Meat price restructuring is now complete! Enjoy the lower price!

As promised a short while back, we have drastically reduced our meat prices. DRASTICALLY! There are two reasons why this was possible.

First, we went through our yearly review of profit center cost and production, and discovered that  changes we had made to purchasing feed allowed an across the board 35% reduction in pork selling price.  yes.. 35%!

But wait.. there's more.. we have now completed our transformation from the current meat pricing model of "price cuts for what they can sell for" to a more farm style "price the meat based on what it costs to produce".  Basically we stopped comparing price to "everyone else" and instead based our price on our own farm,  and figured out what it takes to make this profitable. period.  Where most meat sales is based on the cut individually, we now base our totally on the cost to produce the overall animal that the cut comes from.



For instance, we have only 3 price levels:

1. Farm direct in bulk - $5 per lb (hanging weight)
 This is the price for buying a whole animal direct from the farm, in bulk, and paying separately for the butchering. This is the least expensive way to do it if you can handle the quantity of meat all at once.  Traditionally called "farm kill", it is where you have total control over what you get, save the most, and end up with a lot of meat all at once.

2. Plentiful USDA packaged cuts - $8 per lb (individual packages)
This price is for cuts that come "plentiful" like ground pork, chops, etc. Cuts where the cut produces much quantity.

3. Limited USDA cuts  - $10 per lb (individual packages)
This price is for cuts that come in very limited quantities, like ribs. There is only 2 full racks of ribs per animal. Due to the smaller quantity, the price needs to be slightly higher to cover expenses that cant be spread out across many buyers.

To make life even easier, we sell meats in approximate weights, not exact quantities. We round each package to the nearest half pound or quarter pound. Over time it all balances out and it saves a vast amount of time over individually priced packages.

So, please do browse through the online store. Some prices have dropped in more than half with the combined effect of both changes.  We are committed to bringing you the highest quality nutritious meats raised humanely, and at reasonable prices that allow you to save money while the farm is reasonably profitable.

Time will tell how this new pricing model works out, but we feel comfortable that it will be best for everyone!

Fancy chicken draining device

We added a new tool to the bird processing equipment today,  and it worked marvelously!  We built gadget that allows the birds to drain (air dry)  more completely before packaging in the heat seal bags.  It holds 12 birds safely and cleanly, plus allows easy application of the bags over the birds.

It is made out of 3/4 inch pvc pipe,  and sits about 2 1/5 foot square,  just enough to sit on a standard card table.  Quick and easy to build

The only problem was actually quite comical.  Every so often a bird with a larger than average neck cavity would suddenly slip down the pipe as if it was skewered by some invisible force onto the riser pipe. 

Here are some pics

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Successful chicken processing day!

We just finished a very successful chicken processing day.  Several customer volunteers came to help,  and took home some chickens of their own as fruits of their labor.  Some were newbies,  some experienced,  but all did an excellent job and processed plenty of chickens.

Feel free to browse the online store for pastured heritage soy free organically grown chickens and chicken organs and parts.  Supplies may not last long, so hurray!

Here are some pics of our day!

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Thanksgiving turkey harvest 2013

We had a fabulous thanksgiving season.  Even though the harvest was smaller than we wanted (dye to incubator problems back in sprung)  it worked out well.  This year we had plenty of volunteer help on processing day,  do overall it was a pleasant and not totally exhausting few days. 

We thank everyone who showed up to help!

Here's some memories of this year's event...

Kaelyn watching the dunking into the scalder

She decided to try her hand it dunking a bird!

She's doing it!

Even her dunking partner Keitley is impressed

Todd's son learns about the plucker

Here is the table crew... Hannah, Marissa, April, and Keitley

The knives cant be sharp enough! Sharpen early, sharpen often!

Grandma making the rounds back and forth from the kitchen

Hunter moving furniture !

Todd wrestles with a turkey ready for the cones

Made it!

Todd shows his boy the realities of farm life

Daniel working the plucker... why is this man smiling?

Keitley and Hanna working at the table

April learning to process a turkey, Marissa is an old pro!

Turkey week has arrived!

This is the biggest week for little sprouts. Thanksgiving is when we sell the most birds in a single day for all year. Busy busy. Fortunately this year we have plenty of help on the way....

But of course the weather changes dramatically overnight... From unseasonably warm and dry to frigid and wet. The mercury hit below 20 the last two nights. That always makes it fun standing outside in the cold with constantly running water.

So this year I decided to light the scalder the night before so I don't have to deal with frozen hoses while rushing to fill the scaler to get it heating. But.... Alas by the time we got home from deliveries the hoses were already frozen. In my zeal to break up the ice I did a bad thing... Pulled the spigot right out of the ground! Pipit broke under 8 inches of mud, water and ice. Hmmmm

So there I am, in the dark cold of 28 degrees standing ankle deep in need and ice digging down to the pipe, thankful for the shop vac!  Took some work and half frozen hands but... Finally cape the pipe.

The scalder is full... Heating up overnight... And with dawn comes preparation. Even an exciting new method and tool we will be trying...

So here we go into a week of intense turkey processing.... Mostly ready... All that is needed is some rest....