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Mathew with Cottage Pastures

@Mathew_Winters1 • 22,823 subscribers

Father and Husband - building Cottage Pastures an American Farm and Homestead. Growing the highest quality meat, garlic and herbs.

Shorts

This is Bertha - and this is exactly the situation I have been struggling with. She was my first cow purchase. Bought her as a milk cow and then soon learned she was mostly past time for being a good milk cow. She’s about 14 or 15 years old. Still gives a calf each year but her time for a natural end is coming quickly. Many would take her to the sale barn, receive some money for her. It’s difficult to explain but that feels wrong - it’s not, but it feels terrible. So at this point she will likely live her life out here, she’ll serve as a lead cow (she’s really not great for that either), but she will do okay. She means a lot to me and I just don’t want to think of her at auction or otherwise being transported somewhere away from this farm. So for now, and likely until her very end, she remains here.

This is Bertha - and this is exactly the situation I have been struggling with. She was my first cow purchase. Bought her as a milk cow and then soon learned she was mostly past time for being a good milk cow. She’s about 14 or 15 years old. Still gives a calf each year but her time for a natural end is coming quickly. Many would take her to the sale barn, receive some money for her. It’s difficult to explain but that feels wrong - it’s not, but it feels terrible. So at this point she will likely live her life out here, she’ll serve as a lead cow (she’s really not great for that either), but she will do okay. She means a lot to me and I just don’t want to think of her at auction or otherwise being transported somewhere away from this farm. So for now, and likely until her very end, she remains here.

2,102,756 Aufrufe

I had a visitor today who seemingly was disappointed in my egg pricing. You can find $3-$5 eggs per dozen at grocery stores. Styrofoam cartons, caged chickens or the one company that really bothers me but it is what it is. I won’t name them. Our chickens are fed a diet of grains from a mill that I now have in my possession a certificate of their good standing with organic standards. This means we do pay them more for that grain that would be found in a farm that sources gmo grains. I charge $6/dozen and have since we started here because my costs have not changed for the grain inputs. Despite growing the flock to 100+, buying infrastructure via fences, running gear, automatic coop doors and much more. $6 per dozen. I am not undercutting my family anymore. To raise this quality of meat, eggs and produce, it has to be justified to the time spent in the fields, buying feed by the tonnage and generally building a business that can support these types of investments. I don’t like losing a customer - but I have to be able to look my wife and children in the eye and justify what we’re doing.

I had a visitor today who seemingly was disappointed in my egg pricing. You can find $3-$5 eggs per dozen at grocery stores. Styrofoam cartons, caged chickens or the one company that really bothers me but it is what it is. I won’t name them. Our chickens are fed a diet of grains from a mill that I now have in my possession a certificate of their good standing with organic standards. This means we do pay them more for that grain that would be found in a farm that sources gmo grains. I charge $6/dozen and have since we started here because my costs have not changed for the grain inputs. Despite growing the flock to 100+, buying infrastructure via fences, running gear, automatic coop doors and much more. $6 per dozen. I am not undercutting my family anymore. To raise this quality of meat, eggs and produce, it has to be justified to the time spent in the fields, buying feed by the tonnage and generally building a business that can support these types of investments. I don’t like losing a customer - but I have to be able to look my wife and children in the eye and justify what we’re doing.

176,755 Aufrufe

Mother sows showing piglets how to make the pasture work for themselves! About one more week and the piglets separate from the mothers, the sows head back to the boar and the cycle continues. Soy / corn free finished pork, pasture / forest raised - website tomorrow. Nationwide shipping!

Mother sows showing piglets how to make the pasture work for themselves! About one more week and the piglets separate from the mothers, the sows head back to the boar and the cycle continues. Soy / corn free finished pork, pasture / forest raised - website tomorrow. Nationwide shipping!

21,827 Aufrufe

This past round of broilers from the farm has been monumental. I began working with a new chick supplier after searching for a new processor - ended up picking up chickens off a semi truck with 20,000 chickens at about 4AM. Label on top - “non vaccinated” or some derivative. We had the most successful brooder setup we’ve ever run - using Ohio Brooders we had the lowest mortality rate and best performance we’ve seen for three years. Building on past experiences we improved everything - soaked / fermented feed, water availability, movements across the pastures - we pushed these chickens into parts of our pastures we’ve never intentionally had chicken. They moved frequently, grew quickly, and ended up dressing out at higher weights than we’ve ever seen - especially considering we don’t feed soybeans! I worked with two USDA Processors, both who air-chill, coordinated with logistics including reefer truck transportation, established a relationship with a cold-chain facility and now have our freezers stocked to re-open new sales tomorrow. All pre-orders shipped and delivered. All new orders can begin tomorrow (as long as I get the website updated). We anticipate the scale of which we’re operating to grow to full time business in 2026. We’re excited - we’re scared and we’re thankful to everyone who has followed along. The Cottage Pastures brand is currently one farm and a product of our family’s commitment to selling the same food we eat at our dinner table. I’m excited to share this with you all. Chicken is one enterprise here but it’s a major one, just like garlic and pork. Order tomorrow!

39,758 Aufrufe

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This is a real view of regenerative agriculture in the works. The pigs turn over the soil, consume the roots and eat the invasive thistles and other vegetation. In doing so, new seeds, native seeds, have an opportunity to finally take over the area. This region was so poor you’d struggle to walk through parts of it. I’m only a matter of weeks these pigs have nearly completely stabilized the area allowing for new growth. And when they’re done here, they move to another spot. And when they’re about 250 pounds, they feed humans. Repeat.

This is a real view of regenerative agriculture in the works. The pigs turn over the soil, consume the roots and eat the invasive thistles and other vegetation. In doing so, new seeds, native seeds, have an opportunity to finally take over the area. This region was so poor you’d struggle to walk through parts of it. I’m only a matter of weeks these pigs have nearly completely stabilized the area allowing for new growth. And when they’re done here, they move to another spot. And when they’re about 250 pounds, they feed humans. Repeat.

Mathew with Cottage Pastures

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