February 21, 2010
Our name change is official. Known as Green Acres Farm for the last 15 years, we made the momentous decision to change our name to South Pork Ranch LLC., due to the rapid growth of sales of our pastured pork to restaurants, grocery stores, and private customers. Our organic dairy continues to produce fabulous tasting milk. We have also completed all the necessary paperwork to be registered in the state of Illinois as a limited liability company or LLC.
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December 1, 2009
Red Wattles have come to Green Acres Farm.! After reading about these "Gentle Giants" we decided to start breeding them ourselves. They are currently on the critically endangered list according to The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. They are a large , red , hog with a fleshy wattle attached to each side of their neck. Some come with black hair or a combination of red and black hair. Mature animals can weigh as much as 1200 pounds and are four foot high and 8 feet long, but most adults are "smaller" at around 800 pounds. They are hardy and strong foragers and the sows are excellent mothers often having litters of 10-15. They were thought to be extinct until discovered again in the late 1960's in Texas. Even as recent as 1999 there were only 42 breeding animals known in the US under the care of just 6 breeders. Now in 2009, things are looking up for the Red Wattles. There are over 800 Red Wattles in the US and Green Acres will be breeder number 43, but still only the 4th Red Wattle Breeder in all of Illinois. See Donna's Blog for more about the Red Wattles of Green Acres or the Kankakee Daily Journal's article about our farm here: http://daily-journal.com/news/search/?query=red wattle
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August 14, 2009
We have honey and lots of it ! This years harvest is light and oh-so-sweet. Honey is the first sweetener known to man and the only food that does not spoil. Now is the time to stock up for winter. Available in one pound jars with the handy flip top to make pouring that much easier. Only $5 a bottle for something all natural that contains 23 types of minerals, five enzymes, several proteins, and seven vitamins of the B complex group. Put some on your warm toast or in your hot tea TODAY.
 
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June 15, 2009
We have decided to convert the herd to 100% Grass Fed effective today. No more grain. After much research and encouragement of Traders Point Creamery in Zionsville, Indiana we feel this is a healthy mooooove for our dairy. Studies have shown that milk produced from 100% grass fed herds has more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which increases metabolism, immunity and muscle growth. It also reduces abdominal fat, cholesterol and allergic reactions.
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April 25, 2009 WE ARE CERTIFIED ORGANIC !
Our initial inspection was held March 31 and went very well. Our inspector was thorough but not "over the top". While we thought he was making friendly chit-chat he was actually doing an excellent job of observing all that we were doing to meet the NOP standards. We were thrilled to see his detailed report. Of the 158 specific areas in the final report we needed to show improvement in 6. We had ZERO areas of non-compliance. Our certificate of organic certification arrived April 16. WE are also very close to securing a contract with a buyer for our organic milk. Watch this site for more info.
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March 31, 2009 Our First Organic Inspection
We submitted our application to MOSA (Midwest Organic Services Association) on February 17. We were told to expect our survey to be scheduled 3-6 months from that date but, SURPRISE ! ...our assigned surveyor called us on March 20 to tell us our survey would be in 10 days. ! It took some serious blood, sweat and tears by ourselves and our three sons Colton, Jason and Kyle, a long "To Do Right Now" list, and a few sleepless nights but our efforts paid off . The inspection went very well. Our surveyor was thorough but not ridiculous. He was also unfazed by the cold,rainy,blustery day and spent 2 hours outside walking our fields and asking us about our farm. He was genuinely interested in what we were doing and WHY we were doing it. He spent another two hours inside reviewing our records, receipts and hand written logs. The final decision now rests with the "Certification Specialist " at MOSA and we should hear their final decision in a few weeks. Its hard to believe that after 3 1/2 years of preparation we're just inches away from being certified organic.
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March 8, 2009
Did you know that cows named Sallynoggin, Sabbath and Moonbeam* are likely to produce more milk than cows #132, #265 and #129 ? According to a new study out of England by Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson at Newcastle University, the naming of cows can increase milk production by more than 68 gallons a year. Cows who are not named and consequently receive less one on one attention from the farmer, may not be comfortable around humans and become stressed. This stress releases cortisol, a hormone that inhibits milk production. "Cow-friendly" farmers familiarize their cows with human contact from an early age. They chat to them in passing, not just roll in on a tractor every now and then. So, next time you pass a cow , great her by name. She'll likely reward you with "Mo Milk" *
* indicates actual names of past and present Green Acres Dairy cows.
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March 5, 2009
Green Acres Farm top executives (Donna and Keith) made a site visit to Traders Point Creamery (TP) in Zionsville, Indianna. We were greeted my Amy Rhodes, gracious tour manager, who gave us a private walkabout tour. TP is a certified organic dairy which also processes on site several varities of cheese, yogurt, milk and ice cream. They also have their own restaurant (fantastic food !) and dairy bar. Later, we met with Jason, farm manager, who shared with us several of his homeopathic remedies for bovine ailments. We were pleasantly surprised by the fact that they DO NOT dehorn any of their calves, a practice we are now considering. We highly recommend a visit to this special place. See www.tpforganics.com for more info.
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February 17, 2009
WE DID IT ! Finally after many , many months of reading, learning, preparing, we completed our organic certification application and mailed it. We are seeking organic certification for our pastures, both owned and rented, as well as for our entire cattle herd. The application, along with all the required field maps, livestock input records, water and soil tests, livestock ID lists etc...was over 65 pages in total.
We are seeking certification through MOSA, Midwest Organic Sevices Association. Located in Viroqua, Wisconsin. We have been told to expect our first survey between May and August of this year. Timing will depend on other producers in our area who are seeking intial or renewal of their organic certification. Watch this site for updates on our certification status.
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February 2, 2009
Kiki the wonder cow has gifted us once again with another beautiful heifer calf.! Kiki was our dairy's first cow and is going strong at age 14. In the Green Acres tradition of naming new heifers with names that sound like or in other ways remind us of their birth mothers, we have named the new gal COOKIE. For those of you not familiar with dairies, the average factory raised cow (those raised on feed lots without access to pasture) lives only 3-4 years. So congratulations to our geriatric mama.
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