Do y'all remember that little video I posted awhile back about the artisan butcher shop that's opening in my neck of the woods? Well, if you don't (or if you do, and want to see the video again), you can click HERE and time warp your way back real quick to see it.
Now, why am I asking you if you remember it?
*Cough, cough* As of this morning, guess who is now a supplier for that shop?
Yep, yours truly! Starting in July (hopefully; if not then, then August!), Goat Song Farm will begin supplying MEAT with pastured pork and pastured broilers!!! The broilers will be seasonal, but the pork will hopefully be year around. One nice thing about Oregon is that since we don't get snow here, or super cold temps (this year's coldest day was I think around 23 degrees?), we can pretty much just keep trucking along with the larger livestock outdoors. The owners of MEAT have also asked if I would be interested in supplying lamb, goat, or even duck, and while I like the idea of supplying lamb (very muchly so!), I'm not sure about the other two suggestions. I'd have to think about it, and do some math.
Kyle and Amanda (owners of MEAT) came out to my stomping grounds today and we talked about my favorite subjects: animals, farming, and meat. We discussed heritage breeds, pricing, monthly numbers of animals, and all sorts of different topics while Gyp mischievously tugged and chewed at the end of his lead at my feet; looking more like some furry delinquent than a trusty farmhand. When our visit was over, we shook hands on the deal and verbally agreed on one thing: I'm in. GSF is experiencing a growth spurt, and I am beyond excited about this. The numbers are very doable, and I'll be able to slowly ease my way into it all. The hogs will be used to begin combating the ridiculously numerous blackberry stands, using Joel Salatin's methods for pastured pork. The broilers will follow along behind the ruminants in their traditional chicken tractors. The lamb may have to wait until next year... We'll see.
So that's my big piece of news for today. :) Growth spurts are a good thing. And something tells me I'm going to have a lot of stories to tell as Summer begins.
4 comments:
Congrats! Personally I would get something in writing if you're dependent on that income. Sometimes stuff happens with a start up business, like the butchers. You'd want yourself protected, but that's me.
Nancy's comment reminds me of Joel Salatin's "You grow 'em, I'll sell 'em" story.
I thought grain prices were high in the PNW. What are you going to feed your piggies? In Illinois, 1 pound of pork is easier to transport than 3 pounds of corn. But if I had to transport the corn...
^HFS, the pigs will be getting barley fodder, milk, whey from local cheesemakers (lots of those in my area...), acorns since they'll be in oak glens, and fermented oats. Seasonal things to add to the diet will be pumpkins and apples (lots of those in my area too! Orchards and pumpkin patches abound!).
Grain IS high priced right now... And supposed to go up a bit more by August; but I know a local farmer that will sell me whole oats for a decent price (I think it's about $9 for a 50 lb. lb. bag; which is considered cheap over here).
I think this is wonderful!! MEAT is also probably thrilled to be aligned with you!!! At our market in WV we have a number of protein producers and have discovered over our first year of operation that each has its own cycle. To have enough meat on hand all the time we must have more than one farmer.
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