Indigo Ridge Farms

08/10/2024

Come by and see us today from 7 am to 12 pm 🌞

We have plenty of Grass-Finished Beef (steaks/roast/ground/more!), as well as Dry Creek's Rabbit debut 😊

08/08/2024

See you Saturday The Farmers Market at Pepper Place!

We will have Grass-Finished Beef (steaks, roast and grounds) as well Family Raised Rabbit (whole & cuts). We look forward to serving you!

08/05/2024

We are so excited to announce a partnership with our friends at Dry Creek Rabbitry. Dry Creek Rabbitry is an urban backyard farm, raising high-quality meat rabbits, consistent with our standards here at Indigo Ridge. Their rabbits are raised in a natural, clean environment on non-GMO feed and unsprayed hay.

We have had the blessing of serving their product on our dinner table many times, and it never disappoints!

High in vitamins B3, B12, phosphorus, potassium & selenium, rabbit meat is one of the cleanest and leanest proteins on the market. Richer in Omega 3's than chicken or pork, rabbit is another healthy option to incorporate into the protein mix.

We will have whole fryers available, as well as custom cuts available starting this Saturday, August 10th at . We look forward to serving you!

08/01/2024

Your curds & whey for the day -

The amazing wild fermentation of clabbered raw milk. Could you imagine leaving store-bought milk on the counter for a week? Would you be able to drink it, or even smell it without turning your nose up?

This milk has been purposefully sitting on my counter for about a week now. It has beautifully separated into golden curds and pure whey. It does not smell putrid. Instead, it boasts a fruity, cultured scent. It's teaming with life.

Our ancestors would frequently clabber milk as it was a great way to consume dairy without modern refrigeration. They would use it to cook in place of buttermilk or consume for breakfast sweetened with spices or make "clabber cheese".

Maybe they didn't know the exact nutritional breakdown or the richness of probiotics this created, but they knew the fermenting process would continue to meet their needs. They didn't overthink it.

Pasteurized milk does not contain the same beneficial enzymes to support this natural culturing process; therefore, it rots and stinks and could very well be deadly.

Raw milk does not spoil; it simply changes form. But don't drink it - it's the problem they say.

Who's benefitting from clabbered milk this week on the farm? Well, not the humans this time 🤣 The 3 week old meat bird chicks. This will give them a probiotic boost to ward off any disease, imbalances, or ill stress effects. They're spoiled, and they know it.

When you start to see how lovingly God cares for us through the foods he has already provided, that's where the fun starts.

07/17/2024

Recently, Indigo Ridge had a very special visit from Danielle with and Tiffany with

What a magical experience for the cows (and the farmers!).

Right before I went through my first sound bathing experience at earlier this year, a close friend mentioned the power of sound and the spiritual connection. She talked about how God "spoke" the earth and heavens into existence. Perhaps it wasn't a formed word, but with the powerful, almighty resonating sound of His voice. That thought stuck with me during the first session, and I've thought about that ever since. With that insight, I was able to listen and receive with a different perspective.

While Danielle was lost in sending forth beautiful sounds amidst the valley of the indigo-hued ridges, I couldn't help but notice the chorus that was accompanying her - the birds singing in flight, the crickets hidden in the grass, the distant toad croaking ever so often, the cows grazing on grass. So peaceful. The cows were curious and mesmerized, standing like statues gazing at every move Danielle made.

We were all listening. The sounds of her tools only amplified the pristine musical notes surrounding us. It made you stop and listen. It wouldn't allow other thoughts to interrupt the moment. It demanded your presence. Nature had a song to sing and you were her audience.

Thank you Danielle for allowing yourself to freely think outside the box with your art that gifts us with the unique experience to deeply connect with the One who simply spoke creation into existence.

All of Indigo Ridge appreciated the attention and the positive energy you left us with.

If you have the chance to experience a Sound Bathing session, grab a friend and go! Check out the upcoming schedule at

Tiffany, you captured the beauty of these moments with your photographic talent. We thank you for coming along the adventure. Check out more of Tiffany's work at

07/10/2024

For this week's order, did you know we have new addition to our producer list? Check out Whiskey Run Dairy Farm!

And see the bundle sale from Indigo Ridge Farms on ground beef!

