Regenerative Beef for your Labor Day Weekend...$1/lb Gift Discount
- Allie@FoothillFrolicFarm
- 20 hours ago
- 5 min read
Labor Day, Irony & A Little Beef
As I create this post, the word irony keeps coming to mind.
We had decided to offer the little bit of Garden Call & Magic Mamma retail beef inventory we have remaining this weekend as a customer-gifted discount. So, for all of you planning to partake in some off-work Labor Day plans, maybe you can get excited about adding some of Foothill Frolic Farm’s absolutely delicious, regenerative, 100% grass-fed/grass-finished beef to your meal plan repertoire!
We are down to about 10% of our current retail inventory, and we are planning to have another retail beef processed by Appalachian Producers Cooperative this fall. So, we thought that offering $1 off per pound on all remaining Garden Call & Magic Mamma inventory would be a kind gesture of appreciation toward our current customers—and toward those of you who have really been wanting to try our premium beef products.
We actually do not believe greatly in running sales on our beef products because our set costs are very specifically calculated to allow our local small farm to operate and for the four family members who work here—myself, my Dad, Matthew (my husband), and Eastenn Dutch (my little boy)—to actually earn an income.
And while we are grateful that our farm provides us with something, the reality is that when you calculate that income based on the hours worked, it would rank below the Tennessee average salary.
So then, I move to the topic of the current executive decision to import beef without tariffs for 90 days.
When it is already hard enough for a Tennessee farmer—and farmers across this nation—to make a living farming regeneratively and organically like we do, quick and hasty decisions of this nature undermine every bit of hard work that goes into our local family farms.
If this country is truly looking for ways to help and benefit all parties involved in our ecosystem landscape, I believe the goal should look something like this:
WIN • WIN • WIN • WIN
CATTLE • FARMER • CONSUMER • ENVIRONMENT/NATURE
SIT DOWN TO YOUR PLATE AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT KNOWING EXACTLY WHERE YOUR BEEF COMES FROM.
That is the kind of system I want to see.
A system that continues to find ways to invest in and incentivize small family farms to keep becoming the best we can be, so that we can continue feeding our local communities the best quality beef available.
And now, let me return to Labor Day.
Labor Day was historically created and celebrated during the time leading into and through the Industrial Revolution as a way of recognizing the need to protect workers—both children and adults—from being overworked and unfairly paid.
At that time, we were talking about large companies and businesses with hundreds of employees. It was easy for employers to work their laborers for 12-hour days, in hard conditions, for low pay.
The difference here at Foothill Frolic Farm is that we are self-employed.
We make the choice to work long hours.
Not that we wouldn't enjoy a few more breaks here and there! 😂 But within our scale of running 250 cattle and relying primarily on our own family labor, proper hours and proper breaks can be hard to come by.
As my Dad likes to put it, cattle farming at our scale is not an 8-hour job where you clock in and clock out.
Look here though, speaking of the above, just last weekend Dad, Eastenn Dutch and I were able to finally pull away and get a little break for 2 hours of fun on a morning, before we hit the fields. We are only a mile away from Boone Lake, which makes for great convenience. Dad's prized 1978 Hydrasport Boat and 135 Johnson Seahorse Motor hit Boone Lake again after a 12 year hiatus. Dad and Eastenn Dutch, mainly because of Eastenn Dutch's initiative, worked on the motor and also found someone up in Bristol at Darter's Sports that still could order parts and knew his stuff. This boat has never been parked outside and has always stayed covered. It is in great condition and like I have brought up before it would only be a Gammmon/Mills that would not trade up and hold onto something as long as possible as long as it works. This motor would be considered a vintage.
We do what we do because:
We believe in the continuation of family farms.
We believe in producing local, organically raised food.
We believe in treating cattle with respect and love and allowing them to live out the best heritage-cow-like life they could hope for.
We believe in the beauty of nature and in making choices that allow nature to exist without being polluted by inappropriate chemicals.
We believe in the Sun.The Soil.The Grass.The Water.And the cycles of the Earth.
And we believe in offering something to our community here in the Tri-Cities that you really cannot find anywhere else.
A beef product that should and could be more commonly available, but somehow, through priorities and industry, the basics of good, nutrient-dense, high-quality, chemical-free food have been lost in the bigger picture of believing that we had to “go big” to feed everyone.
And so, here we are.
Coming back to the reason we wanted to offer this little discount in the first place.
We want all of you reading this to be inspired to come visit us here on the farm this Labor Day weekend, meet the people and animals behind your food, and place an order for some of our WONDERFUL, PREMIUM WHOLE BEEF GRIND, a ROAST, or some MARROW STOCK BONES to make delicious fall broths with.
And so, here lies the irony...
A highly laborized operation like ourselves, often overworked and underpaid, is choosing to offer a gifted discount to our customers on Labor Day Weekend.
I guess this either shows our sincere belief in what we do, or it proves that we are just a little crazy.
And honestly...
I think it is probably a little bit of both.
Labor Day Weekend Farm Pickups
We will be open for ON-FARM PICKUPS:
Saturday, September 5th — 5:30–6:30 PM
Sunday, September 6th — 5:30–6:30 PM
Swing by the farm and pick up your order!
When you place your order, just let us know which day and time within these pickup windows you plan on coming by.
Thank you for supporting our family, our cattle, our farm, and the continued existence of small family farms.
And thank you for believing that where your food comes from matters!
Until Next Time, Eat Well and Be Well and Please Pass Along through your favorite media!,
(even though we have held off on having a social media presence, we are perfectly fine for our readers to share.)
Allison Mills Neal of Foothill Frolic Farm
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