October 01, 2018 0 Comments
Joyce Farms' Heritage Black Turkey is an old breed, with a rich legacy descended from the traditional Spanish Black Turkey. It’s fitting, then, to serve our Heritage Black Turkey to your family and friends during the holiday season because the Spanish Black Turkey is believed to be what the Pilgrims feasted on at the first Thanksgiving, and it’s thought to be one of the first breeds developed from Native American stocks.
But it’s not just continuing the legacy that began with the Pilgrims that will make your holiday meal special. The Heritage Black Turkey is renowned for its exceptional flavor, far surpassing the bland flavor of today’s factory-bred turkeys. And we raise our turkeys in the old-world tradition, slowly, over time, with an all-natural diet to make them healthier, too.
All of our poultry is raised to our “Naked” standards. This means no antibiotics, no artificial ingredients, no hormones or steroids, and no animal by-products. Each turkey is allowed to mature slowly and naturally, roaming free on our small family-run farms in the Southeast.
After processing them by hand, each of our Heritage Black Turkeys is air chilled to preserve its flavor, tenderness and perfect texture. It arrives via UPS to your door in a reusable, Styrofoam cooler with dry ice or reusable gel packs.
The dry ice can be evaporated after delivery. It is possible that your turkey will begin to defrost during shipment. However, as long as the turkey remains partially frozen, you can refreeze it safely in your freezer.
When your Heritage Black Turkey arrives, you may notice blue or black spots on the skin. Unlike a commercially bred white turkey, our turkey is dark-plumed. When processed, the pigment from the feathers can extrude into the skin.
This does not affect the turkey’s flavor, only it’s appearance, and it’s a trait of an old-world heritage breed.
Once you are ready to begin preparing your Heritage Black Turkey, remember it can take several days, in the refrigerator, to fully defrost it. Because of the heritage genetics of our turkeys and the methods used to raise them, they are full of natural flavor and only require a little olive oil and salt and pepper for an outstanding eating experience. However, if you prefer to follow a recipe, we recommend this one (brining is optional): The Perfect Heritage Black Turkey Recipe
Visit our web store to order your Heritage Black Turkey!
September 03, 2018 0 Comments
A few months back, renowned New Orleans Chef John Folse requested our Heritage Beef for a special dinner he was planning along with the American Academy of Chefs® and the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. This "Dinner of the Century" would precede the American Culinary Foundation (ACF) National Convention & Show in New Orleans.
As our conversations continued, we discovered there was some fascinating history behind this dinner, which was held in celebration of New Orleans’ Tricentennial year.
Chef Folse planned the event to be a historical recreation of a 1671 banquet honoring King Louis XIV, Louisiana’s namesake, at Château de Chantilly in France.
Chef John Folse poses at Château de Chantilly
But this story is not so much about the King; the real star of this story is François Vatel, the maître d’hôtel at the Château de Chantilly. Vatel was known for his ability to organize the most lavish parties and feasts. Born in Switzerland as Fritz Karl Watel, he apprenticed as a pastry cook before assuming a position with Nicolas Fouquet, Superintendent of Finances for King Louis XIV of France.
In his time at Fouquet's château Vauxle-Vicomte, Vatel's skills were quickly recognized. He organized meals and displays of opulence that made even the King jealous. Eventually this led to Fouquet's jailing in 1661, leading Vatel to his next venture.
Drawing of a meal prepared by François Vatel for the Prince of Condé
Around the year 1667, Vatel went to work at the Château of Chantilly for Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé. He was held in high regard and was even given his own living quarters and allowed to carry a sword, which was considered an honor for someone in his position.
In early April 1671, King Louis XIV announced he would visit the Prince de Condé at the Château of Chantilly for three days later that month. A visit from the King was an honor of course, but required a daunting amount of preparations, even for Vatel. A royal dinner usually meant no less than twenty substantially sized dishes, and he was not just preparing for the King, but also his thousands of additional nobles and their “hangers on.” Most importantly, he only had 15 days to do it!