You can also see a SALE on our Insulated Shopping Bags and last remaining t-shirts from Alabama Farm Co-op!

There are new products listed from several farms and vendors! Be sure to look through all the categories to see the wide assortment that we can pickup and deliver to you!

www.alabamafarmcoop.com
https://shop.alabamafarmcoop.com

07/02/2024

You know, plants are a lot like people. They do not handle stress very well. We are inundated with information on how too much stress puts us in a negative health state, often leading to many ailments, even premature death.

Our journey into regenerative farming has shaped our view on just how closely we are connected to plants. What makes us thrive is also very similar in the plant world.

So, what do plants “stress” about?

Here are a few things we have observed and what we know to be true.

Plants need rest. They may appreciate a grazing passerby (livestock), but they do not want it to overstay their welcome. They need some alone time.

Plants do not like “fake” ingredients either. They like food where they recognize the names on the ingredient list.

Plants become dysfunctional when you feed them what you think they should have. We see this in the case of frequent synthetic fertilizers. It’s like an addiction, they become dependent on the crutch that actually leads to their demise. They forget how to function without it.

Plants want to have cover surrounding them. Bare ground is their nakedness. They want cover (mulch) and friends (more plants) in their space.

Plants want a team-working community of plants that are not all the same. Like the benefits of a short person having a tall friend, and vice versa. The plant-root unit sends signals to attract minerals from different soil layers that eventually go to the soil surface to benefit their neighbor. Relationships add value to their life. The phrase, “I know a guy” exists in the plant world too.

Plants can handle the trials of life, like a flood or drought, if they’re allowed to function in their natural design. Take that away and they’re hopeless.

So, what does a close friend do when they see you struggling with stress? They come alongside and encourage you. In our opinion, the farmer should be the close friend to the land. We see the effects of stress and it motivates us to make a change. Because it matters. We farm for longevity, not premature death or ailments - for us, the plants and the animals.

When you make healthy soil the priority on the farm, you begin to beautifully understand the connection between the plant-root-soil relationship, and us humans. The plant is the “mouth” of the soil. Take care of the plant, and it’ll take care of the soil, which ultimately will take care of us.

Did you know that if more farms concentrated their efforts on stress reduction principles (compost, reduced tillage, cover crops, rotational grazing) that we could sequester more carbon than what is being emitted, actually reversing climate change? Plants are here to help if we will listen.

When you make healthy soil the priority on the farm, you begin to beautifully understand the connection between the plant-root-soil relationship, and us humans. The plant is the “mouth” of the soil. Take care of the plant, and it’ll take care of the soil, which ultimately will take care of us.

Did you know that if more farms concentrated their efforts on stress reduction principles (compost, reduced tillage, cover crops, rotational grazing) that we could sequester more carbon than what is being emitted, actually reversing climate change? Plants are here to help if we will listen.

07/01/2024

Alabama Farm Co-op is looking for the following:

1) Occasional (VERY part-time; think side-gig) driver(s) for pickup and/or delivery. You will need to have an air conditioned vehicle that can hold multiple LARGE coolers INSIDE the vehicle. (Pickup trucks will not work for what we do, since we are transporting foods from farms.) You'll need to be able to life 30-40 lbs by yourself, or higher weights with assistance. Preference given to those age 21+ who live in or near the area of our home base, wherever it may be located next, and we may require commercial insurance to be added to your vehicle (we can discuss this, if you are interested). (See next item.)

2) A new location! We will have to move out of our current space as soon as possible this month, due to lack of A/C. We will likely move back to our starting point, which is on the property of our founder, Melissa. But we'd like to find a great spot to set up as our workspace and/or a more central customer pickup location.

Do YOU have someone or some place in mind that we should check out? Tell us about it in the comments below or send us an email at [email protected].

Thanks, !

06/29/2024

Maggie is an absolute wonderful postpartum doula (and person in general!). This would be such a blessing for a new mother or a seasoned mother welcoming a new baby into the family 👶

06/28/2024

We will see you tomorrow The Farmers Market at Pepper Place !

We will be there with IRF Grass-Finished Beef and Pastured Chicken, as well as a limited supply of Pastured Pork Sausage!

