Do you do a CSA meat share?

[Anonymous]

Looking to hear some feedback on if you like it. We've done a vegetable share for about 6 years and have really learned how to cook based on what we get (not one of the ones where you can make swaps, request items). But for some reason, I'm having a hard time envisioning how it would work with a meat share. Do you use everything you get? How long does it store in the freezer? Do you find you never have what you actually need to make a recipe?

Looking at Lancaster Farms CSA, but open to other options. Also wondering how to verify if the price (which is very, very expensive) is really resulting in what I want - which is ethically treated animals. (Yes, I know I'm still eating them in the end and yes I know that many think that's not ethical)

We've cut way back on our meat consumption but with two teen boys, we aren't cutting it out completely. Is a meat share from a CSA a good alternative?

[Anonymous]

*Maryland Farmer who raises grassfed beef and pastured poultry.

I looked at the Lancaster farms summer meat share and yowza, that's pricey for what you get. I went through the calendar and the weight they give you per week and it worked out to be $36/lb and that may not even be for red meat - some weeks you may get poultry or pork (cheaper to produce, quicker turnaround). Hard pass from me, as a producer. If you can't see how the animal is raised, there is no guarantee that they are raised ethically.

If you have a big freezer, I think you would be better served finding a local farm and buying a quarter beef and half hog. When we sell our grass-fed steers on what's called a "beef share" we charge a flat fee per hanging weight of the carcass. Last year it was $5/lb after factoring in all expenses including butcher fees, and the steers usually hang at around 300lb per half after dry aging, and actual meat coming from that carcass is usually around 60%-70% of the hanging weight. So off that 300lb half, buyer will get about 195lbs of meat in various cuts (using a 65% ratio); steaks, roasts, brisket, burger, short ribs, soup bones, stew meat, etc. I sit down with buyers and help them decide how to get their beef cut, explaining how to cook roasts for the best result, etc.

So $1500 for 300lb half beef that yields 195lbs of meat = $7.69/lb actual cost per lb. That much meat should last a family of 4 a year, if not longer. Everything is vacuum sealed and flash frozen by our local USDA butcher.

Our poultry prices are about $4.50/lb for whole pastured meat chickens, and turkeys are $4.75/lb. We butcher chickens when they are between 4-5lbs, and turkeys between 15-18lbs. Feed costs are fluctuating right now so I think this year I will need to adjust prices up a little.

We don't raise pigs, but I do buy half a hog every year from a friend, and I think last year when we split one with a coworker it was something like $350 total which included processing and smoking/slicing of hams and bacon. I think we both got around 100lbs of chops, roasts, ribs, ham, bacon, and sausage.

[Anonymous]

Maryland Farmer, does that cow come ready to eat? Also, can you post a contact?

[Anonymous]

That's great info and sounds intriguing. We do have an extra freezer so could probably make this work in terms of storage.

Is there a way to tell how the animals are treated at a farm that does this? Or is it a good bet that they have this business model because they care about that sort of thing?

[Anonymous]

No. I just don’t want or need that much meat. Unless you are eating meat for multiple meals per day it doesn’t seem worth it. I would rather buy fresh meat as I need it than store a bunch of stuff in a deep freezer