From our small farm to your family's table.
Raised with care on our pastures in Lawson, Missouri, and shared with neighbors like you.
The farm year
What's happening on the farm, and when.
How ordering works
No account and no online payment. You send a request, we confirm it, and you pay when you pick up.
Send a request
Pick what you want and how you'd like to get it.
We confirm
We reply by text or email to set your pickup time.
Pick up and pay
Pay at pickup with cash, check, or Venmo.
From a small apartment to our own farm
Before Nolen Pastures, we were saving and dreaming of a slower life with more space. In May 2022 we found our place and started with a few chickens, a garden, and a couple of hens.
Every year since, we've grown a little more, with a lot of help from friends, family, and customers.
What neighbors say
Reserve a half or whole pig
Reservations are open January to June, first come, first served. The deposit is $150 for a half and $250 for a whole.
Hear when stock changes
Send us your email and we'll let you know when eggs, pork, or pigs are available.
Shop
Welcome! Pick what you'd like below and your order request fills in at the bottom of the page as you go. Once you send it, we'll reach out to confirm your order.
Your order request
Estimate only. Meat is priced per pound, so your final total is set at pickup from the actual weight.
Reserve a half or whole pig
Halves and wholes only, first come, first served. We raise 10 to 20 pigs a year, and we aim to have them reserved by early spring.
What happens next
What you get and what it costs
Hanging weight is the weight of the carcass after slaughter and before it's cut. You pay by this. Take-home weight is the packaged meat that goes in your freezer, and it is always less, because bone and trim come off.
| Item | Half pig | Whole pig |
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These are typical numbers for our pigs. Pig sizes vary, so your final price is set by the actual hanging weight, and what you take home depends on the cuts you choose.
Request your spot
Our story
A slower life, with room to work.
Before Nolen Pastures, we were two people in a small apartment in Platte City, working, saving, and dreaming of a better, slower life. We wanted more space, room to grow, room to breathe, and room to work. Monica wanted a place where she could grow her voice and piano business. We both loved the outdoors and the idea of making something better than we found it.
Farming runs in my family, too. My grandfather was a small-time homesteader, not a market farmer, who fed himself and his family through his own efforts. He was a big inspiration to me growing up. The farm's name comes from my family as well. Nolen is a name passed down on my father's side, and we try to make sure at least one living family member always carries it. It's my middle name, and I wanted to honor those who came before me by naming the farm the same.
It took about a year to find the place we now call home. In May 2022 we officially began, with a few meat chickens for ourselves and for a couple of close friends and family who were willing to experiment with us, a small garden, and a couple of hens for eggs.
On our first big butcher day, about fifteen friends and family showed up to help. It was my first time too. Everyone put their faith in Monica and me to lead the way through something new and to make sure every family went home with food. It's hard to describe how that felt. A lot of trust gets placed in us by some very important people in our lives, and we don't take it for granted.
A lot of trust gets placed in us by some very important people in our lives, and we don't take it for granted.
Each year since, we've grown a little more. Our flock of meat chickens grew, turkeys joined them, and our laying flock got bigger. Monica started breeding Gold Laced Wyandottes and Rhode Island Reds. Then came the pigs. We've learned a lot the hard way, from our mistakes and from being scrappy, and we're still learning.
Raising animals is a 365-day responsibility. Rain or shine, fair weather or storm, our end of the bargain is to give them the best and most ethical life we can, and that means they come first, no matter how we feel. In the heat of summer, that's chopping a new paddock through the woods so the pigs have the shade they need. In winter, it's being out in the sleet and snow, shoveling out the chickens' run so they aren't standing on snow and risking frostbite, and so they have hay and grass under their feet.
We couldn't have done any of this without our friends, our families, and our customers, who buy from us week after week and tell their neighbors about us. It truly takes a village. Every person who trusts us to put food in their freezer and on their plate is trusting us with a serious responsibility, and we take it seriously and are happy to. This isn't the easiest way to make a living, but it's one of the most rewarding.
Trevor and Monica
The farm
How our animals are raised, in plain terms.
