Just wanted to let you all know that I have been looking for a local producer of meats which are raised without antibiotics and other chemicals and found one at the local farmers' market here in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He raises pigs and has his pork pre-packaged in vacuum sealed plastic packages and it is frozen when he brings it to the farmers' market. He brings big coolers and sells it right out of the cooler. I bought some assorted porkchops at $3.79 a lb and I was very happy with the flavor. I am going to go to him for all of my pork from now on. He also carries sausage links and block sausage which we will also be buying. I suspect that he has the other cuts as well that we could buy special order. I went back the next week (yesterday) to get some more and he was sold out of the pork chops. I got his business card and intend to go to his farm if I have to and fill up my freezer. I think because he is reasonable and raising his animals all natural, he is doing a great business. Another vendor there is charging $8.00/lb for pork chops and $22/lb for veal. I think he is going a bit overboard in getting greedy since he obviously doesn't have a middle man. I don't know if he is selling well or not because I didn't buy from him and didn't pay attention. I hope to find a farmer with a good price on beef as well and I will support him also. I love the idea of buying direct from the producer and avoiding all of the chemicals as well. Just wanted to tell you guys that are raising pork in case you haven't tried selling it at your local farmers market.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), July 15, 2001

Answers

Would that guy selling the pork up there also be selling free range chicken and beef as well? i got to think for minute about his name, Was it Pierce or something like that Sunny brooke farms, near tappanaock?

Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), July 15, 2001.

The guy with the overpriced meat is Sunnyside farm. The guy who I bought the pork chops from is named Weaver.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), July 16, 2001.

I usally butcher out my own pork for about $.85 a pound. The other day I was in a super market with my wife and chicken cost more that beef, skinned breasts were $4.69# I can skin a chinken pretty fast for $2.00 #

-- hendo (redgate@echoweb.net), July 16, 2001.

WOW 3.79 a pound .Thats worth a road trip !!!! I sell hole hogs raised the same way for .85-1.00 hanging weight plus cost of butchering which is .25 a pound. I would die if I could get that much .Just put a bull in the freezer butchering cost 238.00 which included hamburger patties and beef sticks.Not bad for a freezer full !Check into buying a whole or half a hog or cow , should be much cheaper.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), July 16, 2001.

Patty, I do plan to buy from him in quantity because I have two freezers but I bought the first package to taste the meat to see if I was going to be satisfied with the quality first. I once bought a quarter beef from a friend's parents and it was the worst beef I ever tasted. Obviously, they weren't feeding it right. I didn't want to get burned again. But I was really more interested in posting this for those homesteaders that are producing meat who may not have realized that they could make out really well if they wanted to commit the time to show up at the farmers' market because a lot of consumers don't have the freezer space and are perfectly happy to buy it in small quantities. $3.79 is what the assorted pork shops are going for in our local grocery stores (not the organic ones) so people don't balk at the price at all. And I suspect once they get it home and try it, they are hooked. I suspect that some farmers don't think about selling it directly to the consumer in small quantities either because they don't want to be bothered with the selling aspects but I think if they did the math they would be willing to sacrifice their Saturday mornings in the summer to make that kind of money for what they are raising. I know there are always postings on this forum of people asking how they can raise money on the homestead and this just sounded like one heck of a deal for the homesteader. There is no preset commitment they have to make. They just show up with what they have to sell and stay until it is sold. Obviously, it is better if they come every week because then they can get clientele and repeat business. I know that I am telling all of my friends about this guy because I like to help the small farmer. Our farmers' market doesn't go through the winter so they just have to do it for the summer. Maybe a teenager in the family could manage the booth. This farmer has his teenage daughter working with him in the booth and he also has a Coleman stove set up at his booth and he is giving out samples of cooked sausage. I highly recommend that any of you out there raising meat give this option serious consideration. It may surprise you to find you can do the same thing in your area.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), July 16, 2001.

One of our good friends at the markets we do sells pork, chicken, turkey, ducks and beef. He has an old frozen pizza freezer box mounted on a trailer which he keeps his inventory in. The regulations here must be a bit stricter because we'd never get away with selling meat out of coolers. My recollection is that it cannot ever get above 0 degrees F and still be saleable. Anything in a cooler would surely get above this rather quickly. The plus side is is that he does a very good business and has been able to keep his farm and stay at home and raise his kids. His wife works off the farm for insurance availablity reasons. Check your local regs. and go for it.

-- ray s. (mmoetc@yahoo.com), July 16, 2001.

Ray, you know, now that you mention it, he had a box truck with him on site so it is probably some kind of freezer truck and he is just putting the stuff into the coolers as it gets low. The stuff was definitely frozen when I picked it up out of the cooler with no melting whatsoever so he probably does have a freezer truck. I'll pay attention next week when I go so I can pass the info along.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), July 16, 2001.

Colleen, I have no doubt the meat was good a frozen solid. I only mentioned it to make people aware that they should check the local regs. before they load up the coolers and head to market. The 0 degree stipulation also applies if I wish to sell meat from a frezer at my farm. If the inspector walks up, opens the freezer and puts his thermometer in it, it had better register 0 or below. We direct market a number of pigs each year as wholes or halves and get around the regs by selling the live animal and offering delivery of said animal to and from the processor. That way, we never own the processed meat.

-- ray s (mmoetc@yahoo.com), July 16, 2001.

This is a wonderful idea. But our ever-watchful USDA wants us to also have the meat processed at a USDA certified butcher (which will have a USDA meat inspector present), to apply for and receive a license (just a certificate and label approval, actually), and to do so BEFORE we sell a single ounce of meat. It is NOT expensive to do this, but it IS time-consuming....it can take months to get your "label" (i.e. Jones Friendly Farm Meats -- contains pork) back from the bureaucrats. If you want to sell meat, check with your local University Extension office for the particulars. And, you will need that 0-degree freezer, too!

-- Anita Evangelista (evangel@atlascomm.net), July 17, 2001.

All the above is correct .I have attended some seminars on such things .You also have to remember that if you are selling packaged meat you should carry insurance .If someone where to get sick they could and today probally would sue you .Not all states or areas of states will comand such prices .I know it would not here .It is easier for me to sell the live animal or parts of {1/2 or 1/4 } than to have the meat packaged and sold seperatly .Check with your local codes please .Just to be on the safe side.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), July 17, 2001.

I wonder what the regs are here in Canada because it might be worth a try at farmers markets in the fall after butchering time to sell a few chops etc for some Christmas money.Must look into the whole thing. Thanks for the tips.

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), July 17, 2001.

Basically there are three levels of inspection:

Local processor. They are inspected by the state. All wrapped meat must be marked, "Not for Resale". The requirements are less than the following.

State approved facility. Much more stringent requirements and the meat can only be sold wholesale or retail within that state. USDA is not involved with either this or the above to my knowledge.

Federal approved facility. Higher requirments than at a state-only approved facility, but meat may be sold wholesale or retail for interstate commerce.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), July 21, 2001.