In the time leading up to the visit, Vatel became consumed in his preparations, barely sleeping for 12 nights. Even after days of tireless planning, things didn't go as Vatel hoped when the King arrived.
Accounts suggest that the first blow came when the fireworks Vatel planned as entertainment were shrouded by fog. Things escalated when it came time for a delivery of fish for dinner. Apparently Vatel had placed quite a large order for fish, and on that night, he saw a single small delivery arrive. He asked if that was all, and the person delivering the order indicated it was. Vatel did not realize that he had meant for that first load.
Though they had gotten delayed, several more deliveries were on their way. Vatel, not realizing this, was overwhelmed with panic over the situation at hand. He could not bare the shame that would befall him for this mistake. So, Vatel retreated to his quarters and “fell upon his sword.” He was discovered by someone who came to tell him that the rest of the fish had arrived.
Thankfully, the 2018 event had a happier ending. No one was harmed, all ingredients arrived on time, and everyone enjoyed a delicious feast!
The “Dinner of the Century” took place on July 14th at the Royal Sonesta in New Orleans, and over 280 guests from the American Academy of Chefs and the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs were in attendance.
Proceeds from the dinner were split between the AAC’s two foundations for scholarships and financial assistance for young culinarians. See more photos from the "Dinner of the Century" event.
The Cook. Craft. Create. ACF National Convention & Show began the following day, which included the AAC Annual Induction Dinner on July 17th at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Orleans. Guests enjoyed appetizers and an impressive dinner from Chef Yvan Didelot, which included our Heritage Poussin!
Eighteen new Fellows of the Academy were inducted along with six Honorary Fellows, five inductees into the Hall of Fame (two posthumously), as well as Honorary Hall of Fame and Celebrated Chef, Susan Spicer.
Congratulations to all the new inductees! See the full list of inductees here.
To learn more about Vatel and the Dinner:
François Vatel: The French chef who killed himself over a fish delivery - https://www.cooksinfo.com/francois-vatel
The Role of the chef and how it led to the suicide of François Vatel - http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2016/12/role-chef-led-suicide-francois-vitel.html
August 20, 2018 0 Comments
"Strive for perfection in everything you do." - Henry Royce
Several months ago, we were approached with an invitation to appear in an exclusive publication for the Rolls-Royce Owners Club (RROC) called Strive for Perfection. This hardback coffee-table celebrates Rolls-Royce’s unceasing pursuit of excellence – an ethos that earned Rolls-Royce the status of “best car in the world.”
It also serves as a carefully curated guide to some of the most must-have luxury products and experiences in the world, including Joyce Farms all-natural and heritage meat and poultry!
We are honored to be among the elite brands and products featured in Strive for Perfection. From our president and CEO Ron Joyce:
“Rolls-Royce is synonymous with quality and the ultimate in luxury. It is rewarding for our company to be recognized for the values we share in pursuing a higher standard for meat and poultry production. We want people to enjoy food the way it used to taste.”
On August 18, 2018, we joined over 1,000 Rolls-Royce owners and their guests at the RROC's Annual Meet in Lake Tahoe where the official book launch for Strive for Perfection took place.
July 20, 2018 0 Comments
In May, our Chief Ranching Officer Dr. Allen Williams, Ph.D. wrote a blog titled The Circle Of Life: How The Carbon Cycle Powers Our Ecosystem. In that blog, Dr. Williams said this:
“When the carbon cycle is in balance, carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere, then returned to its source in an ongoing pattern. However, since the dawn of agriculture thousands of years ago, humans have been disturbing that balance with degenerative farming practices, like tilling, that kill soil life and release too much carbon dioxide into the air.
Image credit: Kiss the Ground
Thanks to scientists from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, we can see just how carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere and the effect that practices like tilling actually have on CO2 production.
Using real-world data on atmospheric conditions, the emission of greenhouse gases and both natural and man-made particulates over the course of a year, the scientists produced a carbon dioxide visualization that simulates the natural behavior of the Earth’s atmosphere from January 2006 through December 2006.
