We need your input!

Hey everyone!  This is a brief update to ask you to fill out our survey! We've created a brief questionnaire (only 3 questions!) to help us learn about your needs.  Your feedback will help us determine which cuts of beef, and how much, to include in our packages.  We want our customers to feel like part of the family, and, as such, to have input in our business.  Please consider yourselves part of the family and give us your input!  Click the link below to fill out the survey.  It only takes a minute!
-Bethany
                                         Take the Survey!
   
                            

Forward Motion

I guess it's been about a month since we started talking about expanding Butterfield Farm beyond a few cows in the pasture. There is no doubt that God spoke this and I love to see and be a part of people following His direction. God has been blessing us with provision already. Dad meet with our dozer operator again this week and he decided to lower his hourly rate by fifteen dollars! The loggers are making great strides and should be done by Friday so we can begin cleaning up and finishing the fence. If all goes well we should be able to plant and have a nice stand of rye grass for December/January. We were able to get three of the four sides of the fence posts over at Rita's Ranch (Uncle Chuck and Rita's place) finished on Saturday (see Uncle Chuck's post). God is also blessing us with customers already. It seems like almost everyday we run into someone that says, "sign me up", when we tell them about the Farm. I cannot wait to see how God is going to provide this week!

Ryan, Jen, Emma Grace, and Blake came home this weekend. We had a blast hanging out and rodeoing! We went to the Center Point Rodeo this weekend and had a great time. Thanks for coming and cheering on Jen, Emma Grace and Sayleigh! Keep watching because Emma Grace, Sayleigh, Blake and John Luke are going to be rodeo stars!
-Will

Where Cowboys (and Cowgirls!) Come From

Friday night at Mr. Jesse's.  Having fun and learnin' Cowboy stuff.

Takin' a deep seat.

"No, really Dad, I can handle this."

"OK, Papa, so this is a piggin string see..."

"Throw them hands in the air!"

Today's Lessons                             1. Nobody's too little.

                                                                       2. It don't hurt to get a little dirty.

-Papa

Another day in paradise...

Actually, still puttin’ up fence. Will it ever end? Will, Eddie, Bob Jr., Ryan, Chuck, Jacob, Maddie, and John put up 100 or so posts at Rita’s Ranch on Saturday morning. They decided to get some fence up over here since we actually have grass! and tired of mowing it...

Boy was it hot.  Those who are not used to Louisiana summers, you need to come experience the fun.  100+ with the heat index = about 170 degrees, more or less.  We made good headway though.

-Uncle Chuck

Puttin' Up Fence

Chuck, Bob Jr., Will, Bethany, Jacob and I spent the better part of the day Saturday “puttin’up fence”. More specifically we set posts. Lots of posts. We completed the east side (along Flagon Creek), which has been a major undertaking. From clearing the right-of way for the fence to setting the posts it has been a pretty good battle. To date we're close to 400 posts, only maybe 150 or so to go. We now lack the north side (the long side) of the property, then on to stretching wire.


I remarked to Jake yesterday that I have thought, planned and dreamed about this fence for a while now, but as Dad would say “We’ve about gotten all the fun out of this”.

If good fences make good neighbors… this should be a great neighborhood!

-John

Family Tradition

I manage the parts department at Petron L.L.C. and this morning I was talking with a vendor. He asked for my name and I told him it was Will Butterfield. He then asked if I was Ivan Butterfield's grandson. I told him yes and he spent the next few minutes telling me what a great man my grandfather was and how much he admired him. These occurrences happen about once a week and they always bring about a sense of honor and deep respect for Grandpa. This morning I was remembering what life was like when he was around. Unfortunately, I have to rely mostly on stories I've been told, because he passed away when I was in the third grade. Nevertheless, every person that has shared their experiences with me have blessed me with stories of a man that was kind, caring, extremely hard working and took pride in a job well done. Grandpa passed these same values to his children and they have passed them to us. As a family and as a business we are kind, caring, hardworking and will do whatever is necessary to get the job done right. I love this family and I love that we have been blessed by a tradition that will be a blessing to others. Thank you Grandpa!

-Will

Happy Cows!

Happy cows don’t only come from California.

For our new friends, and some old friends, that don’t know about our farming operation, raising beef cattle is not some new adventure.

Over the last 30 years, we’ve raised cattle of various breeds for either our own consumption or sale through traditional markets. (We even spent several years in the commercial sheep business!)

Through the years, as our children have grown in livestock business, we’ve taught them an always present underlying theme…God first, family next, then the livestock. As our days begin, the livestock are cared for, then the day's other activities begin. As the day draws to a close, the livestock is cared for, then we relax.

Butterfield Farm's beef cattle have never been treated with growth hormones. They seem to grow just fine without it.

As we begin this new chapter in our history, we hope to provide the freshest, healthiest beef available.

John

Grandma's For a Day

Saturday turned out to be a great day. We started bright and early headed to Lake Charles to put down wood flooring for grandma. The weather was not being nice to us, at all. The only good thing was, theres not much to do in our stage of preparing Butterfield Farms "Flagon Pasture," that we can do in the rain. After a long day of hard work from the Butterfield Boys, we left Lake Charles around 8pm. The floors look great and Grandma was as happy as she could be. It just goes to show you what happens when a family comes together to get a job done.

Eddie

Here We Go!

We have recently added +/- 50 acres we lovingly refer to as "The Flagon Pasture". This property is (located about a mile south of the home place, directly across the blacktop from Kati and Josh) currently about 6 acres of pasture and 44 acres of brush and small timber. The timber has been sold and progress toward development into pasture should be happening throughout the summer. Papa (John Butterfield) and I went and picked up a trailer load of scrap metal that had been thrown onto the property prior to our ownership. Hopefully in the next few weeks we can complete the fence. We are also having our very first Butterfield Farm business meeting sometime next week. We are beginning to organize and determine who will be responsible for the different parts of the business. It is beginning to look like a family affair which is really exciting! I'm looking forward to sharing our progress and getting others involved in the processes here at the farm!

-Will