The Farm Making A Difference
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Located on Greaves lane, Schertz, Texas, Behind the Oaks farm is quite the quintessential farm that houses a big loving family, cows, chickens, honeybees and 4 dogs!
Who Are the Platts?
The owners of Behind the Oaks are a third-generation farming family, who have had this farm since the seventies. Samanthaās grandfather, Alvin Greaves, bought this 374-acre farm for cattle raising. He was a forward thinker of his time who wanted to raise his cattle on pastures, and not grain.
Samantha and her husband Zachary have now taken over the reins of Behind the Oaks farm. With four kids and lots of beautiful livestock, the farm is bubbling with excitement.
Why Regenerative Farming?
The Platts have always believed in regenerative farming, hence they changed their agricultural practices to regenerative ones. They strive for making a connection between people and food, in an effort to give back to the land what it gives to us.
Having the values of growing her own food instilled in her since childhood, Samantha still struggled with keeping up this lifestyle.
Raising a family put pressure on the Platts and convenient food became a regular habit.
It took a 'health' wake up call for the Platts to realize and act upon the importance of healthy eating. The dietary changes in the household soon became a way of life and eventually led them to want to share the benefits with others.
The Platts are a shining example of how farms in Texas are adopting regenerative farming approaches.
They move their cattle to new grounds to prevent overgrazing and to reduce the chances of parasites. Once the cattle are relocated, the chickens are called in to eat off insects and enrich the soil with their natural fertilizers.
Their plan is to add the sheep and goats to this mix as they love eating plants left behind by cattle. This way a self-fertilized and regenerated farm is maintained with little to no use of chemicals or man-made fertilizers.
āWe face challenges every day in creating a quality product on the cattle side of our operation. Making sure we are providing the best quality forage for our animals, so they provide an exceptional product at the endā, says Samantha.
Produce Available at Behind the Oaks Farm
There are several meat cuts available on the farmās website. Ranging from Rib eye, Rump, Brisket, Cheek, Flank, chuck eye steak, liver and heart. Also available are stew meat, stir fry meat and tenderloin filet mignon.
Behind the Oaks farm also provides meat from broiler chickens and eggs from the laying hens. The chickens are allowed to move freely around the pastures. They stay in mobile coops which can be transported easily. The broilers spend time in the pens that is easily moved daily to assist forage and fertilization.
Another offering from the farm is raw honey. They have 9 hives at the moment but looking at the demand they may have to expand it soon!
The Platts conduct their āfarm standā from 3pm-7pm every Tuesday which features their own fresh produce and other produce from neighboring local farms. They are also present at the New Braunfels farmers market on Saturdays from 9-1pm.
What Are the Platts Inspired By?
āOur drive to continue in this endeavor is first found in our faithā, they say. The family has their trust in Godās grace, and the core values they depend on are God, Family and Community.
Samantha and Zachary draw inspiration from their own community. Travis Krause, a fellow rancher has supported Behind the Oaks farm and several other similar farms to create greater action towards regenerative farming.
Farms like Behind the Oaks are leading the way to saving the ecosystem. Doing our part to renew the environment is not just a service, it is our duty.
The industrial system of agriculture and livestock raising is depleting our worlds resources at an alarming rate. The soil is losing its viability due to repeated cultivation of cash crops.
What Can We Expect To See In 2020 At The Farm?
The Platts are happy to announce that they are working on adding turkeys (What wine goes well with turkey?) to their farm family. They also plan to build a āfarm storeā on the property to involve more of the community and explore the world of regenerative farming.
