Grass-Fed
Hormone Free
Antibiotic Free
NO Animal By-Products
Supplying Lowcountry Restaurants:
SNOB High Cotton
Monza
Carolina's
Bull Street Cafe
Fish
F.I.G.
Mc Crady's
Husk
High Cotton
The Inn at Palmetto Bluff
Glass Onion
Wild Olive
Fat Hen
Cypress
Today's modern agricultural model is built with factory farms and mono-cropped fields where the animals and crops are sold to giant conglomerates that control our food supply. The family farm that we all have in our memory is a thing of the past.
Keegan-Filion Farm is a working farm that raises livestock and crops in a sustainable, environmentally safe way.
The farm is known for its pastured poultry that is served at some of the finest restaurants in the Low Country.
Chickens are raised year round for eggs and meat but turkeys are also raised for the holiday season.
The farm also raises heritage Tamworth hogs and grass-fed beef.
By free-ranging poultry, birds are allowed to exhibit their natural tendencies to scratch the ground in search of insects and to eat fresh green grass. We provide the consumer with a great tasting, healthy product that has been raised in the most environmentally friendly and humane way possible.
It is possible to let chickens roam free in pastures, but it is not the safest for the birds. Foxes, hawks, raccoons, and even the neighborhood dog are all considered predators and create a real threat to chickens that are loose in a field. Allowing chickens to roam free offers no protection from rain, summer heat, or winter cold.
Large scale producers can house their chickens in "factory farm" style houses and call their birds free-range if they keep the doors open, giving the birds the opportunity to go outside. These houses are dimly lit, hold large quantities of birds in a small area, and provide the birds with dirty litter to scratch around in. The litter is cleaned out of the houses as many as 8 times a year to as few as 1 time a year. Chickens raised in these environments are often sick and require antibiotics in the feed to keep them healthy.
Our birds are housed in shelters called "chicken tractors". Our "chicken tractors" have no floors. This allows our birds access to fresh grass and insects while providing them with a safe, clean place to live. The shelters are equipped with feed troughs and a water system that supplies them with clean feed and water at all times. Our birds have heat in the winter and fans to keep them cool in the summer. Our "chicken tractors" are moved daily providing the chickens a clean, healthy environment while providing us a steady supply of fertilizer.
Along with fresh grass and insects, our chickens are fed a diet that is formulated especially for them. Our feed consists of corn, soybean meal, Fertrell Nutri-Balancer and a probiotic. The Fertrell Nutri-Balancer is a mineral poultry supplement which contains high levels of vitamins A, D3, and E, as well as trace minerals. The probiotic is a naturally occuring micro-organism that increases the absorption of protein, starch, and fat. A probiotic is not a drug and is used only to increase the effectiveness of the bird's own immune system. All of the ingredients in our feed are organic except for the corn and soybean meal (sufficient amounts of organic corn and soybean meal are not currently available in the local area). Our chickens are NEVER fed feed containing antibiotics or arsenic, and we never apply commercial fertilizer or chemicals to our chicken's pastures.
When you buy Keegan-Filion Farm poultry, you are buying direct from the farmer. You are receiving a great tasting, fresh, chicken that is as healthy for you as it is good tasting. Recent studies show that free-range chicken is lower in saturated fat than commercially produced chicken yet is higher in vitamin A and omega-3s. Our chicken is processed in a federally inspected packing plant.
Raising chickens in a free-range system creates true "sustainable" agriculture. This system requires less fossil fuels and is more environmentally sound than the current conventional systems while maintaining respect and providing humane conditions for the animals.
Chicken can be produced and sold at a lower cost than we offer our product. However, all of the extra care and attention our birds receive, along with our specially formulated feed, free of any antibiotics, produce the best tasting, highest quality chicken available.
All of the hogs raised on the farm are Tamworths. The Tamworth was originally brought to the US from Europe in the 1800s, is considered a heritage breed, and is no longer raised by the commercial hog industry.
The meat from a Tamworth hog is prized by chefs for its reddish color and marbling of the fat. It takes time to achieve this marbling. In fact, conventional factory farm hogs are processed at about 5 1/2 months old; our Tamworths are processed at around 8 months of age.
All of our hogs are born in open pens and spend their whole life on pasture. In addition to eating grass, weeds, and roots that they forge, they are fed a ground feed that consists of corn, soybean meal, vitamins, and minerals but doesn't contain any antibiotics or animal by-products. We purposely feed them lower amounts of protein which allows them to grow slower and produce a more flavorful meat.
Once ready, our hogs are processed at a federally inspected, Certified Humane, facility. All of our meat is packaged in vacuum sealed packages and frozen to insure freshness.
