At Pine View Farms, all our poultry, steers, hogs and lambs are raised in a low stress environment, on a healthy vegetarian diet, without the use of growth promoting medications or hormones. We follow this protocol with all our poultry and livestock. All our partner producers agree to this protocol and keep records accordingly.

Our beef cattle are fed barley grain, barley and alfalfa sileage, and hay with access to pasture grasses in the warm seasons. Hogs eat a balanced diet of grains, primarily wheat, and peas for protein. Our lambs graze on pasture supplemented with oats, barley and hay.

Our feed is blended specially for us; however, we are not certified organic. Instead we use the term "All Natural" to define what we do. The main difference between "All Natural" as we do it at Pine View Farms and certified organic is that our grain is not "certified organic". There are a few reasons for this.

First, there is no certified organic feed mill large enough in western Canada to provide what we need.

Secondly, organic certification would require importing organic soy or canola meal from the USA for the protein component of our feed and we feel that the carbon emissions created in transportation more than offset the benefits of certified organic.

Thirdly, the cost of certified organic feed is about 50% more; feed is our second largest input and thus would affect meat prices substantially.

Lastly, we believe in the benefits of LOCAL, and by using Saskatchewan grown grains in our feed, we support local farmers and communities.

Our poultry consume a vegetarian diet of wheat, barley, flax, peas and natural vitamins and minerals. We use flax and peas as much as possible in our feed to reduce our dependence on soy or canola meal for protein. Moreover, the flax provides Omega-3 fatty acids that are prevalent both in the fat and muscle of the meat according to laboratory tests we've conducted. We have also found that the flax-pea blend acts as a probiotic for the chickens, creating healthier birds, thus eliminating dependence on medications.

If you have any questions regarding what we do on our farm, we would be pleased to answer them any time. We believe that it is important to know where your food comes from and how it was produced. Call us at (306) 239-4763 or e-mail us at sales@pineviewfarms.com