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Auroradream26 said:
I'm thinking that they must've changed it. We buy raw milk every Friday at an indoor farmers market and there's a store that keeps it in stock.
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In PA, a dairy farm can get certified for raw cow's milk and then sell it legally. In MD, no way can anyone sell raw milk for consumption. I have dairy farming relatives in both states.

IDK the current regs for goat's milk. Last I knew is was prohibited in PA, but legal in MD. Apparently, they have cleaner, better goats there (just kidding, it's probably the legislators that differ in cleanliness).

The whole area of farm produced food regulation is in a horrible state. Lobbyists for agribusiness use "health" concerns to restrict competition and ensure that all farmers act more or less the same, so the smaller ones can get slowly driven out of business by the big guys. Americans pay way too little for food (and energy, IMO) and so we are wasteful and go for the more processed options rather than learning basic food skills. I take heart in the "localvore" and organic/non-GMO movements, whether they are right or wrong, at least they are making openings for innovative ideas in agriculture.

If I become president, my slogan won't be "a chicken in every pot", but rather "a flock in every yard"!
Don't give a man a chicken, teach him to raise his own chickens!
 
dheltzel said:
Auroradream26 said:
I'm thinking that they must've changed it. We buy raw milk every Friday at an indoor farmers market and there's a store that keeps it in stock.
Click to expand...

In PA, a dairy farm can get certified for raw cow's milk and then sell it legally. In MD, no way can anyone sell raw milk for consumption. I have dairy farming relatives in both states.

IDK the current regs for goat's milk. Last I knew is was prohibited in PA, but legal in MD. Apparently, they have cleaner, better goats there (just kidding, it's probably the legislators that differ in cleanliness).

The whole area of farm produced food regulation is in a horrible state. Lobbyists for agribusiness use "health" concerns to restrict competition and ensure that all farmers act more or less the same, so the smaller ones can get slowly driven out of business by the big guys. Americans pay way too little for food (and energy, IMO) and so we are wasteful and go for the more processed options rather than learning basic food skills. I take heart in the "localvore" and organic/non-GMO movements, whether they are right or wrong, at least they are making openings for innovative ideas in agriculture.

If I become president, my slogan won't be "a chicken in every pot", but rather "a flock in every yard"!
Don't give a man a chicken, teach him to raise his own chickens!
Click to expand...

As a person in the "low income" category, I will disagree with you on food prices. Getting quality meals to feed my children is anything but cheap. The only thing cheap IS the nasty, processed, prepackaged junk that I don't want my kids eating. I try to produce enough chicken & turkey that I don't have to buy any, but I don't have a way to grow beef or pork myself. I have been trying to get gardens out for the past 5 years, but always run into problems there, usually with a move during planting season. There are families struggling to hold their own (like mine) who just can't get ahead enough to dig out & start producing everything they need. Ugh! What I wouldn't give for a 3br/2ba house on 5+ acres with room for a pig, a beef cow, a dairy cow, a few goats and all of my birds along with a huge garden. Not gonna happen any time soon because I just don't have the money for it. Wishful thinking!
 
Beef can be replaced by lamb or goat meat. You can usually find a nice whether for $100 or so. Even with butcher fees of $60, that's a bargain compared to beef prices. My suffolk whether gave us about 42lbs of meat. I paid $55 for butcher fees and $100 for him. That's $3.69/lb of all boneless meats. Add in bones to make free stock and if you can tan the pelt and sell it...
My Shetland ewe was butchered out for $60 and gave us 26lbs, plus bones and a pelt. I actually traded a rabbit for her. I'm still processing her pelt, so I have no idea if/what that would sell for. The Shetland was obviously smaller, but if you can find a great deal and butcher it yourself, that would help. Plus Shetland tastes a LOT better than suffolk, even as old mutton!
 
Bettacreek said:
Beef can be replaced by lamb or goat meat. You can usually find a nice whether for $100 or so. Even with butcher fees of $60, that's a bargain compared to beef prices. My suffolk whether gave us about 42lbs of meat. I paid $55 for butcher fees and $100 for him. That's $3.69/lb of all boneless meats. Add in bones to make free stock and if you can tan the pelt and sell it...

My Shetland ewe was butchered out for $60 and gave us 26lbs, plus bones and a pelt. I actually traded a rabbit for her. I'm still processing her pelt, so I have no idea if/what that would sell for. The Shetland was obviously smaller, but if you can find a great deal and butcher it yourself, that would help. Plus Shetland tastes a LOT better than suffolk, even as old mutton!
Click to expand...

Butchering is no problem at all since my son IS a butcher plus I do all my own birds. The problem lies in the fact that no one here eats rabbit except my son & no one at all eats goat or lamb. Venison is another story. We grab that any chance we get. However, with my son's work schedule, he didn't get a deer this year. He was busy butchering everyone else's deer at the butcher shop & couldn't get to the woods to get us 1.
 
Nobody here eats lamb or rabbit either... Err, at least they don't know that. Seriously, when I introduce a new food, I have to sneak it in and pretend it's something they are already used to. They'll get over their mental aversion eventually, lol. Nobody here knows it, but if the one rabbit doesn't sell by this weekend, she'll be dinner. I'd also see if your son could free-lance a bit of butchering or something and see if he can get some meat out of it?
 
He brings stuff home from work on occasion, but he keeps it for himself & his gf. I don't buy their groceries any more. They actually live in my rv in the yard so easy to keep our stuff separate unless he runs out of freezer space & stuffs his icecream in my freezer (dangerous place for icecream). They are struggling more than I am at this point. Mainly because I have a lot more experience budgeting & his gf thinks every penny needs to be spent on her. He will pretty much eat anything he isn't allergic to, including the possum he caught in his traps...lol
 

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