The screen capture below shows the level of carbon dioxide (shown in red and purple) in the northern hemisphere on April 23. In March and April, when farmers are tilling to prepare to plant their crops, carbon dioxide is at its heaviest. Through the summer and early fall, as plants are growing and absorbing carbon dioxide, atmospheric levels of CO2 go down.
As a result, by September 20, as you can see here, the amount of CO2 in the northern hemisphere is negligible.
Unfortunately, as we go into the fall, carbon is released from the ground through harvesting. More often than not, the ground is left bare after harvesting. With no cover crops through the winter, when plant photosynthesis naturally decreases, the carbon dioxide again accumulates in the atmosphere through the end of the year and into the spring.
This screen grab from November 13 shows just how much CO2 has accumulated in less than two months.
Carbon dioxide is accumulating in our atmosphere in higher concentrations each year, resulting in the long-term rise of global temperatures. However, by eliminating tilling, adding cover crops, and even grazing those cover crops, we can help eliminate the spike of CO2 in the spring. And as untilled land becomes healthier, more and more carbon can be drawn down, and fall/winter CO2 levels from harvesting would go down as well.
Bottom line – tilling releases CO2, and no-till farming, coupled with cover crops and grazing, keeps the carbon cycle in balance. It’s as simple as that.
See the full NASA video below, and click here to learn more about our Regenerative Agriculture methods.
June 14, 2018 0 Comments
We are constantly amazed at the incredible results we see from Regenerative Agriculture on our farms. The proof is in the pudding, they say... or in this case, it's in the corn.
The photos below show a comparison of corn crops on different, but neighboring farms in Kenansville, NC. One of them is Dark Branch Farm, where our Heritage Pigs are raised, and the second is a neighboring farm, only a couple of minutes away.
Both photos were taken on May 29, 2018, and on both farms, the corn was seeded during the first week of April, 2018. Now, let's compare their farming methods:
Dark Branch Farm - Kenansville, NC Corn Planted: First week of April, 2018 Photo Date: 5/29/18
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Neighboring Farm - Kenansville, NC Corn Planted: First week of April, 2018, Re-seeded third week of April Photo Date: 5/29/18
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It's important to note that on the neighboring farm that does not use Regenerative Agriculture, the first seeding failed, and the farmer had to re-seed. That means on top of paying additional costs for chemical inputs to maintain yield, the farmer also incurs a higher seed cost. While some re-seeding is normal/expected in crop farming, the crop at Dark Branch Farm (using Regenerative Agriculture) required zero re-seeding, and zero costs for chemical inputs. This is a great example of how Regenerative Agriculture is beneficial to the farmer as much as it is the land, environment, animals, and our food.
As you can see, the difference in results between the two farms is astounding, especially when you consider the proximity of the two locations! It's the same land, the difference is in how they manage it.
When we began developing our Heritage Pork program in 2016, we partnered with Dark Branch Farm and the Grady family to raise our GOS pigs. Adam Grady then began implementing Regenerative Agriculture on the farm, something we require of all our farm partners that raise our Heritage animals (the corn shown on his farm is milled on site into wholesome grains that are part of our Heritage pigs' diet). The transformation of his farm since that time has been remarkable to watch.
This successful corn crop is just one of the ways Adam has seen his land thrive since he began using Regenerative Agriculture. In fact, his farm was used earlier this year as the field site for the Soil Health Academy, a hands-on educational program led by Dr. Allen Williams (our Chief Ranching Officer), Gabe Brown, Ray Archuleta, and David Brandt, that teaches farmers and others in agriculture and food production about implementing the principles of Regenerative Agriculture.
Stay tuned for more Regenerative Agriculture success stories, here on our blog!
May 09, 2018 0 Comments
Written By Dr. Allen Williams, Ph.D.
Kids learn about natural circles in school like the water cycle. The big idea there is rain falls, then evaporates back into the air, before coming down again as rain somewhere else.
Despite this simple training in circles, most of us think in lines. In a linear world, we fail to see the connection between precipitation and evaporation, or soil health and the quality of our food. In agriculture, line-based thinking has led to problems.
