Seeing Beauty In The Little Things

Tested - They Are The Best Eggs

So we have known for a long time that our truly pasture raised hens continually rotated on fresh pasture, absolutely not vegetarian fed (hens are omnivores and readily eat insects and other small creatures, and supplemented with only NON- gmo grains produce the best eggs period!The green washed and misleading "pasture raised eggs" in the grocery store can't hold a candle to our deep golden yokes and incredible distinct taste of our eggs! Many families have also reported feeling a lot more full after eating our eggs compared to grocery store knockoffs as well. That makes sense too because most times our bodies are craving nutrients rather than volume. Satisfy the nutritional cravings and your body feels fuller faster. Well, this Summer we sent our eggs off to be tested in a laboratory for nutritional analysis. It was very expensive (over $1500) but we wanted to know just how good our eggs truly are and that was the only way to conclusively find out.And now after months of waiting the results are in.......I won't bore you with every category (there were tons) but here are some highlights - also note every % is our egg compared to the USDA standard for the nutrient density of an egg. I included Explanations of what some of these compounds are provided by the testing facility :)Protein - 4% higher -how this is even possible I don't know as protein levels should be pretty fixed but that is really cool!Cholesterol - 7% Lower - Yep thats right our eggs are substantially lower in cholesterol while being higher in protein!Polyunsaturated Fat - 55% more - Polyunsaturated fatty acids are a group of fats that provide energy, contribute to cell building, and can lower harmful blood cholesterol levels. (Omega 3 is a polyunsaturated fat :)Trans Fats - 39% Less - yep thats right our eggs have almost have almost 50% less of the "bad" fats and 55% more of the good fats (above). Omega 3 - 206% More - Omega-3s are a subgroup of PUFAs that promote cognitive health and lower inflammation.Omega 6 - 62% More - Omega-6s are a subgroup of PUFAs that increase the body’s beneficial inflammatory response when fighting infection or healing from injury. Omega 6 to 3 ratio:The USDA standard ration is 15:1 ours is 8:1!DHA - 49% More - Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 fat that is especially important for building cells in the brain.ALA - 384% More - Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is an omega-3 fatty acid that provides energy and contributes to cell building. It can be converted to other omega-3 fatty acids that lower inflammation and support cognitive health.Niacin - 265% More - Vitamin B3 (Niacin) assists cells in converting food into energy and DNA repair. Vitamin B12 - 55% More - Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) assists in DNA synthesis, red blood cell production, and insulation around neurons. The lack of it - incidentally - is why vegan and vegetarian diets collapse. Vitamin E - 85% More - Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects cells from damage due to oxidative stress and helps relax blood vessels.Potassium - 36% More - Potassium is required to regulate proper fluid balance and support neuronal signaling.Phosporus - 23% More - Phosphorus is required for DNA synthesis, cell metabolism, and in supporting strong bone formation.Selenium - 39% More - Selenium assists proteins in crucial roles such as protecting cells from damage due to oxidative stress, DNA synthesis and supporting thyroid function.Magnesium - 39% More - Magnesium assists enzymes in crucial roles such as protein synthesis, muscular and neuronal function, and regulating blood sugar and blood pressure.Iron - 35% More - Iron is crucial for carrying oxygen in red blood cells around the body and assists in converting food into energy.Copper - 2235% More (not a typo) - Copper assists in converting food into energy, managing iron levels in the body, and protecting cells from damage due to oxidative stress.Manganese - 2958% More (also not a typo - Manganese assists proteins in crucial roles such as protecting cells from damage due to oxidative stress, assists in converting food into energy, and allowing blood to clot.As you can see haha and taste each and every one of our eggs is a nutrient packed orb of golden goodness and we now have the numbers to prove it! Please note you can't assume our numbers apply to any other eggs!Most "pasture raised eggs" are raised in confinement housese of 25,000 bird groups with a few doors cut so that a small fraction find their way outside for a photo shoot and even these areas quickly degrade from constant exposure (one rather well known national brand that rhymes with "Title" came under scrutiny for not even opening the hen doors for fear of the bird flu). The key to truly nutrient rich eggs is moving to fresh pasture. You can taste the difference!

The Fourth Generation Moves The Sheep

Since, we are constantly rotating our cattle, sheep, chickens and pigs onto fresh pasture so that the grazed pasture can fully recover and because some county roads split the family farm into three main sections we often find ourselves needing to cross or walk down the road a bit. Of course crossing a road is much more difficult than simply opening a gate within the farm as you have to stop traffic, and there is always the chance that an animal could walk through the first open gate onto the road but then for some unknown reason fail to go into the next open gate back onto the farm. Fetching an animal that has made this unfortunate choice in navigation is never a fun activity!!!!So whenever we do cross the road, we try to have plenty of help and set things up as well as possible. Often those additional hands come in the form of the fourth generation on the farm, and I might say a very capable one despite their smaller stature. This past week, we had to cross a driveway abutting a blacktop road with the sheep as we moved from one field to another. It should have been a pretty simple affair as road crossings go, and Judah and E faithfully came with me on that Saturday morning ( for some reason the animals need cared for on holidays and weekends too! ) as we headed out to move them. As we walked outside, JoBelle threw her arms around my legs and said "go width dada, go ow side dada" my first impulse was to try to explain that it was a job for the "bigs" (our household term for the older boys coined by the third brother I believe) and that she needed to stay home. But looking down into those sweet eyes and that expectant face I instead helped her put on her boots and swept her up as we headed outside - giving Mariah a quick update that I was taking her as I did so (counting littles is a full time job at our place). She tagged along like a champ babbling and telling me all kinds of things as I called the sheep across the field and her older brothers herded them from behind - no small task as the warm season grasses composing the field we were leaving behind were taller than the boys!When I got to the gateway and the road that needed crossed, I realized that I had forgotten an extra roll of fencing to stretch across the driveway side of the T in the road. I had intended to use the rtv as a fence along with myself on the black top side but now I was in a pickle.  Without something to stop the sheep on the other side they would certainly run down the driveway and visit our neighbors yard and shrubberies. While we get on splendidly with the neighbor in question I do not think they would be over thrilled at this opportunity for "all natural" landscaping (I still shudder at the memory of the goats and the Maple Tree affair)Then JoBelle started telling me something (she is still pretty hard to understand most times) and I had an idea. The sheep are gentle and not ones to approach anything out of the ordinary, so I explained to JoBelle that she was going to sit down in the driveway and guard it while the sheep walked by. She happily complied and I opened the gates. As I called the sheep the fourth generation tag teamed the operation with JoBelle guarding the driveway and the boys bringing up the herd. Once across everyone got a big high five and job well done speech as be bumped our way back towards the house on the rtv. 

Cattle Drive On The Farm