One of the phrases that is often used when farms advertise their meat products is “antibiotic free”. Our antibiotic free chicken, beef, pork , lamb and bision have never been given antibiotics at any time during their life. Some hatcheries administer antibiotics automatically at the time the chicks hatch – we receive our chicks from the hatchery when they are just hours old. The chicks do not receive any antibiotics and are not fed anything at the hatchery. Some folks use chick starter that has antibiotics in it for the first few weeks of the chicken or turkey’s life so that the bird will not get ill. They then will sell this chicken as antibiotic free because the residual time for the antibiotic as proscribed by the drug company has passed. This means that the drug company says that there will be no antibiotics left in the meat of the bird (or animal) after a certain number of days following the date that the drug was administered. The residual time could be as short as a couple of days depending on which drug was used. Technically, because of this withdrawal time, birds and animals can be sold as antibiotic free after receiving antibiotics. One of the pillars in organic livestock production is that no antibiotics are given to our birds or animals and then sold as organic. For humane reasons, if our birds or animals became very ill and our homeopathic remedies didn’t work we would give them an antibiotic. This medicated animal would be segregated out and then sold into the conventional marketplace.   Our antibiotic free chickens are available in Calgary, Edmonton, Camrose and other locations throughout Alberta. Thanks Ron

Updating...

Danny Turner from the Organic Box and I had a conversation about organics a couple of days ago and how it just made common sense to eat organic food and promote organic  farming.

                We see in the agriculture community the phrase “Based on Science, or Scientifically Proven” used often but never the phrase “Common Sense”. In organics we use a lot of common sense and ancient knowledge and a bit of science in how we grow our crops and raise our animals.

It makes common sense to not have chicken,  pork or beef crammed into feedlots or massive confined feeding operations. A chicken or a pig raised in a conventional manner may never see sunlight in its life and that doesn’t make common sense. All animals, including us, need sunlight to enjoy life and live. It doesn’t make common sense for sows or gilts to be kept in crates and lined up side by side for hundreds feet long. It makes common sense for sows and gilts to be able to move in a free range system and have access to the outdoors and sunlight.   

                It makes common sense to have laying hens run around the barn and be able to live some of their life outdoors and eat  grasshoppers, earthworms and fresh green grass. It doesn’t make common sense to have layers in small cramped cages in a windowless barn with the lights controlled by a computer to get the maximum eggs per day out of the hens.

                It makes common sense to grow crops using the fertility from cover crops and organic matter and using the microbes and soil flora to keep crops strong and healthy to be able to resist pests and diseases.  Strong plants grow strong animals so the animals will not need a low level antibiotic to keep them healthy. It doesn’t make common sense to spray crops a multitude of times with herbicides and pesticides because the plants can’t fight off the pests.  We know that these residues will end up in the environment and ultimately in our bodies. It doesn’t make common sense to use fertilizers made from natural gas or oil and use the soil as something just to hold the roots with all the nutrients coming from artificial fertilizers.

                As organic farmers we truly believe that common sense trumps science.

                Thanks Ron

 In the summer our birds are raised in shelters and ranges on our certified organic pastures – the shelters/ranges are moved every day onto fresh grass.  Along with the grass that they can eat at their leisure they have a ration of certified organic grains that we mix here on the farm.  In the winter they are raised in our barns that we have constructed with windows and overhead doors that can be opened on the warmer days.  On the colder days they have the sunlight that they can bask in.  They are fed the same ration of organic grains that they receive in the summer and are also given alfalfa so that they continue to have access to their “greens”.  The birds have a lot of space to run around in the barns. Because we have cold winters with snow they need to be housed inside for their health (and a cold bird is a dead bird and it is very hard to keep water lines for the birds from freezing in the winter).

Our farm is certified Humane by the BCSPCA (Alberta does not offer a humane certification) and there are very strict protocols regarding access to the out of doors and space allowance in the winter barns that we have to adhere to (along with many other requirements).   Last month the BCSPCA inspector spent  2 days here going through our paper trails as well as looking at all of the birds and livestock.  We are audited by them every year plus have one spot (unannounced) inspection each year.               

