Alfresco Acres was started because we wanted clean chicken; chicken that we knew did not have preservatives or dye in it to make it pink or last unnaturally longer. Our promise and our standard of products isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity. The statement that ‘the food industry is disconnected from the consumer’ isn’t just a statement, its fact. We need to get a grasp on what we are letting into our bodies.
Our mission on this farm is to produce clean food for our family and yours and to do so in a way that gives back to the land we use - not starve it. We are not completely no-till now, but it’s a goal to become that, using nature to do the work of motor powered tines. Our practices are not the cheapest or easiest, but it’s the best way. If you have heard Eli geek out on what we do, you probably have heard his favorite line “nature provides what nature needs”. He recites that line if ever there’s an issue, so that he or we can go back to the roots and find a way to fix it with a natural approach. Eli has been growing vegetables since an early age around ten. He created a big garden after becoming a junior master gardener through the Ann Arbor botanical gardens, in middle school having a steer for 4H, and high school being part of the FFA, he has a love for the outdoors. This all has culminated into a growing need to produce for others.
In 2018 Amanda joined the farm helping immensely, creating a larger garden which doubled in size and began canning all of the fruit and vegetables. Both of us find that digging in the dirt, creating a big garden, growing our vegetables and fruits are important things and vital things. It is a belief that one should have the ability to grow and preserve enough foods in the summer warmth to provide for the barren fall and winter months.
The values of our farm start with the mindset of no drugs, antibiotics, or vaccines. We use apple cider vinegar and kelp for healthy animals. From there its other herbs like garlic, rosemary, and oregano which naturally cure or prevent illness. Because we use rotational grazing, we hardly see these illnesses on the farm. Chickens and turkeys do not see the same ground for long as they move daily; pigs rotate every 5 to 6 days. In doing so, the sun and other animals can digest the manure and parasites in it, leaving fertilizer which makes for a better pasture for the next pass. Our livestock sees the sun, feels the wind, and catches bugs and worms from below its feet. Rotational grazing limits or removes the exposure to most illness that confined farming can produce. Beyond that, we ferment our feed for the animals which gives them a better, more digestible feed and it’s also creating probiotics for the animal in the fermentation process. Probiotics are just as good for animals as for us. We believe transparency is important especially from your farmer.
We hope to serve our neighbors delicious and healthy farm raised meats and raw milk for many years to come.
