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Totally. Not every farmer will let you, but I definitely had the opportunity. (My farmer gave me the choice between three animals.) I think the 'bashing it wit

Totally. Not every farmer will let you, but I definitely had the opportunity. (My farmer gave me the choice between three animals.) I think the 'bashing it with a rock' is sort of the thing I'm trying to avoid. My farmer brings a USDA butcher to his site to kill the animal (the kills are done away from the pasture space). The offal is removed there. If you want the tongue, heart, liver, etc. you show up on slaughter day and cart them away. The carcass was then taken to a local butcher shop, where it was processed into steaks, ground beef, roasts, etc. at my direction -- how thick did you want steaks, how big did you want roasts, etc. Being involved in this way is surprisingly intimate -- seeing the animal, being on the farm the day of it's slaughter (though I did not witness the slaughter), and working with the butcher to define how it will be broken down taught me so much more about how my food is prepared than anything you'd get from the grocery store.

emgeee 8y ago
That's really interesting, I'd read a blog post about the process.
rubicon33 8y ago
I've been following this thread and it's gotten me curious. I can't help but wonder - do you have some kind of personal connection to this farmer? How does one source a farmer, let alone one that is willing to let you meet the cow, be there on slaughter day, etc. These are all things that are foreign to most people.
- int_19h 8y ago
  Just googling around, it seems that you can find quite a few farmers advertising such services. For a more personal connection, I'd start at the local farmers' market.
  - JohnFen 8y ago
    > For a more personal connection, I'd start at the local farmers' market. I agree. The farmer's market was my entryway. At ours, local ranchers are present and selling their meats. There is a huge wealth of knowledge about what exists in your area at a farmer's market. Not just for meat, but for everything.
- Pfhreak 8y ago
  No personal connection at all. I cold called around. My local farmers markets publish a guide of local farmers. [1] I just put together a spreadsheet with all the farms within 50 miles and visited a few websites/made a few calls. Some farmers had already sold their beef for the season, others weren't grass fed, etc. Eventually I narrowed the candidate pool down to two or three and asked if I could come see their farms. One farmer said no, so I went with one of the others. [1] http://www.pugetsoundfresh.org/ http://www.pugetsoundfresh.org/

emgeee 8y ago

That's really interesting, I'd read a blog post about the process.

rubicon33 8y ago

I've been following this thread and it's gotten me curious. I can't help but wonder - do you have some kind of personal connection to this farmer? How does one source a farmer, let alone one that is willing to let you meet the cow, be there on slaughter day, etc. These are all things that are foreign to most people.

int_19h 8y ago
Just googling around, it seems that you can find quite a few farmers advertising such services. For a more personal connection, I'd start at the local farmers' market.
- JohnFen 8y ago
  > For a more personal connection, I'd start at the local farmers' market. I agree. The farmer's market was my entryway. At ours, local ranchers are present and selling their meats. There is a huge wealth of knowledge about what exists in your area at a farmer's market. Not just for meat, but for everything.
Pfhreak 8y ago
No personal connection at all. I cold called around. My local farmers markets publish a guide of local farmers. [1] I just put together a spreadsheet with all the farms within 50 miles and visited a few websites/made a few calls. Some farmers had already sold their beef for the season, others weren't grass fed, etc. Eventually I narrowed the candidate pool down to two or three and asked if I could come see their farms. One farmer said no, so I went with one of the others. [1] http://www.pugetsoundfresh.org/ http://www.pugetsoundfresh.org/