Home
This online store is more suited for out-of-state customers. The boxes are pre-arranged 20lb varieties in order to ensure that the foods remain frozen during shipping. If you are a local Walterboro, Charleston, or Summerville customer visit us on Saturday at the Summerville Farmers Market, or email us on the "Talk To Us" page and ask for information about our weekly email list!
Whole Bird Box (20lb)
Whole Chickens ranging from 3-5lbs
$89
Chicken Box (20lb)
5lbs Boneless/Skinless Breasts, 5lbs Thighs, 5lbs Legs, 5lbs Wings
$94.5
Jackson's Favorite (20lb)
3lbs Bacon, 3lbs ground pork, 5lbs chorizo, 4lbs pork roast, 5lbs pork steak
$138.5
Goldie's Choice (20lb)
5lbs Breakfast Links, 5lbs Pork Cutlets, 5lbs Garlic Bratwurst, 5lbs Pork Roast
$140
The Plow Boy Special (20lb)
5lbs Sliced Country Ham, 3lbs Pork Chops, 5lbs Hot Italian Sausage, 3lbs Ribs, 4lbs Pork Roast
$144.5
Backyard Bonus Pack (20lb)
4lbs Garlic Brats, 4lbs Hot Italian Sausage, 4lbs Chorizo, 4lbs Chicken Leg Quarters, 4lbs Chicken Legs
$108.8
Tailgate Special (20lb)
4lbs Plain Wings, 4lbs BBQ Wings, 4lbs Lime-Chipotle Wings, 4lbs Chorizo, 4lbs Hot Italian Sausage
$110
The Carolina Sampler (20lb)
5lbs Ground Beef, 5lbs Chicken Sample, 5lbs Pork Sample, 3lbs Cheese Sample, 2lb Butter Roll
$136.55
3 Month Meat Share
$360
6 Month Meat Share
$660
HOW TO COOK GRASS FED MEAT
KEEGAN-FILION FARM
GRASS FED CHICKEN, TURKEY, BEEF AND PORK ARE MUCH LEANER, HIGHER IN OMEGA 3, AND LOWER IN CHOLESTERAL. THEY HAVE NO ADDED ANTIBIOTICS OR HORMONES.
THEY ARE FED NO ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS AND HAVE NO ADDED WATER OR SALINE (PURE 100% MEAT).
THEY ARE RAISED ON GRASS FOR SUPERB QUALITY AND TASTE AND ARE PROCESSED IN A CERTIFIED HUMANE FACILITY.
ALL OF THIS ADDED CARE MAKES KEEGAN-FILION FARM MEATS A MUCH
HEALTHIER CHOICE FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
SINCE GRASS FED MEAT IS MUCH LEANER (LESS FAT) IT REQUIRES A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO COOKING. HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL HINTS
ADD OIL TO YOUR MEAT
FOR BAKING, BROILING, OR GRILLING YOU WILL NEED TO RUB YOUR
MEAT WITH OIL.
FOR STOVE TOP COOKING YOU WILL NEED TO ADD OIL TO THE PAN.
COOK LESS TIME
COOK GRASS FED MEAT ABOUT HALF THE TIME AS CONVENTIONAL MEAT.
IF YOU OVERCOOK OR DO NOT ADD OIL YOUR MEAT WILL HAVE A TENDENCY TO BE DRY.
Chicken
Pork
Special Packs
Meat Shares
Checkout
Charleston has seen a large growth in CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) membership in the past several years. Most of the local CSA's specialize in vegetables; we feel the time is right for a CSA dedicated to naturally raised meat, specifically, pastured poultry, hogs, and grass fed beef.
Keegan-Filion Farm will start a meat share program in January 2012. The program will operate in the same fashion as a CSA, except that deliveries will be made once a month rather than weekly as in a vegetable CSA. Shares in the meat share program will be paid in advance, so there will be nothing for you to do monthly except to pick up your share of meat. Each share will provide you with 20lbs of our pasture raised, antibiotic-free, humanely processed meats.
A typical monthly share of meat will consist of 2 whole chickens (3 to 4lbs each), 3lbs of ground beef, 1lb of stew beef, 1 beef roast (3 to 4lbs), 3lbs of a combination of bacon, breakfast sausage, garlic brats, hot italian sausage, kielbasa, chorizo, and smoked loose sausage. Each monthly share will also contain 1 pack of our thick cut pork chops and a 3 to 4lb pork roast. If there is an item of sausage that you do not like, please let us know and we will substitute an item of equal value more to your liking.