For decades, farmers have believed using chemical fertilizers increases their output of plants. Like a line, they believe one always leads to the other, failing to consider impacts on the rest of the ecosystem. The eventual result is a breakdown of natural cycles on their farms.
By understanding natural cycles, farmers can adapt and work with those cycles to see their land thrive for generations to come.
It’s time to leave line-based thinking behind and start thinking in circles again, and on pastures, the key circle to understand is the carbon cycle.
The carbon cycle has three components: plants, soil and grazers.
Let's start with plants.
All carbon starts in the air as the C in CO2. Through photosynthesis, plants take the carbon from CO2 in the air, combine it with hydrogen from water (H2O) in the soil and, using energy from the sun, make sugar (CH2O). Rather than being left with a puddle of sticky sugar on the ground, a plant’s metabolism takes that sugar and makes all of the complex molecules of what we recognize as a plant.
Water from the soil is the source of hydrogen in all plant molecules, and it cools the plant as it grows. But other elements and minerals are also required for plant growth. All of those non-carbon elements and minerals come from the soil.
We might have once thought that these minerals were just sitting around waiting to be taken in by the plant, but now we know that the microbiological system in the soil has to bring nutrients to the plants. The key here is that growing roots actually leak sugars. Basically, the plant ‘pays’ the microbes with some of its sugars to go out and bring back the nutrients the plant needs to grow.
Root death occurs when more than 50 percent of the plant leaf biomass is removed, so it's critical to keep the roots growing and pumping out sugars to feed microbes by never grazing more than 50 percent of the above-ground biomass. This can be achieved through rotational grazing. In doing this, we keep pumping a continuous stream of sugars into the soil and fuel the soil microbes to provide an ongoing stream of nutrients funneling back to the plant.
There is one important sub-cycle in all this—the nitrogen cycle. Nitrogen actually makes up a very small fraction of a plant’s total mass, but it’s critical for growth. Although air is highly abundant in nitrogen, plants are completely unable to make use of it directly.
But plants grew before synthetic fertilizer was invented, right? This was because microbes in the soil had the machinery to convert the nitrogen into a form plants could access. In healthy soil, microbes are not only mining the minerals from the dirt, they also are pulling the critical element of nitrogen quite literally out of thin air.
The final piece of the carbon cycle is grazing. Most of the biomass in grass, or any other plant, is tied up in complex polymers like cellulose and lignin, which are a stockpile of stored solar energy. This solar power is completely inaccessible to humans, but it is indirectly accessible to cattle. Cattle are part of a group of animals called ruminants, along with sheep and bison that chew the cud regurgitated from their rumen. Rumen is the first stomach of a ruminant, where food or cud is received and partly digested with the aid of bacteria, before passing on to another part of the animal’s digestive tract.
What enables these grazers to access that energy are the microbes in their rumens. Microbes in the rumen break down grass into fats that the animal can then use.
A ruminant is a solar-powered grass harvesting and processing miracle. Cattle that move across the land (using rotational grazing, eating no more than half the grass) leave partially digested biomass (i.e. manure and nitrogen-rich urine) spread evenly in their wake. What gets left behind is everything the grass needed to grow in the first place—a sort of customized fertilizer. Their trampling also provides an armor of plant life for the soil and feeds the soil microbes, producing new carbon and stimulating new soil life.
Together, the cycles of plant, soil and grazer form the carbon cycle in a pasture. It's powered by sunshine, but enabled by a complex and inter-connected circle of cycles where biological life does all the hard work.
With each turn of the cycle, more carbon is stored below the ground and microbes mine more nutrients to fuel more plant growth. The increasing plant growth is more nourishing to the animal because it has access to more nutrients in the soil. This ultimately leads to more nutrient dense foods.
A balanced carbon cycle can also prevent catastrophic climate change caused by excess carbon dioxide in the air.
Our atmosphere has always contained some carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses -- nature designed it that way. They play a critical role by trapping heat from the sun and using it to keep the earth warm and able to sustain life.
