Medicine Creek Farm is a sustainable, regenerative Minnesota family farm near Finlayson. It is about 1-1/2 hours north of the Twin Cities. The 160-acre farm is home to Hannah and Jason where they raise 100% grass-fed and finished beef and lamb and pasture-raised pork while also raising their young son. I think Hannah and Jason were destined to farm; before they met, they both had spent time on various farms or industries related to farming. You can check out more about each of them here. They do have a “little farmer”, Harvey, who is learning all about farming already.
Hannah tends to most the daily operations of the farm as Jason normally works off farm. This is quite common with the farms that I have visited. This is often one of the challenges that farms face, they need to have an income outside of the farm to pay the bills, especially with farms just starting out.
Hannah and I head to the fields to check out the animals. First, we visited the sheep; as soon as they saw Hannah the flock began to baa. She commented that they associate her with fresh grass to graze since in the summer they are moved almost daily to fresh grass. The guardian dogs were unsure of me at first but eventually accepted that I was not a threat to their sheep. A bit later I was petting a couple of the lambs, guardian dog Griffon decided he needed to check on me again to make sure I didn’t hurt his lambs. The portable fencing is electric, and it was funny how quickly the sheep know when it has been turned off. This little lamb was quick to eat the grass on the other side of the fencing because every creature seems to think the grass is greener on the other side!
We next trekked over to see the cattle. Again, the herd recognized Hannah, but they were a bit more cautious about me than the sheep. Part of the beauty of the intensive management is the farmer and the animals know each other quite well. The animals associate Hannah with new fresh food which is a positive to them. The animals are less stressed and more content (which I shared in my last post affects the meat). This also allows Hannah to know her animals, recognizing if there are any concerns or issues. This is actually a beautiful relationship between the animals and the farmer.
On to the pig area. The pigs are still acclimating to their area and are not quite social yet, especially since I am someone they are not familiar with. The young pigs were observing us from a protected spot in the underbrush. I am sure in no time at all Hannah will be a “positive” for them also.
Medicine Creek Farm greatest reward is being able to feed themselves and the community with healthy food while also being stewards over their animals, the land, and the soil which is very important to them. With the recent events in our country (coronavirus), I believe people have become more aware of the importance of locally sourced food. Although sustainably raised food may cost more initially, you are investing in your health now which can pay great dividends for your health in the future. I encourage clients to do the best they can with the finances they have available. We didn’t start buying all organic food and pasture raised meats. We started small and begin to purchase more and more over the years. Did you know approximately 40% of American’s food is wasted? The average family of 4 throws out $1,350 to $2,275 away a year. By reducing food waste, you can invest in better quality food. You can check out this post I did about this and ways to reduce food waste. Saving this kind of money each year can then be invested in to high quality meats.
We had a chance to try the hamburger and it was excellent; it had a sweet flavor to it.
If you would like to learn more about Medicine Creek Farm, check out their website. You can also follow along on Facebook and Instagram. If you are interested in ordering, you can do that through their website here. As with all the farms I have visited, I would encourage you to get orders in soon as most are being sold out.
Be blessed and be a blessing,
Heather
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