Our pigs
We buy our pigs at about two months old from a couple of Missouri farms that share our outlook on treating animals well and farming in a way that builds up the land. They're a mix of Yorkshire, Hampshire, and Duroc crosses, three hardy, healthy, productive meat breeds.
When they arrive in late April or early May, they spend their first two weeks in our horse barn and corral. We use that controlled space to practice moving them from paddock to paddock, so that when they head out to the woods, where each paddock is fenced with electric polywire, they already know the routine and it goes smoothly.
Once they're trained, they move to the wooded part of our land and rotate to a fresh paddock every week. Each paddock has its own water and feed. They live in the trees, which is where pigs naturally belong. Black walnut and regular walnut trees drop plenty of forage for them to snack on through the season. Every day they also get locally milled 16% protein feed and fresh, clean water. They always have shelter and shade, and a good wallow to keep cool in the dog days of summer.
In October, we take them to a state-inspected butcher, and our customers pick up their pork there. Once they're out in the woods, our pigs are never kept indoors, and we don't give them growth hormones. We let them live in the habitat they evolved to thrive in, and the quality of the meat shows it.
Our laying hens
We keep a laying flock of about 20 to 25 hens in a large mobile coop, surrounded by more than 300 feet of electric netting. They can be outside as much as they like, or go into the coop whenever they choose, and the coop gives them shelter from rain and storms. They get fresh water every day and feed every morning.
They eat a 16 percent protein layer feed. Now and then we give them eggshells for extra calcium, which helps them make strong shells. We do our best not to feed scraps, so we can control their diet as closely as possible. On occasion they get vegetables, but never bread or anything else that isn't natural to what a chicken would eat in the wild.
We move the coop every one to two weeks, depending on the weather and how much impact the hens are having on the land, and never later than two weeks. The hens get fresh grass, and spreading their impact across our pasture helps the grass and our future hay. We collect the eggs every morning. Our eggs come in a mix of dark brown, light brown, and beige.
Monica's breeding flock
Monica keeps a small, separate coop for breeding, with either Rhode Island Reds or Gold Laced Wyandottes, depending on what she's breeding at the time. Pairing a purebred rooster with purebred hens lets us control which breed hatches. We collect their eggs at the same time as the laying flock's, but in a separate basket.
Monica organizes the eggs into incubation batches, and it takes about three weeks from the start of incubation until the chicks begin to hatch.
Our meat chickens
Our meat chickens come from established hatcheries in Iowa, and they arrive as day-old chicks. We brood them indoors for a couple of weeks, depending on the weather and how quickly they grow and feather out. Usually within three weeks they move into our mobile chicken tractor, and from then on they live outside.
Every morning, we move the tractor to a fresh patch of grass, so the birds never spend more than 24 hours on the same ground. They scratch around in fresh grass every day, with plenty of room per bird so they're never crowded. The tractor has ample roofing for shelter and lets in plenty of natural light and sunshine. They get fresh water and fresh feed every day, and grower feed their whole lives.
We raise them for about nine to ten weeks, then process them here on the farm and sell them whole.
Our turkeys
Our turkeys are raised the same way as our meat chickens, outside on fresh grass, with one difference: they live in a taller mobile coop, which we move every day.
Our pasture and hay
Our pasture is a typical pasture mix, mostly fescue. We don't fertilize it and we don't reseed it. Our animals do the fertilizing. Our pigs, chickens, turkeys, and horse all work the land and return nutrients to it through their manure, which we manage carefully across the property. It's nature feeding nature, and it's why the grass comes in so strong.
We cut our hay in September, weather permitting, and we usually have five to ten round bales for sale each year.
Around the farm
How it works
Short version. The policies page has the details.
Ordering
Send an order request from the shop. It isn't final until we confirm it by text or email. You pay at pickup with cash, check, or Venmo.
Pickup at the farm
We send the farm address with your confirmation. Pickup windows, each needing at least 2 days notice:
Delivery and meetups
Choose delivery or a meetup in the order form, where it asks how you'd like to get your order. A delivery fee may apply, depending on distance. Distance and order size decide whether we can, and we'll confirm the fee and time with you. You pay at handoff.
