Our Protocol

Our family of producers uses the U.S. Wellness Meats production protocol to ensure that the quality of the product you receive is consistent time after time. Here is what you can count on.

Our animals' health and your health are protected in the following ways:

• No hormones are added to our cattle, pork, dairy, lamb, and poultry.
This is a practice often used in beef production to speed up growth and weight gain. Faster gain equals shorter time from birth to finishing. This means more money for the producer. We won't do this! We will not sacrifice your health for money.

• No feed grade antibiotics.
Low-level antibiotics are routinely administered to help manage highly concentrated, grain diets in commercial feedlots. Grass diets eliminate this concern and risk.

• None of U.S. Wellness meats are irradiated.


• No animal by-products used in any of the U.S. Wellness animal growing programs.
Rest assured on this issue!

• No feed grains fed to the cattle, dairy, or lamb.
Grassland Beef cattle free range on a pasture salad bar containing a mix of cool season grasses, Summer annual grasses, clovers and native warm season grasses. Beef animals in the Midwest must go through one Winter season and are fed hay, starch free plant protein, and stockpiled pasture grasses for approximately 90 days in mid Winter.

• Grain policy for pigs and chickens.
Chickens require grain for growth. The U.S. Wellness chicken cooperator is very active in the South Carolina organic association and produces organic grains on his farm for the chickens. Pasture raised poultry simply means the chickens are raised in an outside environment and allowed to run around with grass under foot. Being outside on pasture they have access to legumes, grasses and insects which adds zest to their diet and flavor to the meat. Not to mention plenty of exercise that equates to better formed muscles and excellent meat texture.

The pigs lead a similar life with feet on dirt every day versus confined to tight quarters in an industrial confined setting on concrete. Hence the ‘raised humanely certification’ USDA has awarded the U.S. Wellness pork producers. Plus, breeds being raised are old line genetics with more natural flavor and do not require pumping the pork to enhance flavor as is commonly practiced in modern pork production. The pigs we are raising do consume grain as their stomachs are the same as humans and unable to effectively digest forage as do the beef, lamb and dairy animals we sell.

• Honey production protocol and history
Petit Jean Honey is a family business owned by Ed Martsolf. In 1995, Ed and his family bought an apiary from a couple that decided to move into another chapter in their life. Excited about the new chapter they were starting, the Martsolf family began Petit Jean Honey. Honey sales started by selling honey by the barrel. Soon it was decided that honey should be sold in smaller quantities. The honey bears and jars were then sold on a self-serve stand outside the Martsolf home. "Take the Honey, and Leave Your Money" is the sign you will read when you visit us on the beautiful Petit Jean Mountain in Central Arkansas.

Petit Jean Honey has grown and developed from selling honey to value-added honey products. With the help of a local savvy businessman and friend, Ed and his daughter, Rachel, started mixing and blending honey and organic flavorings to come up with our popular Flavored Honeys. They have since then taken old family recipes and the ingenious creativity of a culinary friend to create the rest of our current product line.

Petit Jean Honey raises their bees throughout Conway County in Central Arkansas with our hives on neighboring farms along the Arkansas River. Our bees mainly feed on clover and wildflower.