Here’s the weekly roundup from Watson Farms and your direct connection to your farmer. Enjoy the latest edition of Pasture Posts where we show you what we were up to!
Labels vs. Knowing Your Farmer
With this edition of Pasture Posts I hope to do two things:
- Impart to you some knowledge that will allow you to make the best choices possible with the proteins you invest in.
- Remind you of the huge difference that you have made and continue to make for our farm by choosing to invest your food dollar with us.
First up: Greenwashing. Any idea what it means? It’s the practice of companies or farms falsely claiming that their practices or products are more environmentally friendly or “green” than they actually are.
There’s a few loopholes that the federal government has provided that allows greenwashing by not-so-honest meat companies. One of the most significant loopholes came from the repeal of country-of-origin-labeling (COOL) in December 2015. This allows red meat to be imported from other countries but still be labeled “Product of the USA”. Distributors across the globe were quick to begin taking advantage of the growing consumer demand for grass-fed beef by importing large amounts of cheap foreign grass-fed beef and charging consumers like you a premium for it.
This imported grass fed beef accounts for about 75-80% of total U.S. grass fed beef sales by value according to a report by the Stone Barns Center. This presents a huge obstacle to Watson Farms and other farms like us. Consumers cannot distinguish just by looking at the label which products were actually raised on U.S. farms and which ones might have come from Australia, Brazil, or a host of other foreign countries.
Another labeling loophole exists and amazingly allows beef from cattle that were fed grain by-products to still be labeled 100% grass fed. This incorporates confusion and distrust in the marketplace by consumers not knowing which labels to trust and which ones are bogus.
Here’s what we say: know your farmer, know your food.
So even though there are challenges for small farms like ours to be able to convey the truth of our products to the masses, we have been able to successfully serve over 500 families in the last year. And it’s all thanks to customers like you that value a true connection with their farmer. You have chosen to connect directly with a farm that offers transparency rather than fancy labels and slick ads. For this we are tremendously grateful.
Tour Report
We had a great tour yesterday! Kelly and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with some wonderful people. We took a short walk to say hello to the 12 pigs who were enjoying their mid morning snack at the self feeder. Then we visited the chicks in the brooder house which will be going out to pasture on Monday. Then we rode the hayride out to the layers, and we wrapped up by parking among the cattle herd who were ruminating in the shade upon our arrival. We finally coaxed them into coming out so we could take a closer look at them.
We are planning another opportunity in October so stay tuned!
Product Spotlight
We are very pleased with our partnership with Wild Hope Farm who work extremely hard at producing the finest organic produce.
They are now producing their fall crops of which you can secure your share. We are now able to offer these boxes to all of our customers not just on certain delivery days. Order yours today!
The deadlines for produce boxes are different than our normal deadlines:
CHARLESTON/COLUMBIA – SUNDAYS at 9pm
FARM/LOCAL HOME DELIVERY/GSP HOME DELIVERY- TUESDAYS at 9pm
We re-use packaging!
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.
Thanks for helping us re-use our packaging!
Referral Program
If you enjoy our products please consider passing the word along to your neighbors, friends and family! We don’t spend a lot of money of advertising but rather depend on customers like yourself to advertise for us if they are amazed by our products and customer service.
All you have to do is refer someone to us and when they place an order for the first time they will get a link to a form where they can say who referred them. You and the new customer will receive a $15 credit! So make sure they tell us your name. Hit the button for more info!
Order Deadlines
Charleston: 12 noon Mondays
GSP: 12 noon on Wednesdays
Charlotte/Rock Hill: 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 Pickups will now be done during our 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?
Check it out!
Check out this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review:
It was a delight to be able to take our kids out to enjoy their farm tour. The family is great, and very open and honest about all of their farming practices; can’t wait to try out their steaks!”
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.
Sincerely,
The Watsons
Pasture Posts is written by Matt Watson.