When the carbon cycle is in balance, carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere, then returned to its source in an ongoing pattern. However, since the dawn of agriculture thousands of years ago, humans have been disturbing that balance with degenerative farming practices, like tilling, that kill soil life and release too much carbon dioxide into the air. Today, carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere are higher than ever. By understanding and working with the carbon cycle, we can put the excess to good use by putting it back in the soil.
The bigger story isn’t just about cattle, grass and soil, but about all layers of life in an ecosystem. In the end, our objective is to keep this cycle going over and over, not letting carbon get stuck above or below the ground, which allows us to regenerate the land as we use it. We strive to keep the carbon cycle moving, as it drives the circle of life.
March 28, 2018 0 Comments
Dr. Allen Williams, Joyce Farms’ Chief Ranching Officer, is part of a team of scientists involved with an exciting new study of Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing. The study will collect data to analyze how this grazing technique increases farm resiliency, contributes to carbon sequestration, improves soil biodiversity, and impacts animal wellbeing and productivity. Joyce Farms cattle are raised using AMP as part of our commitment to Regenerative Agriculture.
The study is funded by a $1.25 million grant from The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), a nonprofit established in the 2014 Farm Bill with bipartisan congressional support. The grant was awarded to the Arizona State University Foundation for A New American University, and has been matched with funding from McDonald’s USA for a total $2.5 million investment.
Principal Investigator Peter Byck, of Arizona State University, had this to say about how the research will be conducted and the role of participants like Dr. Williams: “We will study what these innovative farmers and ranchers have been researching for 10 to 20 to 30 years on their own land. We feel these producers are the original scientists with AMP grazing – and they put their livelihoods on the line for their research. We will simply measure their results.”
February 19, 2018 0 Comments
Flavorful, nutrient dense foods can only come from healthy land.
Unfortunately, in America we have been destroying our land since the Europeans first arrived here hundreds of years ago. They began settling, farming, and replacing valuable grasslands with monoculture row crops (those famous “amber waves of grain”). In the process, they also killed off large populations of grazing ruminants like bison and elk, throwing the ecosystem out of balance. As a result, our soils lost their ability to adequately absorb and retain water, and the soil microbes that fix nitrogen from the atmosphere were greatly reduced in number.
As modern farming practices continued, our problems got worse. By the early 1800s, in the east coast states, we had lost approximately 10” of our original topsoil layer.
By the 1930s, we witnessed the environmental disaster known as the dust bowl. The ecological disaster was not a fluke of nature – it was caused by ill-conceived farming methods.
July, 1938: Modernized farming practices displace tenants from land in Texas during the Dust Bowl.
Over the past century, modern farming practices have largely continued. In addition to environmental problems, we have seen a drastic decrease in the nutritional value and taste of our food, and an increase in toxicity due to overuse of chemicals.
How do we fix this? Sustainable farming is the “trendy” term you hear today, but considering what we have done to our land, is it really the kind of environment we want to sustain? If we continue using industrial and even sustainable organic farming methods, we are threatening both the long-term availability of land to farm as well as our overall health.
At Joyce Farms, we have moved past sustainable farming to an even more effective approach – regenerative agriculture. The good news is, with the proper practices in regenerative agriculture, we can quite literally regenerate the land by rebuilding our soil, leaving it far better than our generations found it.
Regenerative agriculture is a method of farming that builds soil health and enhances ecosystem diversity. It ultimately offers enhanced profitability to the farmer, a more humane life for livestock, a much healthier ecosystem, and healthier food for all of us. For these reasons, we have become practitioners of and advocates for regenerative agriculture.
Regenerative agriculture is a complex idea, but here is the gist of it:
Conventional farming methods involve strict routines, separation of crops and livestock, and overuse of chemicals. These practices are damaging and unsustainable. Farmers using regenerative agricultural methods rely on the natural balance that Mother Nature provided rather than harsh chemicals, and they are able to adapt their systems to changing conditions.
The regenerative agriculture practices that we have in place at Joyce Farms have shown incredible results in rebuilding organic matter and biodiversity in the soil, leaving the land better than it was before.