IRF is here to help you get ready for the 4th with locally grown, naturally raised meats 🍴 Sweet Grown Alabama

See you tomorrow, Birmingham!

Locals (Anniston/Oxford/Jacksonville/Heflin/Piedmont/White Plains) - Did you know you can place an order online at www.indigoridgefarms.com and come by the farm to pick up at your convenience?

We may not be a one stop shop for all your grocery needs but we promise to deliver the healthiest meat without additives, hormones, steroids, antibiotics - real food you can trust to feed your family well.

Did you see the discussion recently about the DNA testing done on a well-known fast food hamburger? They found THOUSANDS of DNA from different cows present in that ONE burger.

Our ground beef is from ONE cow that we raised on ONE farm for 2+ years. We can tell you everything about the cow behind the product. Connection - it's something we are missing in our current food system, and we are paying the price in many ways.. We can do better America. Support small farms who are trying to regenerate our food system so that we can turn our health around!

If we do not have what you're looking for, we will do our best to point you in the direction of another farm that does.

06/25/2024

June brings in the summer heat, late bedtimes, abundant sun, baskets of blueberries, treats from the garden, and a whole lot of thankfulness.

Savor these moments friends. Be intentional. Remember the goodness of the season.

06/20/2024

Nothing like those Alabama grown vegetables!

Tonight's supper brought to you by Alabama growers! 😍

Peas & corn grown at Penton Farms, tomatoes at Habersham Farms Produce, okra at Kennedy Farms at Chelsea, and homemade chow-chow from Spinks Farm. Know your farmer = Know your food.

😋 Not pictured because we ate it first: a Homewood Gourmet brownie.

Keep 👏 It 👏 Local 👏
See this Saturday's market info at pepperplacemarket.com

06/19/2024

Hey co-op customers! We want to hear from you! What other products would you like to see available through Alabama Farm Co-op? Do you want other meat, dairy, and produce options?
Or, what other TYPES of products would you like to see available through summer and into fall/winter? Comment and tell us!

06/10/2024

Part 2

Judah Wiley conquered his ocean reservations on the last beach day of the trip, and he went all out! Splashing, running, dunking!

Silas was in nature heaven, finding all sorts of sea creatures, many of which I have never seen in my life.

Hearing the recent stories of the shark attacks in the area makes me count our blessings of being unharmed during our time there. We have been praying for those who had different experiences. We are quite certain we saw a shark (or a very large fish) that swam past my mom and Silas while in the ocean. Colter caught a black tip shark off the pier at the bay house, which isn't uncommon. The area was definitely abundant in aquatic life while we were there!

06/10/2024

Part 1 of our Family Beach/Bay Getaway

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in beautiful Fort Morgan. While staying on the bay side, we enjoyed the best of both worlds, the beach and the bay. The big boys were up fishing by 6 am most days, and honestly I didn't see them much unless they were in to eat. They caught all kinds of things, and we are thankful as we have lived off their harvest for the past several days. Pictured is Blackened Sea Trout - the best fish I've ever had!

The littles enjoyed playing games with Grannie, braving the ocean waves and finding sea creatures. Cale and I just tried to keep up with them all 🤣

06/09/2024

Nances Creek Farms Strawberry Basil & IRF Blackberry Mint Kombucha brew in progress...!

06/05/2024

Doing it up right!

Member Andrea send this to us with the following message:

"Excellent meal for our co-op purchase ! So tasty !"

We agree, Andrea! That looks delicious!!

05/31/2024

A line full of laundry can only mean one thing around here. We are leaving the farm for more than a day 😉

Does anyone else go through a cleaning frenzy before you leave town???

I do things I haven't done in months, like try to revive a struggling scoby that I've neglected on my counter for months, wash every piece of clothing in the house, clean out the fridge (we have 3 🤣), make gallons of yogurt and wipe every surface that has a speck of dust.

Something about coming home to a clean house makes it all worth it. I'll probably be completely exhausted come tomorrow, but that's th right starting point of the rest and relaxation that awaits, right?
..and yes, we are trading our farm boots for beach sandals for the next week. Thankful to a wonderful mother, aka Grannie, who is helping to make this happen for us.

