Are you local to Storyteller Farm but have questions about buying beef or pork? Maybe you aren’t local to us but are interested in supporting a farmer in your area and have the same questions. Do you like the idea of buying directly from the farm but feel like you don’t have time to make changes in your shopping rhythms? We are here to help! Let’s walk through some of these common questions and answers together.
What are my options for buying meat directly from the farmer?
There are two ways a customer can purchase meat from a farm: by the share, which is the bulk option, and by the cut, which allows for smaller bundles or a la carte options. At Storyteller Farm we sell pork by the share and beef by the share and by the cut. A share is picked up from the butcher shop after processing. Individual cuts and smaller beef bundles can be ordered in our online shop. After the order is placed, we will contact you to schedule a pick-up or drop-off.
There can be some variability between farms selling by the cut. Some farms offer shipping. Some even offer subscription boxes for automatic orders. Other farms sell out of farm stands, pop-up shops, specialty grocery stores, and farmer’s markets.
What does buying meat by the share mean?
Buying meat by the share means that you are buying a portion of the live animal that will be processed at a custom butcher shop and that you are the final customer. Once it is processed, it cannot be resold. This post outlines how the process and pricing work for purchasing a share.
What are the advantages of buying by the share?
This is your bulk option and it is the most economical way to purchase meat from the farm. You pay the same price for ground beef as you would for fancier cuts like tenderloin. The processing fees are also less.
Another benefit is that you always have meat on hand. With a freezer full of meat, you just have to pull it out to defrost ahead of time and you’re ready to make dinner. You are also protected from food shortages in grocery stores as we have seen from time to time with disruptions in the supply chain.
It’s also customizable. The butcher will reach out to you before cutting it to talk about your preferences. Things like how thick do you want your steaks cut, how big of roasts do you prefer, would you rather do without certain cuts in order to have more ground beef, do you want any specialty products like summer sausage or brats? This post outlines a few things to think about when deciding on your share preferences.
What are the advantages of buying by the cut?
We love selling meat by the share and think it’s a wonderful option, but there are a lot of reasons why buying by the cut is appealing too. Not everyone has the money to pay upfront for a year’s supply of meat and/or the freezer space required to store it. The process of buying a share can also seem complicated if you haven’t purchased one before. Maybe you want to try it and make sure you like it before you commit to a large quantity. It could be that you know what types of beef you prefer to cook and don’t want all the options that come with half of a cow. Perhaps you just learned about purchasing from a farm and are so excited about it but the next butcher date for a share isn’t for six more months. We feel strongly here that to best serve our community, Storyteller Farm needs to continue to have individual cuts and smaller bundles for purchase.
I’m not local and you don’t offer to ship but I really want to purchase from a farm. How do I find one?
This post has a lot of ideas to start searching for a local farm. The biggest advice we have though is to just ask. We love talking about our farm and the importance of supporting local agriculture. We’re also happy to help and can either recommend a farm in your area or another small farm that offers to ship.
This blog post was written in participation in a Blogging Bee-an online gathering reminiscent of the quilting bees and sewing bees of days past when women would bring their work together to create art. If you enjoyed this post about “Luck,” take a look at these posts from other farmers, small business owners, homesteaders, and creatives.
Hard Work + Adequate Planning + a Smidge of Luck by Megan Rudroff
