IS IT TOO LATE TO ADDRESS "NEW YEAR"????

Hello members/ community/ friends/ neighbors!!! And let me take this opportunity to wish you a very belated Happy New Year!!! Last year was big for us at Embrace! We've grown to 14 members! That may not be impressive to you, but I am greatly encouraged. We're new to this and to have 14 people acknowledge and "embrace" the vision of a more secure food alternative is exciting! We often encounter even those close to us "not getting" what we're saying or thinking, so I am encouraged and I have each of you to thank for that.

I've built some new portable shelters that give the chickens access to nest boxes. We're trying to grow our layer flock with our own chicken's offspring. It's getting more important than ever to reduce dependency on the hatcheries as the FDA or USDA could mandate vaccinating chicks. The old quote of "He who controls the food, controls the people" goes back a long way, but still rings more true than ever in our country. We have successfully hatched 25 egg layers since Jan 4th and the first batch of 14 were put out on pasture this week. The "lows" have gotten warm enough to feel comfortable introducing our newly feathered friends to the real world.

The new breed we've chosen for our meat birds are dual purpose (meat & eggs) and have been a hit! People love the texture and the flavor! This is so encouraging as this non Non-Vaxed, Non-GMO breed can reproduce and are already laying eggs! The commonly known commercial breed cannot reach the level of maturity to lay eggs due to their organs shutting down. Culturally this is just another reminder that cash is king in our society regardless of the cost to creation. Another reason we choose to do things differently. We find that honoring our Creator is best exemplified by honoring His creation and continue to want to offer you the best quality products. Some people want to offer the labels of "pastured", "free range", etc. but are they truly pastured and free range or are they adhering to the convoluted and misleading label requirements? When your primary motive is cash, the incentive of compromise is inherent. This brings to mind the term "Sustainable" vs. "Regenerative". Sustainable infers that we are fine where we are. Regenerative carries the weight of trying to improve what our current state is. That's where we want to be. For centuries we have been takers with little to no reinvestment in the resources that provide our needs. We don't like being in relationships with people like that, so why have we culturally bought into the mindset that this is okay? There are better ways and you express that every time you choose to invest in our products.

We hope to be able to offer more products this year. I just prepared an additional garden plot, Lord willing, we'll be able to offer some vegetables as available. Please know that your feedback is encouraged. What would you like to see us provide? Cuts of chicken? Pork products? What can we improve on? Better communication? Drop off points? Sales?

Thank you for your time and consideration reading this. I try not barrage you with emails but know that I think of you more often than I make known. Be well and God bless!!!

Gordon Ellison

We're glad to be getting more eggs to be able to offer organic, pastured eggs more consistently.

One of the new portable shelters, equipped with nest boxes.

Ah, those gorgeous ladies and handsome gents.

Our new breed of dual purpose (meat & egg) chickens.