Where do you get your meat?

[bae]

This is the sort of relationship with my meat supplier I like to have. I have a few lambs destined for the grill soon, and just got this note about them:



From: Some_Farmer
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2012 11:04 AM
Subject: Subject: lamb ho! -- update

Hi Folks,

The lambs have been enjoying a great summer of pasture, supplemented with a little grain and minerals.

All that rain we had in July has had a positive effect on the grass staying good for a long time. But as we all know things are really starting to dry up.

The nutrients start to diminish as the grass has passed its peak. For that reason I have been feeding more grain to the lambs to compensate for the reduced protein in the grasses.

Also, the additional grain should start packing some meat onto those frames.

I expect that the lambs will be ready for our freezers sometime around mid to late October. So start planning $ and freezer space for that time.

If any of you have changed your mind about lamb let me know because I do have a list of people who are interested in any extra lambs.

Also, I have a fairly good idea what I have into these animals, but until I know what kind of average weight the carcasses will be I still cannot determine a price.

What I can tell you is based on a 70 pound hanging weight right now I would be looking at $3.93 per pound for my “break even” point. So....hopefully they will weigh out better than that!

Right now, I am estimating a price of about $4.20 - $4.50per pound. For those of you who paid for the animals in the beginning of the year your purchase price would be backed out of that.

Of course then add the butcher fees and cutting and wrapping.

The going rate on Lopez and San Juan right now is $5-$5.50 a pound with some as high as $7. So, I know we can do better than that!

I will keep you posted on a date when the animals finish out.

Thanks,

Some_Farmer


This same farmer also allows my daughter to raise her meat goats on her land, in exchange for labor around the barns. The farmer has quite a good deal going to get lots of strong-backed 4H teenagers doing work around the place :-) (For Redfox: this is on Shaw)

[catherine]

Great letter!

Since I "barely" eat meat, I get it from two places:

Beef, from Charlie in Hopewell. He showed me around his farm, and introduced me to his cows, whom he names. (Personally, I would find it hard to slaughter a creature I had named, but I know those cows were as happy as they could be at his farm).

Poultry, from a local poultry farm, a relatively small scale operation that sells somewhat "exotic" birds like quail and poussin mostly to high-end restaurants and regular chickens and turkeys as well. In fact, I just made tacos last night with ground turkey from there. I've also toured their place and seen exactly how "free range" the animals are.

[razz]

Our area is unique in having a number of family-owned butcher shops using locally grown grass-fed beef and pork. Poultry is bought at the grocery store as the local supplier became fully wholesale once the family retired and sold the business.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Chicken: from the farmer's market, pasture raised chickens
Meat and Fish: mostly Whole Paycheck (buy grassfed/sustainable)

[goldensmom]

Although we don't eat a lot of red meat, we raise beef cattle so eat our own beef fed our own hay and corn, no growth hormones. We raise a few chickens for eggs then butcher some for meat, free range. We raised goats a few years back but named them and couldn't come to eating something we called by name.

[ctg492]

I do not eat meat/poultry/fish, having said that I have a hubby who must have one of those on his plate or he thinks something is wrong. I get it from the local meat market that gets it supply from local farmers. I started this two years ago.

[SteveinMN]

Most of our meat and poultry comes from our food co-op, with occasional forays into the local Farmer's Market. We try very hard to buy from people who run small sustainable local operations because that is important to us.

The fish comes from all over -- canned from the co-op, canned or frozen from the local grocery or ALDI, or fresh from the fish store here that supplies all the restaurants in town. Living inland as we do, fresh fish is harder to come by and more expensive, especially if you choose to avoid the endangered species. I also don't like to buy seafood that was caught near or processed in China, which lets out a lot of abundant salt-water seafood.

[Jilly]

Gross, I know, but mine comes from two discount grocery stores. The lambs sound lovely, though. I think that it wonderful to have that intimate of a relationship with your food.

[awakenedsoul]

I buy my grass fed beef through our local organic co op. Sometimes I buy it at the Farmers Market, but I noticed it's $6.00 for a small 3/4 of a pound packet. (Probably because the price of gas.) The cop op charges $6.00 a pound. I use two pounds a month. I buy a few free range chickens a year through the co op, too. I've been eating less of both, and stretching what I have.

[iris lily]

From my fathers in law's farm. He raises the pigs and cows and has only the number of animals that he intends to give to his family members.

[Mrs-M]

My husband is a hunter, so aside from supermarket purchases, we subsidize with wild. Occasionally, we'll seek-out a farmer who specializes in raising wild beef/pork/etc, and spoil ourselves.

[frugal-one]

Just bought a split side of beef from a friend. She said it was jersey meat... no antibiotics or hormone injections... I thought it was very reasonable at $1.50/pound hanging weight.

[cattledog]

I buy all my meat from the neighborhood butcher shop. I buy about 50 lbs. at a time and the butcher prepares the box it for me. The quality is good and there's a lot of variety (lean ground beef, steaks, beef roasts, ham, pork chops, housemade sausages, thick cut bacon, etc.). It averaged about $ 3.75/lb.

[Rogar]

I don't eat much meat, but have found a huge difference in flavor and texture between mega-grocery store type chicken and Whole Foods type chicken. I will only buy the Whole Foods type chicken these days. I buy small amounts of pork and beef for chili, stews, and the like and will usually buy this from the local mega chain grocery unless I can hit a sale at the Whole Foods type places

[AnneM]

I buy beef from our CSA farm, and pork from another farm down the road from there. Chicken is from a gal in the next town over. My husband won't eat fish, so I only get to eat it when we go out.

[Blackdog Lin]

Once again, I am politically incorrect.

Our meat all comes from the local grocery store - which admittedly is a pretty good little small-town grocery store, but it is what it is. They have the best meat in the area, for a grocery store, but the meat isn't local, or antibiotic-free (though they do advertise their chicken as hormone-free), or free-range or anything.....it's just good meat (much fresher and better than Wal-Mart and the other grocery stores in the area), and they run weekly specials and we can stock up on sales and keep the freezer full and save money......but it isn't the politically-correct meat that y'all are buying.

The nearest grass-fed organic beef (from their ads in our area newspaper) is 40 miles away; and I've never seen anything about ANY similar pork or poultry offerings. It just isn't the thing in our neck of the woods.

[IshbelRobertson]

From my local butcher, who gets all his meat (plus eggs) from his family farms All organic).