LOCAL FARMS: Ray Family Farms

This morning we visited Ray Family Farms in Louisburg. I had been looking for a place to get local meats, and this farm popped up on a Google search. I'm not going to go into all of the amazing practices they are using to produce sustainable, "almost organic" (there will be an upcoming post about this idea) meats and eggs, but this place is really outstanding. Solar power, biofuels, the list goes on. All of the animals live their entire lives on the farm. There are no cages or crates - everything is free range. The pigs have a huge piece of property to roam with trees and wallows. The chickens are everywhere but have a beautiful coop called "The Chick Inn". 

 

The owners, Chad and Jodi Ray, were selected last year as one of President Obama’s “Champions of Change” for their commitment to sustainable farming and energy conservation practices. For more information on their practices and philosophies, visit their Web site at www.rayfamilyfarms.com .

As much as we would like to eat local and organic all the time, it just isn't financially feasible for our family. We do what the budget allows, but have found that by reducing our portion sizes (Americans eat WAY too much meat in general anyways) and eating vegetarian a few nights a week, that we can afford to buy local organic or "almost organic" meats. Those 3-4 oz. servings were a little hard to get used to at first, but we've all survived and lost some weight in the process. Ray Family Farms offers a "Sample Package" which includes all of the following for $99: 1 beef roast, 3 ground beef, 1 pork chop, 1 bacon, 1 breakfast sausage, 1 dozen eggs, 1 Italian sausage, 1 Bratwurst sausage, 1 Chorizo Sausage, and 1 Chicken and a jar of jam. Eating the smaller portion sizes, this should easily be enough for our small family of 3 for an entire month. Could I get more at Harris Teeter? Sure. Would it be as good or as healthy? Hell no. I mean, I actually MET the chickens that laid these eggs.

So, in a nutshell, this place is just a completely different world from most of the commercial sources of meat production in this country. I want my son to grow up knowing that there are alternatives to feed lots and chickens so big that they can't support their own weight.  Anyone who visited a commercial poultry plant might walk away seriously considering vegetarianism. At this farm, you can't help just feel good about what these people are doing and what a model they could become. They have my utmost respect.