Why Buy Your Meat Directly from a Farm?

Do you buy grass fed meat? I keep hearing about Butcher Box and I love the idea that people can get better quality meats at a better price. We get questions all the time about why we charge "so much" for our beef. In truth you can buy beef shares for $2.50 lb for conventional or mixed feed (combination of grass & grain). I was starting to wonder if our prices were too high so I looked into it.  I chose Butcher Box because it was the most comparable quality I could find.  Their basic package is $129 for 8-11 lbs of meat meaning your cost ranges from $16.13 - $11.70 lb. This is a great deal compared to grocery store or co-op prices for similar quality. I can see why my health conscious and eco-minded friends are excited about it. 

But how does it compare it to buying directly from a farm like ours? 

We sell our beef shares at $4.50 lb hanging weight (this is the weight after skull, hide, guts, and hooves have been removed) plus processing. Processing fees will vary depending on which cuts you choose.  It includes $100 per whole animal for onsite slaughter and butcher cutting fees. A butcher we frequently use charges $0.58 lb. Processed items such as ground beef, sausage, smoking, etc costs a little more at $0.75 lb. Combined, your cost will vary but we have seen an average of $6 - $6.50 lb. This includes filet mignon, t-bones, rib eye steaks or rib roasts, cuts that sell for over $20 lb for grass fed and organic!

Farms like ours are where the co-ops, grocery stores, and delivery services buy their meat, sort of. We also use no hormones, no chemicals, and no antibiotics. Ours is also grass-fed and grass-finished. Our animals are also humanely raised, but here is where we find the important difference. Most humanely raised animals end their lives by being loaded onto trailers and being hauled to a processing facility. Even when methods are implemented to make the process as stress-free as possible for the animal - it is what it is. There will always be some level of stress to the animal when it is done this way and, if the meat is to be sold as packages and cuts, it is the only legal option. This affects the quality and flavor of the meat as well as the subtle energy. This is why you won’t see packages of steaks or ground beef from our farm at your local co-op. This part is so very important to us. Our animals are humanely harvested - on site at our farm. They are never loaded onto a trailer or taken away from their home while they are alive. They are born here and they die here and we do everything we can to make that happen swiftly and painlessly - no stress hormones, no fear. 

I once had a teacher challenge any advocate of "humanely raised" meat to watch the slaughter and still argue that it is humane. I can honestly say that I have and I can.