Come along with us on a one day Amtrak train trip we recently took to visit Eataly in Chicago. Eataly is the world's largest Italian marketplace featuring several fine Italian restaurants, food and beverage counters a bakery, an old world meat market and much more.

Did you know that according to the most recent census of agriculture, from 2007 to 2012 there was a decline of over 95,000 farms in America. According to statistical odds Seven Sons should have gone out of business years ago yet here we are, not only surviving but thanks to your support we are blessed to remain a thriving family farm. What are the factors that have made this possible?

​We were recently at a conference in Idaho where we spoke about our sustainable farming practices. While in Idaho we had the unique opportunity to visit Cunningham Ranch​. ​The Cunningham Ranch consists of 1,800 acres of private land plus 100,000 acres of public rangeland shared with neighboring ranchers located in Jordon Valley Oregon. Our friends Sean and Liz Cunningham are 4th generation ranchers and their family originally settled the ranch in 1914. Today the ranch raises grassfed cattle, lambs and pastured hogs and is also home to lots of wildlife including Mule Deer, Elk, Antelope, Sage Grouse, Pheasant, Quail and even some Cougars.​ We actually meet Sean and Liz​​ at a previous conference in southern Georgia last year. Check out the video below to see more:

Did you know that different plants have the unique ability to uptake certain minerals from the soil. This means the more plant diversity we have, the more minerals our animals have, and ultimately the more minerals you get. Watch how we employ our pigs to encourage plant diversity in our pastures.

It appears that retail grocery stores are now changing their tune when it comes to offering locally sourced products. Surprisingly this year alone, five midwest grocery store chains chose to offer pasture-raised eggs from Seven Sons. Can you guess which stores these are?

Sometimes in life, relationships with friends can develop so slowly overtime that you don't realize the meaningfulness and fondness that a person represents in your life. This week we were reminded of such a person who had become a dear friend of our family as well as someone many of you would've met.

Cows can't get much happier than when we use swath grazing. It's likely that many of you reading this post have never heard of swath grazing or know what it means. This is a grazing technique that we first learned about from professional graziers in South America. We're now using this adaptive grazing tool during certain times of the year. Take look at this short video to watch some happy cows swath grazing at Seven Sons...

Our friends from Alaska's Bristol Bay share a recap of their 2016 Fishing Season. We're told this year's run was 10% above forecasted levels which points to a sustainable future for Bristol Bay's eco-system. Learn more...

Seven Sons is made up of people that come to work everyday to contribute to our farm's mission. Each person brings unique assets and personalities that makeup our unique team culture. That being said, it's always difficult to lose a member of our team. For the past 3 years Matt Weaver has been a very valuable member of the farm. Matt has decided to take up a position with his family's business back in his hometown of Sweetser Indiana. We value Matt's desire to work with his family and we wish him the very best!

Sometimes we need to move our herd of cattle across the farm to fresh pastures or shaded areas when it gets hot. If you think moving over 100 head of cattle a mile through woods and across rivers sounds like a daunting task, think again. Since cattle are by nature herd animals this means when they travel long distances they instinctively behave as a single unit. Usually every herd has a few leaders that find themselves at the head of the group. The trick is to guide these leader animals in the direction you want the entire herd to go. Watch as we move our herd of 130 cattle over a mile across the farm!

This may begin to sound like the plot from a TV show. In our last two "episodes", we saw that Genetically Engineered (GE) foods are becoming a large portion of the world's food supply. Plants are DNA-modified so they can survive being coated with herbicides, like glyphosate, and also so they kill bugs. Last time, we looked at how USDA data tracking glyphosate usage correlates with 99% precision to CDC data showing the rise of dementia and autism. But that was just a correlation; a reason to get our attention. In this post, I'd like to tell you what happened when a 90 day study to assert GE food safety, was allowed to run longer. The results are alarming and shed new light on the decision process pasture based farmers go through related to GE (GMO) feed.

Some of the most common dietary advice when it comes to weight loss and eating healthy is to consume only low-fat or non-fat dairy. I’ve talked to many people who say they drink skim milk because they think it’s healthier. But, is skim milk really healthier?