From the Foreman's Desk - An Overdue Update

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February 16, 2023

My last update was in October. In that blog post, I talked about all that happened in September. Little did I know that while I was writing that post, a baby was developing in my womb 💗

To say I've been a little preoccupied is an understatement! Remi and I are so excited to welcome this little babe in June.

Our little one has already been on several farm adventures. Helping load up the big broilers, loading up baby chicks, chasing pigs out of the road, and a couple of trips to the processor!

The last couple of months have been really different, and I've learned a lot. I've had to let people help me, embrace slowing down and letting my body rest when needed, and try to navigate dishes and sour milk without gagging. Sorry if that's TMI. Just being real here.

It's beautiful to watch the earth change with each season that it's in. I feel like I've gotten the same blessing while watching and feeling my body change, along with the life inside me. Yea, having someone use your bladder as a springboard is an interesting feeling.

Remi has been such a huge support and has taken on a lot of extra roles 💕

He's been by my side the whole time. He also did a lot of dishes, so they didn't make me sick. That's true love right there.

It feels like we're getting to go on a new adventure. Pregnancy and birth are so exciting to me. What an honor to be given the opportunity to bring life into this world!

We have our birth team set up and are excited for our baby to come earthside in our home.

Enough about me.

Farm life hasn't stopped. Thankfully through the colder months, we have fewer animals to take care of. Just the dogs and the pigs. But freezer maintenance, inventory, order fulfillment, etc., all keep happening.

Our holidays were fantastic! The farm sold out of turkeys and was able to provide other quality meats to family tables. We got to celebrate with family, which is always a wonderful time.

We rang our New Year in by welcoming a new puppy! Reeves' dog Nala went into labor on New Year's Eve. We knew something was up when she kicked Jack off his bed 😂

That was a new experience, and it has been fun having a little munchkin running around.

Next week, Remi and I are going to Florida! We couldn't get away for a holiday, so we decided to take a winter trip/babymoon instead. It will be really nice to see everybody! Not to mention soaking up all the sunshine.

Reeves is no longer working on the farm. His season was from spring to fall. We really enjoyed having him on the team, but he's moving on to his own adventure!

This year, our farm hand is going to be Cameron Cox. She will help with order fulfillment, and chicken chores come spring. She has already played a huge hand in helping Remi pack orders, especially when I wasn't feeling so great.

Well, it's getting late, and I should probably get myself to bed. Thanks for following along with our adventures! If you want more day-to-day content, be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram pages!

Kait and Baby Kesten

The Farm Boy Who Didn't Eat Eggs (or Drink Milk!)

Once upon a time there was a farm boy who didn't eat eggs or drink milk. Everyone gave him a hard time, which is understandable considering the irony of not being able to enjoy the food you produce yourself. Yes, that boy was me.

Why I Choose Grass-Fed & Finished Beef (by Tracey Long, MPH, RDN)

