tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838004838772936244.post6046770215793066739..comments2023-05-13T09:49:31.999-05:00Comments on 14 Acres: Sirloin tipsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838004838772936244.post-73382665249191153492010-06-21T10:39:17.672-05:002010-06-21T10:39:17.672-05:00I have been throwing out a lot of meat from my fre...I have been throwing out a lot of meat from my freezer a couple of packages at a time. When I fry the ground beef, it has a smell and then you put it with anything and you can still smell it. No one wants to eat it... A horrible waste of money, but we can't get it past the nose. I thought I could hide it in chili or sloppy jo, but nope, so out it goes.Karen Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18189370281390432351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838004838772936244.post-9413157512090573912010-06-20T16:36:29.268-05:002010-06-20T16:36:29.268-05:00Jenny, hi! Just wanted to show you another way to...Jenny, hi! Just wanted to show you another way to buy it, which is called a "share"... basically the beef is divvied up smaller than quarters. A share is roughly 45-50 lbs and I paid 318.00 for it here in VA (we are a coastal higher priced cost of living area). This works out to roughly 6.25 - 7.00/lb which is pricey but it reflects the smaller amount, it's always cheaper to buy larger. I did a post on it last year and photographed everything I got in the share to get an idea of what a share box entails, enjoy!<br /><br />http://gardennow-thinklater.blogspot.com/search?q=beef+share<br /><br />ThistleDog, thanks! It's farmers like you that will ensure our family never makes any rash decisions like becoming a vegan! Good quality meat and a relationship with where our meat comes from will ensure longtime loyal customers for you that will tell all their friends. Good Luck to you and your family.Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06916896512933101955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838004838772936244.post-11140942330664771562010-06-20T15:29:21.291-05:002010-06-20T15:29:21.291-05:00This was a very interesting post for me, as I'...This was a very interesting post for me, as I'm reading it from the point of view of the farmer (in the near future) selling my grass-fed beef to a customer just like you.<br /><br />Taste is everything. Developing consistently high-quality meat from a small herd with grass-based genetics that will be marketed directly to discriminating consumers will be my primary goal. And based on your experience, eliciting feedback from my customers is clearly a high priority.<br /><br />I don't want to be the farmer selling off-tasting meat and losing customers because of it.Thistledoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03685461283886507370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838004838772936244.post-34412682175667804402010-06-20T13:56:38.578-05:002010-06-20T13:56:38.578-05:00Hey Mama Pea! Yeah, maybe a good beef farmer isn&...Hey Mama Pea! Yeah, maybe a good beef farmer isn't always a good pork farmer. I think it's pretty cool that what an animals eats can have such an impact on how the meat tastes. Seems obvious, but most people don't think about it.<br /><br />Hi Erin -- Glad to hear you have been successful with local farms. How cool that your kids thank the animals they eat, they will always understand that food comes from a farm and not the grocery store.<br /><br />Howdy Jenny -- Yeah, the most economical way to go is by quarters, halves or wholes. It's hard to do comparison shopping, since some farms include the processing fees in their prices and some do not. <br /><br />Moonstone Farm, the grass-fed beef farm I mentioned in my blog, charges $2.25/lb hanging weight and the processing fee is rougly $90. Their hanging weights are about 200 lbs, so you pay $450 in meat plus $90 processing which is $540. You receive about 125 lbs of finished meat, which works out to be $4.32/lb. Expensive for ground beef, but cheap for steaks and roasts.<br /><br />If you live near a city or a non-agricultural area I would imagine the prices would be higher. If it's possible to do so, buy a 'sample' of the farm's meat (a pound of hamburger or a steak) to see if you like the flavor. That way you're not too heavily invested in case you don't enjoy it. Hope this helps!Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09941280453570504094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838004838772936244.post-45429447845359476252010-06-19T22:29:24.082-05:002010-06-19T22:29:24.082-05:00We have a local cattle ranch down the road that ra...We have a local cattle ranch down the road that raises grass-fed Texas long-horn steers (unusual for WV) and their meat tastes great, but unfortunately, they ONLY sell ground beef and at 5 bucks a pound, expensive. Found another place that sells grass-fed beef, and they butcher it themselves and sell by the cut, which is nice, but I think it's a little pricey-- 25 pounds can cost nearly 100 dollars, especially now that we have 4 kids and the husband only works part-time.<br /><br />A friend wants us to go "halfsies" on a cow next fall, but we wondered about the price.. Any idea what we can expect to pay for half a cow?? I realize different regions may cost different, but I'd still appreciate your input.jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08772053505930801670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838004838772936244.post-74591772543807088582010-06-19T18:14:30.664-05:002010-06-19T18:14:30.664-05:00Great post! We had to get used to knowing what to...Great post! We had to get used to knowing what to ask for as well. We got lucky in that the first humane farm we went to, the pork was off the charts good, so we went back and waited for a beef share - again, incredible! I love how he sends an email out letting us know when "our cow" share has reached weight and is headed to the abbatoir, although I still have alot to learn about the different cuts, I still need to get better at that! I also kind of like that we really have to wait for the beef to reach butcher weight and they can't tell you when it will be, that means they aren't being stuffed full of grain on a timetable, and instead are busy pasturing and socializing with their bovine friends, having a good time until the big day! My kids always thank the animal we are eating at dinner, and I love that, taking them to the farm to pick up the meat was the best thing I ever did food wise for them. The farmer's daughters (there's 11 LOL) - think "Duggars", showed the kids all around!Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06916896512933101955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838004838772936244.post-37870966189056297892010-06-19T17:18:21.744-05:002010-06-19T17:18:21.744-05:00Very informative post! There sure are more "...Very informative post! There sure are more "underlying" things to think about than what's on the surface.<br /><br />We get our beef from a farmer and it's wonderful. But we think his pork has the strangest flavor. Maybe you can't expect to get all different kinds of meat from the same farmer?Mama Peahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03649357184167949247noreply@blogger.com