Frequently Asked Questions

What does LRF offer?

The Little Red Farm proudly features thoughtfully curated goods from small businesses and farms across the United States in our Online Farmers Market. Here on our farm in southeast Nebraska, we also operate a brick-and-mortar Farmers Market Shop where locals can find raw grass-fed A2A2 milk, free-range chicken eggs, pork and beef through our herd share membership, along with many of the same products available here, in our Online Farmers Market!

Is LRF organic?

As wonderful as organic items can be, our farm is not organic although we use organic practices in many areas. Through experience we have come to believe the best health is found in making sure our animals have all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals needed to grow and mature properly. We can’t always get that in an organic form, or even when we can it’s not always feasible to pass that cost onto you.

We use natural, custom made conventional feed with added probiotics based on the need of the animals. We never use medicated feed.

probiotics
vitamin C
a low stress environment
closed herd mentality (meaning we don’t bring animals in and out regularly and you won’t see our animals at the fair)

chemical sprays on our pastures or property
vaccines
steroid implants
hormone injections
antibiotics (unless it's a life saving measure)
and we avoid medications when at all possible

What does "naturally raised" mean at LRF?

We do not use any chemical supplements, medications, or hormones to grow our animals faster or with more muscle tissue. Our beef and pork (available with a herdshare or in bulk as a custom order) are processed at a local meat processor without having anything added to them unless its an item like bacon or sausage where additional ingredients are normally added. In caring for our animals, if there’s a natural way to improve their health, that’s the choice we make, but occasionally an emergent situation calls for whatever means necessary, and we won’t let an animal suffer simply because of our crunchy preferences. Animal health and comfort are our top priority.

Animals on our farm are livestock and not pets, however, as you can see by our photos here, and on social media, they are well cared for and that makes them not only healthy and happy, but downright pampered. We care for our animals multiple times per day. They have free choice access to both the barn shelters and outside space, they are kept with other animals for companionship, they always have access to fresh food and water, and each group gets the extra things throughout the year to give them their best life.

What is "free range"?

Free range means that our chickens are allowed to come and go as they please. Most of them choose to roost in the coop at night, which is safest for them but there are occasionally some that choose to sleep in our other outbuildings. Our livestock guardian dogs keep them safe as they enjoy their freedom. They wander during the day, and snack on whenever they find, fallen apples, pig feed, herbs in our yard, the occasional veggies we toss out for them, bugs and sometimes they even eat mice and small snakes. If someone tells you chickens are vegetarians, have a chuckle and walk away. Their favorite treats are cat food and...wait for it...eggs. They love to eat them, and you can too!

What does "pasture raised" mean at LRF?

Pastured or pasture raised means the animal is at minimum outside with room to forage. Ideally, it means that they have access to lush pastures. Since Nebraska has all four seasons our animals vary between the two. The cattle always have their choice of grass and hay. They love having room to wander and run no matter what season it is. The hogs have both indoor and outdoor paddocks.

What makes the Little Red Farm special?

The Little Red Farm was started after we searched for 3 years to find a country home with outbuildings and no neighborhood covenants. The buildings begged to be made useful again and soon the coop was housing the Hen Mafia, and the corn crib filled with logs for the wood burning furnace. The next summer pigs, livestock guardian dogs and barn cats made their home here and by the next spring the first bottle calves arrived.

As the farm grew, we realized it needed to support itself. We discovered while many people were only a generation or two removed from a farm, most people didn’t have the ability to raise their own meat and eggs but want to feed their family with food from animals raised the way God intended. We now offer our farm fresh foods not only as a means to support our farm, but to share our little bit of landlocked paradise with the community and world around us.

Now, as we have been able to partner with other small businesses and farms across the United States we can truly create an online community that supports "local" farms near and far.