Local Beef

[Jean Kroll]

Hey, where's the beef?  I'd like a bunch of the humanely-treated, grass-fed, locally grown type in my freezer! Anybody interested in going in on buying beef from a local pasture-raised source? If so, let me know!

[Pleasant Valley Farm]

We are a small family farm that raises the finest Organic Grass Fed Meats here in Whatcom County.  We offer Black Angus, Pork, Goat, and Poultry.  Spring is around the corner so we will be ordering our chicks soon.  Let us know if you would like to try some pastured chicken or a turkey for Thanksgiving!

[Jean Kroll]

Epilogue:  I emailed many local beef/buffalo growers in our area and at-last found one I could afford!  It is Third Thyme Farm out near Sumas.  Owners Ginny and Les Wagner raise their own cows near Sumas and have them butchered through a FDA-approved mobile butcher.  Their email is [e-mail].  They had a lot of ground beef ($3.00/lb or $4.50/1.5 lb packages) but not a lot of steaks.  They also had ground Italian Sausage @ 3.75/lb.

 

The other option I considered was Skiyou Ranch ([e-mail]).  This option would be good if I wanted more steaks, and I if wanted to go in on a 1/4 beef with other people.   Here is an email from owner, Tarie Benson: 

It is a much better way to save to buy your meat in a quarter. Not only are you getting the convenience of have a mini meat shop at your home you are also getting all your cuts for the same price. As you know that is a huge savings, for the 2011 season we are selling our organic beef for $4.50 a lb. This includes all fees, cut,  wrap, and delivery. I have other customers that have shared with friends and have worked out well. A quarter beef usually weights around 150 lbs. We really arent sure of exact some have been 175, 180. but, the majority are within the 150. In a quarter there are approximately 6 roasts, 26-28 steaks, and 45 packs of ground beef. All of these are considered standard  cuts. There are different ways you can custom cut. and it is totally up to you on how it is cut.

I went with the easier, cheaper option of just buying $100 worth of organic, local meat (mostly ground beef and Italian sausage). 

[Linda J Fels]

Jean, check out Farmer Ben's in Lynden.  Their website is http://myfarmerben.com/. Tell Jessica I recommended them to you.

[Jean Kroll]

Hi Cari,

I'll be sure to let you know what I find out! :)

 

[Cari Duffy]

Would you be willing to share what you find out about this? I am definitely interested in doing this, but may not be able to do it right away and don't know your timeline. Thanks!

[Merry Teesdale]

Call me about this next week 9 or 10 AM or after 6 pm,  I'm in the phone book.  I have answers.

[Heather K]

Hey Jean,  Sometimes Stephan's store, Terra Organica carries some 'happy meat'. 

I trust they have done a lot of research on the topic and what they carry...

Best to call or go on down, but here's a link:

http://www.terra-organica.com/retailer/store_templates/shell_id_1.a...

 

There are some Whatcom & Skagit farmers that provides grass-fed meat, but they have may already done their butchering months ago...I met them at the Lynden Fair. ( Remember to ask them if they ensure that their animals are not fed any GMO feed or seeds.)

It seems I may recall someone from the Community Asks & Offers group posting about sharing some animal foods...You might try looking around & posting a discussion there. 

Let us know what you find!

Heres the TW group link you might try to find other to split order, remember to start a new discussion on the site if you post.

http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/group/communityasksandoffers

 

Here are some local google links you might explore:

Matheson farms

http://www.whatcomcountyguide.com/matheson-farms-grass-fed-beef-141...

 

Eat Wild link:

http://www.eatwild.com/index.html