The PMC is currently working on creating a kind of community meat CSA program in which the PMC acts as a matchmaker between farmers who want to sell their meat directly to consumers and consumers who want to buy said meat directly from farmers. Our hope is that consumers will be able to come to the PMC website to read about our trusted farmers, and to sign up for shares of meat from whichever farms they choose. Until we’ve figured out the logistics of this (and there are many) and found enough farms to take part in the project, we are happy to give advice to people who wish to find a good farm to buy directly from. We will give you farm recommendations as well as tips on how to go about this kind of purchasing agreement.
Before anyone ask us for advice and help, we recommend reading THIS. We also recommend forking over $1 to read THIS.
Hey Camas,
Check out olympialocalfoods.com. They partner with several farms around the area and provide a resource for people to order directly from them. You place your order a week in advance then schedule a pick-up day to ensure that what you’re getting is as fresh as possible.
It works out perfectly for my wife and I because committing to a CSA (veggies or meat) isn’t always practical due to us travelling a lot during the summer. While a full-out meat CSA share is great, it tends to be really pricey for a single household (Helsing Junction Farm is offering one this year for around $800). Olympia Local Foods allows us to choose from high-quality local sourced food direct from the farmers as a reasonable price.
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My family purchased a half share of beef a few years back (cannot recall where, was not the purchaser that arranged it), and the meat had a sort of odd, kind of gamey flavor, mostly concentrated in the fatty portions of the meat. It was not super terrible, it just wasn’t tasty. Is this possible in grass fed beef that isn’t grain finished? Or could there have some problem with the aging process? By the way, we have a lot of game in our freezer right now, but I think we would be interested in purchasing a share in the future. If you ever organize an email list on the subject please feel free to add our address.
I’ve had several people ask me a similar question. The problem is that since I can’t taste what you are talking about, it’s hard to say. It’s true that grass fed beef has a very different flavor than grain fed. Some people describe it as gamey. But if you are experiencing an off flavor in just certain portions of one cut or muscle, that likely isn’t due to what the animal was fed. It’s likely due to poor processing: bruising that may have occurred before slaughter, or, potentially a poor aging environment that allowed some form of rot. But it doesn’t sound like the flavor was so off that it could be attributed to rot. Can you describe the flavor more specifically?
The Beef and Pork Whole Animal Buying Guide is available for free in .pdf at:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM2076.pdf
I just visited Deck Family Farm in Junction City, about 2 hours south of Portland, and was very impressed by their farm and animal care. Their farmland is certified organic and most of their meat is also certified organic. They are also in the process of getting their Animal Welfare Approved certificate and practice intensive rotational grazing. Anyways, they are looking for new sales venues and have a wide variety of meats (beef, lamb, goat, pork, chicken, turkey, duck), so they could be a good fit as a year-round supplier for your meat CSA. I’m sure you know how to contact them, but in case you don’t, their website is http://www.deckfamilyfarm.com. I don’t work for them, but I’m merely a farm cheerleader….
Rebecca, I have been to Deck Family Farm and love what they do. Hope to work with them in 2012.
I’m very interested in Berkshire or Wattle hogs for sale. I’m also interested in the hog butchering classes.
You should check out Heritage Farms Nw for Red Wattle hogs. We’ll have more hog butchering classes starting January!
Go to http://eatwild.com and choose shop for local grassfed. I have had a really good experience buying from Bald Hill Farm. They delivered to my doorstep a cut and wrapped whole lamb for a total cost of about $5.50 a pound. It would be nice to have an exchange so we could get matched up with people that would like to buy half an animal at a time.
Working on it slowly!
I would be very interested in this idea of match making farmers and consumers. I know several of my friends out love to buy local and ethically raised meat but do not have a clue on how to make that happen. I believe a community approach that enable people to by shares of live animals along with learning the process of slaughter and butcher is what people are looking for, to feel a little more connected to the meat on their table. Banning factory farming.