We are certified organic by EcoCert Canada and follow the COR (Canadian Organic Regulation) Standards that have been put in place by the CFIA.  This means that our land cannot have received any chemical inputs for a minimum of 3 years. We are audited on a yearly basis to confirm our adherence to the organic standards.  We bought the farm in 1992 and have applied only manure from our own organic animals since that time.  Our birds and livestock do not (and cannot) receive any antibiotics, hormones, appetite stimulants, rendered animals or other artificial inputs in their feed.   

The size of our bird when eviscerated depends on the age of the bird.  We process our birds from 7 weeks of age on.  We do not use appetite stimulants or regulate the birds days by a false lighting regimen. Every bird (whether a summer or winter bird) grows at its own rate so we will have a large range of sizes in each flock.  Our birds are fresh each week as we process on a weekly basis and are free ranging in consideration of the fact that their environment is as free range as possible in the cold winter months of central Alberta.       

Thanks – Sheila

Organic remains the most regulated and scrutinized farm to table food system in the world.

                A common question we get asked is “what is Organic”. Because we generally don’t have a lot of time at the farmers market to get into every detail, we respond that in organic livestock production we don’t use antibiotics, animal by-products(swine meal, feather meal or offal products) or growth promotants. Our organic feed doesn’t have herbicides, pesticides, isn’t genetically modified and is not grown with petroleum based fertilizers. We are third party audited minimum once a year with spot audits. I also show everyone my up to date organic certificate. The Canadian Government has legislation that defines the Organic program in Canada with the CFIA being responsible to manage the Canadian Organic regime.   

                There are also other facets to the Organic regulations and standards such as livestock living conditions, traceability and land stewardship and some of them are spelled out in great detail. Search for the Canadian Organic Standards if you want to read the regulations and standards that we certified to. Everyone certified Organic producer in Canada is certified to these standards and their isn’t a certifying body that is any better or worse.  Look for the organic certifying symbol on every  product that you purchase.

                Some people claim that the organic system is being diluted and compromised by major corporations. In Canada we have a very small organic community that works very hard to uphold and strengthen the organic standard. I sit on the organic poultry task force with numerous other organic poultry producers from across Canada and I see that the standards for organic poultry production isn`t being compromised but being moved to a higher level. You can trust the organic system in Canada because it is one of the best in world.

Thanks – Ron

     Sunworks farm mission statement is to grow and make the best tasting, cleanest, healthiest organic food for the most people possible at the fairest price, fair to the consumer and fair to us the farmers.  Our family has had numerous health issues and challenges over the years and still has multiple allergies, some which are gluten, nuts, dairy, soy, antibiotics and the chemicals that are used as preservatives in food, so we make food that our family can survive on. We grow our own meat with no antibiotics, growth hormones or GMO feed (all tested by third party auditors) and then process it in our own butcher shop in Camrose so we control how the meat is handled and what ingredients are used. We use only organic spices from an organic spice supplier that is GF (gluten free) to make all our sausages and processed products. Our processed products contain only organic meat and organic spices with no potato flour, oatmeal and bread crumbs or other fillers. We use only organic spices so that our products have zero preservatives in them. Conventional spices have many different preservatives in them to keep a long shelf life. Flavour enhancers are used in conventionally processed meat products because spices are expensive so they get more flavour from less spice. This is the reason that in a lot of conventional processed products the taste doesn’t last very long but with us using real organic spices our flavour lasts and has many flavour profiles.   We don’t use pork intestines (pork casings) for casings on our sausages, we use a collagen casing. We don’t use celery salt or celery extract to mimic nitrates or nitrites. Our family has allergic reactions to celery salt or celery extract because it is again a highly processed product that is a nitrate in another name. Everything that we make is nitrate, nitrite and msg free. We see in some of our competitors’ products that they may be nitrite free but they don’t say nitrate free.   In all of our smoked products we do not use liquid smoke to give our products a heavy smoke flavour. You can actually taste the delicate smoke flavour from the smoke house, along with the spices. We make great clean food not cheap food because we believe if you eat cheap food you will become a cheap human, you are what you eat.

