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Ben and Grace Machin of Tamarack Sheep Farm with a Tunis Lamb
  • Mar 18, 2024
Spring is here! Enjoy the Tunis Breed in Lamb Season!

Tunis sheep are shaded tan to red with the occasional white spot on the tail or head. Their wool turns whiter and creamier in color as they age. Tunis produce a good amount of wool, meat, and milk, they are heat tolerant as well as cold tolerant, and the rams breed vigorously out of season, making them good members of the farm team! Taste notes for Tunis meat which has been celebrated gastronomically for three millennia include earthy, minerally, buttermilk, light, and silky.

Berkshire Pig
  • Feb 23, 2024
The History of the Well-Bred Pig

Something happened to the pig about 300 years ago on farms in the Berkshire region of England near London, something very special. Farmers made magic in those pens and paddocks. The story of the Berkshire is a story of breeding, breed maintenance, and breed improvement over centuries, beginning when the ancestor of today’s Berkshire was reportedly discovered by Oliver Cromwell’s army in winter quarters at Reading, the county seat in the shire of Berks. The Berkshire pig is still by far consistently the most decorated and award-winning pig for taste and flavor (followed by the Duroc). Over centuries, professional taste tests by novices and professionals alike have confirmed that meat quality on the Berkshire is unrivaled.

The Red Wattle — A Gastronomic Polyglot
  • Feb 9, 2024
The Red Wattle — A Gastronomic Polyglot

Across cultures and time, the breed of pig that today goes by the name Red Wattle, but which has existed in some form for centuries by other names, has been taken around the world by foot, boat, train, and truck!  Red Wattles are known for their hardiness, foraging activity, and rapid growth rate, but many pigs boast these traits. What was it about this pig that made it such a celebrity?

Honoring the Old Spot
  • Jan 30, 2024
Honoring the Old Spot

Why do farmers continue to invest the energy, time, and money in these floppy-eared spotted gentle giants when other pig breeds are easier to source, faster to grow, and produce a thinner layer of back fat (and less hair!)?

Maple Cured Porterhouse Pork Chop
  • Jan 22, 2024
"Need Less Ham? Go With Easter Pork Chops" by Florence Fabricant in the New York Times

A whole ham, or even half, for a small group at Easter means endless leftovers. This year, Brooklyn-based Heritage Foods offers a delicious alternative: thick bone-in porterhouse pork chops, 12-to-14 ounces each and enough for two, cured with maple and lightly smoked just like the company’s hams. The heritage pork — Berkshire, antibiotic-free and raised on small farms — yields luscious well-marbled meat. The chops come fully cooked and need only to be seared.

Preserving the Legacy of Frank Reese
  • Jan 19, 2024
Preserving the Legacy of Frank Reese

The passing of the torch is an expression symbolizing the carrying on of the Olympic spirit. Since ancient Greek times, passing the torch relates to succession, mentorship, and the continuity of traditions. When a torch is passed, know-how and the philosophy of making and creating are taught by one person to another.

The Passing of Doug Metzger
  • Oct 12, 2023
The Passing of Doug Metzger

We were saddened to hear of the passing of Doug Metzger, a founding farmer for Heritage Foods. Doug raised heritage turkeys for us starting in 2003, our second year in business. He continued to grow rare birds, along with the Good Shepherd Ranch team and his wife Betty, for the next 15 years. Doug first started raising heritage breed poultry with his Dad in the 1940s. Life Magazine once published an article stating that Doug’s Dad, who lived to be 104, had more living descendants than any living American!

New! The healthiest, most flavorful chicken on the market today is now available in parts!
  • Oct 10, 2023
New! The healthiest, most flavorful chicken on the market today is now available in parts!

NEW! The healthiest, most flavorful chicken on the market today is now available in parts! Kansas based Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch heritage farmer Frank Reese, who has made it his life’s work to preserve endangered breeds of poultry, has worked for years to maintain stronger lines of chickens. Reese has partnered with his first-ever protégé, Jed Greenberg of Chosen Farms, to raise and process heritage chickens in New Jersey. His flock is the only heritage breed line available online!