Why Farm Fresh
Our customers have many reasons for purchasing meat directly from a family farm. People that purchase from us, say it tastes better than the meat they used to buy at the grocery store. Some just want to be assured of a steady supply of high-quality food. Others want to support local farmers and, in turn, love knowing where their food comes from. And almost everyone would rather spend more time with their family and less time in the grocery store. Whatever your reasons, we want to make your buying process as simple and as straight forward as possible.
How it Works
We offer farm raised calves and pigs that are processed locally. We sell our calves and pigs by the half or whole animal; the calves are also sold by the quarter. Custom butchering is available if you purchase a half or a whole animal. If you purchase a quarter beef, you'll get a standard cut package.
Many folks find the most intimidating part of buying a live animal is deciding how they want it processed — the thickness of their steaks, the size of their roasts, the preferred cuts, etc. We will guide you through each step of the process depending on your preferences.
Standard cut packages are also available for half or whole animals if you want. This will take all the guesswork out of ordering.
Why Processed Pound
We don’t charge by live weight (on the hoof) or hanging weight (on the rail OR on the hook); you are only charged for the meat you take home, or the processed pound. Live weight is the weight of your animal as it steps on the scale shortly before being processed. Hanging weight is the weight of the carcass after all the inedible parts are removed. However, it is not the amount of meat you take home. Additional trimming of the carcass is still needed to yield your processed pounds from hanging weight.
When buying from Sanctuary Family Farms, you will never pay for the fat and bone left on the cutting room floor. To learn more about hanging weight, and why it is simpler for the customer to pay by the processed pound, see our comparison. It illustrates how an advertised cheap price for beef could be misleading when sold by hanging weight. If you pay $5.25 for hanging weight of beef, that is the equivalent to paying $8.50 per pound of meat you take home.
Many folks who sell by hanging weight require the customer to pay a separate kill fee and/or processing fees, sometimes called “cut and wrap.” Sanctuary Family Farms pays the kill fee and the cut & wrap processing fees. You will have the option to pay extra for such services as making hamburger patties out of your ground beef, seasoning your ground pork for breakfast sausage, curing your ham, and/or additional options, but the basic cut and wrap fees that get meat on your table are paid by us.
Our Animals
We want our beef to be well marbled and delicious, so we finish our cattle with corn and grain to eliminate that gamey taste. Our cattle range in size from 1200-1500 pounds (live weight) when butchered, so you are expected to take home about 600 pounds of beef with the purchase of a whole. This is estimated to take up about 28 cubic feet of space in your freezer. Our pigs’ live weight is approximately 200-300 pounds which means you will end up with about 150 pounds of processed meat for your freezer and take up about 8 cubic feet of space. Remember that each animal is different; these are estimates.
Reserve a Processing Date
Contact us to purchase your animal, and we will reserve a processing date. We will collect your nonrefundable deposit then deliver your animal to the processor. The deposit will be approximately half of your total cost, but all animals are different; your final payment could be more or less than your deposit.
You will only be charged two times— the deposit and the final payment after your animal is processed. The final payment is due before you pick up your meat. Many customers bring it with them when they meet us at the processor to get their meat. Your payment will include the purchase of your animal, delivery to the processor, and your meat processing fees.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions on processing and ordering. As a family business, we consider it a privilege to help you in any way we can.
