On our homestead, Hickory Heal Farm, my husband Carroll and I, with our children, enjoy raising a farm full of pastured chickens, pastured Yorkshire Pigs, Katahdin Sheep, Mini and Full-size Jersey cows, and Grass-Finished Beef in Northeast Mississippi. We raise grass-fed and grass-finished beef on their mother’s milk, then pasture-grazed to maturity with no added hormones, antibiotics, or steroids, and we supplement with high-quality hay from our pastures. One of our favorite places on the farm is our family garden where we grow herbs for tea and organic vegetables. In addition, we enjoy discovering the plants and fungi in our United Plant Savors Botanical Sanctuary that surrounds our home. Finally, we practice regenerative agriculture to raise nutritious food for our family and yours.

What Makes Our Products Great?

We raise grass-fed and grass-finished beef on their mother’s milk, then pasture-grazed to maturity with no added hormones, antibiotics, or steroids, and we supplement with high-quality hay from our pastures. It's that simple to raise premium nutritious beef, that you proudly serve at the dinner table. We enjoy raising pastured Australorps and Bielefelder chickens not only for the benefits of good meat but for the rich nutritious eggs. Bielefelders are gentle, beautiful, and easy to raise. The roosters are easily 10 pounds, and hens aren't much smaller which makes them great for the freezer. Australorps are quiet, gentle, and have the amazing ability to lay eggs all year long. In fact, hens have been known to lay 364 eggs in one year. I highly recommend them for your farm. One of the other exciting animals on the farm is the pastured Yorkshire Pigs. We appreciate the work they help with by turning the soil while gaining the necessary weight to make beautiful bacon and chops. One of the newest addition to the farm is the Katahdin Sheep. One of the easiest animals to care for, Katahdin's makes for great weed control. Our hearts are full of love for our Mini and Full-size Jersey cows, working with them closely on a daily basis has forged a relationship of dependability and respect for each of us. One of our favorite places on the farm is our family garden where we grow potted plants, herbs for tea, and organic vegetables.

What makes us most proud of producing Genuine MS products?

We genuinely care for our land and our animals. In doing so, we educated ourselves to show our children how to maintain and protect our homestead while honoring nature and the animals we raise. We know every weed is essential for bringing minerals to the topsoil, making healthier grass. We are learning to manage the pastures, using all ecosystems for a better purpose than destroying one for the other. Healthier grass can grow dense nutritious meat. To continue this sustainability, we rotational graze to allow the soil replenishment, which then increases back and provides a healthier animal. This dedication is how we are giving back to Mississippi, our communities, and our families.

How does buying Genuine MS products make a difference here in Mississippi?

We believe in the power of community. Building sustainable homesteads through education and local resources are essential to our families. We support our neighbors by buying locally.

Why should people seek out and buy Genuine MS products?

Mississippi is a unique environment where within itself we have everything we need. Yet, most do not have the ability or know-how to access our most valuable resources, our food production. Encouraging our neighbors and businesses to buy and support their farmers is a vital step in building a better Mississippi. That's where farms like mine come in, to make successful food production right down the road from the local farmer's market or grocery store, allowing Mississippians to opt-out of the box stores and keep business local.