Some Kinda Good in the Neighborhood: My Visit to the Farm

Some Kinda Good in the Neighborhood

by Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser

FOOD NETWORK STAR FINALIST REBEKAH FAULK LINGENFELSER IS A FOOD ENTHUSIAST AND

AUTHOR OF SOME KINDA GOOD. HER BLOG, SOME KINDA GOOD.COM, FEATURES SOUTHERN, COASTAL RECIPES, LOCALLY SOURCED AND IN-SEASON. A GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ALUMNA, SHE ALSO ATTENDED SAVANNAH TECHNICAL COLLEGE’S CULINARY INSTITUTE OF SAVANNAH. TO LEARN MORE, LIKE SOME KINDA GOOD ON FACEBOOK, FOLLOW @SKGFOODBLOG ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM OR VISIT REBEKAHLINGENFELSER.COM.

My Visit to the Farm

In my everyday life, I’m connected–connected to my friends on social media, my emails and text messages. Like a large percentage of the human population, I too have a smartphone that I couldn’t do without. On my first visit to Hunter Cattle Company circa 2013 however, I experienced a different kind of connection, one I don’t experience often enough–to land and food–in Brooklet, Georgia.

Despite the rain, I put my boots on that day and ventured about 14 miles Southeast of Statesboro to taste my first grass-fed hamburger and meet the good folks behind this family owned and operated farm, I’d heard so much about.

On my ride down the two-lane country roads to get there, I passed cotton fields and pecan orchards and a deer that never had a chance. I came upon the 350-acre property and turned onto a dirt road that led me to MooMa’s Farm Store. Immediately, I spotted a few cats–one golden, fat kitty asleep under a bush and another gray kitty purring happily curled up in a ball on the porch. Having grown up in rural Georgia myself, I felt at home as I entered the screeching screen door. Cast iron pans served as wall art on the outside of the red barn-like exterior.

More than 15 years ago now, Del and Debra Ferguson along with their oldest son and daughter, found the land and decided to relocate to raise their families and grow their own food. Today, the family’s “accidental business” provides grassfed beef and free range chickens to more than 50 restaurants and shops in Georgia and South Carolina, many in Statesboro and Savannah, such as the popular Green Truck Pub and Moon River Brewery.

About that hamburger, I could try and describe the flavor to you, but I like the way my friend, Chad, a butcher, describes the difference between grass-fed cattle vs. “factory” farm meat best: “It’s like Chips Ahoy vs. mom’s homemade cookies.” Now, that puts it in perspective! Not only does it speak to the taste and flavor, but the quality of the meat and process of raising and butchering.

On my visit to the farm that day, I learned a great deal about farm animals and their diets, and the importance of knowing our farmers and where our food comes from. After spending just a few hours with the Hunter Cattle Company family, I was enlightened to learn:

• Factory farms use 80% of the United States’ antibiotic supply for livestock.

• If cows, chickens and pigs are given the ability to roam freely and eat what they were created

to eat, they are healthier, and as a result so are we!

• Livestock living conditions and diet are key factors when considering healthy benefits of American meat.

• Grass-fed and free range cows, pigs and chickens receive no added growth hormones, steroids or antibiotics and are not subject to feedlots or cages.

When it comes to cooking and understanding how these ideas work with our busy, everyday lives, it can be hard and often expensive to incorporate organic meats and vegetables into our diets and grocery shopping lists. As with any good choice, my philosophy is to make it when you can and more often than not.

If Southern hospitality describes anyone, it would be the Ferguson family. They fed me, showed me around and even sent me home with a Hunter Cattle Company T-shirt. By the end of my time there, I was hugging their necks and feeling like one of the family. I’ve never forgotten my trip to the farm that day, but most importantly, I was reminded of what it’s like to hear the chickens peck, smell the cow manure and watch little boys get dirty and drink from a garden hose---a lesson we could all use in putting our phones down and staying connected to what matters most.