When we chose this way of life for our family 4 years ago, we made a lot of sacrifices, and yearly vacations were one of those things. Our boys have been so amazing in understanding the why's, but we are so overly joyed to make this trip happen for them this year.

I think we took vacations for granted in our previous life, but we certainly do not anymore. God has graciously put relationships into our life of people whom we can trust with the farm.

Of all the things, I am most excited to see the beach through Silas' eyes, who has not seen the ocean since he was 6 months old. If you know Silas or have even seen the Silas video clips on here, you know how much he loves all things nature. He's going to love taking in a whole new ecosystem 🐟

The boys, including Cale, are dreaming of fish - catching, trapping, cleaning & cooking. Silas is ready to crab hunt and build a sand creature. Judah is all in for all the excitement, whatever that may be. I'm ready to read a book.

We covet your prayers for safe travels to & from, divine protection for the farm and guidance for those stepping in our place here. We ask that the Lord would bless our time together as a family to renew our strength and refresh our spirit.

We will be unavailable for farm pickups next week.

We will be back at Pepper Place on June 15th with Grass Finished Beef 😊

05/24/2024

It's a full-time job feeding 4 hungry farm boys...
..and I'm so thankful that this is my job!

7 # of 100% Grass-Finished Sirloin Tip Roast going into the oven this morning. It may last us a day?

As someone who doesn't have a natural desire to stay in the kitchen, it's been a challenge to stay on top of meal preps and figuring out how much to cook (with a goal of having leftovers) to consistently feed a family of 6 with home grown meals. But I'm learning. The Lord is helping to quiet my urges to get outside, in order to prioritize meal planning and homemaking - two things I've honestly never found much joy in - I'd much rather be playing in the dirt or milking a cow 🤣 I'm really starting to find beauty in the kitchen, not just in the woods 😊

Thankful for the grace & mercy I get every single day.

Missing Indigo Ridge's Grass Finished Beef since it's been out of stock for a few weeks? If so, your week is about to get better....be on the lookout!

05/17/2024

We are excited to offer our products this Saturday at Anniston Downtown Market ! You can find Indigo Ridge's Pasture-Raised Chicken & Pork at Cheif's Bunny Gold's booth.

Cheif's Bunny Gold is an entrepreneurial venture for Colter's good friend, Lito. Through hard work & dedication, Lito is now offering the community a clean, natural fertilizer option from his family's rabbitry 🐇

We have been using the fertilizer for many of our garden plants - pelleted so easy to apply (can apply straight to the soil/base of plant or make a fertilizer tea), naturally sourced without additives, and the plants love it 🪴

So if you want a prolific garden 🍅 or beautiful flowers 🌻, check out Cheif's Bunny Gold this weekend and grab some IRF Thick-Cut Pork Chops or Chicken Leg Quarters for the grill. We will also have Mild Ground Sausage, Cured Bacon and Whole Chickens available.

THE Downtown Market is pleased to host Indigo Ridge Farms this Saturday, May 18th, bringing to market clean, locally sourced chicken and pork.

Market hours are Saturdays, 7-11 a.m. at 126 W. 11th Street in Anniston at the new City Market Building.

05/04/2024

Not signed up the our farm email? Click on the link to get our emails. We promise not to bombard your email with useless information, only good news!

Indigo Ridge Farms Email Forms

04/29/2024

We’ve got news! Our new online ordering system is ⭐️LIVE!⭐️
We have a giveaway to go along with this exciting news! Read along to find out what to do and how to enter!
1. Create your account in the new system by Monday April 29 at 11:59pm CST. This enters you into the giveaway!
2. Next week, place an order of $50 or more to gain 5 extra entries into the giveaway
3. Share THIS post to your social media and tag us for an extra 5 entries into the giveaway

Details on the new system and the blog post with more details on the giveaway are here:

https://alabamafarmcoop.com/blog

The giveaway current includes:
✨Coffee Mug from Indigo Ridge Farms
✨Garlic Herb Bread from Whispering Homestead
✨Shampoo Bar from Whispering Homestead
✨Organic microgreens mix from HEYday Greens
✨Tallow Cream from Diamond B Farms
✨Pork broth from Earnest Roots Farm
✨Maple Sausage from Earnest Roots Farm
And the list is growing!

