378 years of family farming!!!

[dcyrilc]

All you have to do is find someone to raise the beef for you, then find a butcher shop that will kill and process if for you. They are around. You just have to look for them.

Tht's how beef is sold directly to the consumer here in Washington. It's called Custom Feed. The animal is sold 'live' to one or more people and delivered to the butcher by the grower. The butcher then does his work for the customer, not the grower, and each picks up their own meat. All pricing is typically done by hanging weight (bone-in).

To sell individual cuts, the meat has to go through a USDA facility.

 

[nwbearcat]

I'm just against the government passing regulations that make it hard for small farms to compete against the big farms, thus ensuring the small farms disappear.

Obed

I aplogize, as I had not interpreted your earlier remarks to suggest this position. I would prefer to allow the producer and ultimately the consumer the choice on how to produce their product, or what products should be produced. I'm not sure this is the direction that we're taking in this country. There are rules and regulations that do not discriminate based upon farm size, that are impacting growers at all levels. Sure there are some that favor small, and some that favor large, but some of the ones that are coming around don't favor much of anyone. That's the point that I've been trying to make. Size doesn't trigger do you use GMO's, growth hormones, pesticides or commercial fertilizers vs. conventional crops, more feed, a hoe, or manure. The needs of your operation trigger this decision. You don't have to be the biggest to be a fast adopter of technology, but often these are correlated. You can also be the biggest, and carve out your niche in the market as supplying products that fit a certain criteria. I just really dis-like the terminolgy that's been used along...industrial farm...factory farm...commercial farm...There are ALOT of folks that utilize a LLC to offer them liability protection in our litigation happy enviroment. There are alot of times that even small to medium sized operations need a spare hand, and according to your earlier defination...this makes them an industrial or commercial farm. Contact your local Farm Bureau group sometime, if you ask, my bet is that they could find you a farm that you could tour...see what the American Farmer really is, then ask the question. "What can I support politically that would support what you do? How can I help you feed me?"

 

[MossRoad]

Tht's how beef is sold directly to the consumer here in Washington. It's called Custom Feed. The animal is sold 'live' to one or more people and delivered to the butcher by the grower. The butcher then does his work for the customer, not the grower, and each picks up their own meat. All pricing is typically done by hanging weight (bone-in).

To sell individual cuts, the meat has to go through a USDA facility.

Yep. As I mentioned before, we buy our beef from our cousin. She delivers it to the butcher, who kills and processes it for us. We pick it up from the butcher, not the cousin.

 

[riptides]

.... I would prefer to allow the producer and ultimately the consumer the choice on how to produce their product, or what products should be produced. I'm not sure this is the direction that we're taking in this country. ..... "What can I support politically that would support what you do? How can I help you feed me?"

I followed this thread a while. I am not following your views or reality on what is happening with consumers and producers in your area.

Must be a locality thing?

In my area we have local butchers and a ton of products produced and consumed locally. Even the Piedmont Environmental Council has tremendous clout in pushing "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" programs in their sphere of influence.

I see a lot of small farms raising everything from flowers, to longhorns, to bison around me.
Some of our largest farms are still family owned and operated, and they still participate in local, state and national markets.

I would say in my area the local governments and local political base yields more influence and sets tactical/strategic directions with agricultural products. Of course the fed is ever present, but we seem to have more room to produce - locally.

 

[nwbearcat]

What I'm talking about are things like the requirement that egg production be done in open barns rather than using cages. The fear in the countryside is that at somepoint, there will be those that propose that the only way to produce a crop will be by following the regulated steps penciled in by a congressman rather than use the techniques that fit the land.

By and large, in rural areas, absolutely you have support from the local governments...that's where their bread is buttered...but it's on a national or sometimes a state level where not all of the policies support AG as much as one would like.

 

[jinjimbob]

What I'm talking about are things like the requirement that egg production be done in open barns rather than using cages. The fear in the countryside is that at somepoint, there will be those that propose that the only way to produce a crop will be by following the regulated steps penciled in by a congressman rather than use the techniques that fit the land.

You compare animal cruelty with other laws. The new law in California just says that a ken shall be able to turn around without touching anything.

Charge double for eggs, no problem.

 

[NorTracNY]

Obed,
Just Google it any you'll find out....


"The Center for Food Safety (CFS) of Hong Kong Monday advised the public not to eat 19 ready-to-eat cooked meat products which may be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria."

"It is suggested that cattle are a reservoir of STEC O157:H7 and meat products are contaminated by this pathogen in Changchun, China"

"SHANGHAI: A major Chinese meat processor has recalled 100 boxes of luncheon meat containing a banned chemical, Chinese media reported on Thursday.

China Yurun Food Group destroyed the products, made of unspecified minced meat from a Chinese slaughterhouse, the National Business Daily said, citing the provincial quality watchdog and an unnamed Yurun official.

An official with Yurun's public relations agency declined to comment when contacted by AFP, saying only that the Hong Kong-listed company would be issuing a statement.

The meat was contaminated with clenbuterol, a drug often given to people to treat asthma, but also commonly used to cut body fat.

Farmers in China have been known to feed pigs clenbuterol to reduce their fat, but it is banned as a food additive because it can be fatal to humans. "

 

[jimmyj]

I followed this thread a while. I am not following your views or reality on what is happening with consumers and producers in your area.

Must be a locality thing?

In my area we have local butchers and a ton of products produced and consumed locally. Even the Piedmont Environmental Council has tremendous clout in pushing "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" programs in their sphere of influence.

I see a lot of small farms raising everything from flowers, to longhorns, to bison around me.
Some of our largest farms are still family owned and operated, and they still participate in local, state and national markets.

I would say in my area the local governments and local political base yields more influence and sets tactical/strategic directions with agricultural products. Of course the fed is ever present, but we seem to have more room to produce - locally.

Nice to hear. We still have some of that but it's getting harder and harder. It would not surprise me if in a decade we are not allowed to raise poultry outdoors for fear of avian flu, or that all cows, sheep, goats have to be microchipped or DNA logged. The gov't is moving towards more and more control all the time.

For the record, I'm not a backwoods hippy or anything, and I think we have a very safe food source with cheap products but as pressures are put on food production for various reasons, science and control will come more and more into the fray. Just an opinion....

BTW, our home raised turkeys will knock anybody's taste buds for a loop. YUM YUM.

 

[RadarTech]

Nice to hear. We still have some of that but it's getting harder and harder. It would not surprise me if in a decade we are not allowed to raise poultry outdoors for fear of avian flu, or that all cows, sheep, goats have to be microchipped or DNA logged. The gov't is moving towards more and more control all the time.

For the record, I'm not a backwoods hippy or anything, and I think we have a very safe food source with cheap products but as pressures are put on food production for various reasons, science and control will come more and more into the fray. Just an opinion....

BTW, our home raised turkeys will knock anybody's taste buds for a loop. YUM YUM.

Home raised? in pens???

that is a new one to me...
J