Buying Beef Directly from a Farmer (And Why You Should Do It Too)

For years, I would hear about a beef scare with the beef we eat (the most common meat in American and in our house) coming from disgustamundo place, contaminated and diseased.  I wouldn't eat it for a week.  This was easy when we lived in Chicago..so many choices..so good places to eat.  It was easy to stay away from gross beef.  Yuck.  And then..I had kids.  And I saw Food Inc.  It took me a full seven years, from when we had Chloe, to figure out how to buy beef from a farmer I knew.  Now that I have, I doubt I will go back.

I think a lot of the horse fed, organic, add $5/pound is nonsense.  There are safe and non-degenerate ways to make sure the cows don’t get sick.  I want to know the cows are raised in a decent environment where they won’t get sick or diseased.  I also want it to be as natural as possible. 

I want the money to stay in Michigan, where ¼ of the state’s jobs are in farming.  More than that, I’d like my money to go to a family owned, local farm.  I think having our food close at hand is important.

I’ve found it is cheaper than the variant prices at the grocery store.  Currently, beef is going crazy in terms of price.  I got a good deal on my beef, between 3 and 4 dollars per pound.  It saved me quite a bit over the long haul (we bought a quarter of a cow).

Some people really like the smell of food.  Others like the nutritional value.  I like the know where my food’s origins are.  To me, that is as important as the smell or the carbs.

So..how did I do it?

I talked to a local farmer I knew in Manchester.  I asked him about where I could buy beef.  In the end, he sold some beef directly to consumers.  I was able to buy it directly from him.  If I was not friends with a farmer, I would google the town where I live (Chelsea, MI) and beef farmer.  When I did this, I found 5 or 6 farms.  I’d just call around and find a place where you can drive by the farm.

Now, for us, we went out to where meet was butchered, in Jerome, MI.  For me, it was in the first week of baseball for the spring, so I turned on the Tiger game, rolled down the window, and took a drive into the country.  Some farmers do the drop off and pick up themselves.  I didn’t mind picking up.  We paid the farmer for the meat and the butcher for the cutting up of the meat.

We also bought a small freezer (Avanti) to hold the beef.  The freezer could be placed easily in the basement or garage.  We went with a quarter, and that filled up our freezer.  I looked at several options at the box stores and ended up ordering online.  No issues there.

The beef, which we have used for hamburgers on the grill to tacos has been off the hook.  The kids have even commented on how much better it is.  It is 30 to 40% cheaper.  We always have meat on hand.  For a family of three who are always growing and eating, it is perfect. 

When we went out to pay our beef supplier, I took the kids.  They turned up their noses (at first) at the smell.  He ended up showing us the cows and the farm.  Important connections for the kids. 

Once you get the system set up, though, you just repeat and it is pretty easy.  Definitely worth it.