               We know that there are many people that need this clean food so we now have our organic food in all of the organic food/natural food stores in Alberta and at the Calgary Farmers Market, The Old Strathcona Farmers Market in Edmonton and all of our summer markets. Watch the website to see what summer farmers markets we will be attending. We have just started working with The Organic Box in Edmonton so you can get our organic food delivered to your door. You can get our products in Red Deer through Pure Earth Organics. It is very important to us that our pure healthy organic food is available to as many people as possible.

                We buy many products that are “Fair Trade” and we believe that we need a fair price for our organic food. We price everything from a cost of production and add a small profit so we will be here next year and the year after to continue to supply your family and the next generation.  This is what we talk about, fair to you as our customers and eaters and fair to us as the farmers.

                We serve you world class organic food from Camrose Alberta. Food raised ethically and with a passion for the best organic food in the world. If you haven’t tried any of our organic food please find one of our locations and taste it so you can agree with us that this is the BEST FOOD in the WORLD.

                Thanks Ron     

      At Sunworks Farm sales venues you will see the phrase “Lifelong diet of 100% grass” on our beef packages. We are one of the few Alberta ranchers that finish our beef on a diet that uses only grass for their whole life.

     In the summer months we time control graze our certified organic beef animals on our certified organic pastures. We move our animals up to 2 times a day so we don’t over graze the land and to give the cattle plenty to eat for the day. We mimic how the buffalo would eat all the grass in an area and then move on, yet leaving enough height to encourage regrowth of the plants.

     In the winter time, when the grass doesn’t grow in Alberta, we feed our beef animals high quality hay grown on our certified organic land.  When the weather conditions get severe we feed   certified organic alfalfa pellets in addition to the hay to help with their energy to keep warm.  When we purchase our certified organic hay and alfalfa pellets we guarantee that the land that was used for their production is certified organic.  We confirm that it hasn’t been sprayed with herbicides and insecticides and that Round Up wasn’t used when pastures were rejuvenated. There are producers that will attempt to feed only grass but will also give their beef cattle variations of grains, such as barley sprouts or distillers grain which have been farmed industrially with the use of pesticides, herbicides and Round Up in their production. Barley sprouts and distillers grain come from very large malt factories (malt is used in making beer) and is an industrial process.   

     The digestive system of beef cattle is uniquely designed to utilize grass and hay to provide the energy and protein to keep them alive. When animals are put in feed lots and fed a diet very high in grains with very little forages (grass, hay and alfalfa pellets) this upsets this very unique digestive system and leads to digestive tract challenges.  E-coli come from a diet consisting of high amounts of grain or grain by products.  Feeding beef their traditional diet of grass and hay minimizes the risk of e-coli which is the reason we feed ONLY grass, hay and alfalfa pellets to our animals their whole life.

     Sunworks Farm is certified organic, certified humane and certified local/sustainable. This means that our farm is audited by many professional inspectors on an annual basis. Our on farm feed mill is audited and tested by the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) on a regular basis and they test for animal by-products, herbicide/pesticide residue and antibiotics in the feed that we give our animals. On our annual farm day this year we had over 400 visitors on the farm, these were customers who, because of their value based purchases are the ultimate inspectors.

     The word “Natural” in Canada is not a regulated term which means are no audits or inspections on “Natural” ranches or farms. Remember that “Natural” means nothing and it is only a catchphrase to sell a product. We have a Canadian Government Organic Standard so there is no regulation or standard set for what would be called “Beyond Organic”.  Again this phrase “Beyond Organic” is just being used to sell a product and it is never audited, tested or inspected. When we say “Talk is Cheap” and “Consumer Beware” this sums it all up.    Thanks – Ron.