Half and whole pigs
Reserve a half or whole pig from January to June. A deposit holds your spot, and you pick up at the butcher in October. The reservation page has the prices and steps.
Hay
Full-size round bales, about 1,000 lb, pickup only. You'll need a tractor, or a truck with a hay spear. The price changes each season, so ask us.
Common questions
Do I need an account?
No. Send a request with your name, phone, and email.
How do I pay?
At pickup, with cash, check, or Venmo. For Venmo, please mark the payment as goods and services.
Why is my total an estimate?
Meat is priced per pound and every package weighs a little differently. We set the final total at pickup from the actual weight.
Where do I pick up?
At the farm in Lawson, Missouri. We send the address with your confirmation. Pickup windows: .
Do you ship?
No. We offer farm pickup, delivery or a meetup on request, and pigs are picked up at the butcher.
Can you deliver?
Sometimes. Choose delivery or a meetup in the order form. A delivery fee may apply, depending on distance. Distance and order size decide, and we confirm the fee and time with you. You pay at handoff.
When is pork available?
Cuts come from our freezer stock after the October processing, first come, first served. They sell out every year, so ask early. Join the email list on the home page to hear about restocks.
When can I reserve a half or whole pig?
January through June, first come, first served. The reservation page has the prices and steps.
What is hanging weight?
It's the weight of the carcass after slaughter and before it's cut. You pay by it. The packaged meat you take home is always less, because bone and trim come off.
What if I can't make my pickup?
You can cancel for free until the day before your pickup window. If you miss it, we hold your order for 48 hours, then it goes back into stock.
What if you can't fill my egg order?
We'll contact you and work out what the order becomes.
Policies
The details behind ordering, pickup, and reservations.
How ordering works
- Send us an order request on this site. It is not final until we confirm it by text or email.
- Tell us on the form how you'd like to get your order: farm pickup, or delivery or a meetup. We will confirm the time.
- We send the farm address with your confirmation.
- Farm pickup windows: Saturday 10am to 1pm and Sunday 10am to 1pm. Both need at least 2 days notice.
Payment
- You pay at pickup. We take cash, check, or Venmo.
- Make checks payable to Trevor Johnson or Monica Johnson.
- For Venmo, please mark the payment as "goods and services."
- Meat is priced per pound. Your final total is set at pickup from the actual weight.
Eggs
- $5 a dozen. Colors and sizes come mixed.
- There is no order limit. If we can't fill your order, we will contact you to work it out.
- Supply slows in winter.
Pork cuts
- Cuts come from our freezer stock after the October processing.
- Stock is first come, first served, and it sells out every year.
- Want something not on the menu? Ask us.
Missed pickups and cancellations
- You can cancel for free until the day before your pickup window.
- If you miss your pickup, we hold your order for 48 hours. After that it goes back into stock.
Delivery and meetups
- We deliver or meet up on request. Distance and order size decide whether it's possible.
- A delivery fee may apply, depending on distance.
- We will confirm the fee and time with you. You pay at handoff.
Half and whole pigs
- Reservations are for a half or a whole pig only. No quarters.
- Reservations are open January to June, first come, first served.
- Deposit: $150 for a half, $250 for a whole. It is applied to your balance.
- Your reservation is "requested" until we receive your deposit. We hold it for 7 days, then release it to the next person.
- Pay your deposit by cash, check, or Venmo.
- The deposit is refundable for 10 days after we receive it. After that it is not refundable.
- If we cancel, you get a full refund.
- We usually set processing dates in late summer.
- Your balance is $4 per pound of hanging weight. You pay it to us after pickup. We will tell you the total once the hanging weight is known.
- You pick up at the butcher, usually in October. You pay the butcher's processing fee directly to the butcher at pickup.
Hay
- Full-size round bales, about 1,000 lb, net wrapped.
- The price changes each season. Contact us for the current price.
- Pickup only. We do not deliver.
- You load it yourself. Bring a tractor, or a truck with a hay spear or similar.
Contact
Questions about hay, a cut you don't see, or anything else.