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[quote=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.

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