Need some input.... Meat CSA.

[Bossroo]

I own a commercial 220 3 phase Hobart meat band saw as well as a 220 commercial meat grinder. I figure that if I butcher a beef, pig, lamb, I want as many steaks, roasts, as I can get. Hamburger is ground and who cares how tender the beef is ( spent dairy cows) and it is cheap. When I butcher a pasture grass plus corn/ alfalfa fed 1000 pound steer, I can cut it into anything I pleased. I take the carcass to a butcher in town that has a walk in cooler and hang the steer for 16-18 days to tenderize it to improve the flavor. Most butchers will only hang the beef for 9 days to save on cooler space, so I pay for the extra time, but well worth it. A beef comming from only pasture grass will greatly benefit from a 21 day hanging. First, I cut it into the top valued steaks, a few roasts, ribs, riblets, flank steaks, then some "other steaks". Anything left over whent into stew then some ground hamburger. I saved time by running the beef through the band saw rather than spending time deboning to grind the meat. If I want hamburger, I can go buy it at a butcher's or any grocery store for a lot less price. My point being that you can offer more of the better cuts of meat plus squeeze out "other steaks" and riblets from a beef wich the customer would perceive as more value for the price of the share. Good luck in your venture.

 

[averytds]

Yep, agreed it's better to go for the lifestyle over fad market. Lifestyle will stick around if you get things right.

Out of curiosity, why couldn't the shares be sold as boxes of their own accord at least for a time? Not part of the CSA. Many of the same people who sell at the farmer's markets, have CSA's and such around here, they seem to just sell the meat straight out. Quarters, halves, wholes or in meat bundles. Come to pick up your CSA share and you can also buy meats, cheeses, soaps, honey, eggs, whatever else they produce at the farm a la carte. Start small continue to increase your supply as you go.

Heck, we have one that sells from the farm, at farmer's markets and of all places twice a month in the Orscheln's parking lot.

I imagine this is for grain-fed, non-organic, IDK whatever the latest, so the price reflects that....but here are some more examples of meat bundle combos.

http://timbercreekmeats.com/bundles

 

[Raiquee]

Jeff,

I would definatly see the steaks at the $240 price a good one. Out by me, I can get grass-fed beef for roughly 3.50 a pound all said and done, half a cow. Yes, half a cow is an undertaking, but I have family I can go in with and if it means I get ribeyes, tbones, etc, I'm all for it! I think the steak offers a "premium" look to the box without breaking the bank. If you offered the box even at a lower price minus the steaks, I would probably pass. It's all about convience and really I'd much rather go to the grocery store to pick hamburger up than pick up steaks. Even more so that I am paying a premium price for grass-fed beef.

I think your box has great quantities and variation, I wouldn't change much else. One other suggestion is maybe switch it up sometimes so they get a smaller roast and maybe a "cheap steak" like round steak or strip steak or whatever. Maybe that would fit under "misc meat" however. I think the main difference between a veggie/fruit CSA and a meat one is people don't end up with "too much" as they can always freeze it! I think Shady was saying something about that. Figuring out the perfect amount of veggies is way harder than meat. Meat freezes good, If I was paying for a veggie CSA, I would want to use it up fresh as well. So I see what they are saying in that regard. I feel that way about my own garden even!

I also want to say I saw your CSA on facebook and LOVE how you include a fresh baked good or a jarred something or another. Very unique and it would make me smile If I had you CSA

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Hey I found this one near me and thought you might like it... it's for veggies only... (I know you said you only wanted one package size) but they have a small or a large box and either is available weekly or bi-weekly... I think that would cover just about all your bases.

http://www.bewiseranch.com/joinCSA.htm

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Well, after one weekend of advertising we have 7 people signed up. They haven't put a deposit down yet so not set in stone but hopefully we can get 36 people by May. If it looks like we can't we may end up doing half shares which might work out better.

 

[annaraven]

Quote:
Agreed. That looks like a HUGE amount of meat to me, and leaves not much room for getting stuff I chose. We like a lot of seafood as well in our diet. And I tend to do the vegetable CSA every *other* week because the box doesn't get used up fast enough. We did a CSA share (luckly they allowed a single purchase) and I'm working my way through it sloooowly.

Mind you, my DH is Italian so we tend to do more of the mediterannean diet with a lot less meat than most Americans.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I'm a high end food buyer with no problem paying for premium meat (and I know many who will spend more than me); coming from that stand point I think your price is great. I would sign up and so would most the people I know.
That said, while I like your ala carte steak choice and I think the majority of households do use that much hamburger - I don't and neither do my friends, I think you may find that is pretty much the norm in the high end markets. I would find it very convenient to pay an up charge and substitute steaks for hamburger. Also coming from a farming background I'm not big on grass fed beef, and neither are my friends who have tried it from the markets; we want marbled prime meat. We buy Waygu and Kurbota, organic eggs and free range chicken - again we are not the majority but we are the ones paying the premium. Soooo . . . I'm wondering if you are limiting yourself with only one pack. I can see that's smart to start with but might suggest down the road a "family" pack and a "premium" pack. I would have no problem paying 10.00 a pound for a "premium" pack.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

our consumption per month for a family of five:

4 lbs bacon
4 lbs breakfast sausage
4 lbs ham
4 lbs ethnic sausage
4-6 lbs pork (roasts, chops, other sausages etc)

8 lbs beef (mostly steak, some roasts, some burger)

4 chickens

6-8 lbs seafood
12 cans premium Tuna (from Bell Buoy - if you haven't tried it DO)
12 dozen eggs

hope that helps

 

[m.ruzycki]

My advice would be to take a poll of the people in your csa to see which cuts most people want and use them and like you were thinking put the rest into an a la cart option. Start with the stuff you have the most of like the ground beef, everybody gets some of that, and the same with the others that you have alot of until you have used up what you have in excess. That should give a decent amount of meat for a monthly meat pack and then the cuts that you dont have enough of to go around just sell them seperate. You will probably make more money that way anyway.