We are offering quarterly shares for $120 per month ($360 total) and 6 month shares for $110 per month ($660 total) ; a savings of 8%. We will also pro-rate shares, so there will be no waiting until the next quarter to begin participation.
During the year, members will receive first opportunities to purchase special meat packages which will consist of various steak cuts, pork chops, and St. Louis style pork ribs. Each of these special packages will be sold on a first come basis and will be available only to meat share members.
Many people know that we raise turkeys for Thanksgiving, and that we normally sell out by June or July. Members will also get the first opportunity to sign up for a Thanksgiving turkey before we begin taking orders from non-members.
We realize the cost of a share is higher than meat from a grocery store; it is expensive raising an animal without the use of antibiotics or feeding them feed that doesn't contain animal proteins (feeding cows back to cows was the cause of mad cow disease). We also feel it is important that an animal end its life in as humanely a way as it lived; therefore, we gladly pay the extra cost associated with processing at a Certified Humane packing plant. We also know that you will taste the difference in our pastured meats when compared to the factory farm raised meat found in the local grocery stores.
At this time, we are securing a drop point on Savannah Highway, West of the Ashley. We are also willing to look at other drop locations in other areas but require 10 members minimum per drop point to cover all costs associated with delivering.
Please contact Annie or Marc at (843)538-2565 if you are interesting in signing up for this program or if you have any questions. You can also select "RETURN" at the bottom of this page, and select the button "Sign Up For Your Share" to send us an email.
We thank you for your continued support of our farm and look forward to serving you through this new program.
Thank you,
Marc & Annie
Keegan-Filion Farm
Email us your information and let us know that you are interested in signing up for our meat share program!
Shortly after we receive your information, we will send you an e-mail with additional information regarding your preferences in contents of your share, as well as pick-up locations.
We will also give you instructions for the two payment options we have available in order to begin receiving your first share.
Thank you, again for your cooperation and continued support!
January 2012 Newsletter
I would like to open this newsletter by welcoming our new supporters that have joined our meat share program and to wish everyone a belated Happy New Year.
For those of you that haven't heard, we have started a meat share program that will work in a similar fashion as a CSA, except deliveries will be made monthly rather than weekly. We did this as a means of providing our products to families in Charleston that wanted to buy from us but were unable to come to the farm or to the Summerville Farmers Market. The response was totally unexpected, filling all available spots for January, and caused us to put some families off until the February delivery.
We are offering 3 month shares for $120 per month and 6 month shares for $110 per month. Delivery points at this time are Roccoco on Savannah Highway and our normal spot at the Summerville Farmers Market; other drop points will be set up if 10 people or more sign up in the area. If anyone is interested they can contact us and we will provide the particulars along with a sign-up sheet.
Several of our new customers have asked questions about the farm, its size, a little history, what we raise, and how much; we will attempt to answer those questions in this newsletter plus provide an update on the reconstruction project after the December 4th fire.
Originally, Keegan Farm was 3 separate parcels. The original farm was 38 acres about 2 miles from where we farm and was started by Annie's great grandfather. Early in the 30's, the 170 acre plot where our farm is located was added, and several years later another 27 acres was added approximately 5 miles away. All of this land was in pasture or timber with some cropland that was farmed using a mule until Mr. Keegan bought his first tractor sometime in the early 50's. Upon Mr. Keegan's death, the land was split and willed to his 5 sons.
Today we farm 84 acres; 47 acres that we own and 37 acres that we lease. The land is mostly hay fields and pasture but also has a few small 1/2 acre plots that are used to plant grazing for animals or to plant the family's organic vegetable gardens once the animals are removed. We also have several acres of swampland that is home to deer, wood ducks, coyotes, bobcats, fox, coons, and possum.
In 2011 we raised 14,000 broiler chickens, 600 turkeys (450 made it to Thanksgiving dinner), about 150 hogs, and have a flock of 700 laying hens all on pasture. We also have a small herd of around 20 steers and hope to get another 10 calves in February. We also get beef from friends of ours that have a lot more land than we do and who also raise steers on grass. We provide them with pork and chickens that they can market in Myrtle Beach and Florence, and they provide us with beef when we don't have any steers ready to process; small farmers have to help each other. As we have always done, we encourage anyone interested to come to the farm and see how their meat is raised. All we ask is advanced notice to insure that we will be there. We do not allow visitors on loading days.
Many of you have asked for an update on the barn fire. The benefit to help fund the rebuilding of the barn will be held this Sunday, January 22nd at Lowndes Grove Plantation. There will be 14 of Charleston's best chefs at this event with most from the restaurants that we serve. I am sure there will be some excellent food served as well as an oyster roast on the banks of the Ashley River. The last we heard, there are still tickets available.
