This is what we've heard from folks.
"I don't want to buy a whole or 1/2 a steer or 1/2 a pig or a whole lamb, etc. "
"I don't have a lot of freezer space."
"I'm not well versed in meat cuts-- I really want to learn the different cuts of a steer. My grandma/mother sure knew how to use all the different cuts but I guess I never learned."
So, if you want to buy into this fantastic local grass fed movement without buying a freezer and learning about all the cuts of a steer, a lamb, along with pig and chicken, then this is the offer for YOU!
The meat you will be buying is grass fed and/or pastured. Great for you as well. If you want the details on why it's better for you I can forward you links. The cattle take 2.5 years to grow to maturity while a corn fed cow is about a year.
The details:
$450 offer
what you get :
10 lbs of meat per month @ $7.50/lb for 6 months (just so you know- we always round down- so you'll likely get 12+ lbs but you get at Least 10lbs)
Beef, pork, lamb, chicken -- different cuts of meat each month - each month you'll get some prime cuts, a middle range cut and some lower range stuff.
$840 offer
20 lbs of meat per month @$7/lb for 6 months
Same deal as above but more higher end cuts as well.
We are officially SOLD OUT!! (yeah!) for Vegetable CSA shares. The only way anyone new will get in is if they beg, plead and one of our current CSA members pleads the case for them. Or if you are interested in a total working share. The job would be 3-5 hrs per week and you would harvest and prepare the shares for pickup. In turn for your efforts, you'd pick your own share and take it home. The time to pick is early am - 7am-10am on Tuesday/Thursday. If you know anyone who has this type of flexibility and might be interested-- send us an email.
6 comments:
I like what you are doing, we have a farm in Virginia and just raising for our own use other than selling some eggs. Things could be so much easier if the government get out of the way just a little bit.
Out of the way? The government is making it possible for us to have this farm. NRCS cost sharing for spring development and water troughs, well digging, water lines and hydrants, fencing, wetland protection, forest and stream buffers, etc. Ive had probably more than 75% of the costs for starting this farm from scratch cost shared by the state and federal governments. The government is encouraging sustainable and organic farming with a ton of money for new and beginning farmers. Government regulations help ensure that unscrupulous businesses are shut down.
Yes, it would be nice if the government let us have cow shares for raw milk here in Maryland. I think we are working towards that end.
Just this past week the state government agreed to let us sell poultry at farmers markets under the USDA exemption for small farmers. That means we will get one class on food safety and how to process poultry and store it safely, and then we can sell to anyone without any inspections on the farm.
I have had very good results working with state and local governments. Im glad they are there for us.
Plus, the government is helping me with pasture renovation, help with learning how to rotationally graze my animals, hands on here at the farm...for free! And they have partnered with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and are actually PAYING me to get their help.
Glad the government is there for me. Its been fantastic.
A lot of farmers we know did all the startup costs themselves and had no idea of the programs available and how to talk to their local Ag extension.
We are blessed to have the Ag extension in our backyard and the folks who work there are farmers themselves and wonderful people. Their goal is to find farmers and to give away all the money they are allocated each year.
Fun job- eh? The latest program out there is a cost share program for cold frames. Now you do have to put up some of the money yourself (around $3000 for a $8000 cold frame) but the idea is to get more farmers to use cold frames and extend the local growing season and feed our local folks for a longer period of time.
We really want to do this but we just need to figure out how we'll pay for the cold frame now. We're thinking of selling winter CSA shares (an idea from one of our summer CSA members).
What my husband and I have found over the past 6 months is that if you really want to get something changed-- you have to lobby in the right way and go talk to your congressperson. If you can tie your initiative to jobs and economic value for your county/state- you'll have a good shot in this economy. I was always a little down on our government and politics as well but if you have a good solid idea-- it has a great possibility to get resolved.
My husband along with 2 other farmers (Whitmore Farm gets the credit for all the hard work and leadership) were able to get that change to sell chickens and rabbits at the farmers market. It has been incredible to watch them work from the sidelines. All 3 are just normal everyday farmers who decided to go fight for a cause they believed in. Yeah to Will, Julie and my husband Mike.
I'm soooo ready for raw milk in Maryland...or I have to figure out how to milk my beef cows! But we have to have a clear solid argument that is based on jobs and economics. My neighbors and lots of other folks we know go to PA to buy raw milk. Ugh... we need those dollars in MD!
Ah--- all it takes is one comment to get my husband and I on a roll. Wanna come over for dinner? It'll be a long night! Farming has changed our somewhat dull suburban lives into a roller coaster life. ups and down every single day. And talk about the debate- every single farmer has an idea or opinion! We love it!!!
I'm not saying I think the government is all peaches and cream--- but there are some good folks out there with government jobs who really want to do the right thing.
I so wish you guys were closer! We belong to a veggie CSA and we also grow our own food but meat CSA's are hard to find near Aberdeen MD.
Awesome what you all are doing!
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