Pictures above show the same farm. The left was taken while sustainable farming methods were in place. The right was taken after regenerative practices were implemented.
If you’re building a house, you start with the foundation, and the same applies for agriculture. Soil is the ultimate foundation for success. Without it, we have nothing. To regenerate the land that we have degraded, we have to start by restoring what should be underneath the soil surface: the microbes (our “soil livestock”).
What makes soil healthy? Microbes. 90% of soil function depends on microbes, so healthy soil should contain a strong microbial population. In every spoonful of healthy soil, there should be 50,000+ microbial species and billions upon billions of microbes. These powerful microbes produce soil “glues” that bind the soil together, allowing it to draw in more water and oxygen, which results in less runoff. They also solubilize minerals in the soil and slowly feed them to the plants, helping them grow.
In reality, no soils are completely mineral deficient, but in unhealthy soils, the minerals are bound and not available for plant uptake. In conventional farming, farmers rely on synthetic fertilizers and manures to compensate. Regenerative agriculture allows us to build soil health through a strong microbial population, so we can eliminate the expense of these artificial fixes that, for the last 100+ years, we thought necessary. But chemicals and fertilizers aren’t necessary – we can use nature's own system to do the things that she's been doing for thousands of years to produce highly functional soils.
So how do we build these microbial populations? Plant variety.
You have probably seen farms like this all across the United States:
Copyright: oticki / 123RF Stock Photo
This is an example of what regenerative agriculture is NOT. This is monoculture farming. Monoculture operations are based on planting one kind of crop, growing it to harvest, and leaving the land bare until the next season. Any plants that are not the selected species are considered weeds and killed with chemicals. However, we know that healthy soil depends on a strong microbial population, and that comes from a variety of plants.
Warm season forage mix in Joyce Farms cattle pasture
Every plant produces a different array of root executes that attracts a different array of microbes. The larger the variety of plants, the stronger the microbial population in the soil. Many of the “weeds” that monoculture farmers consider pests to their crops are actually vibrant forbs that are beneficial to grazing livestock, insects, pollinators, birds, and other wildlife.
Different plants also produce different arrays of secondary metabolites, which are highly medicinal to our livestock and wildlife. For example, some of these plants actually act as de-wormers for the animals, meaning the livestock don’t have to be chemically de-wormed. With monoculture and near monoculture systems, you don’t get those benefits.
Livestock are also extremely beneficial in fostering plant variety. Hundreds of years ago, when bison roamed freely, there were 300+ plant species growing all together across the grasslands. The bison grazed wherever they wanted and existed in immense herds packed together for protection. They moved a lot and trampled a lot, and that’s what created the diversity.
All of that variety still exists in the soil - it’s a latent seed bank waiting to be revived. Conventional farming methods suppress those seeds, but by grazing our cattle in a way that mimics the bison behavior, we can tap into that seed bank and recreate that old prairie ecosystem.
To mimic the bison, we raise our cattle and hogs in a rotational grazing method called Adaptive High Stock Density Grazing (AHSD). Rather than leaving the animals to graze on a large area for weeks, we contain them to a smaller area for a shorter amount of time. They forage on all the plants in that area – grasses and “weeds” alike – and then are moved to another area. The foraged area is then allowed to re-grow, naturally, using no chemicals or fertilizers. The plants that grow are the plants that should be there, not something we choose to grow or cause to grow artificially.
AHSD grazing methods in place on Joyce Farms cattle pasture
Studies have shown that with just 5 years of AHSD grazing, significant results can be achieved in terms of building soil organic matter, soil carbon and overall soil health. Adaptive grazing also creates competition among cattle, so they eat more of a mix of forage species. This helps them develop healthier, and tastier, beef.
Regenerative agriculture is a phenomenal system that has always been here, activated by the sunshine and the rain. It not only restores our land in terms of biodiversity and soil health, but also produces incredibly nutrient dense, vibrantly flavored food. It is a system we are proud to say is now the standard for our farms.
