Blue Dog Farm
562 Wootton Road v9c 3z4 Metchosin, BC, Canada

So I wrote a thing. Have a read. It started off as kind of a rant but as I went through the numbers more carefully than I had before, it opened even my eyes as to how narrow the margins are for small scale farmers who want to ethically raise animals and use organic feeds. As my sister-in-law says, chuck in that extra toonie and buy from local farms that have the hens' (and their customers') best interests front and center. And if you dont have a local farm available, feel good about springing a little for higher welfare eggs. http://www.teresaandmarcus.com//small-farm-organic-fed-egg

Covid 19 outbreaks in large meat packing plants have many people looking for alternatives to mainstream meat. What I find surprising are the number of consumers... that were completely unaware of how mainstream beef is finished and processed. They feel like they've been deceived, that the truth about the meat industry has somehow been kept from them. Many cited popular fast food commercials that portray ranch families in pastoral settings that led them to believe that's where the cattle were also fattened. Unfortunately these commercials only tell part of the story, they neglect to mention that the cattle shown are shipped to large feedlots where they are fattened before being slaughtered in large plants like Cargill and JBS. Historically every small town had a butcher shop that bought livestock from local farm families and supplied meat to their town. Local food economies also included flour mills, creameries, bakeries and grocers. These employed locals and kept money in the community. As people moved away from rural communities for better opportunities in urban centers, local food economies dissipated. With people centralized in cities our food system evolved in a similar manner. Small community grocers that bought and sold local products were replaced with supermarkets that offered one stop shopping. Consumers opted for the convenience of supermarkets without realizing how this would affect our overall food system. Supermarkets evolved into big box stores owned by multi-nationals focused on profits. Not that profits are bad, but when they're being funneled out of our local and national economies their benefits go elsewhere. Cargill is a multi-national family-owned corporation that earned $113.5 billion in 2019. They have 14 billionaires in their family, more than any family in history. Yet they're asking Canadian taxpayers for assistance during the Covid 19 pandemic. You'd think retro-fitting their meat packing plants to keep their workers safe might be worth investing in themselves? Today almost every butcher shop, meat department and restaurant sources their beef from Cargill or JBS. They can order whatever individual cuts they want from these large meat packers, like Filet Mignon, without worrying about selling the rest of the carcass. By doing this they can meet the demand of consumers without worrying about running out of a particular cut. The benefit of this system is that consumers can buy whatever meat they want, in unlimited quantities, at a reasonable cost. To meet this demand a vast number of cattle must be slaughtered every day. Cargill and JBS slaughter 9,000 cattle a day which constitutes 80% of total Canadian slaughter capacity. Much of this meat is exported because people have become accustomed to only eating certain cuts that make up a small portion of the carcass. Cattle producers have no substantial control over what they are paid for their livestock. It's akin to a city person being employed full-time and not knowing what they are going to be paid. There are really only two markets for fat cattle in Alberta, Cargill and JBS, and they set the price they are willing to pay producers. We need to diversify our food system to create alternative markets for livestock producers so they are not beholden to a monopoly. Our federal government should be enforcing the Competition Act to ensure our food security instead of bailing out the likes of Cargill. Instead of paying to retro-fit meat packing plants owned by rich multi-nationals, they should be investing these funds into diversifying our Canadian food economy. If people no longer want to support multi-nationals then they need to be prepared to modify their purchasing habits also. The number one complaint we receive is that we're always out of Filet Mignon steaks. This cut only makes up 1.7% of a carcass, or approximately 12 steaks. We only process between 4 and 6 beef a week and can't process extra cattle just to supply more steaks, we have to sell the whole carcass to make ends meet. Diversifying our food system to make it more sustainable also includes our diets. My pioneer ancestors had simple and delicious recipes for every cut. The Joy of Cooking was a staple read for anyone looking for meal planning ideas. Together we can secure our food system, keep families on the farm and enjoy nutrient dense real food. Thank you so much for your support and understanding. Happy Mother's Day! Don't forget that today is the order deadline for home delivery this week. https://tkranch.com/shop/ #tkranch #yeg #yyc #ilovechestermere

The quintessential duckling. Did you know we provide a hatching egg service? We were asked to try to hatch 8 #callduck eggs from an abandoned nest. The owner was new to ducks and had recently been given a breeding pair. Unfortunately the female abandoned the nest after her mate disappeared. We had only ever incubated chicken eggs before but despite this the owner asked us to try. She would have been okay with whatever happened but was overjoyed to be able to bring home 2 li...ttle vigorous fuzzballs to keep her female company. They were not easy to hatch which apparently can be "normal" for call ducks as their breeding for cuteness has made their necks and beaks so short that they have trouble pipping and unzipping. These ones were no exception. 4 eggs went to lockdown and 2 hatched with a lot of gentle help from us. It was a great learning experience and the owner was so sweet and easy-going that it was a pleasure to do! Plus #ducklings ! Anyone out there have experience hatching call ducks? We'd love to hear your wisdom! . . . #bluedogfarmmetchosin #metchosin #cutenessoverload #ducksofinstagram

I just wanted to give a huge shout out to the people who are supporting their small farmers. We (and I’m sure many others) work 2 jobs outside the farm in order to be able to pay our bills. With COVID, our outside income is now tenuous but all of you who are continuing to support us by buying produce are making the anxiety a little bit less. We are so grateful for you! THANK YOU for all you do for us!!!

While getting some pruning lessons from @windlebar from @hatchetnseed we found these little beauties hanging out under the trunk protecters. #springiscoming ! Thanks Tim, we always love having you out! . . . #bluedogfarmmetchosin... #metchosin #ladybug #regenerativeagriculture #silvopasture #fruittrees See more

You may know that we are quite shy about blowing our own horns but we received the most wonderful compliment that we just had to share. One of our egg customers did a blind taste test comparison of our eggs (organic fed, 100% pastured) and eggs conventionally fed, free-range but not pastured, and our eggs won, hands down! We often wondered if all the compliments we get from people telling us our eggs are the best they've ever tasted, although heartfelt, might be subconsciousl...y biased because people want them to taste better. Now we know it's true, at least for one of our customers! Our eggs were declared creamier, more flavourful, and had a nicer texture. Once unblinded, it was observed our yolks were not as orange as the conventionally fed ones and this is likely because conventional feed can have dyes to make the yolks deeper yellow or orange. Our yolk colour comes from grass and bugs and reflects the season the pastures are in as well as individual hen variation. So now we know for sure, our customers are right (aren't they always? ) our eggs really are the best they've ever tasted! #bluedogfarmmetchosin #metchosin #organicfed #pasturedpoultry #pasturedeggs #pasturedchickens #grassfed #grassfedeggs #grassfedchickens #smallscalefarming #smallfarm #smallfarms9 #regenerativeagriculture #bragpost #eggs