Shopping for a Farmer

Written By Sarah Stutzman

If you want to start buying your meat locally from a farmer there are some questions and things to consider before making your purchase.

US regulations require farmers that are selling individual cuts of meat to the consumer, have a USDA stamp on those packages of meat. This requires a USDA certified butcher. Not all butchers have this certification.  Only meat which is to be sold into interstate commerce (sold across state borders) does meat in the US have to be federally inspected by the USDA. Thousands of butcher shops and abattoirs throughout the USA are only State and/or county department of health inspected, just like restaurants are inspected. Some farmers will take their animals to a USDA Certified butcher for processing so they can sell individual cuts of meat or ground meat at markets, health food stores, or directly on their farm. This costs more money for the farmer and consumer. It also requires more time because USDA butcher shops are few and far between. Farmers will spend more time traveling to drop off their animals and then time to pick up. 

Other farmers choose to bypass the USDA inspected and stamped meat by selling off an animal by the quarter, half, or whole which means you as the consumer will be buying said animal directly from the farmer and having that animal processed by a butcher of your choice or, in most cases, the farmer's choice. This is considered an agreement between you and the farmer that you are purchasing the animal before it is culled and processed and having it processed yourself at a butcher shop therefore that farmer can choose a butcher of his or her choice. This negates the need for a USDA Certified butcher. You will then pick up all your meat and items from the butcher. Payment for the animal will go to the farmer and payment for butcher fees will go to the butcher. Buying your meat this way helps keep cost down for you and the farmer because it bypasses the US regulations of having a USDA certified butcher. If you do not have the space to store large quantities of meat or have the upfront money to buy a large portion of meat, then buying individual cuts from farmers is the best route for you. 

 Here are three questions to ask the farmer you are buying from and three questions to request from your butcher.

Please note, if you are shopping from a farmers market not all butchers source locally. Ask them where they are buying their beef, pork, and lamb. If it is locally sourced, ask if they know anything about the farmer or farm. You can reach out to the farmer yourself and ask these questions. 

Questions to ask the farmer

 I like to leave these open ended so that I get an honest answer, not just a yes or no response. 

  1. What is the animal's diet?
    Good answers:     organic food, grass, including hay and alfalfa in winter (for
    cows), bugs, grass, outside things, as well as either local or organic grain
    (for  chickens). Important follow-up:
    Does the feed include corn and soy? If yes, are they genetically modified?
    Bad answers: I don’t know. Or grain, corn and soy
    Okay answer: for cows, some “haylage” or “silage” would be a good
    compromise for 100% grassfed, but be sure to ask about the corn and GMOs.

Another follow-up question to ask: How do you finish your cattle? Some farmers will  grain finish to pack on extra weight before butchering. You have to be comfortable with the answer. If you want all grass-fed make sure to find a farmer who grass feeds and finishes on grass. It will result in a leaner meat in the end. Grain fed or even finished will have more fat and marbling. 

2.Where does the animal live? 

             Good answers: outside regularly, on pasture. Even better if the animals were rotated to     fresh pasture daily. This would be true for beef, sheep, and chickens. If you are buying pork, some farmers raise them in woodlands to root and forage.
             Bad answers: on cement, in cages, always inside

3. What do you do when an animal is sick? There isn’t a good or bad answer here because when animals need to be cared for it's important that that animal gets treatment. The second question should be, how often do animals get sick on your farm? 

The answer I appreciate is, rarely and if they do we separate the animal and treat holistically first before traditional intervention of antibiotics. This animal is then out of rotation for food production until fully healthy, which can be several months before we see signs of full recovery and no signs of recurring sickness.

3 Simple requests to make to your butcher

 If you are buying your meat in a quarter, half, or the entire animal, your farmer will tell you when the animal is going to the butcher so that you can complete the cut sheet from the butcher's website. If these items are not part of the cut sheet, you can request these items in the note section or by calling or emailing the butcher. Just do this in advance so they know before processing the animal.  Here is a cut sheet for pork and beef from our butcher with helpful videos from a butcher's point of view. 

Beef

Hog

  1. Ask for all the bones to make bone broth or stock. It's okay if some meat is left on them. 

  2. Ask for all the fat back. It is important you ask for it to be ground and vacuum sealed. Beef fat is called tallow and pork fat is called lard. Leaf lard/tallow is the most pristine fat and is used for making pastries when rendered down. If you do not want to do the rendering, some butchers will do this for you for a higher price and only render the leaf fat. I ask for the leaf fat and the back fat. I want it all and I render it myself to get maximum yield. Butchers may only render the leaf fat and that isn’t very much. Tallow and lard can be used for frying and pastry making. Leaf tallow can be used for skin care products and soap making. Tallow is a firmer fat while lard is a softer fat. 

  3. Ask for the organs back or request they grind it into the burger or sausage. If you are new to eating nose to tail, meaning all of the animal including the organs, having it ground into the meat is your best option. The organs are very nutrient dense and having them ground into the meat yields more volume in your ground meat products. The taste isn’t noticeable and you get more nutrition from your food this way. Consuming meat requires good stewardship of using the entire animal. Read more about the benefits of organ meat. 

Sarah Stutzman
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