Hurry! Giveaway entry ends Thursday 5/2 at 11:59pm CST. Winner announced Friday, May 3! Giveaway not affiliated with Facebook in any way.

04/25/2024

This post explains why our prices can't be grocery store prices. We would love our prices to be lower than the grocery store, so that everyone could have access to clean, locally sourced meat, but that's not the reality we live in unfortunately. If we do not have a justifiable price that covers our inputs and time, we will not exist as a farm for very long.

There's a lot against the small family farm, but we believe it's worth the fight.

😡 There’s no middle man! Why am I paying more? 💰

🛒 I pay half that at “Grocery Store!”

The Farmer’s Markets are scamming me! 👩‍🌾

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks to a certain post in our group we’ve got a whole lot of new friends, and based on the comments IN said post, there’s a great new opportunity to teach people about farm-direct pricing, production cost, and grocery economics.

I’m gonna start off by welcoming those who have joined us thinking they were gonna get rock bottom dollar pricing on fresh food.

And then I’m going to apologize to you, because that’s not gonna happen. 😅

Here’s why your farmers market isn’t cheaper than the grocery store:

1) Grocery prices are based on market rate across the board. They are not based on the cost of production. It’s more of a bidding system. You should Google it, it’s interesting.

2) Because of the quantity they provide, large scale production farmers have access to subsidies, risk & crop protection dollars that most small/farm-direct producers don’t. That helps to ensure grocery pricing can stay low.

3) Grocery product can be and is sourced from outside the US to help maintain those low prices. Quality can vary, as standards for care and ag inputs is not the same as US grown goods. There’s also the fun extras that show up in truckloads of imports, like drugs. One more thing to Google!

4) Processing or packaging small batches of animals, fruit or produce is much more expensive than when you have bulk tonnage. Local processors/packing houses are also more expensive than the ones outside of the country that grocery brands have access to. Some of that grocery food makes an INTERNATIONAL TRIP in and out of our borders for processing, and is still cheaper than farm direct. That’s crazy to think about. Add it to the list of things to Google.

5) For beef and proteins particularly, you are getting prime cuts (stuff that’s normally $15+/ #) included in your $8/ # half cow.

6) You have the option of being a part of the decision making on what your food eats/how it is grown. When you shop farm direct you can literally customize your food.

7) You have the luxury of knowing where/when it was sourced, who did the processing/packing, how many gallons of fuel were needed to get it to market, and what farm improvements and capital investments will be made with your dollars. Farmers who sell direct get to keep more of the dollars. I am sure you’ve seen the “Small biz dollars pay for Susie’s ballet lessons” posts. You don’t inadvertently buy a shareholder their third vacation home.

8 ) Accessing seasonal crop at peak freshness and eating seasonally is significantly less expensive and more sustainable than trying to source product from a long distance when it’s not available close to home.

9) Local dollars stay in local economies longer. Local producers use local processors, local veterinarians, local packing houses, local workers, and equipment fixed by local mechanics. You have the opportunity to invest in your neighbors. That’s great for national security.

10) Yes, there are resellers that buy the cheapest available product sourced from wherever, put farm fresh labeling on it, and charge crazy pricing. Hopefully by joining us here, you’ll find enough true resources to be able to avoid those businesses. We have a great list of locally sourced markets in our pinned post in the group. I’ll put it in the comments to get you started.

11) We don’t bash “big” or non-farm-direct farms. They are a very important piece of the food puzzle here in the US, especially because Florida grows a lot of specialty fresh crop that isn’t just acres and acres of biofuel/animal feed. FL provides a whole lot of the earliest annual fresh food product in stores in the northern states. And a lot of times they post seconds, and surplus product in here that we can take advantage of.

In a nutshell, you’re not being scammed by your expensive farm-direct producer. Their pricing just better reflects the cost of small batch production.

There’s no rule that says you have to shop farm-direct 24/7/365 to make a difference.

Many make small changes when they can, like local soap, or local dairy, or stocking up on bulk meat once or twice a year, or buying/upicking your favorite fruits in season.

That decision might seem small to you, but if just ten of you make that small change, you’ve greatly benefited the small producer who sells what you’ve decided to buy direct.

