Heartwood Farm

Heartwood Farm We are a regenerative farm in Dunlap, TN raising woodland pork, grass finished beef, and pastured eggs.
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On our farm we are free from chemical, đź’‰, gmo & corn/soy.

Two ways we reduce fly pressure on the farm:1. Dung beetles. They do the work, we do what we can to support their habita...
08/21/2026

Two ways we reduce fly pressure on the farm:

1. Dung beetles.
They do the work, we do what we can to support their habitat. These beetles take the dung into the ground and kick up soil, as seen in the first photo.

Many chemical dewormers, fly sprays, and other pesticides kill these awesome creatures. It’s unfortunate that the chemical designed to “help” control flies actually hurt what would be a natural solution to them, thus keeping the well meaning farmer dependent on external chemical inputs.

We don’t use any chemicals on the farm. And this helps our dung beetles thrive.

2. Birds.
Insects follow cattle, birds follow insects (and therefore naturally follow cattle). The birds pick through the dung pats looking for their next snack and disperse the dung in the process.

Even when the cows are far away from the chickens in the pasture, we still find our dung pats dispersed by wild birds.

Both of these scenarios reduce a major medium for fly reproduction (dung) and therefore naturally control the fly population.

It’s truly amazing!

Grass fed and finished Devon ribeyes were for dinner yesterday. They were incredible, tender, juicy, and sweet. I’m so i...
08/19/2026

Grass fed and finished Devon ribeyes were for dinner yesterday. They were incredible, tender, juicy, and sweet.

I’m so impressed by the Milking Devon beef. I wish more people knew how amazing it is and therefore raised more of them.

Yes, they take a bit longer to finish than your typical grain fed angus or hereford, but the results are so worth it. Marbling and succulent fat and flavor on grass alone.

Genetics play a big part in making sure what is on your plate is fantastic eating. Devons excel here. They are made to get fat on grass.

Management plays an equally important role, along with forage quality and diversity. Both key to getting nutrient dense, flavorful beef.

Get any one of these components wrong and the product could be sub-par. And this is exactly why so many people have had bad experiences with grass fed and finished beef.

At our farm, we painstakingly consider all of these key elements as we manage our animals. And it translates to really incredible beef. Something we are proud of.

We’d love to share this experience and are taking interest for beef needs in the next year. Message us to get on the list :)

This past Saturday marked two weeks of living on the farm. It’s been a very busy time, which has me reflecting on time m...
08/17/2026

This past Saturday marked two weeks of living on the farm. It’s been a very busy time, which has me reflecting on time management, goals and priorities, and work capacity.

I used to think that it would get easier when we moved to the farm; we would have more time. This is true in some ways.

And yet I notice how this time and ease we got back can just as quickly be put into a new project or task and slip through our fingers again.

Eric and I are driven people - thank God! Give us extra time or bandwidth, and we'll instinctively find a way to use every bit of it. That work ethic is part of what has allowed the farm to become what it is in just two and a half short years.

I also know farmers can burn out. A couple of weeks ago, I read of a couple who, after 14 years of farming, decided they were tired and needed a change. It broke my heart.

The soil can only give so much without rest and nourishment before it becomes depleted and broken. I think people are much the same.

We cannot extract ourselves from the regenerative system we are building; therefore time and attention to regenerate ourselves deserve just as much focus and intention as we give to regenerating the soil.

Being busy and driven isn’t a problem, which is good because you don’t clock out as a farmer. In my opinion, the danger is when we become the thieves of our own time and joy, either postponing contentment until the next milestone is reached or delaying rest until a goal is fully realized.

Part of the journey, for me at least, is learning to hold the tension between having BIG goals and being content with the here and now. I don’t want to live in a way where contentment is always based on a future accomplishment, because that orientation to life ensures that contentment and peace are fleeting.

This reflection has me desiring to spend a little effort setting boundaries, being intentional about restoring ourselves, and cultivating peace in the unfinished present. And with those investments, I believe we might even build capacity to take on even more.

I feel so thankful that I get to experience this beautiful life that gives me more than I ever dreamed.

Does this resonate with you? I would love to know your thoughts or any strategies for cultivating your own regeneration and resilience as a farmer.
- Emily

I’m currently reading all about cover crops. The goal being to better understand how they can help build the soil in our...
08/15/2026

I’m currently reading all about cover crops. The goal being to better understand how they can help build the soil in our pasture, and in turn feed our cattle with better grass.

Different cover crops offer different advantages and challenges.

For example, legumes convert nitrogen gas in the air into soil nitrogen that plants can use. But grazing an entire stand of legumes is riskier for bloat in cows.

Then there are cereal grains and grasses which scavenge excess nutrients (e.g. nitrogen) in the soil, reducing total nutrient losses. Ideally these are planted with some legumes to balance the nitrogen storage with nitrogen availability for the next crop.

Brassicas can be utilized to, among other things, to improve water infiltration and reduce soil compaction with their larger taproots.

Strategically planting a combination of these cover crops can yield so many benefits.

So far we have experimented with annual cover crops like sorghum sudan and cowpeas. Already we are seeing results. The animals love the annuals - they are flavorful and give higher quality nutrition than what our pasture gives at baseline right now. It’s allowed us to feed our cows better than we could have otherwise.

This late summer/early fall we will plant a mixture of cereal rye, wheat, ryegrass, annual clover, hairy vetch, and radish. We’ve got a lot of diversity in that mix and we are excited to feed our cows with it and improve the soil at the same time.

We’d love for you to follow our journey here as we share updates. You might also check out Reverence Farms as an additional resource. Suzanne helped give us the push to go for cover crops and added confidence to lightly disk to get some better seed/soil contact.

Do you use cover crops? We’d love to hear your experiences. Any other resources you would recommend?

08/14/2026

We are excited for another round of piglets from each of our two mama pigs early to mid October! Taking guesses on how many total.

08/12/2026

Moving our cows to fresh pasture every day is one of the best things we do for the land and the beef.

Daily moves give the grass time to recover fully, build deeper roots, and support healthier soil. The result? Lush, diverse pastures that keeps improving season after season.

It also means our cattle are always grazing the most nutritious, flavorful forage. That forage translates into more nutritious and flavorful beef.

08/10/2026

Taste the difference of pork raised in the most ethical and humanely way possible. Although I can’t prove that you can taste the contentment, I am certain you will never find pork like this in the grocery store.

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Dunlap, TN
37327

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