Our efforts in the regenerative agriculture program are led by our Chief Ranching Officer, Dr. Allen Williams, Ph.D. Dr. Williams has long been at the forefront of grazing methodology and has developed many of the original grass-fed protocols and technologies now adopted by the grass-fed sector. His goal is to build agriculture that provides an attractive, profitable, and sustainable future for many generations to come, providing healthy, wholesome, safe food choices for the world’s population. Joyce Farms is privileged to have Dr. Allen Williams on our team. Learn more about him and his work here.
“What we are doing at Joyce Farms goes far beyond just simply producing foods that taste good and are nutrient dense. What we’re doing is contributing to the ability to restore the land that once was. That’s our goal.” — Dr. Allen Williams
February 07, 2018 0 Comments
Written By Dr. Allen Williams, Ph.D.
A champion of the grass-fed beef industry as well as cutting edge grazing methodology, Allen helps restore natural soil water retention and reduce runoff, increase land productivity, enhance plant and wildlife biodiversity, and produce healthier food. He also serves as Joyce Farms' CRO (Chief Ranching Officer). Learn more about Allen
Last month, NPR published an article that has sparked significant interest among chefs, farmers, and members of the food and agricultural industries at large. The article, found here, points out that the growing popularity of grass-fed beef may soon stall due to the depleting nutritional quality of the grasses being consumed by grass-fed cattle.
The issue raised in this article is very real, BUT it is indicative of ranchers who are grazing very conventionally, and nothing about our program is conventional.
The issue raised in this article is very real, BUT it is indicative of ranchers who are grazing very conventionally, and nothing about our program is conventional. Every one of the ranches sampled in the study are what we call "set stock" or "conventional" grazers. That means they do either no pasture rotations or rotate the cattle between pastures very slowly.
Recent studies pertaining to impact of different grazing practices on soil health parameters and plant species diversity show that conventional grazing practices contribute to a slow degradation of the soil, loss of soil carbon and organic matter, and loss of plant species diversity. However, adaptive grazing practices (part of the regenerative agriculture methods that we practice and teach) do exactly the opposite.
Adaptive grazing practices build new soil organic matter, increase soil carbon, significantly improve plant species diversity and beneficial insect populations (including pollinators), and improve the water cycle. The animals grazing these pastures are healthier as well.
So, while the research presented in the article is concerning, we already know the solution and are actively practicing it. The solutions is biomimicry and eco-mimicry. We are simulating what nature used to do with the positive impact of the large herds of wild ruminants that used to roam the extent of the U.S.
Over the next few weeks, we will continue to address the concerns brought out in this article with other research, and we would be happy to address specific questions in the comments, or you can send us a message.
October 03, 2017 0 Comments
We're re-branding our beef (no pun intended)! Joyce Farms Naked Beef is getting a new name: Heritage Aberdeen Angus Beef. Don't worry, though — it's the same top-quality beef you've come to expect from Joyce Farms.
To answer some of the questions you may have about this change, here’s a brief Q&A:
Absolutely nothing. Only the name has changed.
Our beef program will remain exactly the same. The cattle are still 100% grass-fed and grass-finished, raised on open pasture to GAP 4 Animal Welfare standards. They are never, ever given any hormones, antibiotics, animal by-products, artificial ingredients, corn, or grain (no grain silage, no DDGs - dried distillers' grains).
Joyce Farms beef has always been Naked (as in, nothing added ever), and it always will be, but the new name better conveys the unique heritage genetics used in our grass-fed beef program. It’s a critical component in producing flavorful, well-marbled beef using cattle fed and finished on grass.
Our grass-fed beef comes from cattle descended from the original Aberdeen Angus of Scotland. Unlike the modern Angus, bred to consume a grain-finishing diet, the Aberdeen Angus used by Joyce Farms has an unaltered digestive tract, allowing it to thrive on a 100% grass diet. It’s that trait that allows our Heritage Beef Aberdeen Angus to develop naturally and eat the right foods, producing the best tasting beef in the world.
