What is New at Bonner Farm
as of December 14, 2012.

Next year,we will be going into our fourth year at Bonner Farm! It has been a very wonderful experience to raise and care for the excellent animals we live with here at the farm. In addition, it has been equally wonderful to meet our customers who really care about sustainable agriculture, the food they feed their families and serve their guests. We sincerely thank everyone who has purchased from Bonner Farm and we look forward to doing an even better job in the future.

All of our efforts are directed toward raising our stock very humanely, on organically managed pastures and with lots of love and care. We have the highest respect for these animals and treat them as part of our family. We are a small diversified ranch that strives to provide very high quality food for our customers.

We raise:

American Grassfed Certified Lamb

American Grassfed Certified Beef

Pastured Heritage Large Black Hogs

First , we are having a big meat sale for bulk orders of beef, pork and lamb. You can purchase just one type of meat or a combination for the sale pricing. This is described on our website on the home page.

The sale will begin on December 14th 2012 and continue until our 2012 inventory is sold out. It is first come-first served, so for the best selection, please buy early.|

Secondly , we will be changing the business format starting in 2013 on all future meat sales. Any new lamb, beef, or pork sales will be on a pre-order basis only where the customer buys in bulk and saves money by doing so. We can custom raise your lamb, pig or steer. This will help us know how much to raise and your meat is reserved for you! More than one family or person is welcome to buy one animal, so 2+ friends or families can go in on one animal. This commitment will require a monetary deposit and final payment at the time you pick up your custom meat order at one of two USDA certified meat processing facilities in our local area. When you pick up your meat, you will need to pay the processor for their work, as well. We work closely with you, the customer, and the processing plant to ensure that your custom order is done correctly so that you are very happy with the your purchased meats from Bonner Farm. All beef, pork and lamb is sold frozen,(you choose either paper wrapped or vacuum-sealed), unless you would like a chilled whole pig or lamb.

Below is a description of what animals should be for sale at Bonner Farm in 2013:

LAMB: We have just finished our fall lambing season and have 19 beautiful, healthy new lambs! Congratulations to the momma ewes and ram!! Of this lamb crop there are 6 ram lambs and 13 ewe lambs. We would like to save the ewe lambs for increasing the herd, so there will be six ram lambs for sale beginning sometime this spring, depending on the weight the customer would like them to be. The sheep are largely Black-Headed Dorper with some Barbado in the mix. They are Certified Grassfed by the American Grassfed Association. Besides pasture, they are given local hay, certified organic minerals, and certified organic, certified non-gmo alfalfa pellets from Coyote Creek Organic Feed Mill. We do not crop tails and all the lambs stay with their mommas for their best health. We should have some new lambs being born later in the year. We just got a new ram, a purebred Black-Headed Dorper, and we call him Atlas, Jr. He is a very nice ram. We have two faithful Marremma dogs which guard our sheep all the time. There is no grain in the sheep’s diet, so their fat is very healthy and their bones make the best lamb stock.
If you are interested in reserving one of these lambs for your family, please call the Bonner Farm phone number at 325-248-0710 or email me at catherinebonner21@yahoo.com . Thank you.

PORK: We have been raising the Large Black Hog, a Heritage breed which originally comes from England, since mid 2010. This breed used to be popular before confinement pig production came into vogue. They do not do well in confinement and so their numbers really decreased. They are known for their excellent meat, lard and very nice temperments. We have a real nice sow whose name is Hanna, and a great boar named, Majestic. They live outside with good shelters and generally have a very relaxing life here at the farm! The entire pig herd is fed Coyote Creek Organic Feed Mill’s custom pig feed with is certified organic and certified non-gmo. In addition, the piglets receive raw grassfed cow’s milk from our certified grassfed dairy cows when it is available. Their minerals are certified organic. We do not clip teeth, but, we do neuter the males in the first week of life. The piglets live outside in rotated organically-managed pastures with shade, wading pools and fresh water. They are guarded by two faithful Marremma dogs.

We will only be raising one litter of piglets this year, unless there is demand for more. The first litter will arrive in April of 2013 if all goes as planned. Because the feed we use is expensive to buy due to its impeccable quality, I will only raise these pigs on a custom basis. I need to have at least 6 orders to make a go of this. Hanna has always had ten piglets each time she farrows. She is my favorite sow as she is very careful to not lay on any of them. She is the best pig mom! So, likely there will be at least 6 piglets for sale in April. I will not make much profit on these piglets as I must include the cost of the feed for the parents as part of the cost of the piglets. So, raising these piglets and maintaining this breed, is more of a commitment to helping preserve this heritage breed and keep this special food available to our community than anything else. So, while the pork you receive, if you purchase one of these piglets will not be inexpensive, you can feel great about not only eating some of the best pork in our area, but, also contributing to the preservation of this breed (also, helping decrease the demand for confinement pigs!) If you are a pork and/or lard lover – than this can be a great experience for you. I will custom raise the piglet as close to your desired live weight as possible. You can have it processed to your specifications. Generally, we do not raise them past eight months of age as they are already getting quite large by that time!

We keep the piglets with the momma sow until they are nearly 3 months old. They begin eating their excellent organic, non-gmo feed before they are a month old, but, they also continue nursing through the tenth to twelfth week. The piglets live with their guardian dogs out on rotated pastures and they eat quite a bit of plant leaves. This breed is a grazing pig, so they are not hard on the land and do gentle foraging of the flora. They are a delight to watch grow as they play and rest and are very friendly to visit. If a person would like to buy a young piglet (just weaned at 3 months to raise themselves, that is also a possibility). If you are interested in pre-ordering a piglet, please let me know by calling the farm phone number: 325-248-0710 or emailing me at catherinebonner21@yahoo.com . Thank you.

BEEF: We only have one DEVON Cow, whose name is Q3. She had been here since 2008 and she is very mellow. The Devon is a Heritage breed from England; they came over with the Pilgrims to the New World back in the 1600’s. We currently have a steer from Q3 who was born May, 2012. He should be finished in about early 2014. The Devon have excellent meat, fat and bone and all of my cows including this steer are certified grassfed by the American Grassfed Association. The cows graze on pasture, and are given certified organic minerals and if needed, local hay and certified organic and certified non-gmo alfalfa pellets from Coyote Creek Organic Feed Mill. There is no grain in their diet at all. Their grassfed fat is very healthy and the bones make the best beef stock. You can pre-order the entire Devon steer or you can pre-order part such as 1/8, ¼, ½ or ¾.

In addition, we have 3 dairy cows, Lilly, Heather and Amber. These cows will be calving in May through June of next year. Most likely there will be at least one bull calf born. If so, he will be raised up for purchase as a veal-type calf even though he will never be confined. The breeding on the calves will be 7/8 to 15/16ths Jersey and either 1/8 or 1/16 Milking Shorthorn or Holstein. They are allowed to nurse from their moms for 3 months and then they are weaned. By this time they are eating grasses and forbs and alfalfa pellets. They are not confined and bull calves are not neutered or dehorned if they are going to be sold for food. The Jersey breed is known to have some of the best quality beef.

If anyone would like to place an order for the lamb, pork or beef/veal then please call the farm number at 325-248-0710 or email me at catherinebonner21@yahoo.com .

Thank you for supporting sustainable agriculture, heritage breeds and healthy food!