soils are teeming with an army of millions of earthworms that come up to the surface of the soil to recycle litter and dead plant materials to feed the life below the soil.
These same worms can produce up to 160,000 lb of castings per acre each year. Castings are extremely rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Who needs harmful synthetic fertilizers when you have millions of earthworms working below the soil!
Cows Replace Combines & Sequester Carbon
Each year over 14 million cattle in the US are raised in feedlots and fed grain that must be mechanically harvested with expensive equipment and then hauled to the feedlot. But who needs a $500,000 combine to harvest and haul grain to the cattle feedlot when you consider the fact that cows are designed with 4 legs and a rumen and are perfectly equipped to self-harvest their own food?
The BIG benefit is that when cows are grazed properly on grasslands they work in symbiosis to regenerate the soil and sequester a net positive amount of carbon back into the soil.
Here’s one of our “self-propelled harvesters” at work.
Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!
With the exponential growth our farm has seen since 2019, you can imagine that our team has had to grow as well. This is definitely true as we have added at least 5 positions since then. With a vertically integrated farm like ours, these positions are very diverse ranging from delivery driver to order fulfillment specialist to administrative assistant. But no matter what their day-to-day tasks are, they are all helping to accomplish the goal of healing the land while serving you with nutrient dense meats and eggs produced with integrity.
We are very fortunate to have assembled a wonderful team and we wanted to take a moment to introduce you to some of those folks who are so instrumental in getting pasture-raised proteins in your hands.
Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts!
Our delivery routes have steadily gotten bigger over the last year so we have added a new van and a new driver over the last few weeks. Many of you have met Sam Lozier as he has been executing our Charleston and Greenville routes and some of the Columbia routes as well. He does a great job for us, so be sure to show him some appreciation next time you see him!
I’ve had some good helpers lately as we have been mob grazing some excellent spring pastures. With a little help from Abby and Noah, we can move 170 head of cattle into a new paddock in about 45 minutes. That includes moving their mineral and drinker tank which is fed through an underground network of water pipe with quick couplers installed at certain intervals. This pipe network allows us to water cattle in any of the hundreds of temporary paddocks that we make with polywire and step in posts. This flexibility allows us to adapt our paddock size to meet the needs of the cattle and the forage. In the end it translates to a grazing system that mimics nature and regenerates soil while producing the best beef in the world!
Did you know that the cattle herd pictured here can drink over 2000 gallons of water on a warm day?
Speaking of the best beef in the world, here’s a couple London Broils we prepared the other day as we took advantage of our London Broil Sale! Here’s the marinade that we used which made it really exceptional. There’s other recipes on the product page as well.
Lastly, with a lot of meat in the pipeline and a growing list of customers who want local regenerative food, we thought we would share a popular option we have in our Beef Family Bundle. And to make it even better, save $10 on it while it’s on sale!
Product Spotlight
In addition to our Beef Family Bundle being $10 off, we’re also offering some discounts on a few other beef items that we’re “long” on right now. The first is Bones – both marrow and our assorted “bag of bones.”
The assorted bag of bones is about 10 lbs per bag and it has all kinds in it from knuckle bones to a few marrow bones. Some have a little meat on them which dogs love. These assorted bones allow us to use more of the cow and not just throw it away. So help us move our surplus (there’s a lot of bones in a cow) and save some money while they’re half off!
It’s a great time to take advantage of this Beef Rib sale as well where you can save over 30%!
Our partnership with Wild Hope Farm continues this year as they are working hard to provide you with superior organic produce that can be delivered to your door right along with anything else that we deliver on our van. (Not available for UPS Shipping at this time.) In order to provide you with the freshest produce possible, we have implemented the deadlines below.
Produce Box Order Deadlines:
CHARLESTON/COLUMBIA HOME DELIVERY – SUNDAYS at 9pm
GSP HOME DELIVERY AND FARM PICK UP – TUESDAYS at 9pm
A while back as some of you will remember, we held a contest for the re-naming of our Subscription Meat Box.
We’re pleased to announce that we have a winner in the name Pasture Picks. We will be reaching out to the person who made the suggestion to award them their free one-time 15-pound Pasture Picks Box!
It will take some time for us to get the new name propagated throughout the website, but you can visit pasturepicks.com already!
Thanks to everyone who participated. It wasn’t an easy decision. Here’s some of the most interesting suggestions:
Farm Fresh Feast
Pastured Provisions
The Watson Farms Crafted Crate
Bountiful Bundle
Watson the Box
Freezer Filler
Farm-tastic Freshness Box
Carnivore Collection
Raised to be Braised
Regenerate Goodness Box
These are just a few of the many suggestions. This was really fun! Thanks again for the suggestions.
Help us spread the word!
It’s now easier than ever to Give $15 and Get $15 through our Referral Program. We don’t spend a lot of money of advertising, but rather we focus on producing products that people love and are willing to tell others about. So we depend on word of mouth to find new customers and ultimately to heal more land.
So in an effort to streamline this process we have made it easier to tell others (via email, Facebook, or Twitter) about Watson Farms. And it’s all automated on the backend, so you don’t have to rely on us to issue the store credits manually. Just head over to our Referrals Page and start sharing!
We’ve seen a good response to our efforts in re-using packaging! Thanks and keep it up.
You can help us reduce our carbon footprint by returning your CLEAN egg cartons and meat boxes.
The main reason that we switched to plastic egg cartons a while back was because they are so much more durable than paper which could only be used once. They also protect the eggs much better!
So if you have some egg cartons or boxes to return, you can just place them on your porch on your home delivery day. Farm pickup customers can, of course, drop them off when you come to pick up your new order.
***We can only re-use OUR cartons or boxes. Please re-use or recycle other boxes or egg cartons elsewhere.***
We redact your personal information found on your meat boxes when we re-use them, but feel free to redact to redact it yourself without damaging the box if you would like.
Thanks for helping us re-use our packaging!
Order Deadlines and Store Hours
Charleston and Columbia Areas: 12 noon Mondays
UPS Orders: 12 noon Mondays
GSP: 12 noon on Wednesdays
Charlotte/Fort Mill/Rock Hill Areas: 12 noon Fridays
Farm Pickup: Please wait until you receive an email stating that your order is ready to be picked up (usually 1 business day from when you place your order). Farm pickup is done during store hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 10am to 6pm Saturday: 10am to 2pm Closed Sunday and Wednesday
Did you know that we have a webpage that displays all the reviews we have received?
“We just ordered our 4th cow from Watson Farms. High in Omega 3, lean and good for your health! Local grass fed, grass finished beef born right on the farm. They rotate the cattle to new pastures every few days to make sure that they have the best grass possible. Interested in a tour of the farm? You can do that. You can submit a custom order cut your way OR you can by part or a while cow cut standard at a cost savings. They might even have beef available right away. They also sell eggs, chicken and pork, all raised right on the farm. This is a family run operation. Great People!“
We would greatly appreciate it if you would be kind enough to leave us a review. It helps first-time customers purchase with confidence.
Thanks again for being partners in this endeavor of local, pasture-raised proteins that has truly transformed our farm. We look forward to continuing this transition while serving you long into the future.