And we reach millions of people per year, so the impact is pretty incredible to see.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for joining us. I’m very excited to show you the wealth of opportunity that you now have access to.

I love seeing comments like “hey that’s right down the road and I didn’t even know!” I love it when farmers message me nervous because their season just opened and we’ve sent 15000 people to their farm event page. Or when farms sell out of meat birds or pork shares for a whole season with just a single post.

That’s what we do around here. It’s not about what’s cheapest.

Thanks for taking the time and expense to invest in and encourage your neighbors.

Want to find a farm-direct producer in Florida near you? Join us over at https://www.facebook.com/groups/floridafarmfinder .

04/25/2024

Can't wait to see this handsome guy's offspring this summer. First up to calve will be Pearl, our full size Jersey, in June, followed by Snow White, our midsize, in August and to end the season will by our mini gal, Lolly in October.

Mulberry, our heifer calf from Snow White last year, will most likely start courtship with Rueben in August 😊

04/21/2024

As mentioned in my last post, rest is essential, for the land and for the farmer as well. Our family has been blessed to have access to this off-grid piece of heaven, just a few minutes from the farm. It's a place to disconnect - to renew our mind and regain our energy. Farming is a 24/7 way of life. A good life, but one that demands commitment of your time and being. More and more, we are finding the importance of stepping away briefly to rest. The forest is such an ideal place for this rejuvenation.

Have you heard the term "biophilia effect"? It's a phrase to describe the powerful, healing bond between nature and humans, backed by solid research. So it's true, being surrounded by nature actually has the potential for healing - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. That's pretty awesome.

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

04/21/2024

We are four years into our rotational grazing practice. The field pictured had a history of being row cropped for years. Multiple years of heavy machinery, synthetics and tillage led to lackluster soil, deplete of any microbial life. With each year, nature gives us a thumbs up that we are on the right path to treat its wounds.

Nature has a way of healing itself if we will listen. The first thing nature will do is to get "cover" (plants) over bare soil and deep roots to break up its compacted areas. What usually sprouts first are the plants that we consider "not ideal" for grazing; "weeds" such as Buttercup (pictured), Ironweed & Broomsedge. We've been told to fix the problem by "ridding of it" with herbicides, followed by synthetic fertilizers, "a bandaid fix". But nature is trying to send us a message, not a problem.

With regenerative agriculture, we see this as a call to action. The soil needs help. It needs time, natural fertilizer and gentle management by a grazing animal. It doesn't want to be overgrazed or to be coated in chemicals or to be dependent on a fertilizer it doesn't recognize.

So what do we do in response? We listen. We allow a small herd of grazing livestock to gently graze the tops of the grass and leave behind nature fertilizer (manure). And then we allow it to rest, the secret ingredient of the farming world. It may not see a grazing animal for 90 days, if it needs it - it'll let us know. This allows nature to do it's thing with the natural resources we ensure it has; trampled grass to cover and shade the bare soil, rich fertilizer, intact roots from non-stressed plants and time. All of this feeds the soil microbes which is the foundational key of the whole farm. Yes, it all boils down to soil health.

Healthy soil grows healthy plants which feed healthy animals which produce healthy meat which nourish healthy bodies.

When you're a grass-based meat producer, it goes way beyond the terms "non-GMO" or "organic"; it gets down to the "root", literally.

04/08/2024

See the difference?

To the left is a "grazed" paddock the cows are moving off of, and to the right is their new salad bar.

They grazed the paddock a little more heavily than we like, but this is the time of year we can get away with some overgrazing as the grass is quickly growing these days. It's amazing to see the new sprigs of grass start to shoot up, just a few days into the "rest" period of the paddock. The "rest" period is key to unlock the magic of rotational grazing. We strive for 60-90 day rest days before moving the cows back onto the paddock.

They leave behind trampled grass, which shades the soil surface, protecting the soil microbes from heat and weather elements. They also leave behind valuable manure, nature's perfect fertilizer, and a dung beetle's most prized possession - a power partner in soil regeneration.

We are 4 years into the rotational grazing journey. After a lot of trial and error, we are seeing improvements in the land year after year as well our ability to reduce inputs needed to maintain good forage throughout the year.