Has anyone ever tried a meat CSA or buyer's club?

[montrose]

I'm starting to eat a lot more meat, and starting to wonder about quality of the meat, conditions under which the animals were raised, whether they were grass-fed vs. grain-fed, etc

It turns out that there are several meat Community Supported Agriculture/buyer's clubs in my area where you can get organic, grass fed meat, but you have to make an upfront commitment. Are there any benefits over buying at a Whole Foods-type store? I can tell you that I wandered into a Balducci's last week, looking for a 5lb brisket. It was $23/lb ! Seriously, that's more than my budget for the whole week. After that, the CSA pricing didn't seem so bad.

[kittensaver]

I purchase a half-side (1/4 cow) twice a year from a CSA rancher. He raises organic, free-range, grass-fed lowline beef cattle. He's about 150 miles from my house in some very lovely but isolated rolling hills in central CA. I have personally visited his ranch and seen his methods and his operations, so I know what I'm getting. I also have seen $23/lb and cannot afford it! Buying twice a year, I spend generally $700 to $800 and the total breaks down (on average) to between $7 and $8 per lb. That's DIRT CHEAP for a top quality product (it may seem like a lot for ground beef, but it's a screaming deal for prime rib and steaks and those other expensive cuts). This is how I bypass the shocking prices at Whole Foods but still feed my family well. (I also get 18 or so organic, free-range chickens from him twice a year.) He sells beef by the individual cuts, but it is more expensive. Between purchases, I stash away part of my grocery budget each month for my next big buy.

It all comes home already frozen and goes into a chest freezer in my garage. I have a small propane gas generator stashed away so that I don't lose my investment should the power fail. I'm also lucky to have a flexible family who eats meals based on what's still in the freezer.

So for me, it's totally worth it. Look up your local CSA vendors, visit them, do your homework. Good luck to you!

[skubikky]

I buy from a friend that raises angus here in Western NY. They advertise their farming practices as: Certified Organic, naturally grown, conventional, grass fed/pastured, Certified Naturally Grown, Organic (exempt).

They're pricing:
Whole Steer (approximately 500- 600lbs)...$3.00lb
Half Steer (approximately 250-300 lbs) .....$3.15lb

I've been buying beef and pork from her for a number of years now and find it to be very good.

[montrose]

Kittensaver, $8-10/lb is what I'm seeing here too. But I'm not seeing any of the farm websites offering to sell a half a side. I guess you need to work out a separate deal with the farm. It's usually monthly pickups with a six or twelve month commitment. Sometimes there's a fee for them to deliver to a more convenient urban spot like a church or a farmer's market.

[montrose]

find it to be very good

Skubikky, my dad is practically a pescatarian because he says the meat you find in the supermarket doesn't taste anything like (or have the right texture) what he had as boy. He and I have even did some taste tests (grass fed ribeye or chicken vs. regular) to prove it.

Is that $3/lb the final price after butchering? If so that's a really good deal.

[kittensaver]

montrose and skubikky - $8/lb is my half-side broken down into recognizable cuts (ground is packaged in 1 lb portions), vacuum sealed and frozen, which I consider to be a fabulous deal compared to WF's prices. So if you're getting it for $3/lb, color me outrageously jealous! As far as delivery is concerned, as long as I place an order 3-4 weeks in advance he will ship it to his stand at my local farmer's market (no charge because he's already at the market anyway). I buy privately from him and not through a club, though, so I don't know much about minimums or other types of buying commitments. So I think you just have to poke around your part of the world, get to know your supplier personally and ask lots of questions. Have you tried this website?:

www.localharvest.org

[MittenKitten]

I can't eat grocery store beef. It is just gross and tough.

I am lucky that my dad and his wife will travel to her daughter and SIL's ranch in NE to pick up beef (We live in MN). It is a family run corperation and we know exactly what we are getting and how the animals are treated. Also her SIL will personally pick out a great cow for us. For us it ended up being around $3-$4 a pound after packaging but totally worth it. It can get confusing for the pricing because you have to figure out if it is priced by hanging weight or packaged weight.

If we didn't do that I would buy directly from a farmer around here, visit the farm etc. Now I need to find someone who has pigs

[sheilaincali]

Man I am spoiled then. I have a friend that's a farmer. I buy eggs from him at $1.50/dozen. They are less than two days old by the time I get them. Whole chickens for $2/lb. Half a pig cost me around $2/lb. I am getting half of a half (1/4) cow this spring for around $2.50 per pound. I also get turkeys from him and could get duck if I wanted. All farm raised. I have been to his farm several times. They big it in to be processed at a professional meat place that's like 15 minutes from my house. I pay my friend a flat fee for the meat and then the butcher a per pound rate.
My stuff is butchered and packaged to my specifications- ie. I have all my pork chops done in quantities of 3 since there are three of us in my family.

