Our Core Values
Our food is rooted in:
Regenerative and Organic Farming Principles
Our family farm, Oatman Flats Ranch, is the first Regenerative Organic Certified® farm in the American Southwest.Regenerative Organic Certified® agriculture means we go beyond “sustainable” and “organic.” We farm holistically with a mindset of regenerating natural resources rather than extracting them. We view ourselves as a part of the greater ecosystem, playing a crucial role in the development and protection of the land. We tailor our farming practices to actively improve soil and ecosystem health, promote animal welfare and elevate worker fairness. Healthy soil produces nutritious and flavorful food. We work hard to balance the ecosystem by farming completely chemical-free, minimizing environmental disturbance, using cover crops, consciously increasing biodiversity, and implementing rotational animal grazing. We are committed to being good stewards of the land so we can pass on to future generations an earth better than we found it.
Growing Heirloom Water-Conserving Crops
We grow heirloom non-GMO crops that save millions of gallons of water. Each package of our flour and bread mixes conserves approximately 700 gallons of water in the Gila River aquifer. We intentionally farm heirloom White Sonora wheat, wild mesquite beans, agave, and other crops because they are adapted to our hot and dry climate and use less than half the water required to grow alfalfa and cotton—the crops most commonly grown in our region. Water conservation is essential to the survival of farms and farmers in the American Southwest. Oatman Flats Ranch receives less than five inches of rain a year and is situated in an area with dry riverbeds and depleted groundwater. Our adherence to regenerative principles addresses the root causes of our region’s broken water cycle and carbon cycle in order to reverse the desertification of our land.
Health and Wellness, Nutrition and Flavor
We work with Mother Nature to make food products that prioritize health and wellness, nutrition and flavor. We subscribe to the philosophy that food is medicine. We make foods using Regenerative Organic Certified® heirloom ingredients, stone-milled whole grains and sourdough fermentation. We showcase the delicious and diverse flavors of the Sonoran Desert in all of our products. For example, our unique mesquite buttermilk pancakes combine wildcrafted mesquite beans with heirloom White Sonora wheat, which have grown together for centuries in our region of the Great Bend of the Gila River.
Family Farming and Community
We are dedicated to building a resilient, regenerative food system in our local community. We believe in the power and resilience of a local food system, where a community grows, processes, distributes and eats its own food. Oatman Farms is collaborating with others in our community to build a food system that champions family farmers and ranchers, local processors, chefs and consumers.
Radical Transparency
We believe there should be integrity, honesty and accountability within the food system, so we proudly include QR codes on our packaged goods that provide total transparency to our customers. Scan our packaging to see our farming practices, planting and harvesting dates, carbon footprint, transportation, cleaning, storage, milling, blending, packaging and distillation partners, manufacturing dates, farming and health certifications, photos, and more.
