Meet Aliceson Bales | Farmer, speaker and encourager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aliceson Bales and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aliceson, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
I live on a family farm with my husband and son that’s been in my husband’s family since 1882. We decided fifteen years ago after much prayer, thought and contemplation to turn our family’s personal meat production into a business and now we offer the best products on the market to our customers – bar none. We raise grass fed AND grass finished beef, pastured poultry, pastured pork and pastured eggs for ourselves and our customers.
We feel very strongly that we are called to be the best stewards of the gifts we’ve been given and therefore strive to honor the sacrifice made by giving our animals the best and most natural life they can live while they are with us. It is our passion to raise animals correctly and in the most natural and healthy way which gives us the most delicious and nutritious products.
Commercial agriculture is a mess – to say the very least. Labels are misleading, marketing is confusing and the consumer is left to guess at what it all means! For example, it’s very difficult to know where your beef is from is you’re buying in a grocery store or restaurant. Did you know that at McDonald’s a simple cheeseburger contains beef from 100 different animals. Yes – 100 different animals! That’s insane. How can you be sure of health, sanitation, nutrition and safety with those numbers? At Bales Farms we harvest our animals in such a way that we can tell you the very animal from which your protein is produced. We are completely transparent in all our practices and procedures and welcome our customers to our farm regularly to see exactly what, why and how we do what we do.
The bottom line is this – our products are the most delicious. Yes. And they’re also the most nutritious, safest and most ethically-raised products on the market. You can trust us. We keep our word and we mean what we say. We stand behind everything we do. That matters. Especially in today’s confusing world.

What should our readers know about your business?
Bales Farms is where we live and work. This family farm has been in my husband, Barry’s family since 1882. We currently offer grass fed and grass finished beef, pastured pork, pastured poultry and pastured eggs to our customers.
I decided almost fifteen years ago to leave my job as a Physical Therapist and homeschool our son, Marshall. About that time Barry and I both felt a calling to be better stewards of the gifts God has given us – through prayer, contemplation and a lot of research. We realized our food system is a catastrophe! It was fifteen years ago and it continues to be today. We need nutritious, delicious, safe, local and humanely-raised food and that’s exactly what we offer at Bales Farms.
It matters what you eat and what you feed your family. Deciding what goes into your body is the most important decision you can make! And you make that decision three times each day! Your food can either be your medicine or your poison. Why not make it the best it can be, especially when it can also be even more delicious than what you can buy at a grocery store or in a restaurant??
What we do is not easy. Oftentimes doing what’s right isn’t what’s easiest. But it matters. Eating the most delicious and nutritious food is one of the best (if not the best) ways to love yourself and your people! Loving your people through service with food – slowing down and spending time at the dinner table with your family. . . . It’s important. It’s life giving. As a matter of fact, did you know the majority of teens in a recent survey responded that they wish their family ate together MORE often and that meal time is the time they feel most connected with their family? It’s over the family dinner table they feel they can open up more and be more vulnerable.
That’s important. Strengthening family bonds is the most important work I could be honored to do. Because strong families build strong communities and strong communities build a strong world. And we need strong communities and a strong world right now!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We live in a small town but it’s a beautiful town! If my best friend were visiting I would take her to locally-owned shops, especially The Greenehouse for all things kitchen as well as plants for outside and in, Reclaimed Inspired Goods for home and gifts and Azlinn Hope for the best wardrobe essentials. We would eat on the farm (of course) and then treat ourselves out at The Kitchen at Grace Meadows Farm and the locally-owned food trucks (The Wicked Pissah and Catalyst Coffee). We would of course spend time on the farm on the pond and taking hikes here as well as in the National Forest and the Smoky Mountains. We’re also just a stone’s throw from Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Asheville, NC.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Family farming/homesteading/regenerative agriculture movement is a strong, welcoming and encouraging group of people. No matter what they call themselves – and people within the group refer to themselves differently – we’re part of a group that considers each other not just friends but family. There have been so many people who pick up the phone when I call with a question or answer an email when I’m stuck. So many people have been so good and kind and gracious. Joel Salatin, Daniel Salatin, Rory Feek, Rebecca Lamb, Ann Scott – they’re all such kind and generous friends and mentors. I’m thankful for their wisdom and guidance.

Website: https://Www.balesfarmstn.com

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Youtube: @BalesFarms

Image Credits
Tina Wilson Photography