Our local penny saver had a local butcher advertising 1/4 cows and 1/2 pigs and whole chickens for really good prices. Place has a really good reputation. Would have bought some if I hadn't already had half a dozen whole chickens and half a pig in my freezer.

[skubikky]

Feb 23, 2012 10:24:48 GMT -5 montrose said:

find it to be very good

Is that $3/lb the final price after butchering? If so that's a really good deal.

Yes, this is butchered, vacuum sealed or white paper wrapped and labelled. This is Western NY between Rochester and Buffalo, predominantly agricultural. The friend who owns this farm keeps about 100 - 150 head which is relatively small.

[skubikky]

Feb 23, 2012 10:38:56 GMT -5 kittensaver said:

montrose and skubikky - $8/lb is my half-side broken down into recognizable cuts (ground is packaged in 1 lb portions), vacuum sealed and frozen, which I consider to be a fabulous deal compared to WF's prices. So if you're getting it for $3/lb, color me outrageously jealous! As far as delivery is concerned, as long as I place an order 3-4 weeks in advance he will ship it to his stand at my local farmer's market (no charge because he's already at the market anyway).

This is a friend who lives a few miles from me. She just opened up a store(in the middle of nowhere out on Route 104) where she sells the meat and some other things. This little store is a bit closer to me. I stop there on the way to the farm to ride my horse.

[Apple]

My brother raises a few cows every year so I buy from him. They are grass fed mostly but then he finishes them with grains and it is the best beef ever (he has a great reputation in his area). My ex-bf raised grass-fed beef--just be aware that grass fed tastes "different"--some people really don't like it (I did). I have a coworker who bought a side of beef and he resold it because he just couldn't do the grass fed. So, if possible, try it before you get into any commitment, just in case.

[montrose]

just be aware that grass fed tastes "different"--some people really don't like it (I did).

I didn't notice a huge difference between a grass fed steak from Whole Foods and a regular steak from Giant. I made some burgers from local bison which according to the website is pastured but with access to hay, corn and soybeans. It was rich and intense, like super-beef. Sadly, my local grocery store doesn't carry it anymore. The only other brand I can find is nothing special and definitely not worth the extra money.

[dcmetrocrab]

Howdy neighbor. I'm going to guess by your username and mentions of Balducci's that you're in or near Bethesda or Rockville, MD.

I suggest going to farmer's markets, trying their wares, and then if you like their quality, asking about their beef programs. For bison, Gunpowder Bison is a relatively well known local provider. They are at many farmer's markets as well and prices are reasonable.

If you don't want to make a huge commitment, this beef program has a $300 20/lb trial pack with full/half/quarter steers going for around the prices mentioned in this thread. ($3-4/lb)

www.againstthewindranch.com/faq.html

Also FWIW, I find the quality/taste of conventional beef the absolute worst at Giant. I pretty much gave up on them. Harris Teeter is much better at a typically lower price point. I'm also been pleased with the NY strip at the new Fresh Market.

[montrose]

Howdy neighbor.

Yup! Good guess. I'm a little closer to the beltway than my user name implies, though. I'm not getting anything from your name though - pretty much everybody who uses the metro nowadays is crabby ;D

I suggest going to farmer's markets, trying their wares, and then if you like their quality, asking about their beef programs. For bison, Gunpowder Bison is a relatively well known local provider. They are at many farmer's markets as well and prices are reasonable.

Good to know. The bison I mentioned was from Gunpowder, but the store I went to doesn't stock it anymore. The only other place I've seen it is at MOM's. I hate to sound like a broken record but the price at MOM's was almost double the price at my original grocery store.

If you don't want to make a huge commitment, this beef program has a $300 20/lb trial pack with full/half/quarter steers going for around the prices mentioned in this thread. ($3-4/lb)

I'm leaning towards Polyface farm, because they have a pickup site in Kensington, but I'll check it out the site you mentioned.

[Deleted]

I can't eat grocery store beef. It is just gross and tough.

I have a hard time eating it too. My friends think I am a mixture of spoiled and crazy because I find it gross. Commissary beef is even worse IMHO. The ground beef tastes like they put some kind of weird filler in it.

In Michigan I was part of a CSA where I picked up a box of organic veggies every week. I also got grass fed beef and also eggs. Those boxes were amazing and it is so hard to go from that to going to stores that have yucky food.

Growing up my grandma had a big farm. We always had farm fresh food and it is just what I know and therefore I guess I am spoiled.