We’ve already changed most of the content on our website to reflect the new name. We will be phasing in new packaging and incorporating the change into promotional materials over the coming months. During this transition, you may see or receive some products and materials that say Naked Beef, and some that says Heritage Beef. Rest assured, they are exactly the same.
For more information on our Naked and Heritage product lines and how they compare, check out this blog post: Naked vs. Heritage — What's the Difference?
Have any other questions? Feel free to send us a message!
August 09, 2017 0 Comments
We have traveled the world in our quest to produce the best meat, poultry, and game in the world. We found the best poultry in France with our Poulet Rouge® chicken, the best beef in Aberdeen Scotland from the original Aberdeen Angus, and now the best pork in England. That means... Joyce Farms Heritage Pork is on the way!
Our Heritage Pork will come from the Gloucestershire Old Spot (GOS) breed. This heritage breed dates back to the 1800s and is known for its distinctive black spots and floppy ears.
It's also known for producing tender, succulent pork that's full of natural flavor. In fact, it was the pork of choice for gourmets in England through the 1920’s and early 1930’s. Then, after World War II, when pig production became more industrialized, outdoor pigs like the Gloucestershire Old Spots fell out of favor. After demand for GOS pork dwindled, the breed actually became endangered. According to the Livestock Conservancy, as of 2009, only about 1000 GOS pigs existed in Great Britain and less than 200 breeding animals remained in the US. We are on a mission to revive this breed, and the best way to do that is by eating it. Increased demand for pork from GOS pigs means more will be raised and the breed can grow and thrive again.
One group that has always preferred its delicious taste is the British Royal family. To this day both The Prince of Wales and The Princess Royal keep GOS pigs on their Gloucestershire estates.
The GOS breed was originally developed in Gloucestershire, England. The animals were raised outdoors in orchards where they feasted on fallen apples, earning them the nickname “orchard pigs.” In British folklore, there were tales that the pigs' signature black spots were bruises from fallen apples.
Our GOS pigs are being raised on a small family farm in North Carolina. Their easy-going temperament and excellent foraging and grazing skills make them an ideal breed for our pastured pork program.
On our farm, they eat an all-vegetarian diet, are able to roam freely indoors and outdoors, and are able to breed and mature naturally. They're also never, ever given antibiotics, animal by-products, artificial ingredients, hormones or steroids.
Another point about this breed - GOS sows are known to be excellent mothers, and we can attest to that after seeing it first-hand this summer:
The result of our breed selection and raising standards is pure, flavorful, nutritious pork that will make you think you're tasting pork for the first time.
Is your mouth watering yet? We hope so. Be on the lookout for blog and email updates about our GOS Heritage Pork, coming in 2018!
June 26, 2017 0 Comments
Earlier this month, Joyce Farms participated in an exciting Fox Hole Shootout event with Mossy Oak® Properties that raised over $100,000 for three very deserving charities — St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Catch-A-Dream Foundation, and SOLE (Sportsmen Organized for Law Enforcement).
Mossy Oak Properties organized and hosted the event, which included a charity golf tournament, a clay shoot, and a live fire dinner & auction.
As a sponsor of the event, Joyce Farms donated Poulet Rouge™ chickens for the live fire, and a few of our team members were on site to help prepare and serve dinner to event attendees.
Other chefs helping with the Live Fire included Dave Harker (Omni Hotel - Nashville, TN), Steve Gustafson (Omni Hotel - Nashville, TN), Nathan Duensing (Marsh House - Nashville, TN), Michael Sullivan (Creekstone Farms - Arkansas City, KS), Michael Hunter (Antler Kitchen & Bar - Toronto, ON), Edgar Pendley (Urban Grub - Nashville, TN), Mark Wakefield (Hillwood Country Club - Nashville, TN), and Jeremiah Doughty (Field to Plate - Garden Grove, CA).
We're thrilled to have been a part of the event's big success! The amount raised was far beyond the organizers' expectations for a first year event! Thank you to Mossy Oak, Creation Gardens, and all of the other sponsors and chefs for a fantastic time!
For more information on the event, view PDF.