We continue to take orders for our Certified Organic, Free Range, Antibiotic Free, Turkeys for Thanksgiving.  This year we are offering a choice to our customers of two breeds.  We are again raising the Nicholas White Turkeys which is currently the most common turkey grown.  We are also raising a limited amount of the Orlopp Bronze turkeys.  These birds are known to be tender, juicy with a slight caramel color to the breast meat.  The Orlopp Bronze turkey is a heritage breed and we are excited to offer this bird as an alternate (only available in the Edmonton area for Thanksgiving).  All of our turkeys are raised outside in field shelters that are constantly moved to fresh grass.  They are free ranging and yet protected from the elements and predators (both arial and ground predators).  They have the grass and bugs to eat as well as free choice grains which are required in order to give them a balanced, healthy diet.  We make their feed using only certified organic grains in our on site feed mill.  To place your order please call the farm office at 877-393-3133, email us at info@sunworksfarm.com or visit us at any of our locations in Calgary (Blush Lane Aspen, Blush Lane at Calgary Farmers Market, Market 17 at Casel Marche), in Edmonton (Sunworks Meat Shop in Roots Community Building, Old Strathcona Farmers Market, St. Albert Farmers Market, Terwilliger Farmers Market), or in Camrose at our meat shop. Thanks.  Sheila

          Four weeks ago we moved out our first certified organic heritage red broilers to our field shelters along with our certified organic white broilers.  We are raising 500 heritage red broilers and 2000 white broilers together in our flocks so that we can compare their growth. We have ordered  heritage broilers along with the white broilers for the rest of the outdoor summer flocks to have a trial with the two different breeds. We want to see their weight gains and livability compared to the white broilers as well as the flavor and texture of the meat.  Al Keshwani at Rochester Hatchery had difficulty sourcing the heritage broiler eggs  but was able to find a hatchery in the USA that had the genetics we requested . Al has been able to hatch our flocks of red broilers for the summer. If this trial works out we will move to all red broilers by next summer.  Raising these birds helps us continue with our commitment to move as far away from industrial agriculture as possible.  

     We roasted our first red broiler for supper and the flavor is fantastic.  The breast meat is not as white as our other birds but is just as tender, juicy and has more flavor.  The brown meat is tender, juicy and very flavorful. We are very excited about our new line of chicken that we can offer you.

Our first flock of certified organic heritage red broilers are now fully grown and are available at the Old Strathcona Farmers Market, Leduc Farmers Market , South West Edmonton Farmers Market( Terwilliger) and at our Sunworks  meat counter in the Blush Lane Organic Market on Whyte Avenue and 102 Street in Edmonton.   In Calgary these birds are available at Blush Lane Organic Market in Aspenwoods, Blush Lane Organic stall at the Calgary Farmers Market and Market 17.

We would like to invite you to our annual Farm Day on September 3, 2012.  Come to the farm and see how we raise your food.  You will see our Certified Organic Free Range Chickens, Certified Organic Free Range Turkeys, Certified Organic Free Range Grass Fed Cattle, Certified Organic Free Range Pigs and our Certified Organic Free Range Laying Hens.  The afternoon begins at 1 p.m. where we provide a meal made from local certified organic ingredients. Following the meal we will give you a tour of the farm.  You will see both the summer and winter environments that our birds and livestock live in.  We will discuss with you the reasons and values behind what we do in order to provide you with clean, safe food for your table.  There is no charge for the day.  We request that you preregister so that we know how much food to prepare.  Please email your registration to info@sunworksfarm.com and include your name, phone number and how many adults and children will be attending.  We will confirm your registration and email you a map to the farm.  We look forward to seeing you in September!  Sheila and Ron

     Sunworks Farm products are now available in Red Deer.  Pure Earth Organics located at 5579- 47 Street in Red Deer( just west of Carnival Cinemas)  is carrying our products at the same prices that we charge at the farmers market. We are so pleased that Rebekah Macdonald from Pure Earth Organics is able to make our meat available to people in Red Deer who want Certified Organic, Certified Humane and Certified Local meats. The staff and Co-op members are raving about our certified organic chicken sausages which we make with no additives, wheat (gluten free) or preservatives (MSG, nitrates, nitrites, sodium erythrobate, potassium sorbate or any of the thousands of chemicals that they put in our food) . They are just 95% organic meat and 5% organic spices. We use only organic spices so that we can make a truly preservative free product.   We are currently supplying our certified organic chicken (wholes, pieces and sausages) and our certified organic, 100% grass fed beef at this time to Pure Earth Organics in Red Deer.   Please contact Rebekah at www.purearthorganics.com or phone 403-341-0473 in Red Deer to order some of the best organic meat in the world.