In the next few weeks we will begin building the barn. We know what we want in the barn: feed storage, tool storage/shop, tractor shed, but are undecided what design will best meet our requirements. For sentimental reasons, we are leaning towards rebuilding it similar to the old barn but may change the design to make it easier and quicker to build. It will be a pole barn design and will require extensive work prior to the barn raising. We will keep you updated.
Over the Christmas holiday we began construction of the first of two new portable chicken brooding houses. Each house will hold up to 450 baby chicks for the first 3-1/2 weeks on the farm. The houses are designed to provide them protection from the cold yet allow us to easily monitor the brooder box temperature and acclimate the birds to the outside conditions prior to moving them to pasture. We hope to have both houses complete by the end of February.
The brooder house we built inside our tractor barn last winter will be converted for turkeys. This is a large brooder with two rooms. Phase 1 will have the turkeys under a gas brooder for 2 to 3 weeks depending on the weather. At 3 weeks of age, they will be moved into Phase 2 for about 2 to 3 weeks and acclimated to the outside temperature.
At 5 to 6 weeks old, they will be moved to the pasture. We must have the brooder ready by early March so that we will be ready to receive the first group of turkeys for the year. As it is, we will not have any turkey sausage until August at the earliest. Any further delay will interfere with the Thanksgiving turkeys and could cause us to cut the number we will be able to raise this year.
The time required to rebuild has forced us to cancel our fence project for this year. We will have to rebuild the fence along the main road allowing us to use those 10 acres to pasture the new calves, but we will be unable to install field fence along the drive as planned. All projects have to be completed by the second week in April due to the opening of the farmers market season.
In the last 2 weeks we have had 3 litters of pigs. The first one surprised us, and the sow had her pigs in the sow pen. We moved the other 2 sows to the farrowing pen behind our house where we can keep an eye on them. The first sow had 10 pigs and has 8 left; the young gilt had 7 pigs with 5 still alive. At this time, we have 21 sows and gilts with the majority of them expected to have pigs in the next 3 months (if all goes right). Bubba and I will have to get to work on the 8 acre field at his farm so that we will have a good pasture for them come spring.
Annie and I are both glad to see 2011 end. During th year, we experienced several challenges; some we won, some we lost. But without a doubt, 2011 was the most challenging year we have faced since getting back into farming in 2005. Even with all of the problems, we still saw farm sales grow 23% over 2010 with the majority of this growth coming from farmers market sales and sales to families; we thank you very much for this support.
2012 is off to a great start. Some of this is due to the start of the meat share program and some is due to some new restaurants that started buying from us late in 2011. Our bi-weekly delivery to Summerville has also been better than expected. Just yesterday and last night we had 5 people contact us regarding the meat share and a chef about an opportunity to supply products to his new restaurant that will open in the next few weeks. At this pace there may be a 3rd chicken brooder in our immediate future.
As devastating as the fire was to the operation, it has forced us to look at our production process and reevaluate how and why we do things. Rebuilding will take us a considerable amount of time, especially when I work full time off the farm, but will also provide us an opportunity to make things easier on us and our animals.
We are excited about the upcoming year and look forward to facing the challenges we know we will encounter. We look forward to meeting new friends and supporters and renewing relationships from past years. We encourage your comments and suggestions and appreciate the opportunity to provide you and your family with our humanely raised, antibiotic free, pastured meats.
Annie & Marc
Farm Tours
The farm is open in the fall for school and other group tours in October and November and opens again in March, April, and May. Tours include a discussion on modern agricultural practices, and the alternative, sustainable agricultural practices that are becoming increasingly popular. Visitors will see baby chicks, pigs, calves, and turkeys in season and take a hayride through the farm to see all the enterprises up close.
School groups may want to bring a bag lunch and eat under the old hickory nut tree and breathe in the clean fresh country air.
Group rates: $5.00/person
Grades 2 and under: $3.00/child
Farm-produced meat, eggs, and vegetables are available year round in the farm store. Come out and enjoy some time in the country. Learn about alternative, safe methods of producing food.
Store Hours:
Mondays 1:00-6:00
Fridays 1:00-6:00
Other times by appointment only
The Post and Courier
Bringing it back home
The Lowcountry Weekly
Palmetto Poultry
Lowcountry Field Feast
A Family-Style Supper
The Connection: Independent Television
Episode Three: Organic, Local, and Sustainable Farming
Send us an e-mail with any questions you may have or leave us some feedback about the site and/or our farm. We'd love to hear from you.
Thanks,
Marc and Annie
