Southard Farms

Southard Farms is a fifth generation farm started in 1876 at the current location in Limestone County, Alabama. We are diversifying into pastured poultry, egg, and pork production which started in 2019.  Our goal in this is to provide clean healthy food raised in a manner that respects the animals natural instincts and allows them to live a life that honors them.  Through studying Joel Salatin's holistic clean food production methods we are providing the innovation this offers by portable infrastructure and animals living outdoors on pasture providing a great tasting and high protein and vitamin product.  Environmental protection is achieved by the regular movement of the animals to fresh pasture causing no need for manure lagoons or litter spreading. We are proud members of the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association. Humane Animal Husbandry Our laying hens free range 365 days per year rotating across alfalfa fields every 2-4 weeks. Electric netting keeps them safe from predators. The millineum feathernet, a Polyface Farms design, is used for their shelter and egg laying. Eggs are collected daily by hand. Our preservative free feed made on the farm is available free choice. Our Cornish Cross breed broiler chickens are picked up from a local hatchery in Muscle Shoals as day old chicks. They are raised for three weeks inside a brooder and then moved to the portable pasture shelter. The shelter and chickens are moved daily and preservative free feed made right here on the farm from our crops. The chickens get to enjoy a fresh patch of grass, insects, sunshine, and fresh air every day. Our hog operation is a closed herd and farrow to finish. Each hog is born here and lives out its life rotating through the woods and pastures across the farm. They have preservative free hog feed available free choice and graze the pastures and woodlands throughout the day. Fresh air and sunshine are a huge benefit to the hogs the same as people enjoy it each day. Farm Grown Feed Ingredients Alfalfa is grown and stored on our farm. It is considered one of the wonder forages as it pulls up minerals from deep in the ground. This provides a huge benefit in our feed. Our wheat is grown and stored right here on our farm. This is used in the feed for all three of our animal types including hogs, laying hens, and broiler chickens. Our farm grows soybeans and then sells them to Bunge in Decatur, AL. Bunge has a plant that crushes the soybeans to extract the soybean oil. The crushed soybeans without the oil are now soybean meal. Soybean meal is an important ingredient to maintain the correct protein level in the feed as well as an excellent source of essential amino acids. Purchased Feed Ingredients Corn is purchased from a neighbor farm and used as an important ingredient in our animal feed. Corn is a nutrient dense source of energy providing fat, protein, carbohydrates, starch, fiber, and essential vitamins and minerals.