Rebel Mid-Summer Report: Real Work, Real Growth

This season has been a big shift from the early days. For the first few years, our family did it all. We were raising animals, packing orders, running to farmers markets, scheduling slaughter dates, managing inventory, and handling all the marketing. All of it.

But now, thanks to a rockstar team, that’s changing.

On the Pastures:

Jules is in her second summer with us and has taken over most of the day-to-day chores on the farm. Our fulfillment crew is small, gritty, and efficient. That shift has allowed Justin and I to focus more time on growing Rebel and getting better food to more families.

But here's the real part:

Farming isn’t glamorous. It’s not always picture-perfect or fast-paced. Most days it’s just repetitive, hard, and dirty. That’s what real stewardship looks like—showing up every day, doing the work, and giving a damn about leaving the land better than we found it. That’s the kind of care that builds true regeneration.

To give you an example… the title picture is of me showing off bale unrolling on our pastures. So exciting, right? NOT for most people. But it's an important regenerative technique we use to slow down our cattle during this season of drought. And we won't experience the full positive impact until next year on our fields (that’s a long time to reap a reward).

So while the farm moves at the sweet speed of nature regenerating... behind the scenes we’re moving like a bull on a cow in heat.

Here are some of our projects over the past 90 days:

👉 New Beef Partners

Beef is still our hardest product to keep in stock. Not just any beef—100% grassfed and finished, regeneratively raised, and actually from the U.S.—is ridiculously hard to find. If ya'll truly understood what we go through as producers and partners to keep this in stock, you'd give us a freakin' gold metal. 🏅

So when we find a partner farm that aligns with our values? That’s a win. But the work doesn’t stop there. We have to coordinate harvest schedules (sometimes 2–3 years in advance), book our processor, and make sure we have freezer space ready. Lauren and Justin have built out a spreadsheet beast to track it all. So these partnerships start YEARS before their meat even reaches your doorstep.

Unlike corporate private-equity-owned meat shipping companies—we’re farmers too. So we get the risks, the sweat, the grit it takes to raise animals this way. And we bring that understanding into every partnership.

👉 A Bull in the Herd

This year we took a big leap and purchased a bull for our farm.

In the past, we’ve borrowed one (and we’re grateful for the partners who made that possible), but it meant working on someone else’s timeline. Now that our herd is big enough to support the investment, we finally have the freedom and resilience to decide when breeding happens. That means we can turn him out in the summer and welcome calves at the ideal time in the spring.

And this guy? He’s exactly what we were looking for—docile, bred for smaller calves, grassfed genetics, short and handsome, and hopefully very fertile. We’ll find out in October when we do preg checks 🤞.

👉 Closer Cold Storage

This one’s been huge—especially in the summer heat. Having cold storage closer to RFC means we can restock quickly, save money on transport, and avoid stress. It’s a small move with a big impact.

👉 A Whole New Website

Whew 😅. This one took everything we had for a few weeks. Every project paused while we knocked it out. But we’re hearing great feedback already—thank you! If you see anything funky or have suggestions, let us know! We built this update to make your shopping experience easier, faster, and more seamless.

Why It All Matters

Rebel isn’t backed by investors or cushioned by big budgets. There’s no VC firm writing checks. Justin and I are building this business out of our own pockets, with our own hands, and with the help of a small but mighty team who shows up every day and gives a damn.

We’re growing the old-school way:
👉 One relationship at a time
👉 One customer at a time
👉 One honest, damn-good product at a time

We will always choose to run out of inventory instead of compromise our standards. We’re not here for shortcuts. We’re here for real change.

Thank you for being a part of this.
Your support is making a healthier, more transparent food system possible.

Because we give a damn,

Jenni Bajema
Rebel Pastures, August 2025