Hey guys, Remi here! This is a post from Tracey Long's blog that she gave me permission to share here. She works in integrative and functional nutrition at Big Picture Health. Tracey has seen many people's lives changed through their bettered understanding of food, including her own. Enjoy this article, and feel free to reach out to her if you are looking for guidance in your healing journey. Pictured on left: Cows raised on pasture by the Bauman Family near Garnett, KS.Pictured on right: Cows started on grass, but finished on grain/soy at a feedlot. 1. I believe in supporting local food, small family farmers and the economy. The average miles our food travels to reach our dinner plates is about 1,500 miles1. When we eat local we conserve fuel, keep our food dollars local and can have a personal connection to the farmer and how our food is raised. I subscribe to the mantra, know your farmer, know your food. Know your farmer, know your food 2. Cows are biologically meant to eat grass and pasture, not grains like corn or legumes like soy. When you feed an animal the food that it is biologically set up for it will be healthier. Cows are four-legged ungulates best adapted to graze on forage. The digestive system of cows, the four stomachs they have that we learned about in basic biology, are meant to ferment forage. Grains like corn and legumes like soy are used as high energy-dense food alternative for cows to put weight on them quickly for faster processing. This diet that is not congruent with the cow’s biology does work to speed up the process from start to finish, but can actually compromise the animal’s health. A review article by Calloway et al2 found that cows fed a diet high in grain had higher levels of the food-borne pathogen E. coli. When the diet was changed back to forage the E. coli levels were lowered within five days. A research study by Khafipour et al3 found that cows fed a diet based on grain became acidotic, and had high levels of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) that triggered inflammation and health problems in the cattle such as liver disease. These are two scientific examples of how grain can be unhealthy for cows. 3. Grazing cattle from start to finish is better for the environment and planet. You may be interested in reading the book by Judith Schwartz, “Cows Save the Planet.”4 Judith discusses how raising cows on pasture returns moisture and nutrients to the soil and, therefore; our food. Cattle feedlots are also a significant source of environmental pollutants such as antibiotics that affect downstream aquatic life and hormones that end up in the drinking water supply as additional examples.5,6 Feedlots use antibiotics and hormones to encourage rapid and increased growth and require antibiotics to suppress illness due to the confined living space and large buildup of fecal matter. Pastured cows arguably have less negative impact and even reported positive impacts on the environment. 4. I believe in respecting and honoring the animals I eat. As humans we have the capacity to treat animals poorly for our benefit (food) or treat them in a thankful manner for the nourishment they provide us. Joel Salatin, a well-known sustainable farmer in Swope, Virginia, said in a magazine interview, “Our first responsibility is to try to figure out what kind of a habitat allows them (cows) to fully express their physiological distinctiveness. The cow doesn’t eat corn; she doesn’t eat dead cows; she doesn’t eat cow manure, which is what is currently being fed to cows in the industrial food system. We feed cows grass, and that honors and respects the cow-ness of the cow.7” Joel Salatin 5. Pasture raised and finished beef has a healthier fatty acid profile than conventional beef. The standard American diet is high in omega 6 fatty acids relative to omega 3 fatty acids. The problem is that omega 6 fatty acids, when out of balance with omega 3’s are highly inflammatory to the human body. Inflammation is now known to be the root of many chronic diseases. The good news is that the fatty acid composition of grass fed and finished beef is higher in the beneficial and anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids than grain-fed beef. A study by MacAfee et al found that people who ate grass-fed meat had higher levels of the anti-inflammatory omega 3’s when their blood was tested for this healthy fat.8 David (founder) and Reeves Kesten at the Brookside Farmers Market, 2017 Meet David and his [second] son Reeves, of David’s Pasture, from Concordia, MO. I am grateful for the opportunity to purchase quality meat, pork, poultry and eggs from a farming family like Dave’s. Dave’s cattle are raised on pasture and get to express their, “cow-ness,” as Joel Salatin would say. Dave shared with me that he even feeds his cattle organic apple cider vinegar to improve their gut health and does not use hormones or antibiotics. His cattle fertilize the land they forage on and he rotates their grazing to promote healthy soil. Yes, I pay more for the products I buy from Dave than I would pay at the local grocery store, but for the reasons I listed above I know the price is worth it!Original post by Tracey Long, MPH, RDN at Big Picture Health. Specializing in integrative and functional nutrition. Re-posted here by Remington Kesten, David's Pasture. Grass-fed & finished Beef delivered to your door.

Antibiotics: Coming Soon to a Chicken Chain Near You

You may have seen the recent commotion following fast-food chain Chick-Fil-A's decision to backtrack their pledge of "No Antibiotics Ever" to "maintain supply of the high-quality chicken you expect from us." They recently replaced their NAE standard with "No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine", which is supposed to restrict antibiotic use to those not commonly used to treat people, and "allows use of animal antibiotics only if the animal and those around it were to become sick."

From the Foreman's Desk - An Overdue Update

More from the blog

The Farm Boy Who Didn't Eat Eggs (or Drink Milk!)

Why I Choose Grass-Fed & Finished Beef (by Tracey Long, MPH, RDN)

Antibiotics: Coming Soon to a Chicken Chain Near You

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