Meet Bueno. He is the welcoming crew/work dog. What a life, he has got a pretty sweet deal on this farm.

David Evans is the owner of Marin Sun Farms. He begins the tour with a short history of the area. OK, maybe it is not short...but it certainly is interesting. He is so passionate about what he does and hearing all about the area and the development of his own project is wonderful. David's words: 'Pasture based food, that is locally produced, invites and inevitably satisfies the desire for a real sense of place. It connects us with the seasons and the natural world, and ultimately, after invigorating the palate, fortifying the body, and stimulating conversation, resonates a genuine appreciation of life.' 

As we begin the tour David shows us where the new brood-house where the new hatchlings stay until they have enough feathers to keep them warm through the night.
 

Once the chicks are big enough they are moved into another house where they become fully feathered in preparation for the rest of their lives scratching around in fertile pastures.

We had a little escape artist, David caught her with his gentile hands.

And finally, at this stage they are just about ready to go out into the big pastures where they can feed on grass and bugs. What a life for a chicken!

The eggs produced at the farm are probably among the best on the market.

This is a mobile hen house being built. You can see in the middle is where the hens will lay their eggs. There will be a protective cover and the house can be locked at night to protect the chickens from predators. During the day the chickens come out and scratch around in the grass. Every day the house is moved to a new patch of grass so the chickens have a fresh place to forage. Not only are the birds producing wonderful eggs for consumption, but they are eating insect larva that would otherwise turn into pesky flys and they are fertilizing the pastures. It is a pretty great system.

The broilers are in a similar shelter, but theirs is floor-less and holds about 75 birds where they grow to 8 week meat birds. They receive fresh air, exercise, sunshine and all the certified organic grain that they want. He uses cows to mow ahead of the shelters to shorten the grass and encourage the ingestion of fresh shoots of grass.

We were on the last tour of the year. You can see the grass is all brown, waiting for rain.

David takes a moment to explain the cycle of a well maintained pasture vs. an over grazed pasture. You might think of David as more of a grass farmer. This fella really knows his stuff.

David with the mobile hen house in the background.

Here you can see a hen house out in the field. There is a Great Pyrenees (just like our Shasta) that acts as the guard dog during the day.  The chickens are all out looking for juicy bugs to nibble on.

Because winter is coming the cows were moved to a nearby pasture where the grass is still a bit green.

After the tour we all headed to the Marin Sun Farms Cafe. Lunch was AMAZING. Now I can say that I know for certain that I am purchasing my food from the best possible source. I am supporting a food system that I believe in and I can eat that hamburger with a clear conscience. The tours at the farm will start up again in the spring, I highly recommend checking one out. The burger alone is well worth it!